Married to US citizen under a tourist visa (ASAP)

[sunandmoon 450]

If its such a big problem to get a B2 if he tells the Embassy where he is applying at or tells the CO at the airport that he intends to travel to the USA to get married then how is it legal ? Apply for it and tell them that and see what happens? tell the CO at the airport and see what happens? The person applying wont get a B2 or get in. I rest my case. Intent, thats the magic word. What is your intent. If it is legal and the embassy says no or the CO says no, are they then commiting something illegal? Violating your right? NO, because under immigration law its Illegal to apply for/use that visa with that intent.

you are correct. intent is the magic word. if it your intent to stay, that would be illegal and visa fraud.

Immigration and Nationality Act. Sec 275 [ 8 U.S.C. 1325]

© An individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.

I rest my case.

[Frank and Racquel 18]

I'm sorry, but that's just not true. A visa not being approved for a certain reason doesn't mean something illegal occurred. As you said, the key is intent. If a B-2 is denied because of marriage plans it is because the officer believes the person applying has INTENT TO IMMIGRATE. That INTENT is what is illegal. If they do not have intent to IMMIGRATE there is nothing illegal. The reason visas get denied in cases like that is because EVERY petitioner is assumed to be planning to immigrate unless proven otherwise and plans to get married in America to a USC do not prove strong ties to the home country nor do they prove plans NOT to immigrate.

That being said, some visas ARE granted even if the officer knows there is intent to marry and return home, assuming ties to the home country can be proven.

If you truly believe this to be illegal, you should not be advising the OP to omit the true nature of their trip when applying because VJ does NOT support condoning illegal activity.

A b-2 is for tourists to come to America. A tourist can marry in America, as a tourist, and then return home. They maintained tourist status the entire time, there is nothing illegal. I'd challenge you to point to the immigration law that states this is illegal but I'd bet dollars to donuts you will not find one.

I'm not going to argue with you, your not a lawyer. I don't care if a person has a million ties to their country, it does not matter. Its illegal to apply for a tourist visa with the soul intent to use it to get married here.

[Frank and Racquel 18]

I'm not going to argue with you, your not a lawyer. I don't care if a person has a million ties to their country, it does not matter. Its illegal to apply for a tourist visa with the soul intent to use it to get married here.

sorry i meant SOLE not soul

[ceadsearc 516]

That's perfectly fine. I am not a lawyer, but I have studied the laws regarding immigration and tourist visas and I have seen no law whatsoever that says a B-2 cannot be used to marry in the United States if the tourist is then returning to their country. Keep in mind that not everyone coming to the United States to marry is even marrying a US citizen - some people come for "destination" weddings in Hawaii or Las Vegas and you can bet that they are up front on their visa applications.

The reason I am so adamantly arguing with your statement is because you are providing misinformation to people who come to VisaJourney and are looking at their legal options. Hopefully, they will realize the errors in your statements. If not, I suppose it is a lesson on not trusting what you find on the internet without verifying it yourself.

[sunandmoon 450]

I'm not going to argue with you, your not a lawyer. I don't care if a person has a million ties to their country, it does not matter. Its illegal to apply for a tourist visa with the soul intent to use it to get married here.

the presumption of the law is that every visitor visa apllicant is an intending immigrant. this is overcome by demonstrating significant ties that will ensure their return abroad at the end of their visit.

the sole intent of the OP is not to get married here, it is to visit his girlfriend. he states for religious reasons he needs to marry to stay with her during his visit.

Edited December 14, 2011 by sunandmoon

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

My daughter and her husband traveled from Europe to Maui, Hawaii, on a B2 with the express intent to get married and to spend their honeymoon there. It was great (I love Maui), and there was absolutely nothing illegal or even secretive about it as we had this planed months before with hotel reservations and all.

It's called tourism, the source of much revenue for Uncle Sam.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Brother Hesekiel

[MalaysianGirl 26]

If its such a big problem to get a B2 if he tells the Embassy where he is applying at or tells the CO at the airport that he intends to travel to the USA to get married then how is it legal ? Apply for it and tell them that and see what happens? tell the CO at the airport and see what happens? The person applying wont get a B2 or get in.

I just want to point out that the OP ALREADY HAS a B2 visa. He/she doesn't need to apply for it -- it's already in his/her passport. He/she may face some problems at POE, that's all.

[Noah Lot 391]

I'm not going to argue with you, your not a lawyer. I don't care if a person has a million ties to their country, it does not matter. Its illegal to apply for a tourist visa with the soul intent to use it to get married here.

Sorry F & R, but you are incorrect. A person can legitimately use a B2 visa to come to the US, marry an Amcit, and RETURN to their country to await the processing of an immigrant visa (assuming that's the goal). The key element is to depart the US rather than 'change one's mind' and suddenly decide to stay.