Married, so now what?

[CraigCam 0]

Hieu and I got married yesterday. Who do we contact to to notify that we have fulfilled the requirements of the K1 visa? Also, we were told that the certified copy of the marriage certificate would take 2 months to arrive by mail. Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof?

[payxibka 10,048]

Hieu and I got married yesterday. Who do we contact to to notify that we have fulfilled the requirements of the K1 visa? Nobody until you are ready to file the I-485

Also, we were told that the certified copy of the marriage certificate would take 2 months to arrive by mail. Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof? probably not.. needs to indicate it has been recorded. Two months? seems like a very long time

[Otto 83]

Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof?

Probably not - in Texas (for example) the license is just that (a license) until it is recorded at the county clerk's office - where it (essentially) becomes a marriage certificate.

We took ours to the clerk's office ourselves and had it recorded in person - much faster than doing it by mail.

As stated above - you notify USCIS of your 'compliance' of the K1 by filing AOS (I-485).

Congratulations on the marriage by the way...

Edited June 19, 2009 by Otto und Karin

[brlukath 1]

File for AOS as soon as possible and especially before your SO's 90 days are up.

[msu17 0]

Start getting all your AOS paperwork together (see the guide at the top of the page). A lot of people bug their county clerk and get their marriage cert. faster. Just call and explain that you need it sooner and they usually work with you. There is no official deadline as to when you have to file AOS, you aren't required to file it before her I-94 expires. However, one the I-94 does expire she is technically out of status and can be hassled by immigration. MOST people that go over the 90 days before filing AOS have absolutely no problems however I have read of 2 cases on here in the last few months of individuals who for financial reasons were unable to file before the 90 days were up and had trouble with immigration officials. There were unique circumstances for both cases, but it is safer to get it in as soon as you can. However don't stress if you send it on day 115 of her being here or something.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hieu and I got married yesterday. Who do we contact to to notify that we have fulfilled the requirements of the K1 visa? Also, we were told that the certified copy of the marriage certificate would take 2 months to arrive by mail. Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof?

The next step is to file for AOS. You need a copy of the marriage certificate that has been filed with the state or county or whoever does that in your area. You could file for AOS with the paper you a have and wait for an RFE rather than waiting two months to get the marriage certificate. Other than filing AOS there is no one to "caontact"

Congratulations

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Moving to AOS from Family-Based Visas as OP's question involves post-K1 procedures.

[J & Q 0]

Hieu and I got married yesterday. Who do we contact to to notify that we have fulfilled the requirements of the K1 visa? Also, we were told that the certified copy of the marriage certificate would take 2 months to arrive by mail. Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof?

Congratulations

[*Robert* 2]

File for AOS as soon as possible and especially before your SO's 90 days are up.

You don't have to file before 90 days... you have to be married within 90 days.

[PeterFB 0]

Congrats on your marriage!!

Your next step is to file for AOS. Don't' worry about notifying the USCIS about your marriage or new apartment. Filing your AOS will do that. Also don't worry about when you file your AOS. Thi and I didn't file right away because we had to save for the AOS fee. That didn't cause us any problems. (It's true that it could cause problems because technically she was out of of status, however, the USCIS usually doesn't do anything about that.) Now we're waiting for her green card to show up. We've been norified that it's in production so it's coming soon.

Good luck!!

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Filed AOS 2009-1-2

NOA 1 2009-1-8

Peter Nguyen Brunner born 2009-1-12

Advance Parole recieved 2009-3-27

EAD recieved 2009-3-11

AOS Interview 2009-5-20----Approved!!!!

Production of Green Card email 2009-6-18

[vickydeutsch 0]

When we got married, the clerk told us that it would take about 15 days for the certificate to arrive to our house. But it took about a week. Don't worry if you don't file right after you get married. We waited three months to start the AOS paperwork because we were saving some money But don't wait too long ...

Good luck!!!

[Jack & Xuan 0]

Peter,

I am kind of in the same boat as J&Q. Xuan are married now and looking to file the AOS. Other then the documents listed on the guide is there anything else that would be helpful to send along. Like in the I-129 they wanted proof but as I found out later, it would have been helpful to send more then what they requested.

Also on Xuan's actual Visa there is a line that says the "Experiation date of the petition is 16 July 2009" but the I-94 expires 18 Aug 2009. Do we need to file the AOS before the petition expires? I am a bit confused on that part.

