AOS from VWP

[gary1982 0]

i looked at the list earlier and there are a good few in our local area. i will begin calling them shortly to get some prices.

i kept all the labels from the shipping, i also have my evidence of my trip that i planned to take upon my return to the uk and the tickets paid for. i have the original decree as well as 3 certified copies that i have ordered from the court yesterday - my parents will ship those also.

[gary1982 0]

i'm beginning to be become paranoid about stories i'm reading about 60/30 or something. can someone explain?

[newlyweds2010 208]

  On 3/15/2012 at 6:58 PM, gary1982 said:

i'm beginning to be become paranoid about stories i'm reading about 60/30 or something. can someone explain?

What's 60/30?

[JoannaV 174]

Your mother-in-law will only have to prove enough income for a household of two, unless she claimed your wife and/or stepkids on her taxes.

[gary1982 0]

would it be more appropriate to go back to england to complete the process or am i ok to continue? i get the impression that some people look down on those that ajust from tourist visas, like they have done something wrong?

[lubnajavid 20]

im confused - visa waiver program entry - and he can adjust his status?

isnt the whole point of using that program tio enter the USA saying you have no rights to adjust and must leave to apply for a visa?

btw i am a UK citizen - LPR in the US now - and have entered many times on the VWP before getting my work visa here and eventually my LPR

[gary1982 0]

from my understanding and from USCIS themsleves, they say that you can adjust providing you made a lawful entry and had no intent to stay when entering the country, you can adjust status - you have no right of appeal though and must, if unsuccesful, leave immediately.

thats my understanding anyway?

[Laure&Colin 560]

60/30 is a way USCIS decides if you had intent or not when entering the country. Basically, if you get married within less than 30 days, they believe there's no way you didn't plan it ahead. If you get married and file for AOS after 60 days, they will usually consider that your claims not to have prior intent were true.

I'm not sure this "rule" is a reality, but I've heard of it before.

Now to the OP: honestly, noone in the world is gonna believe that you had no prior intent if you got married within a week after POE, and that timeframe included requesting documents from your home country to get a marriage license!

The good news is that USCIS is made to forgive prior intent to spouses of USCs, and prior intent alone cannot be the reason for a denial.

HOWEVER, it looks to me like you lied at POE about your intentions. Just a couple DAYS after POE, you were ordering your divorce decree from home... And the very recent divorce is only going to add to the suspicion.

I don't think what you're doing is a good idea at all. Your prior intent is as clear as day, and unless you were coached to give vague enough answers at the POE, you might be caught lying and face an ocean of trouble ahead.

Now yes, adjusting from VWP is frowned upon by USCIS who knows it's fraudulent, but can't legally deny it (it is fraudulent because you skip the whole legal process, you skip the background checks, and you take advantage of a flow in the process).

It is also frowned upon by people who do it the right and legal way and have to wait months to be together with their spouse, and sometimes get denied at POE when trying to visit during the process because too many people did what you're planning to do.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Laure&Colin

[gary1982 0]

i wanted to try and get an official line so i phoned uscis and had an interesting conversation with an IO. The first level weren't helpful so i asked to speak to someone that could be more sure about my situation.

he wasn't able to answer in specifics but he did put my mind at rest.

k-1 is no more special or better for AOS than a visitor visa - it just comes with the intent to marry in the us. the main difference is that if you're able to qualify for a visitor visa, the embassy/consulate have done what check they need to or you come from an ESTA country so it's not an issue. what is the main issue for them is that you make a lawful entry and are honest with the cbp officer when directly questioned.

he went on to say that the k-1 applicant is no more likely to be guaranteed a successful AOS than a visitor on a valid tourist visa. i asked him if what i'm doing is fraudulent or wrong in any way and he said that it isn't nor has it ever been so long as the two conditions are met; lawful entry and no intent

i mentioned about the speed of the marriage and whilst he said that it was quick, it's not for them to pass judgment but to apply immigration law to each case fairly and without prejudice, he recommended keeping the emails i sent my parents and also the shipping label from the packages to show it was an overnight delivery. i then asked about the recent divorce and he said that it would be useful for me to include a timeline, with affadavits from people than can attest to the separation for 2 years before the divorce.

he advised that i have about 2 months to get everything together that i should accrue as much supporting evidence as possible, he said evidence from my employer that i was employed right up until i quit whilst in the states and anything else that can overcome the suggestion of intent can only improve my case.

he didn't comment, nor did i expect him to on my actual likelihood of success. he said depending on my field office that i could get an interview or it could automatically approve, depending on the strength of my case.

lastly he asked me if there was anything else he could do - i liked that touch - good customer service. a lot of what he said could have been subjective but a lot of what he said actually made sense in the real world. he made me feel really relaxed and was very frank about the process.

in a nutshell i don't think i have anything to worry about nor do others in a similar situation.

@Laure&Colin - you have evidence to back up your claim the USCIS believe this to be a fraudulent process? or just speculation from the negative people on this site?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

  On 3/16/2012 at 2:29 PM, gary1982 said:

he didn't comment, nor did i expect him to on my actual likelihood of success. he said depending on my field office that i could get an interview or it could automatically approve, depending on the strength of my case.

