question about out of status, obtaining visa, and marriage..

[mk1163 0]

hello all... I hope im posting this in the right section. If im not please correct it. I have a few questions if anyone can help out that would be great.. I have been researching into an issue i have with my girlfriend about her status and wanting to get married... About 3 years ago i met her here in the u.s. and have been dating since then. She came here from ukraine on a b1/b2 visa which the i94 had expired about a year and half ago. Our relationship grew and eventually thought about marriage. Her passport is valid and not expired. She applied once for an adjustment before i even knew here and was approved. I am a u.s. Citizen with no problems with getting married.. But we are looking to go to ukraine to meet her family as i have never met them. One of her family members recently applied to get a visa to try to come here to meet and visit, but was denied. Is it possible for us to go there and get married so her family can be there? Is she considered to be in the 10 year ban? Is a k1 or cr1 possible and what would be the time lengths to do this? If i married her there, can she simply come back? Also, would a residency requirement be needed and how do i know if she even needs this requirement? If theres any problems with this that im missing please fill me in. Sorry for the multiple questions but any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks Matt.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You say her B2 visa is expired, but then you say she got adjustment of status. On what grounds did she adjust and to what?

[BSquared 9]

You say her B2 visa is expired, but then you say she got adjustment of status. On what grounds did she adjust and to what?

Maybe he doesn't really mean adjusted status..? but rather reapplied or something..?

[Ryan H 3,810]

OP, you mentioned something about her adjusting status, I have the same question as Harpa, what did she adjust to and on what grounds?

If she is out of status and you two were to go Ukraine and get married then you would be in this situation: Overstay of one year or more is a 10 year ban. You can file the petition for a CR-1 and she would be allowed to interview, however, she would be denied a visa due to the ban and required to file for a waiver.

[Anh map 2,098]

hello all... I hope im posting this in the right section. If im not please correct it. I have a few questions if anyone can help out that would be great.. I have been researching into an issue i have with my girlfriend about her status and wanting to get married... About 3 years ago i met her here in the u.s. and have been dating since then. She came here from ukraine on a b1/b2 visa which the i94 had expired about a year and half ago. Our relationship grew and eventually thought about marriage. Her passport is valid and not expired. She applied once for an adjustment before i even knew here and was approved. I am a u.s. Citizen with no problems with getting married.. But we are looking to go to ukraine to meet her family as i have never met them. One of her family members recently applied to get a visa to try to come here to meet and visit, but was denied. Is it possible for us to go there and get married so her family can be there? Is she considered to be in the 10 year ban? Is a k1 or cr1 possible and what would be the time lengths to do this? If i married her there, can she simply come back? Also, would a residency requirement be needed and how do i know if she even needs this requirement? If theres any problems with this that im missing please fill me in. Sorry for the multiple questions but any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks Matt.

What type of adjustment? As others stated, you may be confusing terms.

If she leaves now she will incur a 10 year ban for overstay. Married or not.

If you marry now, then you would petition to adjust status. If that petition is successful then she would obtain a green card. At that point she could leave the country and be allowed to reenter.

[mk1163 0]

What type of adjustment? As others stated, you may be confusing terms.

im sorry your right, i meant she re-applied at one point (before i even knew her). it was not an adjustment.

[Done--Really 331]

NO NOT LEAVE THE COUNTRY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES !! There will be an automatic 10-year ban as stated above, and it will take a year or more to get through the waiver process to get her back, so DON'T DO IT !!!

You can get married right here, and start down the path that will result in AOS here. You won't be apart at all, and when it is done, she will have a green card, and her overstay will be forgiven, assuming she has been here the entire time.

It's a pretty simple process, but you have to be very, very careful--DO NOT LEAVE THE COUNTRY until the entire process is complete. It may seem like the right thing to do is to meet her family, but then you are screwed--DON'T DO IT !!!

[Eugenia1984 0]

i agree with magical - DONT leave!!!! Life in Ukraine is NOT cheap, and I personally heard and saw a guy being denied K-1 visa at the Consulate in Kiev (when I was there for my own interview) because he overstayed his previous visa...I felt really bad for him, he seemed very sincere..the officer was very nice to him though and asked him to proceed to the other window for the instructions on how to apply for the waiver, which his colleague said cost around $600 plus takes a while...so DONT risk it..

