Whoa I have a BONAFIDE immigration question!!!

[Sprailenes 47]

Okay so I have a question about people who come into the country get married and file from here...

Let's say someone comes here on a visitors visa from another country and gets married while here and file for AOS. They claim that they weren't planning on being married prior to his arrival. But two months after his arrival they have a BIG planned wedding. The thing is... this wedding was planned well before his arrival and there is receipts and everything else proving so.

Do these guys have a lot to worry about?

I told them I was unsure.

Man it sure feels good to have done things the right way. I can't imagine stressing out over this kind of ####### along with filing papers and everything else.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

The only excuse I can think of is if the person claims they were intending on going down to the US to get married, and then return to their own country afterward. Staying here and doing AOS was a spontaneous thing based on extraordinary factors. I guess it would depend... did the person retain ties to Canada before moving? Did they lied to the IO when crossing into the US?

If I were them I'd be worried, for sure! I'm with you... It's nice to know we did this the right way, much less to worry about.

[Sprailenes 47]

Not from Canada he is from S. Africa.

I guess he must have lied... I mean I think they both knew they were going to get married and try to do things this way. The thing is, many people just don't research it and they think that this is the way to get in to stay. It's not. They had no idea about AOS, visas or anything. They did not research a thing.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Sprailenes

[Sprailenes 47]

Oh and BTW your avatar is KILLING ME WITH ABSOLUTE CUTE! Wonderful wedding picture huggles! I luff it!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Oh and BTW your avatar is KILLING ME WITH ABSOLUTE CUTE! Wonderful wedding picture huggles! I luff it!

Thank you!! It was a great day!

And yeah... This guy is definitely in for an uphill battle. If he came and intended on staying, lied at the border, and can't prove he intended on returning to S. Africa? I don't see how that will have a good outcome.

[trailmix 77]

omg a bonafide imm question

They will get away with it and all will be well.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

They probably will get away with it but they should still worry. If the wedding was obviously big and looks like it took a lot of planning, they may find that they will have to prove that they had no intention of getting married upon his arrival - it might be hard to do if there are receipts signed before his arrival for a wedding. The second problem would come with lying to both immigration and the border authorities that they had no intentions when they obviously did. If they are questioned at an interview or through an RFE it is up to them to prove there was no intent, and if they are unsuccessful there are two possible outcomes - a denial (and there is no appeal allowed if you try to adjust from a visitor's visa) with whatever overstay days he has accumulated and the possible ban, which would require a waiver with any future spousal visa applications - or a denial with a permanent ban due to misrepresentation to USCIS.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Kathryn41

[Sprailenes 47]

Yea... I don't want to cause them any worry at all, I'll just say things will be fine. It really isn't my problem and why cause them to worry more? They are hiring a lawyer too so I'll leave it up to the guy with the degree to tell them what's right and what's not.

It's so funny though how people just assume they know how the process works. When Mike first left Canada and we began the K1 visa process, I expressed to my friends how much I missed him and they were like: "Well why not just move there and marry him" as if it were so simple.

Do these people not look up the avenues? I wouldn't just show up on a foreign countries doorstep expecting to get in... I'd explore my options.

But I guess that's what separates us from the not-so-bright ones eh.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Sprailenes

[redmen99 1]

Yea... I don't want to cause them any worry at all, I'll just say things will be fine. It really isn't my problem and why cause them to worry more? They are hiring a lawyer too so I'll leave it up to the guy with the degree to tell them what's right and what's not.

It's so funny though how people just assume they know how the process works. When Mike first left Canada and we began the K1 visa process, I expressed to my friends how much I missed him and they were like: "Well why not just move there and marry him" as if it were so simple.

Do these people not look up the avenues? I wouldn't just show up on a foreign countries doorstep expecting to get in... I'd explore my options.

But I guess that's what separates us from the not-so-bright ones eh.

My hubby and I used to be one of those not-so-bright ones. Friends of ours went through the K1 process and that's how we found VJ. Boy did we have a very rude awakening!

Best of luck to your friends.... they will need it.

[Sprailenes 47]

Yea I think we were all the not-so-bright ones at the very start. I thought it was okay too to just move down. Especially being from Canada, yes I figured because we were neighbors it would be SUPER EASY.

[redmen99 1]

Yea I think we were all the not-so-bright ones at the very start. I thought it was okay too to just move down. Especially being from Canada, yes I figured because we were neighbors it would be SUPER EASY.

