AOS from VWP

[gary1982 0]

first post so nervous!

came to US a week ago from England to visit my girlfriend for 3 weeks. we got married yesterday and from what I understand as I had not intent to stay, I can stay and adjust my status? i'm not looking for judgement in my choice but some advice relating to some specifics.

1. i was given 3 weeks when i arrived as that is what i asked for. it will take longer than the two week i have left to assemble the packages

2. i had to get my divorce decree overnighted from england for the license, will that matter? is it seen as intent? my understanding is that if i had it with me, it would have been intent?

3. the medical document, according to the giudes says that i need to complete the necessary parts and then do i have the medical with the uscis approved physician and then send in the form, or do i send in the form with parts complete and wait for the field office to send me for medical?

sorry this is a mess - writing on iphone and my head is a bit all over the place rite now

cheers,

gary

Edited March 15, 2012 by gary1982

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You only got 3 weeks of authorized stay at POE? And you changed your mind in 3 weeks? Normally I'd say no problem, by with a timeline of 3 weeks... and you got married and decided to stay after one week. I am not sure what was said at POE, why was it so short? This all seems very out of the ordinary.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[jdh 103]

first post so nervous!

came to US a week ago from England to visit my girlfriend for 3 weeks. we got married yesterday and from what I understand as I had not intent to stay, I can stay and adjust my status? i'm not looking for judgement in my choice but some advice relating to some specifics.

1. i was given 3 weeks when i arrived as that is what i asked for. it will take longer than the two week i have left to assemble the packages

2. i had to get my divorce decree overnighted from england for the license, will that matter? is it seen as intent? my understanding is that if i had it with me, it would have been intent?

3. the medical document, according to the giudes says that i need to complete the necessary parts and then do i have the medical with the uscis approved physician and then send in the form, or do i send in the form with parts complete and wait for the field office to send me for medical?

sorry this is a mess - writing on iphone and my head is a bit all over the place rite now

cheers,

gary

You are good, don't worry about it. Although it probably will raise eyebrows and you may get questioned a fair bit because three weeks does seem an odd timeframe in which to change your mind - but it can happen. Some of us humans are more impulsive than others...

Overstay is forgiven for the spouse of an American Citizen - I am assuming she is one,

In regards to your medical, let the civil surgeon take care of it. That is one set of forms you do not have to even think about.

Go to the doctor, they will give you the part to fill out (if I recall right it is all caps too), then he will do his part, give you needles and once he is done you get a nice sealed up envelope to stick with your packet when you mail it off. This does have to be done before you apply for AOS.

Edited March 15, 2012 by jdh

[gary1982 0]

when i arrived at poe they asked me how long i was visiting for and i said 3 weeks, so they gave me three weeks & they didn't ask me any questions at all. i thought it was odd as i only asked for 2 weeks last time and got 90 days.

3 weeks is a short time as that is all i had to make decision. i had to quit job and give up my apartment. i had tickets booked for the week after i'm due back that i paid for in full also that i cannot use as i decided on this action with my new wife.

have i done something wrong by deciding to stay?

yes she is usc

Edited March 15, 2012 by gary1982

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

When did you quit your job and give up your apartment? How often had you been visiting?

[gary1982 0]

i spoke to my boss today and i told him. he was happy for me and told me if there was anything he could do to help and if something happened there would always be a job for me there. my apartment was with a friend and i told him to go ahead and let the room today. he is going to send my remaining stuff to my parents. i can get affadavits to support all of this from the relevant parties.

i had only visited once before.

i still have time to go back to england if you think it will cause problems for me in the future?

[jdh 103]

i spoke to my boss today and i told him. he was happy for me and told me if there was anything he could do to help and if something happened there would always be a job for me there. my apartment was with a friend and i told him to go ahead and let the room today. he is going to send my remaining stuff to my parents. i can get affadavits to support all of this from the relevant parties.

i had only visited once before.

i still have time to go back to england if you think it will cause problems for me in the future?

I don't see a problem.

