Applying for adjustment of status while visiting hubby in the States.

[Gia2577 12]

If you do do this then you will not be able to travel for a few months though. You mentioned you want to go to Dubai. If you need to go there in less than 3 months then AOS isn't for you.

Edit: the page that says "where should we file the I-485" is not on the current instructions. Here are the current ones. http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-485instr.pdf

That being said, if you read, there is extra wording about category A there.

Yes I found on USCIS where it says what you are saying! And I think you have also provided a link which I will check out. I would not go to dubai if I can do this, going to Dubai is more bc my 90 days is up and I want to spend christmas with my husband so I took a job there for a week (I'm a freelancer stylist there) and planed to stay a couple weeks and come back, but this takes precedence.

[dwheels76 5,466]

THANKYOU!!! for this supportive reply. You don't really need to read the whole thread just my first post which it sounds like you have. I like you have just been doing this all blindly without the help of an immigration lawyer to save money and living that same frustrations as everyone else. I have been here with my waiver which is over in a couple weeks visiting my husband think that by now i would have been in Oz interviewing to move over. Its funny because telling friends back home and in dubai (where we used to live) all this drama they can't understand what all the holdup is because I AM married to an American and I would just tell them it doesn't matter if you are married you still have to wait it out. I also only discovered this forum recently when I received my 'case transfer to nebraska' letter and wanted more advice and this forum came up. So yes I don't know all the rules.

My husband knows even less, in fact I am the one in charge of my immigration and getting all the paperwork done, in fat we were both annoyed with me yesterday after speaking to this lady thinking how did I not know this?! ( I didn't even realise the fraud/intent thing bc she didn't mention it).

What i think is that because we were there in the flesh speaking to her and her hearing our story she clearly thinks I'm eligible for it and that we have no mal intent which is why it was suggested for our case. it was no big deal for her to divulge this info. Have you done the AOS? It seems it might take the same amount of time as it would to go to NVC and then my countries' embassy so maybe its just about what is cheaper for us to do.

Personally this whole adjustment of status and how people get so carried away with fraud and such on here really needs to stop.

In my law classes and talking to lawyers the reason why they say “file adjustment of status get your spouse here”. Is because they ARE your spouse. And IT IS Legal!

The whole intent and fraud comes from people who marry for the sole purpose to get the green card. The “OMG my Visa expired I need to find an American to marry”. What is the intent there?

Of course we have intent to immigrate when we come to visit our spouse like duh. How is that fraud to want to stay?

The ill feelings than comes from people like from my husbands country and others who can’t get Visa’s to visit and such to ummm lack of a better word jump the queue and get over here.

I know back in 2010 when my husband was putting in for a Visa we were going to get married here. We knew nothing after that point we were just going to marry and be together. We were denied so I went there in 2011 we got married , I lived there 7 months and we still had no clue what to do. Live in Nigeria live in US we just wanted to be together.

You know I had the American friends with “girl you need no Visa he is married to you just bring him over he has passport right” LOL

That’s how I found Visajourney and so wished I could have just got him to the US and Hell YAY I would have filed an AOS lickity split.

So don’t feel bad you are doing nothing wrong.

[Gia2577 12]

No. Nope to the italics.

Since you admit the bold, I wish you would trust me more. I know you don't know me, but I am positive. Senior members on this board also agree.

If you read the new instructions, it leads you to this page, where it says send things to

USCIS Chicago Lockbox

For U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliveries:

USCIS

PO Box 805887

Chicago, IL 60680-4120

For Express mail and courier deliveries:

USCIS

Attn: FBAS

131 South Dearborn - 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Where applicable, you must include a copy of the Form I-797C Notice of Approval, showing that your Form I-130 or Form I-360 was accepted or approved.

Yep i can see that now, I have no idea where to begin. Have you done this? Thanks for persisting. To file it, do I need to have the medical and everything complete? or do I file bit by bit?

[redskins47chaos 6]

Personally this whole adjustment of status and how people get so carried away with fraud and such on here really needs to stop.

In my law classes and talking to lawyers the reason why they say file adjustment of status get your spouse here. Is because they ARE your spouse. And IT IS Legal!

The whole intent and fraud comes from people who marry for the sole purpose to get the green card. The OMG my Visa expired I need to find an American to marry. What is the intent there?

Of course we have intent to immigrate when we come to visit our spouse like duh. How is that fraud to want to stay?

The ill feelings than comes from people like from my husbands country and others who cant get Visas to visit and such to ummm lack of a better word jump the queue and get over here.

