Is Permanent Residency necessary after K1

[Mike T. 0]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

[Rob & Jin 0]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

[Rach 0]

Hello Mike,

Rach here I wonder if you would know about this - I am from HK and my boyfriend and I will start the K1 process soon. Can I travel to the US on a tourist visa after the K1 process started? My tourist visa is good for 10 years (and every time I come in, they give me 3 to 6 months). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Best,

Rach

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

[YuAndDan 153]

Re-entry as a tourist after marriage and the AOS can cause big problems, this is clear cut use of a tourist visa with intent to immigrate.

If your fiance/fiancee came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, and you are not yet married, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the K-1 visa should be filed (using an I-129f) instead of the I-130 to avoid a denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US.

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US.

The above conditions are serious and can result in the separation of families for many years if not taken seriously.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

[Rob & Jin 0]

Hello Mike,

Rach here I wonder if you would know about this - I am from HK and my boyfriend and I will start the K1 process soon. Can I travel to the US on a tourist visa after the K1 process started? My tourist visa is good for 10 years (and every time I come in, they give me 3 to 6 months). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Best,

Rach

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

After you submit your K-1 it will be very difficult to gain entry as a tourist, sorry.

[Shub 78]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

Just to clarify... if you get married within 90 days and then do not file for AOS within those same 90 days, then you're out of status once the 90 days are up, not illegal. Big difference.

[Rob & Jin 0]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

Just to clarify... if you get married within 90 days and then do not file for AOS within those same 90 days, then you're out of status once the 90 days are up, not illegal. Big difference.

Same thing I think, as the visa has expired and the K-1 is visa used for entry. Once expired whether its a k visa or tourist visa or no visa you are then here illegally.Also I dont know if you can do AOS after the visa has expired. IMHO

Edited October 18, 2007 by Rob & Jin

[Shub 78]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

Just to clarify... if you get married within 90 days and then do not file for AOS within those same 90 days, then you're out of status once the 90 days are up, not illegal. Big difference.

Same thing I think, as the visa has expired and the K-1 is visa used for entry. Once expired whether its a k visa or tourist visa or no visa you are then here illegally.Also I dont know if you can do AOS after the visa has expired. IMHO

Yes, you can apply for AOS after the 90 days have come and gone. Some people here have not applied for months (or more) after getting married on a K-1 and had no problem. Like I said, as long as you got married within the 90 days, you're not illegal, but if you don't file for AOS, you're considered out of status, meaning you can't really do anything in the country other than take walks and stay home. No working, no driving, no international travel, etc.

[Rob & Jin 0]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

Just to clarify... if you get married within 90 days and then do not file for AOS within those same 90 days, then you're out of status once the 90 days are up, not illegal. Big difference.

Same thing I think, as the visa has expired and the K-1 is visa used for entry. Once expired whether its a k visa or tourist visa or no visa you are then here illegally.Also I dont know if you can do AOS after the visa has expired. IMHO

Yes, you can apply for AOS after the 90 days have come and gone. Some people here have not applied for months (or more) after getting married on a K-1 and had no problem. Like I said, as long as you got married within the 90 days, you're not illegal, but if you don't file for AOS, you're considered out of status, meaning you can't really do anything in the country other than take walks and stay home. No working, no driving, no international travel, etc.

Which would seem the a problem for the OP, as they want to come and go using her existing tourist visa.

[RosemarieL 0]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

If she leaves the country after marriage before getting Advance Parole they will not let her back in the country and she will have to apply for a K3 or CR1 visa which will take another 8 to 12 months.

[gwenneh 7]

If she leaves the country after marriage before getting Advance Parole they will not let her back in the country and she will have to apply for a K3 or CR1 visa which will take another 8 to 12 months.

This is not strictly true.

If you get the K-1, marry, and leave *before* filing AOS, then you do *not* need AP to get back into the country. You can still come and go as a tourist at this point - but you will need a new visa at whatever time you decide to settle in the US. This is my own story, and I'm very familiar with this situation! If you do enter on the K-1, and then leave before filing for AOS, you cannot file for AOS based on the K-1 visa. You will start from scratch.

If you get the K-1, file for AOS, then leave the country - yes, you'd need AP or to abandon the AOS process formally (in which case you'd need another visa at whatever point you want to settle in the US). You may have trouble getting back into the country with this option, as you've already declared immigrant intent by filing for the visa and AOS. At the very least, be prepared for heavy questioning about your ties to your country of residence!

