Entered with K1..CBP gives conflicting info

[Ed & Luz 2]

Well after almost six months of having my fiance's K1 visa approved we finally activated it yesterday (apr 23) thru the Calexico CA POE. After much confusion and me politely explaining to them the instructions given during the interview at the Consulate in CDJ, they totally confused us.

They claim that we only have 7 days from entry to get married because our K1 visa was issued in Nov 2011 and expires Apr 29, 2012 and we waited to long to activate it??? We explained that the Consulate in CDJ said we had 6 months to use the visa for 1 entry and then 90 days from entry to get married. We were ok because we entered yesterday Apr 23. I read the Department of State website again and the forums and no where does it say the K1 visa is valid for 6 months and the 90 days are included in the 6 months. The DOS page says " couple must be married within 90 days of entry into the USA"

Can anyone clarify this? The worst part is that the I94 they stapled to the visa expires in 7 days they only issued it for the length of the K1 visa so it says valid till Apr 29, 2012 and this is why we must be married before Apr 29.

Thanks, Ed.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Well after almost six months of having my fiance's K1 visa approved we finally activated it yesterday (apr 23) thru the Calexico CA POE. After much confusion and me politely explaining to them the instructions given during the interview at the Consulate in CDJ, they totally confused us.

They claim that we only have 7 days from entry to get married because our K1 visa was issued in Nov 2011 and expires Apr 29, 2012 and we waited to long to activate it??? We explained that the Consulate in CDJ said we had 6 months to use the visa for 1 entry and then 90 days from entry to get married. We were ok because we entered yesterday Apr 23. I read the Department of State website again and the forums and no where does it say the K1 visa is valid for 6 months and the 90 days are included in the 6 months. The DOS page says " couple must be married within 90 days of entry into the USA"

Can anyone clarify this? The worst part is that the I94 they stapled to the visa expires in 7 days they only issued it for the length of the K1 visa so it says valid till Apr 29, 2012 and this is why we must be married before Apr 29.

Thanks, Ed.

The officer was wrong. However, it's not worth your time to fight it. Just go to the local court house and get a quickie marriage before the I-94 expires. File to adjust your wife's status based on the court house marriage. Then, go and have your big wedding if that is what you want.

Edited April 24, 2012 by aaron2020

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I would go to your closest POE and get the I-94 corrected. You're right that this is a CBP error.

[Xera 0]

The way it was explained to me is you have 90 days to get married after entry WITHIN the 6 months. So if you use the visa with only 7 days left on it then you only have 7 days to get married. You have until the 6 month visa expires to get married, not necessarily 90 days. This is how it is explained on the USCIS webpage.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The way it was explained to me is you have 90 days to get married after entry WITHIN the 6 months. So if you use the visa with only 7 days left on it then you only have 7 days to get married. You have until the 6 month visa expires to get married, not necessarily 90 days. This is how it is explained on the USCIS webpage.

No. Wrong. you have 6 months to enter (sometimes shorter depending on your medical) and THEN 90 days to get married. The K1 visa is invalidated on entry and your status is then controlled by the I-94. You have until the 90 days AFTER ENTRY to get married, the 6 month visa is how long you have to ENTER.

Seriously, CBP error. Call first and then go to your nearest POE to get it corrected.

Here it is from the State site: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2994.html (emphasis theirs)

With your visa, you can apply for a single admission at a U.S. port of entry within the validity of the visa, which will be a maximum of 6 months from the date of issuance. You must marry your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days of your entry into the United States.

Here it is from USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD (underlining mine)

After the Fiancé(e) Visa is Issued

Once issued, the fiancé(e) visa (or K-1 nonimmigrant visa) allows your fiancé(e) to enter the United States for 90 days so that your marriage ceremony can take place. Once you marry, your spouse may apply for permanent residence and remain in the United States while USCIS processes the application. For additional information, see the “Green Card” link to the right.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[aaron2020 11,651]

I would go to your closest POE and get the I-94 corrected. You're right that this is a CBP error.