I was laid off for 8 months last year so I spent alot of time in Canada with him. If it wasn't for going through customs, I would easily forget Canada is another country. Its not much different then being "home"... But then again I always said home is where my honey is.

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

I was clueless before we filed too I thought marrying first was a big 'NO NO' and that nothing like a K3 existed. I also thought that we would just apply, and I would pack and move.....HAHAHAHA!.....boy that sure made the wait longer! But my lawyer was pretty accurate with wait times, he said 8 months and that's pretty much how long it took...well 9ish...

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I was clueless before filing too.

I thought I could just go down and marry my fiance and AOS.

Boy was I wrong

At least I got caught at the border instead of getting through and getting deported.

[antda 13]

Hi Sprailenes and Everyone,

Ok, let me start by saying that I was one of those people who "came into the country, got married, and filed from here"....

Nothing pre-planned for us though...no clue about immigration beforehand...I only wanted to come for a visit for 1-2 weeks to visit my boyfriend/husband, especially for their birthday. In fact they gave me a visitor's visa for that long (even though it wasn't required for Canadians) to make sure I would return back to Canada, which I wanted to do anyways.

But after a bad POE experience, and other personal and family factors, we thought: "What the heck, let's just get married here in the USA!"

Besides, we knew each other for many years beforehand, and knew it was the right thing to do for us.

So that's what we did...got married (eloped really, in a sponteneous small garden ceremony) within a week of my visit here...and the rest is history....

Came as a visitor...stayed as an alien/permanent resident...."The right thing to do (for us anyways)".

Then After I got married...I realized..."Uh oh....I'm stuck here illegally...". So I worried a lot (thinking I was going to get deported...oh yeah..big worry there), we did some research, searched for an immigration lawyer, and stupidly asked about a K3 visa as I thought that was the right thing to do. To which they said..."Umm..you're already here...just file for the AOS", to which we did, they helped us with our case, we filed the AOS paperwork (a lot of stress there too), and I was eventually approved...

And well, the rest is history immigration-wise as I'm still legally here in the USA....Forever!

Anyways, my story aside...The point is: The Visitor to AOS route worked for me, but I can't say that it works for everyone.

It especially doesn't work when one has the intent beforehand. And that would be immigration fraud/illegal, indeed! So as far as your friend goes, they are commiting immigration fraud, which more likely than not means deportation and/or other serious consequences. It doesn't help either that they planned a big wedding, and has proof of such too. I'm sure the USCIS will ask about that during their interview (they asked about my wedding during my interview), and well...They can't lie their way out of that one!

So yes, your friend does have to worry, by doing something seen as illegal by the USCIS. And eventually they will get caught, at some point or other.

They might as well make other plans now (file for a K3 or CR/IR visa instead...), so that they don't face further trouble....

Hope this helps. Good luck to your friend and good luck to you on your immigration journey.

Ant

Okay so I have a question about people who come into the country get married and file from here...

Let's say someone comes here on a visitors visa from another country and gets married while here and file for AOS. They claim that they weren't planning on being married prior to his arrival. But two months after his arrival they have a BIG planned wedding. The thing is... this wedding was planned well before his arrival and there is receipts and everything else proving so.

Do these guys have a lot to worry about?

I told them I was unsure.

Man it sure feels good to have done things the right way. I can't imagine stressing out over this kind of ####### along with filing papers and everything else.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[Jewel-8 21]

Okay so I have a question about people who come into the country get married and file from here...

Let's say someone comes here on a visitors visa from another country and gets married while here and file for AOS. They claim that they weren't planning on being married prior to his arrival. But two months after his arrival they have a BIG planned wedding. The thing is... this wedding was planned well before his arrival and there is receipts and everything else proving so.

Do these guys have a lot to worry about?

I told them I was unsure.

Man it sure feels good to have done things the right way. I can't imagine stressing out over this kind of ####### along with filing papers and everything else.

I was told by an immigration attorney a few days after getting engaged and him going back to the UK that I SHOULD HAVE just married him and done AOS. I'm glad I didn't as it would have been a big red flag. He had someone else petitioning him for K1 about 3 years ago and I think they will be reviewing our case harshly enough already.

Also, he would have had just his job and a month-to-month lease to backup his ties to the UK. He would have had to go back even if we had gotten more serious about it while we were stopped in Vegas.

I'm glad I didn't do what the lawyer advised and have him come back and stay. The lawyers just want to get a paycheck and I often think they are gambling with our lives.

Edited September 19, 2009 by JewelX