Getting married on Tourist Visa?

[Dereklee003 2]

I am a US citizen currently teaching English in South Korea. In August I will be going home and hope to take my Korean girlfriend with me. We plan to get married, but are not sure when yet. My question is what is the best plan of action?

A) Have her come on tourist visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

B) Have her come on student visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

C) Get married in Korea, then start Marriage visa process.

D) Get engaged, then start Fiance visa process.

Which method would be fastest? Easiest?

Which way would keep us together the most during the process (not in separate countries)?

[Dereklee003 2]

I am a US citizen currently teaching English in South Korea. In August I will be going home and hope to take my Korean girlfriend with me. We plan to get married, but are not sure when yet. My question is what is the best plan of action?

A) Have her come on tourist visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

B) Have her come on student visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

C) Get married in Korea, then start Marriage visa process.

D) Get engaged, then start Fiance visa process.

Which method would be fastest? Easiest?

Which way would keep us together the most during the process (not in separate countries)?

[Dereklee003 2]

I am a US citizen currently teaching English in South Korea. In August I will be going home and hope to take my Korean girlfriend with me. We plan to get married, but are not sure when yet. My question is what is the best plan of action?

A) Have her come on tourist visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

B) Have her come on student visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

C) Get married in Korea, then start Marriage visa process.

D) Get engaged, then start Fiance visa process.

Which method would be fastest? Easiest?

Which way would keep us together the most during the process (not in separate countries)?

[TimeTravel 78]

Go either option C or D.

Most important thing is that find a safe way.

[redsnap 13]

I am a US citizen currently teaching English in South Korea. In August I will be going home and hope to take my Korean girlfriend with me. We plan to get married, but are not sure when yet. My question is what is the best plan of action?

A) Have her come on tourist visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

B) Have her come on student visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

C) Get married in Korea, then start Marriage visa process.

D) Get engaged, then start Fiance visa process.

Which method would be fastest? Easiest?

Which way would keep us together the most during the process (not in separate countries)?

IMO - It would be easiest and cheapest to do C), since you live and work in South Korea now, get married asap and do DCF. Then you can stay together until August and shortly after you leave, your wife can follow. I'm not dipping into the specifics, because there are so many guides on the CR-1 and K1 visa... Good luck!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am a US citizen currently teaching English in South Korea. In August I will be going home and hope to take my Korean girlfriend with me. We plan to get married, but are not sure when yet. My question is what is the best plan of action?

A) Have her come on tourist visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

B) Have her come on student visa, get married, apply for adjustment.

C) Get married in Korea, then start Marriage visa process.

D) Get engaged, then start Fiance visa process.

Which method would be fastest? Easiest?

Which way would keep us together the most during the process (not in separate countries)?

You already know which method would be the fastest.

Methods "A" and "B" are not an option if she intends to adjust status at the time she enters the US. Neither a tourist visa nor a student visa allows for immigrant intent. Yeah, I know, people do it all the time. It's still illegal.

Option "D" is a little faster than option "C", but not by much. If you go to the "Guides" section through the link at the top of the page you'll find a comparison between spousal and fiancee visas.

If you're willing to continue living in Korea then any of these options would allow you to stay together pretty much through the whole process. If you go with option "C" then you'll have to reestablish domicile in the US to meet the affidavit of support requirements.

[Darnell 8,478]

start D now.

[Dereklee003 2]

You already know which method would be the fastest.

Methods "A" and "B" are not an option if she intends to adjust status at the time she enters the US. Neither a tourist visa nor a student visa allows for immigrant intent. Yeah, I know, people do it all the time. It's still illegal.

Option "D" is a little faster than option "C", but not by much. If you go to the "Guides" section through the link at the top of the page you'll find a comparison between spousal and fiancee visas.

If you're willing to continue living in Korea then any of these options would allow you to stay together pretty much through the whole process. If you go with option "C" then you'll have to reestablish domicile in the US to meet the affidavit of support requirements.

My question then would be this: How do they know your intent? Or maybe I should say how do you prove that you are intending to just be a student? What kind of evidence or things do they look for?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

*** three topics on the same issue merged. Please do not start more than one topic on an issue/ question. Moving to General Immigration as OP has not decided on a immigration path yet *****

Edited January 5, 2012 by Penguin_ie

[jaycali 415]

It's often said you get what you pay for. My experience with immigration says you get what you wait for.