Any advice is as always helpful.

Thanks,

Jack & Xuan

Congrats on your marriage!!

Your next step is to file for AOS. Don't' worry about notifying the USCIS about your marriage or new apartment. Filing your AOS will do that. Also don't worry about when you file your AOS. Thi and I didn't file right away because we had to save for the AOS fee. That didn't cause us any problems. (It's true that it could cause problems because technically she was out of of status, however, the USCIS usually doesn't do anything about that.) Now we're waiting for her green card to show up. We've been norified that it's in production so it's coming soon.

Good luck!!

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Filed AOS 2009-1-2

NOA 1 2009-1-8

Peter Nguyen Brunner born 2009-1-12

Advance Parole recieved 2009-3-27

EAD recieved 2009-3-11

AOS Interview 2009-5-20----Approved!!!!

Production of Green Card email 2009-6-18

[PeterFB 0]

Peter,

I am kind of in the same boat as J&Q. Xuan are married now and looking to file the AOS. Other then the documents listed on the guide is there anything else that would be helpful to send along. Like in the I-129 they wanted proof but as I found out later, it would have been helpful to send more then what they requested.

Also on Xuan's actual Visa there is a line that says the "Experiation date of the petition is 16 July 2009" but the I-94 expires 18 Aug 2009. Do we need to file the AOS before the petition expires? I am a bit confused on that part.

Any advice is as always helpful.

Thanks,

Jack & Xuan

Congrats on your marriage!!

Your next step is to file for AOS. Don't' worry about notifying the USCIS about your marriage or new apartment. Filing your AOS will do that. Also don't worry about when you file your AOS. Thi and I didn't file right away because we had to save for the AOS fee. That didn't cause us any problems. (It's true that it could cause problems because technically she was out of of status, however, the USCIS usually doesn't do anything about that.) Now we're waiting for her green card to show up. We've been norified that it's in production so it's coming soon.

Good luck!!

AOS is pretty simple. It's mainly the forms plus the docs about your financials, birth certificates (you need to have English translations of any Vietnamese docs), etc. A cover letter is a good idea where you tell the USCIS what it is you're sending them.

For the interview we took a lot of pictures, joint bills (gas, electric, etc), hospital bills for our son, etc. Unlike HCMC they ask you for any docs you think will help prove your relationship then look at them. You can also discuss your evidence. etc and they'll listen. There's a couple of posts about our interview you can find here if you want more details. But unless there's some issues, most of the time it's not a problem if you got married within the 90 days. For most people the interview is about 15 minutes, then you're approved.

The difference in the dates isn't inportant if you get married within 90 days of your arrival. If you don't then she's suppose to leave by the date of the I-94, unless she gets an extension possible in certain cases. If she's still in the US after that date, she falls out of status, ie becomes illegal which means possible fines, jail time, etc if the US decides to enforce the law. Filling for AOS should be done asap after the marriage when you have your marriage license, etc that you need for filling. However we didn't file until much later (see our timeline below) but that didn't cause any problems in our case.

The AOS is simple compared to the K1 Visa process.

Good Luck

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Filed AOS 2009-1-2

NOA 1 2009-1-8

Peter Nguyen Brunner born 2009-1-12

Advance Parole recieved 2009-3-27

EAD recieved 2009-3-11

AOS Interview 2009-5-20----Approved!!!!

Production of Green Card email 2009-6-18

[brlukath 1]

File for AOS as soon as possible and especially before your SO's 90 days are up.

You don't have to file before 90 days... you have to be married within 90 days.

If you don't file for AOS before the 90 days are up, your SO will be out of status. Without going into an actual review of the law, VJ gives a correct summary of the situation:

"6.1)...How soon after we get married should we apply for Adjustment of Status?

A..Right away, or at least right after your honeymoon. You should make every effort to get the Adjustment application filed within 90 days of the fiance(e) entering the United States, which is when the K-1 status expires, as indicated on the I-94.

Filing for Adjustment of Status within the 90 days protects your legal status. Your legal status as a K1 expires after 90 days, married or not. The only way to protect your legal status is to apply for Adjustment of Status, and the only way to maintain continuous legal status is to file for AOS before the K1 visa expires.... "