Unplanned marriage - What to do now?

[Senshin 6]

I am from Denmark and came to the US on a Visa Waver on Marts 14th this year to visit my US boyfriend of (then) 4 months and his family.

He proposed to me, and we got married on May 20th. This was in no way planned before I left my home country!

Now I want to apply to stay here with my new family, but I find it hard to navigate trough all this, witch forms to fill out, what to do next etc.

I know this question has probably been asked 1000 times before, and I am sorry, but I'm having a hard time with all the form names and so on.

My visa Waver expires on June 13th

What do we do now exactly, so I can stay?

Will it be necessary to hire an immigration attorney?

I thank you so mush in advance.

-S

[Alaska2012 462]

You don't need an attorney! Follow the guides here on VJ and you should be fine. Read the wiki and the FAQ! Good luck!

[Inky 1,110]

As you are not eligible to apply for citizenship your question has been moved to adjustment of status from work student tourist. Which is what you need to apply for to stay in the US legally and be able to work and travel outside the country.

Here are the step by step guides http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

It sometimes helps to print it off and then cross off the items as you go down the list to make sure you have everything included.

[Senshin 6]

Thanks so much!

Can you please tell me what "A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)' and 'A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)' is ?

And Is the petitioner my husband?

It says "A certified copy of your certified marriage certificate (again, translated if not in Engligh)' and 'A certified official copy of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents. (If one or both of you have been divorced before)' and 'A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)'

Does that mean I have to get the papers from the offices in Denmark or is it enough with a copy from the papers I already had at home, my friend emailed me?

Does the English translation have to be done by a translator or can we translate it our selves? I figure a translator will take some time and money, and I can only stay here till June 13th.

I am already nervous we will not be able to do it all in time. We are probably going to hire a lawyer to make sure we are doing everything right, but my husband will leave next week and will not be back home till 2 days after my Visa Waver has expired

Again thanks so much from a nervous Dane.

[BigDaddy28 228]

Thanks so much!

Can you please tell me what "A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)' and 'A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)' is ?

And Is the petitioner my husband?

It says "A certified copy of your certified marriage certificate (again, translated if not in Engligh)' and 'A certified official copy of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents. (If one or both of you have been divorced before)' and 'A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)'

Does that mean I have to get the papers from the offices in Denmark or is it enough with a copy from the papers I already had at home, my friend emailed me?

Does the English translation have to be done by a translator or can we translate it our selves? I figure a translator will take some time and money, and I can only stay here till June 13th.

I am already nervous we will not be able to do it all in time. We are probably going to hire a lawyer to make sure we are doing everything right, but my husband will leave next week and will not be back home till 2 days after my Visa Waver has expired

Again thanks so much from a nervous Dane.

Hello

It's okay You don't have to go back if you want to do it from here. If you are married here in the US all you need is your marriage certificate from here. If you were married before and got divorced in your home country or married there with your boyfriend you will need the translation made by a professional.

Now for what form You are going to need quite a bit of papers lol:

-I 485 application for adjustment of status

-I 130 Petition of alien relative.

- I 864 (I hope your husband works so he can sponsor you if not somebody else family or a friend can do a joint sponsorship.

- I 765 Work permit.

and pictures, lease, marriage certificate, bank statments, any other documents that has both your names in it to file it with the application.

you can find all the documents on USCIS.gov

Good luck

Edited May 28, 2013 by silkafi88

[Inky 1,110]

Thanks so much!

Can you please tell me what "A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)' and 'A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)' is ?

And Is the petitioner my husband?

It says "A certified copy of your certified marriage certificate (again, translated if not in Engligh)' and 'A certified official copy of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents. (If one or both of you have been divorced before)' and 'A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)'

Does that mean I have to get the papers from the offices in Denmark or is it enough with a copy from the papers I already had at home, my friend emailed me?

Does the English translation have to be done by a translator or can we translate it our selves? I figure a translator will take some time and money, and I can only stay here till June 13th.

I am already nervous we will not be able to do it all in time. We are probably going to hire a lawyer to make sure we are doing everything right, but my husband will leave next week and will not be back home till 2 days after my Visa Waver has expired

Again thanks so much from a nervous Dane.

Yes the petitioner is the US citizen.

Proof of naturalization is for a person who is not a born US citizen, it would be their naturalization certificate. If he was born a US citizen he would include a copy of his birth certificate and passport.

I am unsure if you need papers from Denmark, not sure how they do their copys and such.

Translation can be done by yourself or someone fluent in both languages, you would have to include the translation statement with it.

When you file this you DO NOT leave the USA. At all.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Senshin, I'd read the guides and go slowly. You're not going to figure it out in a few hours.

If you choose this path then you do NOT leave.

The only thing that lets you stay is filing the whole I-130/I-485 package. But, overstay is not a bar to adjusting status. So decide to stay or don't, and stick to that path.

[Senshin 6]

Thanks so much good people.

