Getting married under VWP while K1 is pending???

[Harsh_77 718]

If I am in your place I would go with K1 route, which would be clean route.

All Lawyer cares is where they can screw you and where they can make money, if you file for AOS on VWP you are going to go to lawyer for paper work and help money for him and I am sure he is praying your application gets caught up in every obstacle means more and more money for him.

If you go K1 route you are not going to go to lawyer and he is not going to get any money.

[SuperCooky 0]

lol! Dilemma dilemma!

Thanks to all, we've decided on sticking with the K1, it's not worth taking the risk.

@ Robbarb, really sorry about your fiance.

Wish you all good luck and courage.

[SuperCooky 0]

I want to add, we decided to consult an immigration lawyer in the first place because my fiance has both citizenships, French and American, and i also have two citizenships, French and Lebanese, so we needed to know if that could be considered as a problem (and she said it's not an issue, at all)

Then the lawyer said that having a K1 pending was a pretty good proof that my intent was not to come to marry on a VWP, but i'm really not convinced about that. If i were a USCIS officer i'd think "she did not want to wait for the K1 so she came on a VWP to get married". So i guess it's a matter of point of view.

About the medical exam, it's a bit cheaper in the US: 150$ if you don't need any additional vaccines compared with 170 euros in Paris, but i think you have to go to one of the surgeons designated by the embassy of your home country. Not sure about that.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Then the lawyer said that having a K1 pending was a pretty good proof that my intent was not to come to marry on a VWP, but i'm really not convinced about that. If i were a USCIS officer i'd think "she did not want to wait for the K1 so she came on a VWP to get married". So i guess it's a matter of point of view.

I respect your decision, but you really don't have enough understanding of the process to assume that your immigration attorney after 7 years of school and a bar exam and work in the field doesn't understand what's involved.

It doesn't matter what the Immigration Officer adjudicating your AOS petition thinks. He can think you have sex with turtles at home and pray to the devil. None of this matters. The bible for Immigration Officers, the "Adjudicator's Field Manual" explicitly forbids that the Immigration Officer uses intent, even if he's sure as hell that you intended to do this (which you didn't) as a reason to deny your AOS petition. So, believe me, your attorney knows a 100 times more about this than you.

Still, nothing wrong with finishing the K-1 process. Makes no big difference anyway.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I want to add, we decided to consult an immigration lawyer in the first place because my fiance has both citizenships, French and American, and i also have two citizenships, French and Lebanese, so we needed to know if that could be considered as a problem (and she said it's not an issue, at all)

Then the lawyer said that having a K1 pending was a pretty good proof that my intent was not to come to marry on a VWP, but i'm really not convinced about that. If i were a USCIS officer i'd think "she did not want to wait for the K1 so she came on a VWP to get married". So i guess it's a matter of point of view.

About the medical exam, it's a bit cheaper in the US: 150$ if you don't need any additional vaccines compared with 170 euros in Paris, but i think you have to go to one of the surgeons designated by the embassy of your home country. Not sure about that.

Bob's right that they can't use intent but you'd be in a hurry to get everything together, you wouldn't want to marry until you have the rest of the paperwork (just in case you don't get it done in time and can still leave the US and use the K1), and then you'd still want to marry with enough time left to make sure you could get your marriage certficate to send off with your packet AND get the packet accepted at USCIS before your I-94 expires.

Re the passports, dual/multi nationality isn't an issue, could have saved some money on legal fees asking here. I personally have two and it wasn't an issue.

It is, of course, completely up to you but you've already started the K1, you could go home and say goodbye to people properly, organise your stuff to bring with you.

Good luck!

[pushbrk 12,901]

Bob's right that they can't use intent but you'd be in a hurry to get everything together, you wouldn't want to marry until you have the rest of the paperwork (just in case you don't get it done in time and can still leave the US and use the K1), and then you'd still want to marry with enough time left to make sure you could get your marriage certficate to send off with your packet AND get the packet accepted at USCIS before your I-94 expires.

Re the passports, dual/multi nationality isn't an issue, could have saved some money on legal fees asking here. I personally have two and it wasn't an issue.

It is, of course, completely up to you but you've already started the K1, you could go home and say goodbye to people properly, organise your stuff to bring with you.

Good luck!

Just adding my confirmation that folks are NOT required to prove they didn't have intent to marry and adjust status, when it's a spouse of a US Citizen. The big issue is whether you lied at the POE upon entry. Again, change of intent is allowed. Lying while answering a direct question about intent is not.