If you stick around for long enough to get the green card, you need to maintain residency in the US both through physical presence and normal "ties" (like bank accounts, mortgages, etc.) in order to keep the green card. If you spend too much time outside of the US, you are considered to have abandoned your permanent resident status, and it is not easy to enter the country after that (happened to a woman in front of us at the airport once, I do NOT recommend it!)

In effect, there is no way to do what the OP is asking for on a K-1 visa. If you don't intend to settle in the US, then don't apply for a visa which has a residency requirement. You can marry in the US without a K-1 visa if you do not intend to settle in the US, and then still come and go as a tourist - you will just need to apply for a spousal visa at whatever time you do decide to settle.

Clear as mud, isn't it?

Edited October 19, 2007 by Gwen666

[pushbrk 12,569]

Hello all,

Thanks for reading. For my fiance, entering as a tourist is not a problem. However the greencard process will heavily interfere with our plans after marriage. Can we forego that process until we are ready to settle permanently in the US? Can she, after our honeymoon, reenter the U.S., as a tourist with no problems? It seems logical but does the goverment work logically? Thanks a bunch. It is much appreciated!!! B)

Mike

Have you filed for a K-1 ? if so you must marry in 90 days of her entry into the USA, then you have to file AOS or she will be illegally after the 90 days.

Just to clarify... if you get married within 90 days and then do not file for AOS within those same 90 days, then you're out of status once the 90 days are up, not illegal. Big difference.

Same thing I think, as the visa has expired and the K-1 is visa used for entry. Once expired whether its a k visa or tourist visa or no visa you are then here illegally.Also I dont know if you can do AOS after the visa has expired. IMHO

The K1 visa is dead and gone once the holder enters the US. Its expiration date has nothing to do with anything at all except how much time they have from visa issue date until it must be used to enter the US or become invalid. It is possible to enter and have the visa expire the next day or enter the day after the visa is issued, leaving nearly six months of visa validity. None of that matters to the status after entry. The 90 day clock has begun either way.

The immigrant's status after entry is derived by the I-94 stapled in their passport with a 90 day expiration. There is no firm requirement to file AOS during the 90 days, but the terms of the visa do require the couple to marry, each other, in the USA during the 90 days or the visa holder must leave the US.

After entry on the K1 visa, the intending immigrant can no longer use any other visa to re-enter the US. They must apply for and receive Advanced Parole or a Green Card before they can legally leave and re-enter the US.

[gwenneh 7]

After entry on the K1 visa, the intending immigrant can no longer use any other visa to re-enter the US. They must apply for and receive Advanced Parole or a Green Card before they can legally leave and re-enter the US.

Sorry, but that is absolutely not true. If you leave before filing AOS, the K-1 is a non-issue in re-entry to the US as long as you did not overstay the date on the I-94. You can re-enter on a tourist visa or VWP after entering on a K-1 visa - but you can no longer adjust status from the K-1 should you wish to settle.

I have several letters from the US Embassy in London stating this, as part of the "packet of doom" my husband and I travel with. He has a K-1 in his passport and we have been back to the US multiple times in the nearly two years since it was stuck in there. We have not ever had a problem due to the used K-1 in his passport - the officers sometimes comment on it, but that is it.

[pushbrk 12,569]

After entry on the K1 visa, the intending immigrant can no longer use any other visa to re-enter the US. They must apply for and receive Advanced Parole or a Green Card before they can legally leave and re-enter the US.

Sorry, but that is absolutely not true. If you leave before filing AOS, the K-1 is a non-issue in re-entry to the US as long as you did not overstay the date on the I-94. You can re-enter on a tourist visa or VWP after entering on a K-1 visa - but you can no longer adjust status from the K-1 should you wish to settle.

I have several letters from the US Embassy in London stating this, as part of the "packet of doom" my husband and I travel with. He has a K-1 in his passport and we have been back to the US multiple times in the nearly two years since it was stuck in there. We have not ever had a problem due to the used K-1 in his passport - the officers sometimes comment on it, but that is it.

And you have advanced parole or not?

[gwenneh 7]

No, we do not have AP. We never filed for AOS, so AP was not necessary.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Gwen666