This shows he doesn't know what he is talking about. We call the number the "misinformation line." The people who answer the phone are call center employees, not USCIS workers. They mostly read from a screen and should not be giving out immigration advice. On the point I quoted, he is dead wrong. A Concurrent I-130/I-485 application has a mandatory joint interview with both husband and wife. There is no way to bypass that.

No one is commenting in this thread, I think, because it is a pretty iffy scenario. If you know that you didn't have intent, then by all means go ahead. It's your decision. Just know that if you go ahead, you are on shaky ground. You have waived your right to appeal by entering on the VWP, if it is denied. You don't actually have a visitor visa, just so you know. The person you talked to was also wrong on that point. There are some red flags in your case, the recent divorce, the quick marriage, too.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[gary1982 0]

maybe it is best if i return back to the uk and start the cr-1 process? i can't help thinking we shouldn't have been so impulsive and waited a bit like someone mentioned earlier its just i had to make a snap decision with a job and apartment to go back to.

i definitely didn't come here with the intention of staying but i can understand why people would see red flags. is it really so wrong to decide to marry if you're free to marry i mean? i don't see the harm in it. in my state there was no waiting period either. i just needed my divorce certificate and passport and it was done.

what are the biggest flags and can they be overcome with evidence?

i do appreciate everyone being so honest and candid - especially about the uscis service i called!

[Laure&Colin 560]

Getting married in the US is absolutely not wrong: like you said, if you're free to marry, who can tell you that you can't!

The problem is with you staying after getting married in the US, although you did not come on a visa allowing it, and actually didn't come on a visa at all (remember that everyone crossing the US border is subject to some kind of screening beforehand, except for VWP and Canadian visitors).

To be honest, even if you truthfully didn't have intentions to stay when you crossed the border, noone's gonna believe that: the timeline is just not credible. Intent is what makes your plan fraudulent: in USCIS's eyes, you intentionnally came with plans of staying. However like I told you before, USCIS can't deny AOS to the spouse of a USC based on prior intent only.

If you decide to go ahead, make sure you never lie or "arrange the truth" at the interview. If you did consider staying before you arrived, don't try to pretend the contrary to the IO. Being caught lying would NOT be forgiven, unlike prior intent.

[gary1982 0]

so because i got married too quickly they assume intent? i can see that logic. i guess if i looked at it logically i would have thought the same thing! is the problem the timing or the fact that i'm staying - i definitely didn't plan this as i have left a lot of stuff behind and i wasn't planning ahead!

i did think about just extending my stay to see how it all felt and then seeing what happened but went for the impetuous route! i guess that things wouldn't look so bad if i had waited 6 weeks before marrying? i have learnt a valuble lesson thanks to you guys!

if i did decide to stay and i was denied for something non-fraud related could i then go back to england and apply for cr-1 with no prejudice? or would it be an issue having already completed an AOS of sorts?

[Laura & Kyle 16]

  On 3/16/2012 at 12:13 PM, Laure&Colin said:

60/30 is a way USCIS decides if you had intent or not when entering the country. Basically, if you get married within less than 30 days, they believe there's no way you didn't plan it ahead. If you get married and file for AOS after 60 days, they will usually consider that your claims not to have prior intent were true.

I'm not sure this "rule" is a reality, but I've heard of it before.

I just wanted to add to this thread to anyone who may come across and read about this so called rule... It's rubbish. I heard others on this forum talk about the 60/30 rule, i've also seen it being called a 30/60 rule.. it's talk. We aren't IOs and should only go based on our own experiences or written law, precedences.

That said, my husband (UK) and I got married a tiny bit after a month and it wasn't even asked or mentioned as being too quick. Also, my husband was straightforward with answering the IO in telling him that he did quit his job so he could come see me before he left for the US. Some here would say that's a red flag, but really, every story is different, and every IO going to interpret information they way they want to.

The bottom line: Get all your paperwork together, make sure it's complete, and learn to relax. It's very hard during an VWP-AOS process, as there is no way to appeal, and you're leaving your "fate" in the hands of the USCIS. Make sure you submit the best case / paperwork / proof possible.

[SOflaherty 40]

Oh seriously, DEEP BREATHS and CHILL OUT. I am getting dizzy just reading the posts.

1. YES, you can and are allowed to adjust your status as the spouse of a US citizen on a VWP entry. It's allowed, no ifs, ands or buts. PERIOD. People do this every single day.

2. There is almost zero chance of being questioned about your intentions during your interview. I've been on this board nearly 2 years, and only ONCE have I seen anyone get asked about it during their interview.

**Even if they did ask, it doesn't matter. If you are otherwise admissible, this won't be held against you as the spouse of a US citizen. Intent alone is not enough for them to deny you, and as long as you say you had no intentions upon entering, they would have to prove otherwise if they decided to press the point, which they won't.

The 30/60 'rule' is just a guideline for judging intent that I have heard batted around, mostly by lawyers. It was clarified some time ago that this is not an actual rule, and is not really even used as a guideline anymore.

3. Whether you want to adjust now is up to you, as is the choice of going back and going the CR-1 route. People adjust from VWP's every day and do fine, but there are a lot of people who shy away from the risk, which is that going the adjustment route here, there is no appealing it if you are denied with a VWP adjustment. You would have to go home and file CR-1 anyways. If your case is solid, you won't have any issue, but if you have doubts or there are complications(prior criminal record or anything) then it's safer to do the CR-1. Your choice.

Edited May 4, 2012 by SOflaherty