Adjustment of status...

[mrsB 0]

Is it possible to enter the U.S. through the visa waiver program and immediately apply for adjustment of status to become a lawful permanent resident? Can they/will they kick you out of the country? I am the wife of an US citizen and I just got the e-mail today saying that the papers have been sent (to my husband) stating that our visa application has been denied (after over 2 years of processing).

If adjustment of status to LPR is possible, how long will it take?

I read about the adjustment from http://www.usafa.edu/superintendent/ja/Imm...?catname=JA#lpr

and it says:

"Foreign Spouses Already In the United States Can “Adjust Their Status” to LPR

A foreign spouse who is already in the United States in some status, e.g., as a non-immigrant visitor, or through admission under the Visa Waiver Program, can apply to adjust his or her status to lawful permanent residence by first having the U.S. citizen or LPR spouse file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on his or her behalf, at the appropriate Service Center address, above. Once the I-130 is approved, the foreign spouse must file a Form I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status. This is also filed at the appropriate Service Center, at the address, above. However, if the sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen, both applications can be filed at the same time at the local USCIS office in the district in which the couple resides. To find the address for the local USCIS district office, please refer to the USCIS website, www.uscis.gov."

I guess we should've just done that the first time I visited the US... but it has now also been more than 2 years since we were married, so there shouldn't be any questions about the marriage being real. Well, there shouldn't have been to begin with, the amount of evidence we've been sending in.

Could use some help/advice/info ASAP, thanks.

[john_and_marlene 162]

Why was your visa denied?

[Darnell 8,478]

The 'process' you described is also covered here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Generally speaking, a spouse of a US citizen can file for adjustment of status if she is present in the United States.

However . . . since you are married already, the correct visa for you is a CR-1 (IR-I if you are married longer than 2 years). Entering with the intent to adjust status is visa fraud, and visa fraud can lead to deportation with a lifetime ban attached. They often won't make intent an issue since it's difficult to prove, unless there's a paper trail. And you have a paper trail, nicely presented to them.

Keep in mind that your application for a visa has just recently been denied (for reasons I don't know). If you now enter the US as a tourist to circumvent this, and they look at your immigration file, which they will, they have you by the balls. Since you have no balls (hopefully), they probably grab you by your hair (assuming you have hair), put your hands behind your back, and lock you up in a detention center. Detention centers are private run institutions that are just awful places to be.

My advice therefore: forgettaboutit!

[mrsB 0]

Wait... I can't even travel to SEE my husband anymore? I already only saw him maybe twice a year as it was... FOR 5,5 YEARS.

[mrsB 0]

I have probably around 2000 dollars worth of stuff in the USA, friends and my husband's family who are like my own family... and I'm suddenly not allowed to enter the country? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIHHHHIIII...

[lucyrich 20]

I don't know why the visa was denied, but whatever the reason, it probably presents an obstacle to entering the US on VWP, and it almost certainly presents an obstacle to adjusting status. The criteria for adjusting status are pretty similar to the criteria for getting an immigrant visa.

But for the sake of argument, let's pretend that the reason for the visa denial was something that you have addressed and completely eliminated.

In that case, you should be able to go back and get the visa as you originally planned to.

If you enter on the VWP, you give up the right to any appeal of a decision against you. You swear that you are entering the US for the purpose of a visit of 90 days or shorter. You guarantee you intend to return at the end of the 90 days. In order to enter on the VWP, you've got to demonstrate to the officer at the port of entry that your visit is temporary. He'll have access to your previous immigration file and the fact that you applied for a visa and were denied. He'll know the reason for the denial. At the very least, the fact that you applied for a visa will make it look like you might have immigrant intent, and will make it more difficult to demonstrate non-immigrant intent. You will be questioned, and will have to swear up and down that you really don't want to stay in the US, and they'll get that on the record.

I doubt you'll get in on the VWP, but you might.

Let's suppose you convince the officer that you don't intend to immigrate, and he grants you entry. Now, if you file to adjust status, you will be submitting evidence that you DID intend to immigrate, just after you worked so hard to convince the officer that you didn't intend to immigrate. It's going to look like your entry on the VWP was a misrepresentation, which of course it was. If they pick up on the misrepresentation, which they surely will, that will mean denial of adjustment of status, deportation, and a permanent bar.

[Darnell 8,478]

is this right?

In that case, you should be able to go back and get the visa as you originally planned to. = apply again. YES ?

[pushbrk 12,884]

I have probably around 2000 dollars worth of stuff in the USA, friends and my husband's family who are like my own family... and I'm suddenly not allowed to enter the country? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIHHHHIIII...

Complying with US Immigration laws is mandatory if you wish to reside in the USA. If your spouse visa was denied, there's a reason. Deal with that first, if possible. If not, your husband can immigrate to the UK.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Complying with US Immigration laws is mandatory if you wish to reside in the USA. If your spouse visa was denied, there's a reason. Deal with that first, if possible. If not, your husband can immigrate to the UK.

Why UK? She's from Finland...

[mrsB 0]

I will get into more detail on our case a bit later (as I'm at work atm), but a thought just occurred to me...

When we originally filed the I-130, we also filed I-129F, which is on my timeline... However, the USCIS immediately messed up the I-129F, writing our names wrong on that one. We spent the whole processing time battling to get them to discard the I-129F, which THEY suggested would be the best thing to do in December 2008 when they said the I-129F had only been slowing our process down. We then agreed to discard the I-129F, but it resurfaced in April 2009. My husband went to see the USCIS people by appointment, in which he AGAIN asked for the I-129F to be dropped as it hadn't been yet. And again, the USCIS promised to take care of it. Yet, the I-129F resurfaced AGAIN in September 2009 when we got our intent to deny with both the I-130 and I-129F. We were instructed to NOT send evidence in regards of the I-129F, to make sure it'd die away. We also sent a specific letter (for the 2nd time) to ask again for the USCIS to discard it as it was not neccessary. But now that I got the e-mail about the denial decision... it's for both the I-130 and the I-129F... so wth, they NEVER discarded it? Could it be that the I-129F and the fact that we didn't send evidence for it messed up the whole case? I know this is kind of speculation as it'll probably a few more days yet before we receive the actual paperwork.

But I am going to whip up the money from somewhere to sue their asses for all the time and money wasted and to be in the American spirit, I'll sue them for emotional suffering or what not... I don't know, I'm just furious, to put it simply. 2 years of fighting to even get them to spell our names right... and then denied!

[pushbrk 12,884]

Why UK? She's from Finland...

Right, Finland.