Got married on visitor's visa

[RobR 0]

Hello~I recently got married to my fiance who is here legally until Jan. '07 on a visitor's visa. He had no intent of marrying me on this visit; he just came over to meet my family and help me fill out our 129F Fiance Visa paperwork. He intended to leave well before his visa expired but I found out August 5 that I'm pregnant. We decided to go ahead and get married and now we're in the process of adjusting his status so that he can stay. I posted my dilemma a few weeks ago and one person advised me to file for the I-130, I-485 and the I-765. Any additional opinions on the matter? I also have an inquiry concerning the I-765 Form (Application for Employment Authorization). My question is two-fold: firstly, on Question #16 I'm unsure which eligibility category he falls under since he isn't a K-3 nonimmigrant spouse of U.S. citizen which seems to be the closest option (this falls under category of Family-Based Nonimmigrant Categories). Would he rather fall under Employment-Based or Family-based Adjustment Applicant (under Adjustment of Status Category). Also, if this allows my husband to work while everything else is being processed what is the average processing time for the I-765 Application for EAD. I'm so confused and overwhelmed by these forms I'm already set to turn things over to an immigration attorney. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks in advance!!!

[YuAndDan 153]

Congrats!

I would pose the question to Aussiewench she did the same thing and is the expert in that area!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showuser=12204

Send her a personal message.

[meauxna 15]

Congrats!

I would pose the question to Aussiewench she did the same thing and is the expert in that area!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showuser=12204

Send her a personal message.

Aussiewench did not do the same thing as the OP describes.

Users should not solicit or accept immigratin advice in private for their own protection and for the further benefit of all.

[Dr_LHA 3]

I posted my dilemma a few weeks ago and one person advised me to file for the I-130, I-485 and the I-765.

Whoever said that was right. Was it me?

I also have an inquiry concerning the I-765 Form (Application for Employment Authorization). My question is two-fold: firstly, on Question #16 I'm unsure which eligibility category he falls under since he isn't a K-3 nonimmigrant spouse of U.S. citizen which seems to be the closest option (this falls under category of Family-Based Nonimmigrant Categories). Would he rather fall under Employment-Based or Family-based Adjustment Applicant (under Adjustment of Status Category).

As he's filing for AOS through marriage to you, the answer is "Family based Adjustment of Status". Which IIRC is (c )(9)

Also, if this allows my husband to work while everything else is being processed what is the average processing time for the I-765 Application for EAD.

Right now about 70-90 days. Many get their GCs before EAD, but your case might be a bit longer as he entered on a visitor visa.

I'm so confused and overwhelmed by these forms I'm already set to turn things over to an immigration attorney. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks in advance!!!

You should get all the help you need here. Feel free to ask stupid questions. A lot of people here have done all this stuff before.

One more thing to note is that you should have clear evidence that your husband did not intend to marry you on this visit, such as a plane ticket home. They will try to determine whether your husband entered the country with immigration intent on a visitor visa, and if they aren't satistfied, will ask for evidence.

Edited September 3, 2006 by dr_lha

[ChristinaM 0]

dr_lha is correct, with the exception of the fact that entry on a visitor visa in itself will not affect your processing time. Once you hit the AOS stage, processing times are related to your service center rather than your entry visa type.

Get filing, and good luck!

[Dr_LHA 3]

dr_lha is correct, with the exception of the fact that entry on a visitor visa in itself will not affect your processing time. Once you hit the AOS stage, processing times are related to your service center rather than your entry visa type.

Fair point, but you'll admit that someone who enters on a visitors visa is not going to have the kind of rapid, interview free CSC transfer Green Card process that some on here (specifically K-1s) have!

[ChristinaM 0]

That's not necessarily true - as a VWP adjuster, I was processed in seven months with no RFEs, I was not at any point queried about my method of entry or my intent, and it was not even mentioned in my interview.

I haven't seen anybody doing AOS going through since they started shifting petitions and applications between the service centers, so I can't speak with any authority about that. But as for it being an easy process from K1, my experience (which is all I can speak about with any degree of certainty!) showed it to be equally as easy from the VWP.

[RobR 0]

Thanks, on both counts! I'm hoping it will help that he came over not on a VWP as most UK citizens but on a B1/B2 visa which he was granted after an interview at the US embassy in London due to the fact that he's not a UK citizen but rather a South African who was living in England on an ancestral visa. He had to show proof then that he had no intent of immigrating, otherwise he wouldn't have been granted a visitor's visa. I'm also hoping that because he obtained an ancestral visa in December to live in the UK that will help. Why go through the trouble of obtaining an ancestral visa if he were going to immigrate only six month later? He would have just immigrated from SA. It makes me a little crazy that we have to prove the truth. It's like we're guilty until we prove we're innocent. Oh well, I know it's only for the security of the country so I guess they have to do what they have to do. I'm glad that I now have people who can help me with these questions and my stress as I don't want to be stressed out my entire pregnancy worrying about all of this!

[ChristinaM 0]

Him having a B2 is nice - that means he's been scrutinised at the embassy and at the POE, and neither have found him to be an immigration threat.

Sounds to me like you're good to go, based on what you've told us here.

[Dr_LHA 3]

That's not necessarily true - as a VWP adjuster, I was processed in seven months with no RFEs, I was not at any point queried about my method of entry or my intent, and it was not even mentioned in my interview.

I meant, you're not going to a green card in 2 months with no interview, like some here do.

[Yodrak 7]

RobR,

Comparing immigration law to criminal law is not a valid comparison. And under immigration law, the burden is on the immigrant to prove that they qualify for the benefit that they are requesting.

People in your situation really should have a consultation with an immigration attorney to review the facts of their situation and get advice on how to best present their case.

Yodrak

... It makes me a little crazy that we have to prove the truth. It's like we're guilty until we prove we're innocent. ...

[ChristinaM 0]

That's not necessarily true - as a VWP adjuster, I was processed in seven months with no RFEs, I was not at any point queried about my method of entry or my intent, and it was not even mentioned in my interview.

I meant, you're not going to a green card in 2 months with no interview, like some here do.

I understood perfectly well what you meant, and my reply is that I see no reason why VWP/B2 adjusters should not be processed without interview. I have not seen it happen you, but that's not to say that it is not.

We will have to agree to sit on opposite sides of the fence for this one, dr_lha!

[Dr_LHA 3]

I understood perfectly well what you meant, and my reply is that I see no reason why VWP/B2 adjusters should not be processed without interview. I have not seen it happen you, but that's not to say that it is not.

I read somewhere that the "interview free" adjustment is only available for K-1 visa holders (something to do with the fact they already interviewed at the embassy IIRC, so have undergone some screening already). However I can't find the source right now.

Right now, anecdotal evidence from this and other forums points to only K-1's getting it also.

But you're right, it might happen.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Friends of ours who did AOS from VWP were approved without interview just last month.... they live in GA and their case was transfered to CSC... their AOS was completed in 12 weeks....

Kezzie

[Dr_LHA 3]

Friends of ours who did AOS from VWP were approved without interview just last month.... they live in GA and their case was transfered to CSC... their AOS was completed in 12 weeks....

OK cool, I guess what I read about K-1 was wrong then.