No. Wrong. you have 6 months to enter (sometimes shorter depending on your medical) and THEN 90 days to get married. The K1 visa is invalidated on entry and your status is then controlled by the I-94. You have until the 90 days AFTER ENTRY to get married, the 6 month visa is how long you have to ENTER.

Seriously, CBP error. Call first and then go to your nearest POE to get it corrected.

Here it is from the State site: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2994.html (emphasis theirs)

Here it is from USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD (underlining mine)

What's the difference between getting married this week at the courthouse and file for the AOS versus filing a few weeks from now?

Is the effort to get the I-94 worth it?

Isn't it a simpler solution to get the courthouse marriage and file now?

Sometimes being right does not matter. From a practical viewpoint, it's easier to get the courthouse marriage before the I-94 expires and file for AOS than to fight to get the I-94 corrected.

All the corrected I-94 gives them is a few extra months to get marry to file the AOS. It doesn't provide them with any other benefits.

Why fight the small stuff. Save your time and energy for the AOS. Then the removal of condition. Then the naturalization. Then bringing all her relatives to the US. Lots of bigger issues ahead.

Edited April 24, 2012 by aaron2020

[EvilSquee 7]

What's the difference between getting married this week at the courthouse and file for the AOS versus filing a few weeks from now?

Is the effort to get the I-94 worth it?

Isn't it a simpler solution to get the courthouse marriage and file now?

Sometimes being right does not matter. From a practical viewpoint, it's easier to get the courthouse marriage before the I-94 expires and file for AOS than to fight to get the I-94 corrected.

All the corrected I-94 gives them is a few extra months to get marry to file the AOS. It doesn't provide them with any other benefits.

Why fight the small stuff. Save your time and energy for the AOS. Then the removal of condition. Then the naturalization. Then bringing all her relatives to the US. Lots of bigger issues ahead.

Some counties in the US happen to have waiting periods for marriage licenses. Often of several days. I would print out the info from the USCIS and DOS websites linked above and go get the I-94 corrected at the nearest POE.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Well after almost six months of having my fiance's K1 visa approved we finally activated it yesterday (apr 23) thru the Calexico CA POE. After much confusion and me politely explaining to them the instructions given during the interview at the Consulate in CDJ, they totally confused us.

They claim that we only have 7 days from entry to get married because our K1 visa was issued in Nov 2011 and expires Apr 29, 2012 and we waited to long to activate it??? We explained that the Consulate in CDJ said we had 6 months to use the visa for 1 entry and then 90 days from entry to get married. We were ok because we entered yesterday Apr 23. I read the Department of State website again and the forums and no where does it say the K1 visa is valid for 6 months and the 90 days are included in the 6 months. The DOS page says " couple must be married within 90 days of entry into the USA"

Can anyone clarify this? The worst part is that the I94 they stapled to the visa expires in 7 days they only issued it for the length of the K1 visa so it says valid till Apr 29, 2012 and this is why we must be married before Apr 29.

Thanks, Ed.

As Vanessa&Tony already stated, the CBP officer was the one confused and wrong. The I-94 should have been issued for 90 days, not 7. The I-94 is not based on the K-1 visa expiration date. They had no clue what they were talking about. You should have asked for a supervisor. You should go get it corrected, tomorrow. You need it fixed quickly so you do not have any issues with getting married and adjusting status. Here is the list of deferred inspection sites: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/deferred_inspection/

You COULD just get married before it expires and then file AOS when you can, but if you go that route, I would still get the I-94 corrected before filing for AOS. They made a mistake and they should fix it.

[Ed & Luz 2]

You should have asked for a supervisor.

You COULD just get married before it expires and then file AOS when you can, but if you go that route, I would still get the I-94 corrected before filing for AOS. They made a mistake and they should fix it.

