Help for a Friend

[happywifeymom 4]

Hello fellow members,

I need ur help for a friend. She came here in the US 3 times already on a tourist visa. She is from the Philippines and her USC boyfriend is from Texas.

She is coming back this June on a tourist visa again and is marrying her boyfriend.

Here are the questions:

1. Can she marry her boyfriend on a tourist visa? Is it advisable to do this or what is the best thing for her to do?

2.She has 2 kids in the Philippines and the eldest is 19 unmarried.what kind of petition do they need to file to get her kids over here?

3. She thought that once she gets here on a tourist visa she will get the green card right after she married the guy? is it true? or does she still need to apply for her adjustment of status to get a green card?

I would appreciate any help for my friend. Thank u very much.

[besaangel 18]

1. Can she marry her boyfriend on a tourist visa? Is it advisable to do this or what is the best thing for her to do? It is illegal and fraudalent for her to knowingly entering the country on a tourist visa with the intent to marry and apply for permanent residency. She could however go the K1- fiance route or the IR1/CR1 spousal visa route to legally apply to migrate

2.She has 2 kids in the Philippines and the eldest is 19 unmarried.what kind of petition do they need to file to get her kids over here?Going the fiance or spousal route could allow for her to bring her children with her if the bf petitions for them. Im not too verse on children processes though.

3. She thought that once she gets here on a tourist visa she will get the green card right after she married the guy? is it true? or does she still need to apply for her adjustment of status to get a green card?Once again, its fraud to enter with the intention or getting married while on such a visa. With that said, you dont just come and marry and the greencard is given to you just cause. You have to be eligible to Adjust status and successfully do so to get a greencard. Hope that helps

I would appreciate any help for my friend. Thank u very much.

[a loves a 0]

Hello fellow members,

I need ur help for a friend. She came here in the US 3 times already on a tourist visa. She is from the Philippines and her USC boyfriend is from Texas.

She is coming back this June on a tourist visa again and is marrying her boyfriend.

Here are the questions:

1. Can she marry her boyfriend on a tourist visa? Is it advisable to do this or what is the best thing for her to do?

2.She has 2 kids in the Philippines and the eldest is 19 unmarried.what kind of petition do they need to file to get her kids over here?

3. She thought that once she gets here on a tourist visa she will get the green card right after she married the guy? is it true? or does she still need to apply for her adjustment of status to get a green card?

I would appreciate any help for my friend. Thank u very much.

1 . not recommended .

2.she cant take her doughter since she over 18

3. she will have to go back to her country to make interview , also she don't need to validate her visa , but its recommended to marry him after 2 mounthes after step in usa .

the fact she was in usa this much time with not doing troubles over there give her a bonus

[engineer21 51]

1. June? So is she here already now?

Technically coming on a tourist visa means that you do not intend to immigrate - while she is clearly intending to.

But I think the USCIS forgives that, maybe? I'm not 100% sure.

2. I am pretty sure the rule is that the marriage has to happen before the child's 18th birthday for the USC to be able to petition for stepchildren

3. No, GC is not automatic. Yes, she must adjust status to get the GC

[happywifeymom 4]

Thank you guys. I told her the same thing u told me but she said her lawyer suggested she come here and marry her boyfriend.

She will be back this June 28 on a tourist visa and will marry her boyfriend.

I was not sure about her 19 yr. old son coz my USC husband filed an I-130 petition for my 2 kids who are under 18 and they just passed their interview last June 11.

[sunandmoon 450]

1. June? So is she here already now?

Technically coming on a tourist visa means that you do not intend to immigrate - while she is clearly intending to.

But I think the USCIS forgives that, maybe? I'm not 100% sure.

2. I am pretty sure the rule is that the marriage has to happen before the child's 18th birthday for the USC to be able to petition for stepchildren

3. No, GC is not automatic. Yes, she must adjust status to get the GC

not if the USCIS knows she entered with the intent to immigrate.

Thank you guys. I told her the same thing u told me but she said her lawyer suggested she come here and marry her boyfriend.

She will be back this June 28 on a tourist visa and will marry her boyfriend.

