Continuation of customs officers killing our trip... passport questions

[antda 13]

Hi Garnet80,

Lol..Yes, as Krikit mentioned before in the other thread...

Dec 6 2009, 08:05 AM

I see one of two choices. He either goes home before the I-94 expires, or you marry and he stays and adjusts status.

There was no intent to marry when he entered. They sort of forced his hand, though. There are a few people this has happened to.... same type of circumstances. Ant is one.

And yes, I (Ant) am one of those people, as mentioned.....

It's not illegal to come the US to visit and then get married while down here for a visit from Canada. As long as you came here WITHOUT INTENTION to get married in the first place on your visit and not do this as to avoid and/or break immigration laws, then it's fine and legal to do.

From what I read, I admit, it sounds like how my boyfriend (now husband) and I felt about our relationship: Before I came to the USA for a vist, and he was still visiting me in Canada (I couldn't go over to the USA at that time due to other commitments, so he came to visit me in Canada for many years on a live-in relationship basis), we jokingly talked about getting married someday but with no plans of getting married in mind, be it that we loved each other. However, I was unsure about getting married and wanted more time to think about this. As well, he wanted me to visit his family and area he lived in before we made such a decision, and even said to me "you either come down to the USA for a visit only, or we call it quits". So I did just that, gave everything up, packed only a few bags of stuff, some identification, my passport, and not too much paperwork to show ties to Canada (I was a student back then), didn't tell anyone else in Canada that I was coming over, and came over with the intention of just visiting. Immigration interrogated us about that (for 2 hours, scary with them threatening to call my ex-family in Canada too, but didn't do such thank goodness), and because of that, only gave me a B2 visitor's visa with an I-94 issued for 2 weeks (yes, under certain circumstances, Canadians do get visitor's visas and I-94s). Well the time that I spent with him and his family here in the USA ended up being a positive experience and further confirmed our prior thoughts that marriage was right for us. So before my two week visitor's visa was about to expire, we got married here in the USA. Then we realized...uh oh..I might be here illegally...Not knowing what else to do, we then contacted an immigration lawyer, who told us do the Visitor to AOS route, which worked out well for us, we got our case approved, and the rest is history (see my vj timeline for more info)....

From what I read that you posted, you were kind of thinking along the same lines too, wanting to "try it out", before you made that "commitment of marriage" and were just here for a visit in order to do this, and hence had no intent of commiting fraud there. Understandable, since marriage is a "lifetime commitment" and you don't want to jump into things before you are ready for such. It's good that you and your partner talked about such a commitment before you make such a decision and are ready for such indeed. In my opinion, based on what you have mentioned, I think that you should go for the Visitor to AOS route, as when you first came here, you did not 100% want to get married in the first place. And added to the fact that you did not make any definite wedding/marriage plans before your visit justifies this. People can change their minds when they come into the country for a visit, and that's ok too, and oddly enough, immigration allows for this "change of mind" too.

So the direction I would steer you towards is (which is prefectly legal to do): First of all, make sure the divorce is finalized. One cannot get married unless they are "free and legal to marry". Then get married as soon as legally possible and to file for the AOS paperwork and gather the evidence for such, as soon as possible. However, bear in mind that while you are filing your AOS, you will be somewhat "illegal" here, with no ways of establishing your legal status here until you are approved (for example, no job, no bank account, no social security card, no driver's license, etc.). You cannot go back to Canada either, unless you get advance parole and/or your AOS case is approved. And that if your case is denied, you will have no way to appeal this decision either. So if that's the big immigration risk you are willing to take for the next few months (3-6 months, I think based on current AOS processing times), I say go for it.

However, If you HAD INTENTION you're probably better off legally filing for the following marriage visas:

K1 (fiance visa...go back to Canada, file the paperwork, get married in the USA, adjust status),

K3 (marriage visa...go back to Canada, get married in Canada, file paperwork, come to the USA, adjust status),

CR (marriage visa...go back to Canada, get married in Canada, file paperwork, come to the USA...)

This might include some separation, but rest assured, that time will pass by quickly, and before you know it, you will be reunited again...

And it helps that other vjers here too have gone through the same/similar thing, so you are not alone here...

For more info about the different types of marriage visas, you can check out the visa journey "guides" section here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=guides

Oh and when you are questioned by an immigration officer: Tell the truth, be honest, and you should be ok there...

Hope this helps you further. Good luck with the rest of your journey too.

Ant

P.S. It doesn't matter if there is an age gap between you and your partner. Lol...likewise, my husband and I have an age gap too (more than 11 years, I can tell you..lol...), and it has never come into question when going through the immigration processes.....(then again, we don't look our ages anyways, but that's another story..lol...)

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=231635 <- first thread... kind of taking a life of its own so starting again.

So to sum it up, my finace and I planned a three month trip. He lives in Canada, and I live in the US. We had the roundtrip ticket, and 3 months of travelers health insurance purchased.

He got stopped and grilled... they also called me, my mother, and his father. They told him to log into their computer where they read his email and chat logs.

We were planning to most likely get married before he left, then he would go home and we would file the CR1. I can't get married before February 8th, due to my pending divorce. Been separated a couple years, just couldn't afford it until now. I can't afford to miss work, no paid time off.

We have a whole lot of bad things going against us. I am 11 years older than my fiance, we have only had two trips to meet in person, he has no strong ties to Canada (though we had zero intention of doing anything but totally by the books).

The border guard stamped his passport with no eos/cos, and only allowed him in for one month. We can't of course get married in this time frame...

