Engaged and getting married to non US citizen. Process and timing to get temp green card?

[Scott0926 0]

I am an American engaged to a non-US citizen from Israel. She is currently here in the states with me on a tourist visa that is good for 6 months. We have been in the states for 2 months now in the Portland, OR area and her current visa is up in mid Feb. We will be getting married here in the states in a few weeks and plan on starting the paperwork to file for temp green card and getting her a social sec number right after the marrige cert is filed. I am totally new to all of this and how the process works, so any info you can share on what paperwork needs to be filed once we are legally maried, what fees will be involved and the general timeframe of getting everything approved would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

A few questions/concerns:

1. Once married, will she still be required to leave the country in Feb due to her tourist visa expiring then, or will this be automatically extended since we will be married and the green card paperwork is in process? Is she required to leave and come back on a new type of visa once we get married in order to get her green card?

2. Should we just go ahead and file for an extension for the tourist visa anyway?

3. What are the steps and forms needed in the process from getting married to getting an official green card?

4. The closest Israeli embassy is in San Francisco to us. During the green card process, will we be required to go in person to meet with someone for interviews, or is there a place closer within the Portland, OR area?

Hopefully some of you have gone through the same or similar situation and can help us to get things started and the process involved.

Thanks so much!

[Mark88 184]

1. Once married, will she still be required to leave the country in Feb due to her tourist visa expiring then, or will this be automatically extended since we will be married and the green card paperwork is in process? Is she required to leave and come back on a new type of visa once we get married in order to get her green card?

It depends if you will just file the I-130 and have the process completed in Israel, or if you are applying for adjustment of status . The later will have some risk to it: If she entered the US under falls pretences (i.e. told an immigration officer that she is just here to visit and didn't disclose the marriage), she could be put into deportation proceedings.

If completing the process in Israel you can apply for an extension of her B-2 visa. If you file Form I-485 (for Adjustment of Status) you will not have to file an extension. Technically her visa is valid until aos is granted (or is deported).

2. Should we just go ahead and file for an extension for the tourist visa anyway?

Only if you're NOT doing aos.

3. What are the steps and forms needed in the process from getting married to getting an official green card?

Read the guides. They will give you all the info which forms you need: http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides

4. The closest Israeli embassy is in San Francisco to us. During the green card process, will we be required to go in person to meet with someone for interviews, or is there a place closer within the Portland, OR area?

The whole green card process has nothing todo with any foreign embassy. You will be called into an USCIS office though. Find their locations here:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=050d6c94d87c6210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=050d6c94d87c6210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&reqAlphaSort=O

[Ontarkie 14,509]

~~Moved to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas, from IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures~~

[Scott0926 0]

Mark88.... thanks for the info. Question for you. We are not married yet and when we came into the states, we were not married. Can we file for the I-130 if not in Israel, or is it required to do this physically in Israel? We will be near San Francisco next month and they have an Israeli consulant there. Can this process be done there? We basically want to change the adjustment of status to state she is now married to me. The 2 of us have been together for 1.5 years, so hopefully the risk of deportation is minimal.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Scott0926

[Mark88 184]

Can we file for the I-130 if not in Israel, or is it required to do this physically in Israel?

You can file the I-130 from anywhere. You will have to put down her addresse though. If you put down her addresse in Israel, at some point the case will be transfered to the Tel Aviv embassy and you she will have the process finished there. If you decide todo AOS, she won't have to go to Israel.

We will be near San Francisco next month and they have an Israeli consulant there. Can this process be done there?

You can neither do this process at the Israeili nor the Bangladeshi, Indian, German or French consualte. They have nothing todo with this. You file forms with USCIS which are part of the US goverment, since it is concerning US immigration and NOT Israeli immigration.

The 2 of us have been together for 1.5 years, so hopefully the risk of deportation is minimal.

Actually this plays against you. If you had met in the US and in a spur of the moment decided to get married (during the same visit), this is exactly what AOS is for. If USCIS sees that you had any intention to marry, since you have a relationship before she came to the US, and didn't declare this when entering with a visitor visa, this will be seen as immigration fraud.

[ValerieA 350]

1. Once married, will she still be required to leave the country in Feb due to her tourist visa expiring then, or will this be automatically extended since we will be married and the green card paperwork is in process? Is she required to leave and come back on a new type of visa once we get married in order to get her green card?

2. Should we just go ahead and file for an extension for the tourist visa anyway?

3. What are the steps and forms needed in the process from getting married to getting an official green card?

4. The closest Israeli embassy is in San Francisco to us. During the green card process, will we be required to go in person to meet with someone for interviews, or is there a place closer within the Portland, OR area?

Hopefully some of you have gone through the same or similar situation and can help us to get things started and the process involved.

Thanks so much!

1. No, she should remain in the US if she is AOSing. If she leaves before having her AP or green card, her AOS will be considered abandoned and you will have to do a CR-1 process while she is in her home country. When the I-485 is accepted by USCIS for AOS, she will enter a period of authorized stay here until her application is processed.

2. I wouldn't bother, depending on when you are getting married. As I mentioned, she will enter a period of authorized stay once the papers are accepted. On top of that, overstay (if there were any, say you decided to get married in March) is forgiven for spouses of US citizens.

3. Check out the guide here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2 First step, of course, is to get married.

4. You will have an interview at your closest USCIS office, I'm reasonable sure there is one in Portland.

Good luck! It's an easy, fast process - usually takes 3-5 months from filing to receiving the green card.

[Scott0926 0]

Thanks so much for the info ValerieA

[domwardbound 73]

I'll also voice my concern - you two already having a long term relationship before she came on her tourist visa will look fishy since she came here on a tourist visa, got married, and then is staying.

Were you engaged/planning to marry when she came? If so, it may be a better idea to file from abroad.

[TBoneTX 46,189]

Adjustment of status will be fine. It would be foolish for her to leave the US at this point and go through the long spousal visa process.

Inflammatory comment removed; acceptable part of post is returned above.

VJ Moderation

Edited October 24, 2013 by TBoneTX

[Leo7777 243]

You and she could be facing charges of Immigration Fraud.

The K-1 filing in one's home country is specifically for the case where you have known each other for year and a half (as you say), and plan to get married within 90 days of her arrival in USA.

The tourist visa is quicker to get than K-1, so Immigration is specifically concerned about those who use the tourist visa route to try and circumvent the longer K-1 route.

And, a lot will depend on the questions she was asked (and answers given) when she applied for tourist visa and when she came through USA port of entry.

[Franciscus 32]

You and she could be facing charges of Immigration Fraud.

The K-1 filing in one's home country is specifically for the case where you have known each other for year and a half (as you say), and plan to get married within 90 days of her arrival in USA.

The tourist visa is quicker to get than K-1, so Immigration is specifically concerned about those who use the tourist visa route to try and circumvent the longer K-1 route.

And, a lot will depend on the questions she was asked (and answers given) when she applied for tourist visa and when she came through USA port of entry.

What you are saying is wrong. They are both in the US, and they claim he/she did not lie at the POE. With that info, it is clear they should do AOS.

The fact that you did AOS from F1 does not mean that AOS from B2 is fraud... look it up!

[Hypnos 6,578]

You and she could be facing charges of Immigration Fraud.

Given the facts as the OP has stated them, I doubt it.