A supervisor did show up because there had been a shift change and the original officer that was working our case since 3pm left (it was now 7pm) and the new officer was confused as to what exactly she was doing. The supervisor started explaining to us and her that we only had 7 days to get married and he even said that K1 visa holders can have multiple entries until they get married and then it is one entry only. When I heard this I knew something was wrong because there is no way a K1 holder can enter the USA multiple times. But by now it was almost 9pm, her boys were sleeping on the steel bench (K2 holders) we still had a 4 hour drive to Tucson and I had to be at work at 7 in the morning..we just wanted out of there!! Plus I could see that no matter how hard I tried to explain the 90 day rule they were not going to change it.

Thank you all for your help, we have decided to get married before the I94 expires, I called the courthouse, arizona has no waiting period, so we will get our marriage license today, and the next available wedding time is friday 5pm which I already reserved. This seems like the less frustrating way to go and I'm not complaining it's just that this is not the wedding we were planning, the rings will not be ready for 3 weeks, all my family is in california so they most likely will not be here on such short notice.

Oh well.. thank god we are finally together...

[rocks 494]

Wow, what a mess. I'm sorry you had to go through this!

We did a civil ceremony and then had an "official" wedding with friends and family members (just without the legal signing of documents) a few months later. That way you have plenty of time to organize everything and have the rings ready. Good luck for friday!

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

A supervisor did show up because there had been a shift change and the original officer that was working our case since 3pm left (it was now 7pm) and the new officer was confused as to what exactly she was doing. The supervisor started explaining to us and her that we only had 7 days to get married and he even said that K1 visa holders can have multiple entries until they get married and then it is one entry only. When I heard this I knew something was wrong because there is no way a K1 holder can enter the USA multiple times. But by now it was almost 9pm, her boys were sleeping on the steel bench (K2 holders) we still had a 4 hour drive to Tucson and I had to be at work at 7 in the morning..we just wanted out of there!! Plus I could see that no matter how hard I tried to explain the 90 day rule they were not going to change it.

Thank you all for your help, we have decided to get married before the I94 expires, I called the courthouse, arizona has no waiting period, so we will get our marriage license today, and the next available wedding time is friday 5pm which I already reserved. This seems like the less frustrating way to go and I'm not complaining it's just that this is not the wedding we were planning, the rings will not be ready for 3 weeks, all my family is in california so they most likely will not be here on such short notice.

Oh well.. thank god we are finally together...

Wow. K-1 multiple entries? Uhmmm.... A supervisor that has no clue at all about the visas they are supposedly trained to deal with? Great.

You can always have the bigger ceremony for friends and family later.

I think you should still call your nearest deferred inspection site and let them know what happened and if you can get a corrected I-94.

Good luck to you!

[Ed & Luz 2]

Wow. K-1 multiple entries? Uhmmm.... A supervisor that has no clue at all about the visas they are supposedly trained to deal with? Great.

You can always have the bigger ceremony for friends and family later.

I think you should still call your nearest deferred inspection site and let them know what happened and if you can get a corrected I-94.

Good luck to you!

Thank you to all for your advise and support these forums are an excellent source of info.

Just to update I went to the Deferred Inspection site at the Tucson Int. Airport and they corrected the problem, apologized for the "lack of trained CBP officers" (actually used stronger words to describe the officers) and called over to the CLX POE while I was waiting for visa stamps, and informed the field commander to please find all the officers involved in this ordeal and correct them.

Thanks again.

[rocks 494]

Thank you to all for your advise and support these forums are an excellent source of info.

Just to update I went to the Deferred Inspection site at the Tucson Int. Airport and they corrected the problem, apologized for the "lack of trained CBP officers" (actually used stronger words to describe the officers) and called over to the CLX POE while I was waiting for visa stamps, and informed the field commander to please find all the officers involved in this ordeal and correct them.

Thanks again.

Good news! Are you still planning on getting married tomorrow?

[Ed & Luz 2]

Good news! Are you still planning on getting married tomorrow?

No..we will wait till the rings are ready and have a small ceremony.

Thanks, again to everyone...

[rocks 494]

No..we will wait till the rings are ready and have a small ceremony.

Thanks, again to everyone...

Glad things worked out in the end!