Married in the US on a Tourist Visa, but applying for CR-1 once spouse returns to his country

[Crystal T 0]

Hi

If I were to marry my boyfriend while he was here in the US on a B2 Tourist Visa, would it be possible for him to return to his country first, before we filed for the CR-1? It appears easier (less paper work) and cheaper to go for the CR-1 instead of changing the status of the B2. Also, I am fairly certain that a B2 is vaild for 6 months, even if the duration of the stay is a mere 6 weeks, so I'm assuming/wondering if we'd have to wait the 6 months until the B2 was no longer vaild- before we could file for the CR-1 (without an having to do an adjustment of status.)

It's not certain we will get married, and that's not why I am bringing him here, I'd just like to what the options are before I do.

Thanks Kindly...

[Harsh_77 718]

yes he can enter US on B1/B2 and get married in US and he an return back to home country to file his paper work

[Brian&Mel 0]

Hi

If I were to marry my boyfriend while he was here in the US on a B2 Tourist Visa, would it be possible for him to return to his country first, before we filed for the CR-1? It appears easier (less paper work) and cheaper to go for the CR-1 instead of changing the status of the B2. Also, I am fairly certain that a B2 is vaild for 6 months, even if the duration of the stay is a mere 6 weeks, so I'm assuming/wondering if we'd have to wait the 6 months until the B2 was no longer vaild- before we could file for the CR-1 (without an having to do an adjustment of status.)

It's not certain we will get married, and that's not why I am bringing him here, I'd just like to what the options are before I do.

Thanks Kindly...

I entered USA with a B2 visa, applied for a marriage license, got married, worked on the paperwork and then go back to Malaysia after spending 3 weeks here. My husband filed the I-130 a week after I left. I visited him once while going through the CR1/IR1 process. I stayed for almost 6 months here before heading back to Malaysia for the interview. The timing was just right. It took us about 9 months from start to finish!

Good luck!

[Crystal T 0]

yes he can enter US on B1/B2 and get married in US and he an return back to home country to file his paper work

Thanks!

I'm wondering though, will we have to wait to file for the CR-1 (even though he is back in his country) until the B2 Visa expires?

[Brian&Mel 0]

Thanks!

I'm wondering though, will we have to wait to file for the CR-1 (even though he is back in his country) until the B2 Visa expires?

No, you don't have to. You can see my reply above. We were in similar situation

[Crystal T 0]

Oh, sorry, I didn't see the reply that you had posted, I was responding to Harsh.

Wow, that's great, congrats!

May I ask what sort of paper work did you need to supply for the the US marriage license, please?

[Brian&Mel 0]

My husband were living in Oregon at that time, we just provided them with my passport. I think each state will have different requirement but most of the time they only require a form of ID.

[tokyo.lovers 6]

some people take the illegal route and submit the docs after they marry in the usa.

then the person does not have to leave while all the stuff gets filed.

but this is considered immigration fraud because the spouse lied when they entered the usa with intent to marry.

there is also a small chance the petition would be denied.

it may be hard for him to enter if he says he is entering to marry and then intends to leave after. even that will have the immigration people giving him a hard time.

good luck.

[Brian&Mel 0]

some people take the illegal route and submit the docs after they marry in the usa.

then the person does not have to leave while all the stuff gets filed.

but this is considered immigration fraud because the spouse lied when they entered the usa with intent to marry.

there is also a small chance the petition would be denied.

it may be hard for him to enter if he says he is entering to marry and then intends to leave after. even that will have the immigration people giving him a hard time.

good luck.

That's true. When I went through the immigration, they asked me what was the reason for visiting and I said visiting friends and going for a cruise. I didn't tell him that we are going to get married. The immigration officer didn't give me a hard time maybe because it was my second visit.

Right after our wedding, we took a week long cruise to Mexico for our honeymoon. When coming back from the cruise and going through the passport control, they asked us whether we are married and am I going to stay in the country to adjust my status? We said no and told the officer I have the intent to leave and showed him my return ticket. This is when you want to be careful with what you say and the words that you use.

And we only filed the I-130 after I left to avoid any complication.

Edited August 14, 2010 by Brian&Mel