I was not sure about her 19 yr. old son coz my USC husband filed an I-130 petition for my 2 kids who are under 18 and they just passed their interview last June 11.

hmm, a lawyer is recommending she commit immigration fraud.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

1. Can she marry her boyfriend on a tourist visa? Is it advisable to do this or what is the best thing for her to do?

It's perfectly legal to get married in the US on a tourist visa. It's also legal to apply for a green card after marrying in the US. Planning to do both of these BEFORE entering the US is not legal. Most immigration attorneys would recommend waiting at least 60 days after arriving in order to avoid the automatic presumption of "preconceived intent". If USCIS determines she had preconceived intent to immigrate, and that she misrepresented her intent either when she obtained the visa or entered the US then her green card could be denied, and she could be found inadmissible to the US because of fraud.

2.She has 2 kids in the Philippines and the eldest is 19 unmarried.what kind of petition do they need to file to get her kids over here?

There is no visa category her new husband could use to apply for her son because they weren't married before the child turned 18.

Once she gets her green card, she could petition for an F2A visa for her son. Unfortunately, F2A's are taking about 2 years from the Philippines, so he'll turn 21 before the visa is available. She'll need to file a new petition for an F2B, which is currently taking about 10 years.

A better option would be a K1. She would have to return to the Philippines to interview for the visa, but the son is eligible to get a K2 derivative visa until he's 21. However, he MUST adjust status and get a green before he's 21. The Child Status Protection Act, which is meant to protect against children aging out before their green card is issued, does NOT apply to K2's.

3. She thought that once she gets here on a tourist visa she will get the green card right after she married the guy? is it true? or does she still need to apply for her adjustment of status to get a green card?

She must apply for AOS. Getting married doesn't automatically get her a green card. It only makes her eligible to apply for one. The chances of denial are a bit higher than if she came with a fiance or spousal visa.

[Ontarkie 14,218]

Make sure she understands the only way for her 19yr to come over without a really long wait is the K1, and they should get it started now.

[pushbrk 12,876]

Hello fellow members,

I need ur help for a friend. She came here in the US 3 times already on a tourist visa. She is from the Philippines and her USC boyfriend is from Texas.

She is coming back this June on a tourist visa again and is marrying her boyfriend.

Here are the questions:

1. Can she marry her boyfriend on a tourist visa? Is it advisable to do this or what is the best thing for her to do?

2.She has 2 kids in the Philippines and the eldest is 19 unmarried.what kind of petition do they need to file to get her kids over here?

3. She thought that once she gets here on a tourist visa she will get the green card right after she married the guy? is it true? or does she still need to apply for her adjustment of status to get a green card?

I would appreciate any help for my friend. Thank u very much.

She can marry but not stay and adjust status. That would be fraud.

If she marries on this visit, her 19 year old will have no immigration path in the next several years.

If it is important for the 19 year old to come to the USA, the only available path is the K1 and K2 visa route and that needs to get started as soon as possible or will run out of time too. That means no marriage until after the K1 is in hand and back in the USA.

Edited June 15, 2010 by pushbrk

[Rob and Jill 82]

Thank you guys. I told her the same thing u told me but she said her lawyer suggested she come here and marry her boyfriend.

Her "boyfriend" or her "fiance"? Has he even proposed? She could get married, but if she wants to MAKE SURE she can stay she shoudl LEAVE after the marriage and file the proper visa from there.

[Nartaki 7]

Never misuse the visa that is given to you.

Examples of common misuses:

Entering on a nonimmigrant (visitor/student) visa and then taking up employment (most common)

Entering on a nonimmigrant (visitor/student) visa knowing that you will get married in the US (this the case of your friend).

Entering on a nonimmigrant (visitor/student) visa while already married to a US citizen, have significant family ties in the US and no plans to return to the home country

Entering on a K1 visa already married to a US citizen (Read the book "Denied" about a harrowing true story of a couple who unknowingly misused the K1 visa, were denied a greencard and were separated for years)

Entering on a student visa and not intending to study

Entering on a tourist visa and then attempting to adjust to a student visa (legal but there have been cases where such requests were denied)

The bottomline is this: If your friend knows that he/she will get married on a visit on a tourist visa and if they lie about the purpose of their trip at the airport, their application will be denied.

It is unfortunate that Visajourney does not post this kind of information in the "Guides" section, where other people can get information and not get trapped like your friend. The advice you received from the lawyer is ambiguous. It is legal to come to the US on a tourist visa, get married and then adjust status. In addition, the USCIS seems to "forgive" preconceived intent in the absence of other adverse factors if the applicant is an immediate relative of a US citizen. However, one can never be sure if there are any adverse factors in their application.