What's the best and safest thing?

[Ruth&Chris 0]

Hi!

I have been on a long distance relationship with my (now) husband for 8 years. I got tired of waiting and had the free time tofile for a long leave at work so i tried applying for a oursit visa. Foryunately, I was approved and got here last aug. My husband proposed last nov 8 which is days before my return flight. We ot married december and we decided to file for a change of status last april. I have a scheduled interview this coming july and i would like to ask anyone who had the same experience on what to bring. Im thinking of bringing or not bringing our old letters showing our 8 long distance years of relationship but im also thinking that the IO might consider it as a planned thing. Please help.

Thanks so much!

[engineer21 51]

You dont have to bring the old letters necessarily .. but at the interview the question of when and how you met will probably come up anyway. Just be honest. Also Bring your return ticket and whatever other documents you showed as ties to your home country from when you got the tourist visa. Good luck, and let us know how it goes

[Ruth&Chris 0]

Hi,

I need to know if there's anyone out there who entered U.S, as a tourist and got married while in U.S. My husband (now) and I have been on an 8 yrs long distance relationship and I was fortunate enough to be approved last year of june. I arrived here last year of aug and we gt married dec. We snt all our docs I130.I864 last april. Biometrics done, EAD card in transit and sched of interview is july 6.

My question is, should I bring our exchangedof letters we sent to each other way back and our pictures? My concern is the IO might think the intention was intentional but I was just convinced to stay when he proposed last Nov, days before I leave U.S?

Any advice please?

Thanks!

[ChrisPG 30]

My question is, should I bring our exchangedof letters we sent to each other way back and our pictures? My concern is the IO might think the intention was intentional but I was just convinced to stay when he proposed last Nov, days before I leave U.S?

Any advice please?

Thanks!

1) Bring all evidence that you can. It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared and it is better to have something and not need it, than need it and not have it.

2) I wouldn't worry too much about "intent" as intent alone cannot be the sole basis for denial of an application. You could always bring your return ticket to show that you intended to return home and if you have any documentation which shows you got engaged days before (engagement ring receipt etc), then it wouldn't hurt to bring. Just don't over-think this issue.

3) There are plenty of people who have successfully adjusted from the B-2 or VWP without issue, do a search of the forum for past threads.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas Progress Reports to AOS from Work, Student, and Tourist Visas forum.

[Krikit 1,164]

Duplicate topics merged.

[Ruth&Chris 0]

Thanks for all the immediate respnse. i will look for the copy of my return tickets and I will let you guys know. Thanks so much!

[Teddy B 17,252]

Hi,

I need to know if there's anyone out there who entered U.S, as a tourist and got married while in U.S. My husband (now) and I have been on an 8 yrs long distance relationship and I was fortunate enough to be approved last year of june. I arrived here last year of aug and we gt married dec. We snt all our docs I130.I864 last april. Biometrics done, EAD card in transit and sched of interview is july 6.

My question is, should I bring our exchangedof letters we sent to each other way back and our pictures? My concern is the IO might think the intention was intentional but I was just convinced to stay when he proposed last Nov, days before I leave U.S?

Any advice please?

Thanks!

Hi, my wife and I did the same thing you are doing now, we also were married last December, we filed for AOS immediately after and she received her greencard in March.

The last 8 years won't be as important as the time you have spent since you got here. Your biggest hurdle will be proving your marriage and relationship are legit, so keep that in mind whenever you get receipts, mail or anything that might help you prove that. Get as many photos of the two of you together and with friends and family as you can. My wife and I brought an entire album with us to our interview, our interview officer actually enjoyed looking through the album. Wedding pics are a plus. Also wedding cards from friends and family will help.

Have your husband add you on to everything he possibly can at this point in your married name wherever possible, ie: credit cards, health insurance, bank account, auto insurance, none of these require a social security number by law, so you should be able to get them. Some companies may want a social security number, simply because they don't know any better, but if you have them look into it they usually will agree that you don't need one.

Get on mailing lists for dept. stores and get some magazine subscriptions sent to your current residence in your married name.

All of these together will help you establish a bonafide marriage/relationship.

Good Luck!

