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DerZinker

Adjustment of Status Q??

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Need some insight from anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject. My wife and I have been married 6 years and have two children together, both of which are US Citizens. We live happily in Southern Mexico and have been here for most of the duration of our marriage (both our kids were born here). We would be eligible for DCF and an IR-1 visa if I'm not mistaken, if I were to file an I-130 for her, which I'm prepared to do so we can start making our future plans in the US. My question is, which I'm sure has been asked countless times yet I can't find much info on, is why couldn't we just travel to the US and then adjust her status there?

I'm pretty educated on the system and I understand this is a big no-no, but I can't see why not. My wife holds a B1 / B2 tourist visa (which was a pain to get in itself due to her being married to a US citizen) and my main beef is that I REALLY have no desire whatsoever to travel to the horrendous city of Juarez, Mexico. Might as well just say it, that place sucks and is insanely dangerous. Yet it seems there is no way around it. So again, I know it's not the most honest way of going about it, but why couldn't we just travel to the US on her B1/B2 and then adjust her status once there? What's the problem with doing it that way? Is there a problem? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.[/font]

Timeline:

02/04/2004 - A young Zinker arrives in Mexico to study Spanish and the dating game begins

2004--2005 - Many subsequent visits to Mx ensue to be with my love; engaged in March 2005!

04/??/2005 - I-129F is filed from within the US

06/09/2005 - Zinker moves to Mexico

09/??/2005 - I-129F is approved

10/15/2005 - Interview in Cd. Juarez and subsequently approved for a K1 Visa!..But visa is left in Juarez

10/17/2005 - Due to unexpected pregnancy and a job offer in Mx - we decide not to pursue the visa and it expires :(

01/04/2006 - Married in Mexico

10/09/2011 - Two children later and a comfortable life in Mexico... Preparing to file I-130 in December 2011. Stay Tuned!

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Need some insight from anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject. My wife and I have been married 6 years and have two children together, both of which are US Citizens. We live happily in Southern Mexico and have been here for most of the duration of our marriage (both our kids were born here). We would be eligible for DCF and an IR-1 visa if I'm not mistaken, if I were to file an I-130 for her, which I'm prepared to do so we can start making our future plans in the US. My question is, which I'm sure has been asked countless times yet I can't find much info on, is why couldn't we just travel to the US and then adjust her status there?

I'm pretty educated on the system and I understand this is a big no-no, but I can't see why not. My wife holds a B1 / B2 tourist visa (which was a pain to get in itself due to her being married to a US citizen) and my main beef is that I REALLY have no desire whatsoever to travel to the horrendous city of Juarez, Mexico. Might as well just say it, that place sucks and is insanely dangerous. Yet it seems there is no way around it. So again, I know it's not the most honest way of going about it, but why couldn't we just travel to the US on her B1/B2 and then adjust her status once there? What's the problem with doing it that way? Is there a problem? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.[/font]

Simply because using tourist visa with immigrant intent is FRAUD and there are repercussions for it.

Do the things the right way and file DCF - there's a guide for that process. Count your blessings that you CAN do DCF as many couples would kill to be able to do it.

I am moving your topic to DCF forum.

ROC 2009
Naturalization 2010

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Ok that's fine. Thanks for your prompt response. I actually posted the same question in a 'Mexico DCF' thread, so I might get some input there as well :blush: Of course doing it the right way is the best way to go and provides the best possible outcome(s), but a trip to Juarez to me seems like a suicide mission. It is by far the most dangerous city in N. America after all and just seems insane to require people to travel there (though maybe that's the point :angry: ) Or maybe I'm just a big baby?

I could make some noise to my congressman to see if there are any other options, I've had good results with that in the past. As of right now we have done nothing illegally and wouldn't have to jump any hurdles in that regard. Fraud or not, if she wouldn't be facing deportation and I wouldn't have to send my loved one to the cesspool that it Cd. Juarez, I might be willing to roll the dice on it. Just how serious are said 'Repercussions' ?

Edited by dhudson

Timeline:

02/04/2004 - A young Zinker arrives in Mexico to study Spanish and the dating game begins

2004--2005 - Many subsequent visits to Mx ensue to be with my love; engaged in March 2005!

04/??/2005 - I-129F is filed from within the US

06/09/2005 - Zinker moves to Mexico

09/??/2005 - I-129F is approved

10/15/2005 - Interview in Cd. Juarez and subsequently approved for a K1 Visa!..But visa is left in Juarez

10/17/2005 - Due to unexpected pregnancy and a job offer in Mx - we decide not to pursue the visa and it expires :(

01/04/2006 - Married in Mexico

10/09/2011 - Two children later and a comfortable life in Mexico... Preparing to file I-130 in December 2011. Stay Tuned!

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You and her know she is not entering the US as a tourist or with non-immigrant intent. If she were to enter with the B1 / B2 tourist visa, and somehow was allowed to enter even though she was married to a USC, it would still be material misrepresentation which, from what I've understood, can carry a lifetime ban to the US. She is a mother of two US citizens, so whether or not that ban would be enforced on her, I don't know. What I do know is that it is never a good idea to enter the US with a non-immigrant visa and obvious immigrant intentions, and that you most definitely should never ever lie to an immigration officer.

It is the responsibility of the petitioning immigrant / tourist / student / visa holder to know the rules attached to his/her visa. You both know them. Knowingly breaking them seems to me like a risk not worth taking.