I know back in 2010 when my husband was putting in for a Visa we were going to get married here. We knew nothing after that point we were just going to marry and be together. We were denied so I went there in 2011 we got married , I lived there 7 months and we still had no clue what to do. Live in Nigeria live in US we just wanted to be together.

You know I had the American friends with girl you need no Visa he is married to you just bring him over he has passport right LOL

Thats how I found Visajourney and so wished I could have just got him to the US and Hell YAY I would have filed an AOS lickity split.

So dont feel bad you are doing nothing wrong.

While you're mostly right about this, if you enter the US on the VWP and tell a CBP officer you plan on adjusting status, you will be turned away! You can get away with it if they dont ask....again, high risk, high reward. If what you said was 100% right, there would not be immigrant visas.

[Teddy B 17,251]

To the OP, My wife and I did AOS from a tourist visa, it's simple, no worries. You have been given solid advice here by Harpa and the others, she knows her stuff.

You're right about VJ, however, intending to AOS while entenring on a non immigrant Visa is Visa fraud, period! Some people might get away with it by lying about their fraudulent intentions. That said, I wouldnt be surprised if they dont really ask for proof or question your intentions at the interview as I have heard many successful stories myself.

The burden of proof to show fraud in this case is on USCIS, not the intending immigrant. The immigrant is considered to have satisfied any intent of fraud upon being allowed entry by the POE Officer. Unless there is rock solid proof of fraud produced by USCIS then the AOS will be approved. Having intent alone is still not reason enough for denial of AOS.

[Gia2577 12]

Personally this whole adjustment of status and how people get so carried away with fraud and such on here really needs to stop.

In my law classes and talking to lawyers the reason why they say “file adjustment of status get your spouse here”. Is because they ARE your spouse. And IT IS Legal!

The whole intent and fraud comes from people who marry for the sole purpose to get the green card. The “OMG my Visa expired I need to find an American to marry”. What is the intent there?

Of course we have intent to immigrate when we come to visit our spouse like duh. How is that fraud to want to stay?

The ill feelings than comes from people like from my husbands country and others who can’t get Visa’s to visit and such to ummm lack of a better word jump the queue and get over here.

I know back in 2010 when my husband was putting in for a Visa we were going to get married here. We knew nothing after that point we were just going to marry and be together. We were denied so I went there in 2011 we got married , I lived there 7 months and we still had no clue what to do. Live in Nigeria live in US we just wanted to be together.

You know I had the American friends with “girl you need no Visa he is married to you just bring him over he has passport right” LOL

That’s how I found Visajourney and so wished I could have just got him to the US and Hell YAY I would have filed an AOS lickity split.

So don’t feel bad you are doing nothing wrong.

Wow you have summed this up brilliantly, you're exactly right. I think the negativity is coming from not being in the same situation. thanks for your help X Good luck with your man I hope it works out for you sooner rather than later!

[Kaylara 814]

I don't think that you're trying to commit fraud. I don't think you're trying to jump the line. You honestly didn't know any different, and if it means that you can stay here and not have to deal with this ridiculous forced separation then good on you. I think that even if they did flag your case for going this route, you've got enough proof to show that immigration at this time was not your intention, and you can reference the conversation with the USCIS officer as part of that. I would be wary personally of going that route if for no other reason than it appears to be in a grey area. I know that if they claim that you're committing Immigration fraud, there's no waiver that's going to help you, and it might be more problems than it's worth. For me, personally, the cost of it going wrong would be too high. Regardless of what you choose, I do wish you all the best and hope that you, just like the rest of us here, can get our approvals and move on with our lives as quickly as possible.

[Teddy B 17,251]

While you're mostly right about this, if you enter the US on the VWP and tell a CBP officer you plan on adjusting status, you will be turned away! You can get away with it if they dont ask....again, high risk, high reward. If what you said was 100% right, there would not be immigrant visas.

Yes, because you are admitting that you intend to commit visa fraud. If you are caught in a lie to the CBP officer, that is fraud and you can be denied AOS and banned.

[Girl from Celebes 588]

Must be nice. Many of us are marrying spouses in countries not on the "Visa Waiver Program" list. So most of us have to wait this out while apart, and didn't even look into anything like that since there's zero chance of that for us. I was told even applying for a tourist visa while a spouse visa is in the system, that both would probably be disapproved just for having two visas in the system.

I thought that way too. But this post would be amazed you.

[captal 2]

This! Bottom line is if you are in the US and did not plan to AOS before entering, then yes you can file your I-485.