[SuperCooky 0]

Wooohoooo!

We just received a letter from NVC saying "the State's Department's National Visa Center has recently received an approved I-129F petition filed on behalf of your fiance. This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place."

The thing is, we haven't received any NOA2 and when checking the USCIS website for case status, it's still saying "initial review", and i did not know that NVC was supposed to send anything to us. Is anything wrong?

Is it normal?

[pushbrk 12,901]

Wooohoooo!

We just received a letter from NVC saying "the State's Department's National Visa Center has recently received an approved I-129F petition filed on behalf of your fiance. This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place."

The thing is, we haven't received any NOA2 and when checking the USCIS website for case status, it's still saying "initial review", and i did not know that NVC was supposed to send anything to us. Is anything wrong?

Is it normal?

The letter from NVC is normal. Not receiving the NOA2 is not normal. You'll need that, so follow-up and get it.

[SuperCooky 0]

Ok thanks, i'll call them.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Ok thanks, i'll call them.

Congrats!! You should be on your way to get your K1 visa any time. The only "bad" thing is you should return home soon (unless you want to wait..) so you can do the medical and police check and prepare for interview

Wooohoooo!

We just received a letter from NVC saying "the State's Department's National Visa Center has recently received an approved I-129F petition filed on behalf of your fiance. This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place."

The thing is, we haven't received any NOA2 and when checking the USCIS website for case status, it's still saying "initial review", and i did not know that NVC was supposed to send anything to us. Is anything wrong?

Is it normal?

Just to agree with Push you'll NEED the NOA2 for AOS. So call and tell them you haven't got it to find out where it is.

[newlyweds2010 208]

Just adding my confirmation that folks are NOT required to prove they didn't have intent to marry and adjust status, when it's a spouse of a US Citizen. The big issue is whether you lied at the POE upon entry. Again, change of intent is allowed. Lying while answering a direct question about intent is not.

How would they prove that you lied at the POE? everybody can say that they changed their mind. even visiting a then fiance(e), you can always say that you decided to get married in the airport parking lot, after going through the POE and collecting your bags. Is it really that simple? So basically only those people who are stopped with a tuxedo and a wedding ring packed in their luggage are really at risk.

[newlyweds2010 208]

I respect your decision, but you really don't have enough understanding of the process to assume that your immigration attorney after 7 years of school and a bar exam and work in the field doesn't understand what's involved.

It doesn't matter what the Immigration Officer adjudicating your AOS petition thinks. He can think you have sex with turtles at home and pray to the devil. None of this matters. The bible for Immigration Officers, the "Adjudicator's Field Manual" explicitly forbids that the Immigration Officer uses intent, even if he's sure as hell that you intended to do this (which you didn't) as a reason to deny your AOS petition. So, believe me, your attorney knows a 100 times more about this than you.

Still, nothing wrong with finishing the K-1 process. Makes no big difference anyway.

Law school is much shorter, and the bar exam does not require any immigration law knowledge whatsoever. not to mention that unless you're in California, the bar exam in the other states is just a little bit harder than a piece of cake. as it is the case in every profession, there are good lawyers and bad lawyers. if you go to the California bar website, you can read of attorneys being disbarred for the most various reasons. Never assume that because one is an attorney, he's right.

[pushbrk 12,901]

How would they prove that you lied at the POE? everybody can say that they changed their mind. even visiting a then fiance(e), you can always say that you decided to get married in the airport parking lot, after going through the POE and collecting your bags. Is it really that simple? So basically only those people who are stopped with a tuxedo and a wedding ring packed in their luggage are really at risk.

I didn't say "prove" because "prove" is not the standard. The lie would not be about intent. Here's an example of a lie.

Q. Do you have a fiancee in the USA? A. No

Fact. You are the beneficiary of an I-129F already filed by a US Citizen? Finding. Material misrepresentation. Potential penalty. Lifetime ban.

Get it?

This is why we recommend generic answers to questions about the purpose of a visit but also advise, never to lie if asked a direct, specific question.

For another example. Q. Where will you stay? A. "With Jane Doe" is a perfectly fine answer instead of "with my fiancee" but if asked about your relationship to Jane Doe specifically, saying she's a "friend" when she is already on record as your fiancee, is a "lie" easily "proved".