Traveling out of K-1 visa status

[Philiran 0]

Hi,

We have yet to get our Marriage Certificate from GA (it takes 30 days for them to record marriages) and my husband's K-1 status expires this weekend. One option is to wait to get our Marriage Certificates before filing AOS but we are planning to travel to Atlanta for X-mas. Do you think security will alert CBP about the overstay? Should we even be traveling? Technically even if we filed, we wouldn't have proof except for a copy of the entire packet...

Am freaking out!!!!!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You can travel within the US. TSA people are just looking for identities; not visa status.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi,

We have yet to get our Marriage Certificate from GA (it takes 30 days for them to record marriages) and my husband's K-1 status expires this weekend. One option is to wait to get our Marriage Certificates before filing AOS but we are planning to travel to Atlanta for X-mas. Do you think security will alert CBP about the overstay? Should we even be traveling? Technically even if we filed, we wouldn't have proof except for a copy of the entire packet...

Am freaking out!!!!!

You have to present identification when you go through the security checkpoint. The TSA employee who examines your ID with the little blue flashlight actually has a job title - "Travel Document Checker", or "TDC". One of the things the TDC is supposed to look for is evidence that an identification document is fake. If they suspect an ID might not be kosher then they'll give it a closer examination.

Normally, when you present a passport as identification they just look at the bio page (the one with the picture on it). If the TDC decides to take a closer look then they'll examine each page in the passport. If they discover the passenger is out of status then they may call CBP or ICE to come and interview the passenger. If that happens then your life just got a whole lot more complicated.

TSA won't usually accept any identification that isn't issued by the government in the US, state or federal, except for a passport. This is because they would have no idea if a foreign issued ID was legitimate. Unless your husband has some other form of picture ID that was issued in the US, like a drivers license, he'll need to use his passport for identification.

Do you have any documents whatever that show you are married?

[Philiran 0]

Yes, I have the marriage license that has the officiant attesting to our union on Nov. 7. Until then, we have nothing else except for pics, invitation, etc. My husband is Iranian and I am worried that TSA may check his visa and I-94 - we live in the metro DC area but have bought tickets to Atlanta for X-mas.

Should we go ahead and file AOS even though we don't have the official Marriage Certificate and send the license with a cover or wait until we have the certificate on-hand to file? If we proceed with the former, TSA may still contact CBP, right because we have no other form of ID? But in this case, he wouldn't have overstayed because we filed by the 90 day deadline...

Ugh - this process is too bureaucratically confusing!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes, I have the marriage license that has the officiant attesting to our union on Nov. 7. Until then, we have nothing else except for pics, invitation, etc. My husband is Iranian and I am worried that TSA may check his visa and I-94 - we live in the metro DC area but have bought tickets to Atlanta for X-mas.

Should we go ahead and file AOS even though we don't have the official Marriage Certificate and send the license with a cover or wait until we have the certificate on-hand to file? If we proceed with the former, TSA may still contact CBP, right because we have no other form of ID? But in this case, he wouldn't have overstayed because we filed by the 90 day deadline...

Ugh - this process is too bureaucratically confusing!

No. Don't file the AOS without the certified marriage certificate. USCIS could just refuse to accept the petition as being improperly filed, and return it to you. That would leave you in the same boat you're in now. They could also accept and then send an RFE for the marriage certificate. In the the worst case, they could deny the petition because you didn't provide a marriage certificate, and keep your money. You'd either have to pay to file a motion to reopen the case, or pay to refile.

CBP and ICE are not supposed to attempt to deport someone if they are clearly eligible to adjust status. That's DHS policy. However, they have to determine whether the alien is clearly eligible before they can cut them loose. Bring a copy of the K1 petition approval notice and the marriage license. The petition approval notice will prove that you are the petitioner, and the marriage license will prove he married the petitioner. That should be enough to convince CBP or ICE that he's eligible to adjust status. They'll probably give you a warning to file the AOS as soon as possible. You may get jacked around for several hours in the meantime, though.

