HELP please!

[navi 0]

Hi there this is the first time i post in this forum.

Story - I m a citizen and just got married with my wife 2 wks ago - she is on a B-1/B-2 visa from Hong Kong. She lost her I-94 after arriving the US and we filed a replacement and have a receipt from the USCIS (an I-797C notice of action).

Since all the papers ask for the I-94 number and of cos we dont have that now - can we use the receipt number on the I-797C? I checked their processing updates and they are taking forever - her visa is due in september and what if the I-94 replacement doesnt arrive then? will she be forced to leave the US?

Thanks for all your help and really appreicate it

Iv

[Peter Miami 0]

I am sorry I do not know enough of the AOS process to help you but I would definitely start calling; NVC, customer service, your local immigration office, etc. To see what they tell you.

Good luck,

Peter Miami

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Include a copy of the NOA for replacement I-94 with your AOS application... and on the form where it asks for I-94 # just put "not available".....

Good Luck

Kezzie

[sjoefl01 1]

Nobody is going to remove your wife from the country because she lost the I 94. There are a lot of people that will want to see it though. You need to get that replaced.

Almost everybody in this forumm has an expired visa. That is not a big deal. She is legal because of the marriage on the K1 visa and if you did this within 90 days there is no problem.

[meauxna 15]

Nobody is going to remove your wife from the country because she lost the I 94. There are a lot of people that will want to see it though. You need to get that replaced.

Almost everybody in this forumm has an expired visa. That is not a big deal. She is legal because of the marriage on the K1 visa and if you did this within 90 days there is no problem.

Where do you see mention of a K-1? I see B1.

Marriage on its own, even with a K-1 visa, does not make anyone 'legal' (although getting married within the 90 days is a requirement toward a K-1 becomming legal).

[sjoefl01 1]

I missed the b1 / b2. I thought it was K1.

You have an interesting choice of words. By virtue of the fact that K1's are offered EAD and AP authorizations while they wait for adjustment I assumed that the USCIS considers them to be in the counrty legally. You seem to say that they are here illegally after the I 94 expires. This puts the USCIS in the position of giving work and travel authorization to people that are in the country illegally. That would also imply that the DMV was giving DL's to illegals as well as Social Security. I would like to see this law. Nothing is illegal unless there is a law that has been passed against it. I can't understand why the DOS would give you a visa to become illegal in the US.

Nobody is going to remove your wife from the country because she lost the I 94. There are a lot of people that will want to see it though. You need to get that replaced.

Almost everybody in this forumm has an expired visa. That is not a big deal. She is legal because of the marriage on the K1 visa and if you did this within 90 days there is no problem.

Where do you see mention of a K-1? I see B1.

Marriage on its own, even with a K-1 visa, does not make anyone 'legal' (although getting married within the 90 days is a requirement toward a K-1 becomming legal).

[meauxna 15]

I missed the b1 / b2. I thought it was K1.

You have an interesting choice of words. By virtue of the fact that K1's are offered EAD and AP authorizations while they wait for adjustment I assumed that the USCIS considers them to be in the counrty legally. You seem to say that they are here illegally after the I 94 expires. This puts the USCIS in the position of giving work and travel authorization to people that are in the country illegally. That would also imply that the DMV was giving DL's to illegals as well as Social Security. I would like to see this law. Nothing is illegal unless there is a law that has been passed against it. I can't understand why the DOS would give you a visa to become illegal in the US.

It's mainly hair splitting, but a K-1 AOS applicant is no different from any other AOS applicant with one exception; their special requirement is to marry their USC petitioner within the first 90 days of entry.

K-1s can apply for work and travel permission with, or after, their AOS application (I-485) just like any other AOS applicant. It is the I-485 submission that gives the adjustment applicant a legal status, not marriage to a USC (tho in the K-1's case, you couldn't have one without the other!). I'm clarifying that it is not the *marriage* that makes them 'legal', but the filing of the I-485.

Yes, even K-1s are technically out of status after their I-94 expiration date if they have not filed their I-485. It is a good idea for a K-1 to get their AOS application submitted before that 90 days expires, but as a practical matter, not everyone is able to accomplish that, and their is no penalty for that type of 'violation' for the spouse of a USC. Delays of over 180 days would suggest that the applicant should not also apply for/use Advance Parole, as a ban could still be incurred.

So to clarify, the DOS doesn't give you a visa to become illegal. A k-1 is expected to do a couple of things when they get to the US. One of them is marry their USC petitioner in the first 90 days, the other is to file for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident if they intend to live in the US. If they do not intend to live in the US, the K-1 should leave before the 90 day expiration on the I-94.

These laws are all posted at uscis.gov, and you can find the links to the parts you want on the related page (ie, AOS laws are cited on the page 'how do i become a permanent resident while in the US' etc).

[timelena 0]

navi,

As far as I understand, you do not risk a lot by filing the AOS package for your wife before you get the replacement I-94. If they accept the copy of your I-797C it would be fine. If they don't, you will get a RFE, and will have to send them a copy of your replacement I-94 as soon as you get it.

I am not an expert, though

[meauxna 15]

Hi there this is the first time i post in this forum.

Story - I m a citizen and just got married with my wife 2 wks ago - she is on a B-1/B-2 visa from Hong Kong. She lost her I-94 after arriving the US and we filed a replacement and have a receipt from the USCIS (an I-797C notice of action).

Since all the papers ask for the I-94 number and of cos we dont have that now - can we use the receipt number on the I-797C? I checked their processing updates and they are taking forever - her visa is due in september and what if the I-94 replacement doesnt arrive then? will she be forced to leave the US?

Thanks for all your help and really appreicate it

Iv

There is a fresh thread on this topic at BE. Pay close attention to Folinskyinla's comments and questions: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showpost.ph...57&postcount=11

[Yodrak 7]

sjoefl,

You have an interesting distortion of meauxna's words. K1s are in the USA illegally after their I-94 expires - unless they have applied to adjust status. Certainly they are accumulating out-of-status time if they have not applied for adjustment. You do seem to recognize that a K1's basis for EAD and AP is that they have a pending AOS application.

As meauxna wrote, marriage alone does not make anyone 'legal', not even a K1 ....

Yodrak

I missed the b1 / b2. I thought it was K1.

You have an interesting choice of words. By virtue of the fact that K1's are offered EAD and AP authorizations while they wait for adjustment I assumed that the USCIS considers them to be in the counrty legally. You seem to say that they are here illegally after the I 94 expires. This puts the USCIS in the position of giving work and travel authorization to people that are in the country illegally. That would also imply that the DMV was giving DL's to illegals as well as Social Security. I would like to see this law. Nothing is illegal unless there is a law that has been passed against it. I can't understand why the DOS would give you a visa to become illegal in the US.

Nobody is going to remove your wife from the country because she lost the I 94. There are a lot of people that will want to see it though. You need to get that replaced.

Almost everybody in this forumm has an expired visa. That is not a big deal. She is legal because of the marriage on the K1 visa and if you did this within 90 days there is no problem.

Where do you see mention of a K-1? I see B1.

Marriage on its own, even with a K-1 visa, does not make anyone 'legal' (although getting married within the 90 days is a requirement toward a K-1 becomming legal).

Edited June 7, 2006 by Yodrak