Can I marry and stay while on a tourist visa?

[liam07 0]

Hi all,

My girlfriend is American and we want to progress our relationship. We have seen each other for nearly 4 years on and off. She wants me to come over but it will be a month before I get back to my home country and then I will need to appy for a tourist visa.

My question is can I marry her while I'm there on a tourist visa (3 months) and if so will I be able to stay there while it is changed status to a K-1 fincee visa? Or is my best bet to apply for the K-1 as soon as I get back to my home counrty? Can she start the process before I arrive home?

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Since you have already just stated what your plans are (marrying and staying) that's fraud.

If you were to go over, just visiting and had no intention of getting married, it just sort of happened, then you could do that...but since this is premeditated, it's fraud.

You would be moving all your stuff over, quitting your job, planning it all before hand...not good and you could be facing a 10 year ban or worse.

I suggest you file the K1 and do it the legal way...or you could come over for a visit, get married then return home and file a spousal visa. I wouldn't risk your relationship and the chance to be with the love of your life just to save a few months of your life. Compared to the rest of your lives together, it's such a small amount of time to wait.

Best of luck to you!

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

lol it's been a long day, I just read your question over again...

You can't be married while on a K1, as a K1 is a fiance visa.

You could go over and marry her and file for a K3 but you would have to go home to Australia to do the medical and the interview for the K3 spousal visa.

You have to legally enter the country on a visa...you can't just come over, marry and stay...pre-planned.

[msu17 0]

Yes you can marry her when you are here, but its very risky to stay. Tourist visa's and VWP aren't to be used to move to the US. If you did marry when here, you would need to file a spousal visa, which a K1 is NOT. K1 is for FIANCE's, ie unmarried people. Being married would be automatic denial of the K1, a waste of time and money. To file the K1, you would have to wait until you were approved and moved to the US to marry

Edited June 30, 2008 by msu17

[pushbrk 13,073]

Hi all,

My girlfriend is American and we want to progress our relationship. We have seen each other for nearly 4 years on and off. She wants me to come over but it will be a month before I get back to my home country and then I will need to appy for a tourist visa.

My question is can I marry her while I'm there on a tourist visa (3 months) and if so will I be able to stay there while it is changed status to a K-1 fincee visa? Or is my best bet to apply for the K-1 as soon as I get back to my home counrty? Can she start the process before I arrive home?

You can come here on a tourist visa and marry but once married, you cannot obtain a K1 fiance visa because you're married. Yes, you can stay for as long as your I-94 allows to wait out that much of the spouse visa process but you may not stay and adjust status to permanent resident or work. This is because to enter on a tourist visa with the intent to circumvent US visa law my marrying AND ATTEMPTING to adjust status based on that marriage is visa fraud.

Marriage isn't the problem. Illegal immigration is.

[shaimore 0]

Hi all,

My girlfriend is American and we want to progress our relationship. We have seen each other for nearly 4 years on and off. She wants me to come over but it will be a month before I get back to my home country and then I will need to appy for a tourist visa.

My question is can I marry her while I'm there on a tourist visa (3 months) and if so will I be able to stay there while it is changed status to a K-1 fincee visa? Or is my best bet to apply for the K-1 as soon as I get back to my home counrty? Can she start the process before I arrive home?

You can come here on a tourist visa and marry but once married, you cannot obtain a K1 fiance visa because you're married. Yes, you can stay for as long as your I-94 allows to wait out that much of the spouse visa process but you may not stay and adjust status to permanent resident or work. This is because to enter on a tourist visa with the intent to circumvent US visa law my marrying AND ATTEMPTING to adjust status based on that marriage is visa fraud.

Marriage isn't the problem. Illegal immigration is.