[Used to be broken 147]

im sorry your right, i meant she re-applied at one point (before i even knew her). it was not an adjustment.

Depending on what she "reapplied for" ie: extension of B1/B2 if it was approved you are cool but if not, then its a problem you will not be able to adjust status after marriage if she was denied and placed in proceedings.

You need to find out exactly what the circumstances are before proceeding. Advise checking with Immigration attorney if you do not know exactly what circumstances are.

As stated in previous posts, departure from the US after an overstay will result in 10 year bar, and will be FAR MORE EXPENSIVE than $600 and possibly result in several years of pain and suffering.

[mk1163 0]

Depending on what she "reapplied for" ie: extension of B1/B2 if it was approved you are cool but if not, then its a problem you will not be able to adjust status after marriage if she was denied and placed in proceedings.

You need to find out exactly what the circumstances are before proceeding. Advise checking with Immigration attorney if you do not know exactly what circumstances are.

As stated in previous posts, departure from the US after an overstay will result in 10 year bar, and will be FAR MORE EXPENSIVE than $600 and possibly result in several years of pain and suffering.

When she applied for the extension she was approved. it was the same b1/b2... Thank you all for the advice/info, it has been very helpful. I guess we will not be getting married there and will be doing it here instead

One more thing tho if anyone knows- If after we get married here in the states, and we apply for the green card and get the process started, is there a possibility she can be denied due to an overstay? Also, i read about some 2 year residency requirement, would this apply as well? For a couple in our situation, in what ways would her petition be unsuccessful? We would have no problems proving that she did not come here to get married cause i met here well after she arrived to the states. Thanks again everyone

[Done--Really 331]

1) She will not be denied the green card if there are NO immigration or other infractions and you are completely truthful at every step of the process. While it doesn't sound like she overstayed (but I am confused since you say she extended her visa, but keep mentioning overstay), but even if she has, the overstay will be completely forgiven and also if she worked illegally, that will also be forgiven.

2) There is absolutely no residency requirement. The only requirement is that she entered on a valid visa, and has had no immigration infractions other than possibly working illegally.

GET MARRIED SOON--and then the process will be simple, and you can get on with your life.

Good luck and best wishes

[Excedryn 0]

mk1163, won't address what everyone else has already given advice on but will try to answer your other question as best I can. You can go to Ukraine and get married. There are several ways you can do this; Generally in Ukraine the process to get married is a 30 day process (give or take a few) to get all the ducks lined and paperwork processed. If you wish to expedite that procedure a note from your employer on a company letterhead explaining you have 2 weeks vacation (or how ever many days, etc) will help. It will not be a guarantee for expeditious service but everyone I know who has used that route has gone through the process fairly quick. That is for a legal marriage in Ukraine. You can also have a simple ceremony for the sake of having one so her family can attend, though the marriage will not be legally recognized in Ukraine if you haven't followed the process of getting all the paperwork completed. For the sake of a ceremony for family it is expeditious. My thoughts are get married in the US then proceed to Ukraine for a ceremony so the family can attend. Ukraine does recognize US marriages as being legal. You will already be married so really it is just a matter of setting up a ceremony so everyone in her family can attend. You do not require a visa to travel to Ukraine unless you intend on staying more than 90 days on a given visit. Good luck to you. Or rather...Udachi!

[Done--Really 331]

Ex is giving good advice, but there is one thing I want to make VERY clear...if you decide to get married in the US--and i hope you do--you MUST complete the entire AOS process before you can leave the country. That will take several months, and then you are free to travel anywhere in the world since your wife will have her green card.

If she leaves the country before the entire AOS process is complete, you have to start over from the very beginning, and because she has an overstay, it will take much longer and cost a lot more $$ than if you just do everything here. Not to mention she will have to stay outside the US until you go through the CR-1 process.

Be VERY careful--you MUST do things precisely or you will have an unpleasant outcome.