The decision is made for sure. We are married and his kids call me mom and needs me, I am not going anywhere if I don't have to :-)

We've contacted a lawyer that's going to help us. I'm nervous if we can get the papers send in time though, because I'm supposed to leave on june 13th.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

You'll need original copies from the issuing agency in Denmark. They come in English already, no translations needed.

[Autumnal 25]

Congratulations on your marriage! You have a bit of a long road ahead of you but one which can go smoothly with a bit of preparation and research. An attorney is not necessary for the process you're about to do. I have done the exact same process without a alwyer.

a] Your petitioner is your husband. I assume he is a United States citizen (USC)

b] Petitioner's proof of naturalization/permanent residency (if applicable): these are not necessary if your husband is a citizen.

c] Certified copy of your marriage certificate: this would be your marriage certificate to your husband now. It needs to be in English. If you were ever married before, or he was married before, you also need your divorce documents to prove you were legally allowed to marry.

d] Birth certificate and/or passport: I used both, in English. It doesn't hurt to have more documents.

e] Original copies: Yes, you need the real thing. I may have photocopied my birth certificate rather than order a new one though.

Thanks so much!

Can you please tell me what "A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)' and 'A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)' is ?

And Is the petitioner my husband?

It says "A certified copy of your certified marriage certificate (again, translated if not in Engligh)' and 'A certified official copy of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents. (If one or both of you have been divorced before)' and 'A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)'

Does that mean I have to get the papers from the offices in Denmark or is it enough with a copy from the papers I already had at home, my friend emailed me?

Does the English translation have to be done by a translator or can we translate it our selves? I figure a translator will take some time and money, and I can only stay here till June 13th.

I am already nervous we will not be able to do it all in time. We are probably going to hire a lawyer to make sure we are doing everything right, but my husband will leave next week and will not be back home till 2 days after my Visa Waver has expired

Again thanks so much from a nervous Dane.

You can adjust your status from visitor to permanent resident from inside the US with the I-485 (adjustment of status) *and* an I-130 (petition for alien relative, like a spouse), which your husband would file together on your behalf. That's the route which I took to get my permanent residency. Your husband has to demonstrate his financial ability to support you while you are a permanent resident. You will need to gather evidence of your relationship being legitimate (and not a scam to get citizenship or residency), which includes things like photographs and cards, evidence of travel together, joint bank accounts, leases or mortgages, mail addressed to you both, and other bits and pieces. The guides here are very thorough for what might count!

The catch for this route: you cannot leave the US without a travel authorization document (I-131), which we added to our package. If you leave, you are assumed to have abandoned your claim. Not good! The I-131 will let you travel outside of the US on your Danish passport, as long as the passport is current.

We also had an I-765 (work permit/employment authorization) form so I could get a job while in the US. Both of these are very short, and easy to fill out.

I want to wish you all the best. This looks daunting from the start. Once you start reading and learning how other people in a similar situation got their permanent residency, it becomes much easier. And please, ask questions. We are here to help!

[imjustagirl 0]

I used these videos to fill out my forms:

http://www.youtube.com/user/usimmigrationlawyer

He explains exactly what you have to write to where. Some of the videos are 40 min long but better take that time now then receive any RFEs later.

[tashired 18]

You mentioned the date ur visa waiver stay expires. Dont Worry About It. With the forms the others told u about, any overstay is forgiven 2 days or 20 yrs. Just take ur time to put it all together properly so u dont miss something and have ur case delayed by RFE. Most of us were confused by the process but by using This Site and asking the great ppl on here, we did it Without a lawyer. You can too. Buena suerte!

[Senshin 6]

We decided not to use a lawyer, so thanks so much for your advice good people.

@Imjustagirl:The videos are expired, but thanks so much.

@tashired The problem is that my waiver expires in 4 days and we did not send the forms yet.

We can't since our marriage licens is not here yet.

Does anyone know how long it will take to get it back? We got married on May 20th and sent it on the 21th.

I'm a little scared because I'll be here without permission in 4 days

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

We decided not to use a lawyer, so thanks so much for your advice good people.

@Imjustagirl:The videos are expired, but thanks so much.

@tashired The problem is that my waiver expires in 4 days and we did not send the forms yet.

We can't since our marriage licens is not here yet.

Does anyone know how long it will take to get it back? We got married on May 20th and sent it on the 21th.

I'm a little scared because I'll be here without permission in 4 days

Where did you get married in Colorado? We got ours back from the Jefferson County Clerk in about 2 weeks in 2007. You can call if it seems like it is taking a while or you can try to go in person. It is very different than Denmark, where we got ours back right as we got married in the courthouse.

[Senshin 6]

Thanks. I read somewhere online it can take from 30 to 90 days in the US. But I don't know if that info is up to date.

We got married in Adams County.

Do you know if our marriage is automatically legalized in DK? I don't know whom to contact there about it. And what about my name change?

(having to pay 12 kr a min. for calling DK doesn't make it easy to deal with matters in home country, and no one is answering my emails I send for my county there )