[gary1982 0]

another question i guess i should asked this earlier. my divorce was only completed 2 months ago. it was to an english woman. we divorced under 2 years separation rule in english/welsh law. my new wife knew all about process. the divorce timeframe was at the request of my ex-wife as she wanted time to adjust to our marriage being over. i hadn't lived with her since the day i left in dec '09.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You have a ton of red flags here. This is just a board with people on it. No one can tell you what to do. I was trying to get the bottom of what happened with this highly unusual "3 weeks stay" given at POE. This suggests something odd happened, or you were flagged somehow. This could be a problem in the future. Now you come out with a very recent divorce. To me, there is still a lot more to the story that isn't being told. I'd get a lawyer. If the past visit the only other time you have visited your wife? What else aren't you saying here? To give any meaningful advice, the whole story must be told.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Are you sure you were only given three weeks? That's very odd for a visitor from the UK. Are you visiting under the VWP? Are you a UK citizen?

If you are, check the stamp in your passport to see the date you are eligible to be in the country until. Even if you told the POE officer that you were going to stay for 3 weeks they usually stamp you for the whole 90 days when you come from the UK.

Edited March 15, 2012 by *Lynne*

[gary1982 0]

why must everything be a story?

we met 9 months ago online, i went to visit her, i went back to the uk, we talk everyday, i decided to come and see her for a few weeks and we decide to get married since my divorce came through very recently. i don't know how else to explain that?

can someone explain to me why a divorce completed very recently with legal papers, signed by judge, that state legal separation of 2 year had taken place between the parties, would be considered strange when in the context of immigration? as long as my wife is aware of everything, what do i have to be concerned about?

sorry, my mistake! i did get 90 days, it's clearly in my passport with the stamp - i didn't think to look, the officer just made a comment about 3 weeks. i got 90 days before too!

i'm english, born and bred!

Edited March 15, 2012 by gary1982

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Ahh, that makes it much better that you got 90 days, which is normal. Anything different indicated that something bad happened at POE. Not everything has to be a story but the way you were slowly spilling information made it seem, to me, like there was. You do have other red flags, like a recent divorce, but you can explain those at your interview. The guide for AOS is at the top of the page under "guides." Good luck.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Well, that gives you a little more breathing room and also maybe some time to get your paperwork completely right before sending it in.

[PeterandRobin 3]

OK, red flags and drama aside, this will hopefully give you some pointers..

In terms of the medical exam, you have to find a civil surgeon (I think you can find a list on the uscis website, or just google for a list in your area), they will know what needs to be done, just print out the form and complete with your details, they will do the rest. However, a couple of things to bear in mind..

There is no set fee for this exam so make sure you shop around, I was given a wide range of prices which varied by hundreds of dollars, for exactly the same tests.

You will have a TB test, this will likely be positive due to the vaccinations you had at school in the UK. This may require you to have a chest X-Ray to check for scarring (probably additional cost), but again this will vary as the test result for the first test is very subjective, for my AOS mine was deemed negative, when I had the same test done a couple of years later for my work I thought the reaction was less but they deemed it positive and I had to have the X-Ray, apparently the guideline have changed or at least that is what I was told.

You will need your divorce documents and it needs to be the original, also birth certificates of any kids in the UK, it would be a good idea to keep the shipping label if you are worried about them thinking you came in with them.

Then it is paperwork, waiting, possibly more paperwork, more waiting, frustration, more waiting, a bit of excitement when you get your biometrics appointment, more waiting, more waiting, more excitement and total panic when you get your interview date, then either sheer relief or more waiting.........

[gary1982 0]

i did the read the guide. this site is a wonderful tool and i feel very comfortable completing the process with the guide and people from here.

i think with an interview, we can answer any questions that might come up. will the fact that we don't have much 'evidence' for co-migling matter? i read some posts about affadavits? but they are secondary evidence arent they?

my wife hasn't been working as she has been bringing up her children and tried to go to college but couldn't balance childcare so her mother is going to sponsor us. will my wifes not working hurt us at all? our cosponsor makes $50000 and has no dependents although my wife, me and her kids (my stepkids) are living with her at the moment.