Some friends of his family are suggesting this is pretty serious, that he wont be allowed back into visit the states without an extended stay visa from the US Consulate closest to where he lives. They also suggested we contact my local congress person...

Does this sound right? Are we just totally screwed? How hard is it to get a visitors visa? We just wanted him to come back one time, in like February. For two weeks.

We did absolutely nothing wrong and now he might not be able to come back into the country... I just don't understand this. And it seems we should have something we can do. Can anyone please advise? We've been hearing a bunch of things... everyone seems to have their own answer. I guess what I'm asking right now is mainly, does that stamp in his passport pretty much promise he wont make it back in for a short trip?

Thanks

Edited December 11, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[milimelo 4,486]

Ant, I think you misread - it clearly says that CBP put no EOS/AOS on the stamp in the passport so there is absolutely no AOS possible for the OP's boyfriend - and she is not divorced yet.

He will need to obey the duration of stay granted to him and next time come with a lot of proof of ties to Canada to POE and hope they will let him in and take it from there.

Hi Garnet80,

Lol..Yes, as Krikit mentioned before in the other thread...

Dec 6 2009, 08:05 AM

I see one of two choices. He either goes home before the I-94 expires, or you marry and he stays and adjusts status.

There was no intent to marry when he entered. They sort of forced his hand, though. There are a few people this has happened to.... same type of circumstances. Ant is one.

And yes, I (Ant) am one of those people, as mentioned.....

It's not illegal to come the US to visit and then get married while down here for a visit from Canada. As long as you came here WITHOUT INTENTION to get married in the first place on your visit and not do this as to avoid and/or break immigration laws, then it's fine and legal to do.

From what I read, I admit, it sounds like how my boyfriend (now husband) and I felt about our relationship: Before I came to the USA for a vist, and he was still visiting me in Canada (I couldn't go over to the USA at that time due to other commitments, so he came to visit me in Canada for many years on a live-in relationship basis), we jokingly talked about getting married someday but with no plans of getting married in mind, be it that we loved each other. However, I was unsure about getting married and wanted more time to think about this. As well, he wanted me to visit his family and area he lived in before we made such a decision, and even said to me "you either come down to the USA for a visit only, or we call it quits". So I did just that, gave everything up, packed only a few bags of stuff, some identification, my passport, and not too much paperwork to show ties to Canada (I was a student back then), didn't tell anyone else in Canada that I was coming over, and came over with the intention of just visiting. Immigration interrogated us about that (for 2 hours, scary with them threatening to call my ex-family in Canada too, but didn't do such thank goodness), and because of that, only gave me a B2 visitor's visa with an I-94 issued for 2 weeks (yes, under certain circumstances, Canadians do get visitor's visas and I-94s). Well the time that I spent with him and his family here in the USA ended up being a positive experience and further confirmed our prior thoughts that marriage was right for us. So before my two week visitor's visa was about to expire, we got married here in the USA. Then we realized...uh oh..I might be here illegally...Not knowing what else to do, we then contacted an immigration lawyer, who told us do the Visitor to AOS route, which worked out well for us, we got our case approved, and the rest is history (see my vj timeline for more info)....

From what I read that you posted, you were kind of thinking along the same lines too, wanting to "try it out", before you made that "commitment of marriage" and were just here for a visit in order to do this, and hence had no intent of commiting fraud there. Understandable, since marriage is a "lifetime commitment" and you don't want to jump into things before you are ready for such. It's good that you and your partner talked about such a commitment before you make such a decision and are ready for such indeed. In my opinion, based on what you have mentioned, I think that you should go for the Visitor to AOS route, as when you first came here, you did not 100% want to get married in the first place. And added to the fact that you did not make any definite wedding/marriage plans before your visit justifies this. People can change their minds when they come into the country for a visit, and that's ok too, and oddly enough, immigration allows for this "change of mind" too.

So the direction I would steer you towards is (which is prefectly legal to do): First of all, make sure the divorce is finalized. One cannot get married unless they are "free and legal to marry". Then get married as soon as legally possible and to file for the AOS paperwork and gather the evidence for such, as soon as possible. However, bear in mind that while you are filing your AOS, you will be somewhat "illegal" here, with no ways of establishing your legal status here until you are approved (for example, no job, no bank account, no social security card, no driver's license, etc.). You cannot go back to Canada either, unless you get advance parole and/or your AOS case is approved. And that if your case is denied, you will have no way to appeal this decision either. So if that's the big immigration risk you are willing to take for the next few months (3-6 months, I think based on current AOS processing times), I say go for it.

However, If you HAD INTENTION you're probably better off legally filing for the following marriage visas:

K1 (fiance visa...go back to Canada, file the paperwork, get married in the USA, adjust status),

K3 (marriage visa...go back to Canada, get married in Canada, file paperwork, come to the USA, adjust status),

CR (marriage visa...go back to Canada, get married in Canada, file paperwork, come to the USA...)

This might include some separation, but rest assured, that time will pass by quickly, and before you know it, you will be reunited again...

And it helps that other vjers here too have gone through the same/similar thing, so you are not alone here...

For more info about the different types of marriage visas, you can check out the visa journey "guides" section here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=guides

Oh and when you are questioned by an immigration officer: Tell the truth, be honest, and you should be ok there...

Hope this helps you further. Good luck with the rest of your journey too.

Ant

P.S. It doesn't matter if there is an age gap between you and your partner. Lol...likewise, my husband and I have an age gap too (more than 11 years, I can tell you..lol...), and it has never come into question when going through the immigration processes.....(then again, we don't look our ages anyways, but that's another story..lol...)