Exactly this. OP- I was in a similar situation. My wife (Japanese) and I got married in Singapore and came back to the US in late 2011 for the holidays (she was on VWP). We had planned on going back to Australia and didn't even know AOS existed! One of the second-level immigration guys at the AIRPORT suggested that we do an AOS in a very casual way- something like, " you know you can apply for a green card for your wife, right?"

I found this site, did some research, spent a ton of time on the application, applied in Feb 2012 and we had her green card 3 months later. You can do the same thing.

The key is DO NOT LEAVE THE US. If you do, you will have to wait everything out back in Oz. Even if you overstay your visa, people here told me that it is forgiven since you are marrying a US Citizen. The other thing is, as soon as you apply for AOS, you can stay in the country- however, we made sure to get our application in before the 90 days of the VWP was up.

Funny thing is, we're thinking about heading back to Australia. Better education/healthcare/political systems, better work/life balance, great weather, friendly people- want to trade?

Edited November 13, 2013 by captal

[Franciscus 32]

Just to clarify, there are two completely different scenarios that are being discussed here:

a) OP, who is now in the states, goes out of the US and then comes back and then attempts AOS

b) OP does AOS right now, does not leave until getting EAD or maybe Green Card

Most of the people talking about visa fraud and stuff like that are talking about a), and the other people are talking about b), and the OP is talking about both (started saying a), now talks about b).

It is impossible to have a coherent discussion without the people that give advice specifying if they are talking about a) or b). As Harpa clearly stated, a) is something you do NOT want to do because you can have big problems. And b) sounds about right.

[captal 2]

I completely understand where you're coming from. I'm not saying you're trying to do it the "wrong way" in the slightest...in fact it is not the wrong way at all, just not the "prefered" way. It is usually frowned upon among Visa filers just because it is very upseting to see people given a "free pass" just because they didn't know the rule but the fact is, it is perfectly legal to file for AOS in the US if you are married to a USC and did NOT intend to file when entering the USA. If you can prove that, then you're good to go.

You don't even need to be able to prove anything. There's nothing really to prove- just be careful in the interview as they did ask us "when did you decide to live in the US?"

I remember when I was doing my research back in early 2012, people said they can't decline you a green card even if you came with the intention to immigrate- I don't know if that is true or not. I do know of other people who came here on a tourist visa and then file an AOS- it seems quite common.

[Franciscus 32]

Just to clarify, there are two completely different scenarios that are being discussed here:

a) OP, who is now in the states, goes out of the US and then comes back and then attempts AOS

b) OP does AOS right now, does not leave until getting EAD or maybe Green Card

Most of the people talking about visa fraud and stuff like that are talking about a), and the other people are talking about b), and the OP is talking about both (started saying a), now talks about b).

It is impossible to have a coherent discussion without the people that give advice specifying if they are talking about a) or b). As Harpa clearly stated, a) is something you do NOT want to do because you can have big problems. And b) sounds about right.

Oh, b) sounds about right only if you did not lie at the POE last time you entered, obviously. So this might be trickier if something like that happened. Not saying OP lied obviously, just stating a fact.

[redskins47chaos 6]

To the OP, My wife and I did AOS from a tourist visa, it's simple, no worries. You have been given solid advice here by Harpa and the others, she knows her stuff.

The burden of proof to show fraud in this case is on USCIS, not the intending immigrant. The immigrant is considered to have satisfied any intent of fraud upon being allowed entry by the POE Officer. Unless there is rock solid proof of fraud produced by USCIS then the AOS will be approved. Having intent alone is still not reason enough for denial of AOS.

Fair enough! I do agree with everything you said with the exception that it is not that easy to enter the US under the VWP when you're married to a USC...or at least, that's what i've heard? You have to show strong ties to your home country, which again, proves that having the intent to immigrate is fraudulent. Besides, there would be no spousal visa if everybody could enter under VWP and AOS after that. I do agree that if you do get in, the chances of being denied AOS are slim to none.

[Teddy B 17,251]

Fair enough! I do agree with everything you said with the exception that it is not that easy to enter the US under the VWP when you're married to a USC...or at least, that's what i've heard? You have to show strong ties to your home country, which again, proves that having the intent to immigrate is fraudulent. Besides, there would be no spousal visa if everybody could enter under VWP and AOS after that. I do agree that if you do get in, the chances of being denied AOS are slim to none.

I didn't say that it was easy to enter the US once you are married to a USC, I said doing AOS on a tourist visa is simple. Anyone who enters the US on a tourist visa always has to satisfy the POE Officer that they will be returning home.