Option A) Could work, BUT, keep in mind that you can't enter the US on the VWP or a tourist visa with the intention of marrying a US citizen and then to adjust status. Meaning you'll have to lie to the CBP - never a good idea. You'd also get problems when trying to adjust status, as you'll then have to prove that you didn't lie at entry, and never actually intended to get married and adjust status when you arrived in the first place. Basically you'd have to prove at the port of entry that even though you're married, she has every intention to return to Korea within 90 days. Then, when adjusting status that you decided on a whim, during those 90 days that she was going to stay with you. This has to be done without insulting the intelligence of the CBP or USCIS.

Option B) Same thing, could work, but again, she'll never get a student visa if her intention is to marry you and adjust status. She would have to either lie to CBP (again, never a good idea) and say she doesn't intend to adjust status. If she's lucky, in the interview, the question never comes up, she could say she intends to study (if she actually does intend to study). Leaving out the marriage part isn't technically lying, so if not asked directly, she wouldn't have to volunteer that information. On a student visa it would obviously be a lot more credible to say you didn't intend to get married - it just happened that way.

Option C) I'd say although it can easily take 8 months, this is your best, cheapest and most stress-free option. Get married, file I-130 petition. Once approved for a visa, she can travel to the US and get her LPR status immediately upon entry; She can start working immediately, and you save 100s of dollars and plenty of stress by not having to adjust status later.

Option D) Also a good choice, takes approx. 2 months less for her to come to the US, but she'll be arriving on a K-1 visa. She can't work, you have to get married within 90 days, and THEN pay 100s of dollars and wait months on end for her to adjust status to LPR. She also won't be able to work until approx. 3 months after filing to adjust status.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

My question then would be this: How do they know your intent? Or maybe I should say how do you prove that you are intending to just be a student? What kind of evidence or things do they look for?

Do you really want to start this process off with misrepresentation?

Go with D.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

My question then would be this: How do they know your intent? Or maybe I should say how do you prove that you are intending to just be a student? What kind of evidence or things do they look for?

Well,

somebody who comes to the U.S. for a short visit will have his job waiting, all of the clothes in the apartment, all of their paperwork including the birth certificate which is needed for AoS, will have a dog or cat (forgot: Koreans eat both), all of their life waiting for the return. In short, they will need to return in order to avoid evictions and all kinds of problems. Since AoS takes 5 months, a visitor without intention to stay could simply not afford to stay that long without risking huge problems back home.

It's common sense, really.

[GandK 168]

If we explicitly know what kind of evidence they are looking for when proving "intent", then all the people would have gone that easy illegal route to green card and avoid getting caught for visa fraud, don't you think?

The fact is you never know what they are looking for and will use against your case.

You can estimate a chance in % that you might get caught for visa fraud if you plan to go A) or B). Give any number that you are comfortable with but remember that IF you are caught with visa fraud, your adjustment of status will be denied and your fiancee will be deported, possibly have a ban placed on her for 10 years.

So, are you ready to gamble your future and life together on that % ?

Edited January 7, 2012 by GandK

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

My question then would be this: How do they know your intent? Or maybe I should say how do you prove that you are intending to just be a student? What kind of evidence or things do they look for?

They look at the circumstances. Being in a relationship with a US citizen or LPR is a strong indicator of immigrant intent. If they believe the alien intends to immigrate at the consulate then they'll deny the visa. If they believe the alien intends to immigrate at the port of entry then they'll deny admission.

Here's the kicker. They won't deny adjustment of status solely for immigrant intent, even if they have evidence of their intent. Adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit that's adjudicated the same way a court case is adjudicated - by weighing the evidence. Immigrant intent is a serious negative factor. Being an immediate relative of a US citizen is a stronger positive factor. If immigrant intent is the only negative factor they've got then they'll approve the adjustment of status. Once an alien is admitted to the US then their chances of being approved for adjustment of status are pretty good, which is why many people do it in spite of it being illegal.

The US government is not blind to this. They have been known to set someone up for a more serious charge of material misrepresentation if they have evidence of immigrant intent. For example, if they pull someone into secondary inspection at the port of entry and find something suspicious in their luggage - a birth certificate, for example - they'll be asked about their intentions. They may even be asked to sign a statement. If they subsequently attempt to adjust status then any statements they made when they entered the US can be used against them. If they determine the alien lied about their intentions then the adjustment of status will be denied, and they'll be barred from the US for material misrepresentation, potentially for the rest of their lives.

Adjustment of status is primarily for people who enter the US with a visa that allows for immigrant intent, or for someone whose circumstances have changed after they entered the US. It's not meant to be an alternative to immigrant visa processing.

[GandK 168]

Some example here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/345924-usc-married-f-1-student-and-applied-for-aos/