Adjustment of Status from F-1 to Legal Permanent Resident

02/11/2011 Married at Manhattan City Hall

03/03/2011 - Day 0 - AOS -package mailed to Chicago Lockbox

03/04/2011 - Day 1 - AOS -package signed for at USCIS

03/09/2011 - Day 6 - E-mail notification received for all petitions

03/10/2011 - Day 7 - Checks cashed

03/11/2011 - Day 8 - NOA 1 received for all 4 forms

03/21/2011 - Day 18 - Biometrics letter received, biometrics scheduled for 04/14/2011

03/31/2011 - Day 28 - Successful walk-in biometrics done

05/12/2011 - Day 70 - EAD Arrived, issued on 05/02

06/14/2011 - Day 103 - E-mail notice: Interview letter mailed, interview scheduled for July 20th

07/20/2011 - Day 139 - Interview at Federal Plaza USCIS location

07/22/2011 - Day 141 - E-mail approval notice received (Card production)

07/27/2011 - Day 146 - 2nd Card Production Email received

07/28/2011 - Day 147 - Post-Decision Activity Email from USCIS

08/04/2011 - Day 154 - Husband returns home from abroad; Welcome Letter and GC have arrived in the mail

("Resident since" date on the GC is 07/20/2011

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Filed: Other Timeline

You are articulate and thus no dummy. Good, so I can be brief.

You could do what you propose, but it could be seen as violating the rules of the game. The immigration officer (I.O.) could assume, and in your case rightfully so, that you had intent (the magic word), to adjust status when traveling to the US on a non-immigrant visa.

Now . . . intent happens to a large part in the human brain, and since I.O.s are not authorized to use a scalpel to dig deeper into this, the Field Adjudicator's manual (their bible) explicitly states that intent--alone--may not be used to deny an AOS petition. Hence, if you have no dead bodies hidden anywhere, it may actually work without as much as a hiccup, but anybody suggesting you do that just because it works would be violating VJ's rules of conduct and would probably be suspended. Hence, nobody will do that.

Got it?

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all . . . . The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic . . . . There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.

President Teddy Roosevelt on Columbus Day 1915

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Mexico
Timeline

Well, lets hope they don't come across this forum! Jejeje. Well I'll say I have heard of it possibly having been done before and working just fine but you won't come across those stories on VJ as Bob said. You have two dangerous options to weigh.

I-129F

NOA1- August 23,2010

NOA2- January 24, 2011 (NOA1-NOA2: 154 days)

NVC Receive- January 31, 2011

NVC Sent- February 1, 2011

Consulate Receive- February 3, 2011

Consulate Sent Packet 3- March 10, 2011 (CDJ Receive-Packet 3 sent: 35 days)

Receive Packet 3 in U.S.- March 21, 2011

ASC Appointment- March 23, 2011

Interview- March 24, 2011

Crossed into the U.S.- April 7, 2011

A.O.S.

I-485 in the mail- June 14, 2011

I-485 received at Chicago Lockbox- June 16, 2011

NOA1- June 17, 2011

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Geez, ok thanks guys. Talk about a can of worms. Really I'm just weighing my options and am asking why not. I am not a lawbreaker and I fully support adhering to the law. But I really have a hard time wrapping my head around why the Mexicans are required to travel to the most dangerous and ugliest city within their country, especially when there exists an embassy just as capable of handling immigration petitions in Mexico City (not that DF is any paradise haha). They should have changed this years ago when the Drug War started wratching up, but no dice.

Just to give a little history... My wife had been denied a tourist visa a total of 3 times, twice before we even met for reasons unknown. From what I understand the rules surrounding the tourist visa have changed some, but back in the day they would seemingly just take your money and approve or deny you a tourist visa depending on their mood and nothing else, because documentation was never requested. Heck my wife even met others while waiting in line for her interview at the consulate who told her that they planned on staying in the US once there and they got approved while my wife was denied when she had no intentions of staying. Because we live in Mexico we had / have no intentions on moving to the US for the foreseeable future and thus no need for an immigrant visa for her. I assured to my congressman when I asked him for his assistance in pursuing a tourist visa for my wife that it was only in good intentions, and I stand by that. Once he helped us out and she was finally granted the tourist visa, we have travelled to the US some 5 times together with no problems whatsoever. So getting in has never been a problem for us (and rightfully so, we've never gone with the intention of staying). But I do appreciate the feedback and understand the rules of the game a little better now :blush: From now on, I'll only post with regards to adhering the the policies of the USCIS.

Edited by dhudson

Timeline:

02/04/2004 - A young Zinker arrives in Mexico to study Spanish and the dating game begins

2004--2005 - Many subsequent visits to Mx ensue to be with my love; engaged in March 2005!

04/??/2005 - I-129F is filed from within the US

06/09/2005 - Zinker moves to Mexico

09/??/2005 - I-129F is approved

10/15/2005 - Interview in Cd. Juarez and subsequently approved for a K1 Visa!..But visa is left in Juarez

10/17/2005 - Due to unexpected pregnancy and a job offer in Mx - we decide not to pursue the visa and it expires :(

01/04/2006 - Married in Mexico

10/09/2011 - Two children later and a comfortable life in Mexico... Preparing to file I-130 in December 2011. Stay Tuned!

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