[Ruth&Chris 0]

Thanks for that!

just to complicate things, have one more thing that bothers me. We didn't immediately apply for AOS after getting married last Dec. What we did was we applied for an extension of my B2 Visa and was approved ntil May instead of Feb. We decided to do this because we know it will take time for us to prepare for all the papers since we are not planning to get a lawyer to save money. True enough, It took me almost 3 months to finish all the papers plus the time to save money.

Will it be questioned as to why I had to extend my Visa? I mean I just wanted to have a legal ID while preparing my docs.

Please advise!

Thank you so much

[SouthernComfort 13]

Thanks for that!

just to complicate things, have one more thing that bothers me. We didn't immediately apply for AOS after getting married last Dec. What we did was we applied for an extension of my B2 Visa and was approved ntil May instead of Feb. We decided to do this because we know it will take time for us to prepare for all the papers since we are not planning to get a lawyer to save money. True enough, It took me almost 3 months to finish all the papers plus the time to save money.

Will it be questioned as to why I had to extend my Visa? I mean I just wanted to have a legal ID while preparing my docs.

Please advise!

Thank you so much

NO. It has no bearing on your AOS application.

Countless numbers of people get married in the US but chose not to immediately do AOS or to not do it at all.Some people leave the US with their partners to their home countries,so its not an issue at all.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Thanks for that!

just to complicate things, have one more thing that bothers me. We didn't immediately apply for AOS after getting married last Dec. What we did was we applied for an extension of my B2 Visa and was approved ntil May instead of Feb. We decided to do this because we know it will take time for us to prepare for all the papers since we are not planning to get a lawyer to save money. True enough, It took me almost 3 months to finish all the papers plus the time to save money.

Will it be questioned as to why I had to extend my Visa? I mean I just wanted to have a legal ID while preparing my docs.

Please advise!

Thank you so much

Don't worry about your extension, it won't be an issue. I'm actually a little surprised they gave you one. What did you list as your reason for wanting an extension when you filed for it? The reason why I am a little surprised is that once you've married a USC any overstay is always forgiven once you apply for AOS, an extension of your visa really isn't neccessary, but it's good that you covered yourself with it.

Just gather all of the evidence you have that your relationship is real and you should be good to go.

What country are you from? Where is your interview?

[Ruth&Chris 0]

Don't worry about your extension, it won't be an issue. I'm actually a little surprised they gave you one. What did you list as your reason for wanting an extension when you filed for it? The reason why I am a little surprised is that once you've married a USC any overstay is always forgiven once you apply for AOS, an extension of your visa really isn't neccessary, but it's good that you covered yourself with it.

Just gather all of the evidence you have that your relationship is real and you should be good to go.

What country are you from? Where is your interview?

Im from the Philippines. My B2 was supposed to expire Feb. but we decided to apply Dec. which was after the marriage. We mentioned we havnt toured most of the US yet and that I just found out I have distant relatives that I could visit in the west coast CA. I actually just asked for 3more months extension since my return flight was moved from nov to may.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Im from the Philippines. My B2 was supposed to expire Feb. but we decided to apply Dec. which was after the marriage. We mentioned we havnt toured most of the US yet and that I just found out I have distant relatives that I could visit in the west coast CA. I actually just asked for 3more months extension since my return flight was moved from nov to may.

Keep us posted as to how you make out. Good luck to you!

[Ruth&Chris 0]

I will. thank God my friend introduced me to VJ. i have been so very nervous abt this process. I just hope it goes out very well.

[grrrrreat 109]

What we did was we applied for an extension of my B2 Visa and was approved ntil May instead of Feb. We decided to do this because we know it will take time for us to prepare for all the papers since we are not planning to get a lawyer to save money. True enough, It took me almost 3 months to finish all the papers plus the time to save money.

If you do get questions, don't say this. You are essentially admitting that you applied for an extension of your B2 status so that you could have more time to become a permanent resident, not because you had to extend a temporary stay in the U.S., which is the requirement of a B2 extension. It's also inconsistent with the reasons you said you gave below in the B2 extension, which was to tour more of the U.S.

Take this opportunity to pay closer attention to the forms you are filling out and to the statements you are making as part of your immigration process. You can be banned from the U.S. for misrepresentation.

Edited June 15, 2012 by grrrrreat