Overstayed and married a US Citizen

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi there. is there someone out there who can give me Idea on what to do with my case? I overstayed my B1 visa for 2 years and now, just recently I married a US citizen and definitely this is not a "marriage of convenience" do I need a lawyer? because I also declared back then on my B1 visa application form that I am married when in fact I was not. it was an ill advise from a friend working on a travel agency that I can pass the B1 visa interview if I declared that I'm married. Thanks a lot and have a good day.

When they process your file they will do a background check... Such as checking to see previous visas, previous overstays that may have caused a ban etc to make sure you're eligible at the moment (your current overstay doesn't make you ineligible).

Now you ticked a box on a form that said you were married. Were you asked about this at your B1 interview? Were you asked to prove the marriage. This may or may not matter but lets us know how "bad" the lie got. Did you have to enter your made-up spouses details on a form? Like their address, name, date of marriage etc? or was it just the tick box married?

Worst case scenario you are denied, face a lifetime ban and removal proceedings. Best case scenario you're able to fight the material misrep.

Also, what country are you from? Not sure that it matters, but it might.

[Póg mo 1,749]

It doesn't look good for the OP. Ticking a box to say you're married is one thing, but giving a false information about a spouse is an entirely different matter.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

They should have a record that she was married when issued the visitors visa, now to process AOS she will need to show the certified divorce papers from her prior marriage. ( that never really existed )

[Rick_ES_USA 13]

Giving all your previous visits to the US only reveals the Overstay issue, which can be dealt with, specially if you are in the US… In this particular case it will be forgiven because the guy entered with inspection using a tourist visa, but overstayed. Overstaying is the least of your problems… the real serious issue here, is the possible misrepresentation charge because of the false married status. So that’s my point… will the marry status from form DS-156 will trigger a request for proof of divorce for the process of AOS?

[vivizoka 0]

But couldn't she say that she made a mistake and selected married by mistake? I mean, it's not that they have her marriage certificate to prove that she, in fact, is married.

But at the same time, it's not the best idea to cover a lie with another lie. I was just wondering.

Sorry, things don't look good for you. That's why we have to do everything the right way, or it might come back to bite us in the butt.

Edited January 22, 2011 by vivizoka

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

But couldn't she say that she made a mistake and selected married by mistake? I mean, it's not that they have her marriage certificate to prove that she, in fact, is married.

But at the same time, it's not the best idea to cover a lie with another lie. I was just wondering.

Sorry, things don't look good for you. That's why we have to do everything the right way, or it might come back to bite us in the butt.

Not a chance. If you check "married" on a DS-160 then you have to provide your spouse's name and birth date. There's no way you could enter that information accidentally.

[William33 110]

Hi there. is there someone out there who can give me Idea on what to do with my case? I overstayed my B1 visa for 2 years and now, just recently I married a US citizen and definitely this is not a "marriage of convenience" do I need a lawyer? because I also declared back then on my B1 visa application form that I am married when in fact I was not. it was an ill advise from a friend working on a travel agency that I can pass the B1 visa interview if I declared that I'm married. Thanks a lot and have a good day.

As stated by others, you have a "material misrepresentation" on a previously submitted form. I suggest you contact an immigration attorney at once to sort this out.

Edited January 22, 2011 by William33

[William33 110]

But couldn't she say that she made a mistake and selected married by mistake? I mean, it's not that they have her marriage certificate to prove that she, in fact, is married.

But at the same time, it's not the best idea to cover a lie with another lie. I was just wondering.

Sorry, things don't look good for you. That's why we have to do everything the right way, or it might come back to bite us in the butt.

Stick with the bolded item above, as anything else is illegal and a VisaJourney TOS violation.

[vivizoka 0]

Stick with the bolded item above, as anything else is illegal and a VisaJourney TOS violation.

I'm not suggesting her to do anything illegal. As I said, I just wondered and "thought it out loud." The OP's idea of giving wrong information was not the smartest one, and again, it's never good to cover a lie with a lie. If I broke any of the TOS laws, I apologize and humbly ask a moderator to delete my post.

[Fandango 1,440]

OP where are you?

[bogart 3]

Best way to do is hire a well experienced immigration lawyer. Were on the same boat, but our difference is my status is single on my B1 visa and everything is straight up real.

Edited January 27, 2011 by bogart