Do you have to file for AOS within a certain amount of time?

[pocheros 101]

I'm a K1 who entered the USA in September and got married within 90 days of my POE. Due to various reasons (husband got laid off) I haven't applied for AOS yet and it may be quite some time (maybe 6 more months) before I'm able to come up with the filing fee and I'm able to prove that my husband makes enough to support me such that I won't become a public charge in the USA.

Is there a time limit on when you have to apply for AOS, assuming you got married within 90 days of POE? I realize I can't work or travel outside the US until I have a green card or EAD/AP combo card, but can they deport me? My K1 visa expired last month.

Even if I had the filing fee ready we have absolutely no one who could co-sponsor us and prove that there's enough annual income to support me, so basically I'm left hanging until my husband finds a job.

What happens when you apply for AOS such a long time after a K1 visa expires? Does this raise any red flags that will cause me to be deported? Like is someone just going to come knocking on my door when I've basically been sitting around this whole time not doing anything?

Edited March 17, 2012 by pocheros

[pocheros 101]

Okay, so someone replied to me in the Canada forum and I learned about out of status days and that you can get a ban if you leave the country while out of status. However, if I (hypothetically) accrued 180 out of status days but then adjusted my status and was approved for a green card, upon the receipt of my green card would i be banned if I left the USA and tried to re-enter despite being a permanent resident?

How does being out of status affect my AOS application?

[Inky 1,111]

Okay, so someone replied to me in the Canada forum and I learned about out of status days and that you can get a ban if you leave the country while out of status. However, if I (hypothetically) accrued 180 out of status days but then adjusted my status and was approved for a green card, upon the receipt of my green card would i be banned if I left the USA and tried to re-enter despite being a permanent resident?

How does being out of status affect my AOS application?

No because you have your green card. You cannot however apply for AP and use the AP. They will stop you from being allowed back in.

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Your out of status is forgiven when your spouse is USC. When you are out of status, you must be careful because you will have problems at immigration checkpoints (Texas and Arizona have checkpoints on main interstates.) Good luck.

[pocheros 101]

Your out of status is forgiven when your spouse is USC. When you are out of status, you must be careful because you will have problems at immigration checkpoints (Texas and Arizona have checkpoints on main interstates.) Good luck.

Thanks for the heads up. Incidentally, I just might have to drive through Texas and Arizona (hubby has a job offer on the other side of the country so I might be moving there). What kind of paperwork should I bring with me in case we got stopped?

Edited March 17, 2012 by pocheros

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Thanks for the heads up. Incidentally, I just might have to drive through Texas and Arizona (hubby has a job offer on the other side of the country so I might be moving there). What kind of paperwork should I bring with in case we got stopped?

Sometimes, they just look and let you go. Sometimes, they ask for your resident proof. Because you haven't filed AOS so you are basically out of status (K-1 marriage doesn't give you any immigration right at all) and it might be a problem for you to be detained and stuff. Don't ever say you are US Citizen if you aren't when they ask if you are UC Citizen at these checkpoints. I would not recommend you run into this mess. You can fly where you only need a picture ID to board a flight.

Edited March 17, 2012 by NancyNguyen

[pocheros 101]

Sometimes, they just look and let you go. Sometimes, they ask for your resident proof. Because you haven't filed AOS so you are basically out of status (K-1 marriage doesn't give you any immigration right at all) and it might be a problem for you to be detained and stuff. Don't ever say you are US Citizen if you aren't when they ask if you are UC Citizen at these checkpoints. I would not recommend you run into this mess. You can fly where you only need a picture ID to board a flight.

Thanks for your help. I will either fly or drive around Texas and Arizona if I have to make the trip. Of course I would never say I'm a citizen when I'm not.

[pocheros 101]

Soo... does anyone have any advice for flying WITHIN the US when you're out of status? I see that Nancy recommended flying, but I'm still a little nervous. I've only flown internationally before, so when I went through customs they asked me what the purpose of my trip was (to visit my then-fiance) and examined my passport. Though I understand you do not go through customs when flying within the US, I'm still worried that someone might notice my expired I-94 especially if they ask me why I'm flying (to be with my husband) and especially because it's a Canadian passport.

When flying within the US, who checks your ID? Just the desk attendants before you board? How does security work? I'm used to doing luggage, then filling out a form, then talking to a customs officer, THEN putting my belongings in trays to be x-rayed, then having another attendant check my passport. I'm worried they might call over an immigration officer or something... I know it sounds paranoid but I want to be 100% sure before I get on an airplane. If I had NOA1 from AOS I wouldn't be worried but for reasons I explained above I can't file for AOS until we move to Florida...

