Visitor Visa/ESTA Help, please!

[missangelnicole 0]

Hi all, I am new here. I'll give you a little background because I really have no idea how any of this works.

March- My now husband came to the US from Portugal (to visit his sister that lives in the US) on what he told me was a visitor visa valid for 90 days. He has never traveled prior to this. At the end of March he and I met and shortly after, started dating.

April- Still dating, we were spending almost every night together at my house. 99% of the time he was staying with me.

May- I realized I had never had this connection I have with him, with any other person I dated. I asked him his thoughts on marriage. He thought about it for a few weeks, wanted to make sure my intentions were of the heart and I, vice versa. He proposed, I said yes. Start applying for marriage license and wedding.

June- June 4 we marry. His visa expired June 13.

July- We were living on the East Coast, we moved to MI for a number of reasons. I knew there was paperwork that I needed to get sent it but I was living off of the money I made bartending on the East Coast to survive for two months, until I started my own residential cleaning company.

Present day- freaking out, totally clueless.

Now from what I have researched on this website, this is what I understand; if there is an ESTA stapled in the back of the passport, that means there was never an I-94. So when I fill out the I-130 in section C #14, do I enter "VWP" or "N/A"? It also asks when he arrived and when it expires, there is a stamp in his passport that states this, I think, however should I fill that out? I am so confused, I hope someone understands what I am asking. Basically, I need to know what to put there because I am not sure that he was ever issued an I-94 in the first place, but if he was, we don't have it. So would I need to fill out an I-102? Or should I leave it entirely blank? I just want to avoid any more hassles or forms being sent back because I didn't fill something out and have this whole process take even longer.

Any advice/help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone! (=

[Inky 1,110]

Moving from tourist visas to adjustment of status from tourist visas. OP is not trying to apply for a tourist visa but trying to adjust her husbands status from one.

[hmh33 117]

Sounds like he travelled on the visa waiver program. He doesn't have a visa and was not issued an I-94 nor an I-94W. In box 14, write "Visitor (visa waiver)". In the box for the I-94 number, write "none". Give the correct dates for the "date arrived" and "date authorized stay expired" boxes.

[missangelnicole 0]

Sounds like he travelled on the visa waiver program. He doesn't have a visa and was not issued an I-94 nor an I-94W. In box 14, write "Visitor (visa waiver)". In the box for the I-94 number, write "none". Give the correct dates for the "date arrived" and "date authorized stay expired" boxes.

Thank you so much!! After some more research I found out that he never received an I-94 and what you said is exact. One other question, if the date of expiration has passed but we married before it expired, should I still write it on the I-130?

[hmh33 117]

Yes. The date of your marriage is irrelevant. Answer all the questions correctly.

[missangelnicole 0]

Do I enter the dates from the stamp of entry into the US from his passport or should I put the dates given on the ESTA?

[hmh33 117]

It asks for the date he entered the US. You give the date he entered the US. It asks for the date his authorized stay expired. You give the date his authorized stay expired.

[missangelnicole 0]

I'm pretty sure they make this confusing, difficult and expensive on purpose.

Thank you!

[msheri 0]

My husband was just approved for his Green card and he came over on the VWP. We just included a copy of the ESTA confirmation in the section where an i-94 copy would have gone. No problems. Also, they asked to see the ESTA receipt (to confirm expiration) in the interview.

[John5976 1]

I just got approved for my GC and i got a RFE for the stamp/i-94. They need to see the stamp in the passport or global entry paper when you enter.

The ESTA wont help.

Also if he came in on the VWP he should do his change of status after 61 days in the US. And not over stay.

Best for you now is getting a good lawyer who understands the VWP.

[MrsB2012 10]

My husband was just approved for his Green card and he came over on the VWP. We just included a copy of the ESTA confirmation in the section where an i-94 copy would have gone. No problems. Also, they asked to see the ESTA receipt (to confirm expiration) in the interview.

I'm glad you mentioned this. This is the first time I've read about the actual ESTA receipt being asked for in the interview. My husband also came over on VWP. Our interview is in a month. I'm guessing that the entry stamp in his passport that says Admitted VWP and the expiry date will also suffice. We provided a copy of that page with the AOS application. He currently has an I-94 attached to his passport because we traveled to Denmark for Christmas and he re-entered the US via advanced parole. I'm assuming they will likely take his current I-94 and ask to see the stamp in his passport but perhaps we should also be prepared with the ESTA receipt? Thanks for the heads up

Edited February 13, 2013 by MrsB2012