Unless they question his status, don't offer to show them the petition approval notice or the marriage license. You'll just be calling unnecessary attention to yourself, and virtually guaranteeing an interview with a CBP or ICE officer. Just present his passport, like all of the other passengers are doing. Keep the petition approval notice and marriage license in an envelope in your purse.

Seriously, the odds of this happening are pretty low. TSA doesn't usually scrutinize the passport unless there is something about the passport that makes them suspicious. It's not their job to screen for illegal immigrants, and they don't generally waste time doing this.

[Philiran 0]

Ok - will wait to file and cross our fingers TSA or gate agents don't call attention to his I-94! I'll definitely make copies of the I-129 F approval notice and marriage license. Thanks a lot!

[MayoKy 10]

I flew before I had my Greencard! They only looked at my passport (the page with the pic) then checked if the poicture matches with me and let me through! I think you should be allright!!!keep my fingers crossed

[pookaphilus 12]

Hello..we also planned to have our christmas in Missouri but we still didn't have our noa receipt from uscis for our aos ..we filed last december 7 then we received email that they accepted it already ...we have our marriage certificate but we will just not go..my I 94 expires today..lol...so to avoid any problems..we will just not go..sometimes you can't be assured ..others didn't have problems but every case is different . God bless!

Edited December 16, 2010 by pookaphilus

[Philiran 0]

Thanks all! I ended up calling the USCIS customer service line and the USCIS person (most probably a contractor) was very helpful. He explained that no one should be looking at my husband's status and if stopped by CBP, my husband would be ok because we got married within the 90 days mark. We would only experience problems if my husband was out of status 90 days or 180 days.

He said that while there is no actual deadline for filing the AOS, DHS always recommends that couples file the AOS whenever they have gotten married, as soon as they have everything in order. He said that I shouldn't worry and that I should file the AOS as soon as we have the certified marriage certificate.

Hopefully, if our certificate doesn't come by next week, I'll be able to get a copy in Atlanta. It's just too bad that while our wedding was on Nov. 7, the freakin' country clerk hasn't recorded it yet - even after the instructions state that our certificates would be available for sale 30 days after our event. Sigh...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

What County were you married in? Could it be that your officiant didn't submit the information to the Registrar's office quickly and that is the cause for the delay? Could you check with him and ask him when he submitted the paperwork?

Edited December 17, 2010 by Kathryn41

[pookaphilus 12]

What County were you married in? Could it be that your officiant didn't submit the information to the Registrar's office quickly and that is the cause for the delay? Could you check with him and ask him when he submitted the paperwork?

I also agree...that usually what happens..as for us, we get our Marriage certificate after 7 days..we are living in California but we got married in Missouri..our officiant(my husband's uncle) submitted it the day after our wedding that's why we were able to get ours earlier...God bless!!..

[TBoneTX 45,287]

Suggestion for folks who still have time to act: Ask your wedding officiant if you can hand-carry the executed marriage license to the county courthouse yourself. Your results may vary, but we were able to get 7 copies of the marriage CERTIFICATE that same day. The clerkette had never had a request for so many, but she produced them in good time & humor. The total of 7 enabled one copy for our AOS package, one for our bank (to establish a joint account), souvenirs for the mothers, and copies for our file, to carry while on travel, or to misplace. Do-it-yourself procurement of multiple copies was well worth it, si man.

Edited December 17, 2010 by TBoneTX

[Philiran 0]

Thanks - I totally agree! We requested 4 copies, one to carry when traveling and the others for bank, DMV, etc.

[Philiran 0]

Kathryn41 BTW - we finally got our Marriage Certificates in the mail. When I spoke to them mid-week the clerk said that no one had recorded it yet and I tried to impress upon her that we need the certificate! It just sucks that we live in the metro DC area but got married in GA so all we could do is communicate via phone and mail for the certificates. It was Fulton County - they should have recorded our marriage 30 days from the event - which would mean on Dec. 7 not Dec 15th!