Hi i come to visit my friend in US while i was working in Canada when my long lost friend back in 2005 heard me coming to visit my friend he tooks off to see me then i returned to Canada to work it happend that my employer will go away because of their house renovation and they give me a choice where i am going to stay so i ask them if i can have my chance seeing my friends in US...so i come over here and of course have a plan to go back to Canada before my I-94 expired but then it happend a friend of mind always seeing me while im on my vacationa and bring me anywhere so we develop eah other and have an affair and because of that we fell in love and we get married ...i am on the processed of my papers to send to the immigration do you think guys i can have a problem..where is i didnt plan to stay here and marry him for i rather to have my job.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes you can marry her when you are here, but its very risky to stay. Tourist visa's and VWP aren't to be used to move to the US. If you did marry when here, you would need to file a spousal visa, which a K1 is NOT. K1 is for FIANCE's, ie unmarried people. Being married would be automatic denial of the K1, a waste of time and money. To file the K1, you would have to wait until you were approved and moved to the US to marry

It's not just risky to marry and apply to stay when you enter with the intent of doing so - it is illegal. It is called visa fraud - knowingly using a visa issued for one purpose -a visit - for another purpose - to stay - in order to circumvent the regular immigration process. As had been said above, you can apply for a K-1 and she can marry when she gets here on the K-1, or you can get married beforehand and then apply for the K-3 or CR-1 (much better choice) which are processed outside of the country. When she gets the visa she is then allowed to enter and remain in the US.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hi all,

My girlfriend is American and we want to progress our relationship. We have seen each other for nearly 4 years on and off. She wants me to come over but it will be a month before I get back to my home country and then I will need to appy for a tourist visa.

My question is can I marry her while I'm there on a tourist visa (3 months) and if so will I be able to stay there while it is changed status to a K-1 fincee visa? Or is my best bet to apply for the K-1 as soon as I get back to my home counrty? Can she start the process before I arrive home?

You can come here on a tourist visa and marry but once married, you cannot obtain a K1 fiance visa because you're married. Yes, you can stay for as long as your I-94 allows to wait out that much of the spouse visa process but you may not stay and adjust status to permanent resident or work. This is because to enter on a tourist visa with the intent to circumvent US visa law my marrying AND ATTEMPTING to adjust status based on that marriage is visa fraud.

Marriage isn't the problem. Illegal immigration is.

Hi i come to visit my friend in US while i was working in Canada when my long lost friend back in 2005 heard me coming to visit my friend he tooks off to see me then i returned to Canada to work it happend that my employer will go away because of their house renovation and they give me a choice where i am going to stay so i ask them if i can have my chance seeing my friends in US...so i come over here and of course have a plan to go back to Canada before my I-94 expired but then it happend a friend of mind always seeing me while im on my vacationa and bring me anywhere so we develop eah other and have an affair and because of that we fell in love and we get married ...i am on the processed of my papers to send to the immigration do you think guys i can have a problem..where is i didnt plan to stay here and marry him for i rather to have my job.

In this case where you entered the US as a visitor and had no intention of getting married and staying when you entered, it is not considered visa fraud. There was no intention to avoid the immigration process - you met, fell in love and married while already here. You are allowed to apply to adjust status while in the US but you will have to be able to prove that you had no intent of marrying and staying when you first entered. As well, if the AOS is denied you have no right of appeal of the decision.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi all,

My girlfriend is American and we want to progress our relationship. We have seen each other for nearly 4 years on and off. She wants me to come over but it will be a month before I get back to my home country and then I will need to appy for a tourist visa.

My question is can I marry her while I'm there on a tourist visa (3 months) and if so will I be able to stay there while it is changed status to a K-1 fincee visa? Or is my best bet to apply for the K-1 as soon as I get back to my home counrty? Can she start the process before I arrive home?

You can come on a tourist visa. You can get married. You cannot adjust status and stay. You can stay as long as the tourist visa allows and then return. In the meantime, apply for a K-3 or Cr-1 visa. You cannot apply for a K-1 if you are married. And you cannot apply for a K-3 or CR-1 UNTIL you are married.

Alternatively, she could file for a K-1 NOW, you do not have to be in your home country, you could still visit (bring plenty of evidence you will return) but you could not get married until the K-1 was issued and you returned to the US with the K-1. Either way, you are going to have to return to your home country for the interview.

You cannot enter on a tousit visa with the intent to marry and adjust status.

[msu17 0]

Ummm, question almost a year old... Can we let thread die?