I would use a nevada state ID except they won't issue one to you with an expired I-94. My only photo IDs are my Canadian passport and my Ontario health card, and I'm sure if I use my health card they'll look at me funny :S

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 22, 2012 by pocheros

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Your ID will be checked at the check-in counter and when you go through security. The counter will check your identity, and TSA at the security checkpoint will check your identity too. They are not immigration people and immigration people will not be around. TSA's job is to confirm identity, not check your immigration status. They won't even look at your I-94. You check in at the counter, you get a boarding pass. Then you go through security who checks your ID and scans your luggage (and yourself), then you go wait in the waiting area for the plane to start boarding.

[TBoneTX 46,268]

Your ID will be checked at the check-in counter and when you go through security. The counter will check your identity, and TSA at the security checkpoint will check your identity too. They are not immigration people and immigration people will not be around. TSA's job is to confirm identity, not check your immigration status. They won't even look at your I-94. You check in at the counter, you get a boarding pass. Then you go through security who checks your ID and scans your luggage (and yourself), then you go wait in the waiting area for the plane to start boarding.

A partial, and exceptionally rare, correction to what HT says: At some U.S. airports, CBP/ICE personnel do hang around the TSA area. San Francisco is apparently one such. However, whether they'd check you at all is open to big question. If JimVaPhuong visits this thread, he can comment. Edited March 23, 2012 by TBoneTX

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The TSA posts an agent at the security checkpoint of every airport with commercial air traffic. That agent's job title is "Travel Document Checker", or TDC. Their only job is to check your travel documents. This means boarding pass and photo ID. The make a cursory examination of your ID and confirm that the identification matches the name on the boarding pass. That's pretty much it.

One of the TDC's jobs is to look for any overt evidence of fake identification. If they suspect an ID might be fake then they'll examine it more closely. If you're using a passport for ID then this is where they might discover your I-94 and visa are expired. Now, it's not TSA's job to check immigration status of passengers traveling on domestic flights. However, if they think there's something up with your passport then they can call CBP over to examine your immigration documents to see if those are also legit. CBP would check your status, and they would detain you if they determine you're out of status. TSA occasionally catches smugglers using fake ID and fake immigration documents, and they brag about these busts on their web site.

Ok, the odds of the above happening are pretty slim. If your passport looks kosher then they'll waive you through. I'm just telling you what's possible. If this scenario does happen then make sure you've brought a copy of your marriage certificate. The K1 visa, I-94, and marriage certificate combined are proof that you're eligible to adjust status. It's CBP policy not to initiate removal proceedings against someone who is clearly eligible to adjust status. They won't waste their time because they know the immigration judge would accept your I-485 and kick your case back to USCIS for adjudication. In other words, you wouldn't get deported anyway, so why should they bother. However, you would almost certainly be jacked around for a few hours and miss your flight before they cut you loose with a stern warning to file your AOS application right away.

FWIW, the above scenario is also what would happen if you happened to get caught at an immigration checkpoint on the ground. The only difference is that they might transport you to a CBP detention facility (read JAIL) before cutting you loose. I've heard of a few cases where a K1 had to spend a night in a CBP detention cell, but that's pretty rare. In the one case I remember the most clearly the K1 and her spouse gave the CBP officers a very hard time, so keeping them in the can overnight was their subtle way of punishing them. Never mouth off to a law enforcement officer in the US. They can take your freedom away for three business days without any cause or court order. Just sayin...

You don't have to worry about highway patrol, county sheriffs, or city cops. They don't check immigration status. They just want valid photo ID.

[pocheros 101]

Harpa, TBone, and JimVaPhuong, thank you very much for you advice. Thank you for the detailed and informed post JimVaPhuong, it's very helpful and I feel a lot more at ease knowing what to expect and what they're looking for (my passport isn't fake of course, so they probably won't investigate it further). I've been meaning to order some more marriage certificates (currently we only have one, but I want at least two, one for me and one for hubby) and will make sure to have one on me when I travel in case they pull me aside, in addition to a refundable or transferable plane ticket. Will continue to be 100% cooperative and polite to CBP officers, as always And if I do drive I will still avoid the immigration checkpoints, just because it's easier

Thanks again guys, once again Visa Journey comes to the rescue!

Edited March 23, 2012 by pocheros