Getting married while in the US on a tourist visa

[EmVee 4]

Hi everyone,

I successfully navigated my own immigration from the UK on a fiancee visa a few years ago (thanks to this forum for lots of help!). Now my sister in law wants to marry her french boyfriend, and I can't remember any of the rules.

He is here on a tourist visa, and they're planning a quick wedding. Then he'll stay here and is planning to apply for permission to work. My questions are:

Why don't more people do it this way? This is surely more straightforward than applying for a fiancee visa or a spousal visa, so there must be a reason most of us fill in all that crazy paperwork!

How long does the EAD take these days?

Any other advice?

Thanks so much in advance!

- Helen

Like other people have mentioned, the reason everyone doesn't do it this way is because it's illegal to come here on VWP with intent to marry and remain in the US. It's not illegal to come on VWP and get married if you go home and apply for CR-1, and it's also not illegal to come here on VWP and get married SPONTANEOUSLY and adjust status. But you're not allowed come over with prior intent to play the system by getting married and applying within the US. Stupid system, in my opinion, but that's how it is at the moment. If your sister in law's French boyfriend is already in the US then they can go ahead and file for AOS after they get married, assuming they haven't left a really obvious trail of evidence in their wake that would imply they intended to do this all along. He doesn't have to go back to France, and it doesn't necessarily take longer to process than a K-1 or CR-1.

The EAD depends on how many cases are filed ahead of theirs. Right now, myself and the other February filers on the forum are all pretty much steaming ahead with the paperwork, most of us have the biometrics either completed or lined up for the coming week. So it's taken an average of about 3 weeks to get to Biometrics, and EAD will come after that. Basically, we're probably not looking at a six month wait. If your sister in law and her BF file ow, they could be looking at a similar time-frame. Maybe a couple months longer, but what's a couple of months in the grand scheme of things?

[ziia 9]

Why don't more people do it this way?

Because you put yourself at the scrutiny of the immigration officer to decide what purpose he thinks you used the B(travel) visa for. If he decides the B visa was used for visiting and not for marrying, then he can approve the issue of GC, otherwise he can deny it. A lot of people got approved but I'm sure they're the ones I heard that they got "dragged" in separate rooms to answer the same questions. I'm guessing that risk might have something to do with "why won't more people do it this way"

Edited March 15, 2010 by ziia

[lucyrich 20]

Everyone else raises the illegal point but they're missing the worst part.

Approval for AOS can take a while. Lets say by the time they interview him it's over 180 days past his I-94 date. If they deny the visa he will be given 30 days to leave AND he will get a 3 year ban on entry. (more than 365 days past I-94 is a 10 year ban but I highly doubt it should take that long).

No, a person with an active petition for adjustment of status does NOT accrue unlawful presence time for the purposes of 212(a)(9)(B) while the petition is pending. Until a decision is reached on the I-485, they're considered in a period of legally authorized stay for the purpose of the 9B bars. See here, among other sources.

http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news309.htm

So if the I-485 is filed before the expiration of the I-94, and the I-485 is then denied, the alien would only start counting the 180 days toward the 3 year bar beginning on the date they denied the I-485, NOT beginning with the I-94 expiration.

I think the rest of your points are accurate. Certainly, filing an I-485 makes it pretty nearly impossible to enter again as a tourist any time soon.

[besaangel 18]

Have them get married or get a K visa... see the guides for clarity on K visa

[Dakine10 5,452]

Google - vwp overstay AOS ban

In my opinion, the biggest reason people don't do it is not because it's illegal. It's because the consequences when it doesn't work are severe.

A possibility of 10 year ban (or even a 3 year one) is a sufficient deterrent for most people.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Very few people are busted for having showed intent to marry while entering the US and marry and adjust status.

And as a bonus, they get the thrill of knowing they pulled off a lie that could come back to bite them in the #### at any time in the future.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Hogwash. If they did not INTENT to get married AND adjust for AOS beforehand it's PERFECTLY legal. suitable, and a smart way to go at it, which is why the immigration law is specifically set up for this.

You guys try to prove their intent, and I tell you you can't. Neither can USCIS, which is why intent doesn't become an issue at AOS unless the couple leaves a paper trail of fraud.

Like it or not, it doesn't matter. Tourists who get married can adjust status just fine and without problems.

True in most cases, but if it's a VWP entry, USCIS doesn't have to prove intent, they just have to suspect it. Since the VWP entrant has waived their right to appeal, they would never get the chance to appear before an immigration judge to prove their intent.

[Dakine10 5,452]

No, a person with an active petition for adjustment of status does NOT accrue unlawful presence time for the purposes of 212(a)(9)(B) while the petition is pending. Until a decision is reached on the I-485, they're considered in a period of legally authorized stay for the purpose of the 9B bars. See here, among other sources.

http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news309.htm

So if the I-485 is filed before the expiration of the I-94, and the I-485 is then denied, the alien would only start counting the 180 days toward the 3 year bar beginning on the date they denied the I-485, NOT beginning with the I-94 expiration.

I think the rest of your points are accurate. Certainly, filing an I-485 makes it pretty nearly impossible to enter again as a tourist any time soon.

The dilemma though is that the earlier someone files the AOS, the more it could look like the whole thing was preconceived, but if you file too late and the I-94 is expired, then you are out of status until it's approved.

[Boiler 45,486]

There is al awful lot of misinformation in this thread.

If you are really interested, talk to a lawyer.

[Dakine10 5,452]

There is al awful lot of misinformation in this thread.

If you are really interested, talk to a lawyer.

You could probably post that comment on most threads on ANY given forum. It's correct, but it defeats the purpose of having a forum though.

Probably the most helpful thing, if you've spotted misinformation, would be to clarify it.

[Boiler 45,486]

On this site on this subject it would be a waste of time.

[Brandon187 1]

This mess is stressing me out extremely bad. My girlfriend of almost 7 years now my wife of 2 months has been coming back and forth here over the years. We have a 3 year old together. She last came down in Aug of 2009 and let in jan of 2010. We have talked about marriage over the years and I scared it would mess things up between us. Before she left she asked me to marry here, I know not tthe usual it's usually the guy and I really wanted to so I said yes and we got married. She left not long after that. She's been back in Canada now two months and she's getting stressed out over the speration time and the constantly going back and forth. She dreaded going back the last time and I told her if she stayed we'd be breaking the law and she'd never be able to live here. We were arguing on the phone about it and she was telling me how she's been wanting to just be stable no back and forth thing forever. She said she was confused and thought it was just be best to stay there and didn't know what else to do. I was so scared we were going to break up and get an annullment. We've been working things out and I just kept saying come back please, so we can do this all face to face. She agreed to come back and I wanted to get her a k3 visa. I spent all last night from 6 til almost 4 in the morning going over all this stuff. And I was scared at first because your supposed to have a k1 visa to get married then I wondered if our marriage was even legal. Anyway I cam upon the AOS thing and found some loophole a lot of people were talking about. If she comes here she can actually stay while we file for this form and she won't be in trouble for staying over six months because it stops counting once you file for the aos or your forgiven for it. I wanted to be sure so I asked an immigration lawyer about it and he said. Yes that's prossible if she didn't puposely come down with the intent to marry, which she didn't and I was happy, but he said futhermore she can't come back now because the USCIS MAY think she entered again as a non-immigrant with the intent to live. He said I should just file for the k3 visa and wait a year or more without my wife and daughter. I can't bare that time from them. I know she won't be able to handle it either and I'm afraid I'm lose her forever. I don't know what to do. I can't stand it, all I want is for us to live together and be a family and it's like nothing can go right. Then I think I'll go and lie to here without telling her she could be banned if they think that and thyen they denie us and I'll never be able to see them again. It's the point I'm so stressed and emotional I just wish I was dead I can't deal with all of this. I think I'm having a nerves break down. What do I do? Please help me.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Brandon,

you can't marry your girlfriend of & years while you are still married to your wife of 2 months. That was possible in Utah a long time ago, but they now imposed restrictions on the Mormon religion.

Joking aside, so your newly-wed wife and daughter are now back in Canada, and your wife wants to come and live with you in the US?

Well, the K3 is dead by now, and she can't come and enter as a tourist with immigration intent, even less if it's documented, which it is. So what you do is file for a CR-1. That shouldn't take a year, and your wife and daughter can come and visit you while the application is pending anyway.

I'm not sure I understand your problem.

[Brandon187 1]

Bob, Thank you so much for such a quick response. Sorry about the spellign errors in my previous message I was "emotional."

How long is the processing time for the cr1 visa? Do I still need to file AOS? Can M ywife and child visit me for up to six months while we wait? When looking up info on the cr-1 I also read this-

We don't want to be apart for so long. What can we do to avoid this?

Sometimes in order to avoid a lengthy separation, the couple returns to the U.S. immediately after the marriage (using a visitor visa) and proceeds to file the necessary applications once they are both in the U.S. Often the USCIS does not like this, and it is not uncommon for the USCIS to stop the foreign-born spouse at the Port of Entry and exclude him or her from the U.S. as an intending immigrant. However, if the foreign-born spouse manages to enter the US, USCIS will not deny his or her application for a green card solely because he or she entered the U.S. on a temporary visa when their real intent was to remain permanently in the U.S. You should instead apply for the K-3 visa in order to work and live legally in the US, while waiting your permanent residence.

I'm worried because my wife, does not want to go back and forth. She can't take much more of it since this has been an ongoing thing since 2005 and we have a child in this all. She says the border is stressful, she once told them she was going to visit me "Boyfriend" and they brought her to secondary and interrogated the ####### out of her. It's almost 2500 miles back and forth and she always goes by bus that's 2 days and up to 20 hours through that. It's long and stressful but the border is less as bad as when you fly.

[Brandon187 1]

Bob, Thank you so much for such a quick response. Sorry about the spellign errors in my previous message I was "emotional."

How long is the processing time for the cr1 visa? Do I still need to file AOS? Can M ywife and child visit me for up to six months while we wait? When looking up info on the cr-1 I also read this-

We don't want to be apart for so long. What can we do to avoid this?

Sometimes in order to avoid a lengthy separation, the couple returns to the U.S. immediately after the marriage (using a visitor visa) and proceeds to file the necessary applications once they are both in the U.S. Often the USCIS does not like this, and it is not uncommon for the USCIS to stop the foreign-born spouse at the Port of Entry and exclude him or her from the U.S. as an intending immigrant. However, if the foreign-born spouse manages to enter the US, USCIS will not deny his or her application for a green card solely because he or she entered the U.S. on a temporary visa when their real intent was to remain permanently in the U.S. You should instead apply for the K-3 visa in order to work and live legally in the US, while waiting your permanent residence.

I'm worried because my wife, does not want to go back and forth. She can't take much more of it since this has been an ongoing thing since 2005 and we have a child in this all. She says the border is stressful, she once told them she was going to visit me "Boyfriend" and they brought her to secondary and interrogated the ####### out of her. It's almost 2500 miles back and forth and she always goes by bus that's 2 days and up to 20 hours through that. It's long and stressful but the border is less as bad as when you fly.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to double post but it said i did not have permission to edit my other post.

Also Why doesn't the USCIS not understand the grief involved in a lenghty seperation. It's not like the marriage is fake. Is that enough to convince them to approve us?