H1B visa now expired can I get married to stay here?

[lil2be 11]

If you guys are totally in love with each other, then yes get married and AOS here in the US.

If not, please don't get married for the wrong reason. Green card doesn't guarantee "Happiness."

[Mollie09 1,543]

Actually, you can file for a greencard based on marriage while on H-1B but you can't (technically) on a tourist or student visa, because when you enter on those visas it is understood you had no intention to immigrate. If you marry while on B1/B2 or F1, you have to prove that when you entered you intended to leave. That's not the case with H-1B, you can apply for the greencard without proving anything because when you entered, you did NOT have to have the intention to leave. So the OP can adjust status while in the US to obtain a greencard on the basis of a bona fide marriage pretty easily. Trust me, I'm doing it.

It's not a matter of what I like or dislike; I really don't feel one way or the other about it. Originally, I was merely making the point that the original post seemed to indicate that the only reason for the marriage would be to remain in the U.S. If that is truly the case, then it's a marriage for immigration benefit and could well be questioned.

Sorry -- but the H1B does not automatically mean you can file for a green card -- it is actually an employer who files on your behalf, you can't do it on your own. There is no promise that every H1B will result in a green card. In fact, most do not -- as his did not, since the employment ended and has he no sponsoring employer.

[lil2be 11]

Actually, you can file for a greencard based on marriage while on H-1B but you can't (technically) on a tourist or student visa, because when you enter on those visas it is understood you had no intention to immigrate. If you marry while on B1/B2 or F1, you have to prove that when you entered you intended to leave. That's not the case with H-1B, you can apply for the greencard without proving anything because when you entered, you did NOT have to have the intention to leave. So the OP can adjust status while in the US to obtain a greencard on the basis of a bona fide marriage pretty easily. Trust me, I'm doing it.

I got married on my F1 visa and have no problem with immigration.

Many of my friends got married on the tourist visa and they have their green card and now became citizen already.

Edited April 25, 2014 by lil2be

[jan22 3,043]

Actually, you can file for a greencard based on marriage while on H-1B but you can't (technically) on a tourist or student visa, because when you enter on those visas it is understood you had no intention to immigrate. If you marry while on B1/B2 or F1, you have to prove that when you entered you intended to leave. That's not the case with H-1B, you can apply for the greencard without proving anything because when you entered, you did NOT have to have the intention to leave. So the OP can adjust status while in the US to obtain a greencard on the basis of a bona fide marriage pretty easily. Trust me, I'm doing it.

Not to beat a dead horse, so to speak, but my post had nothing to do with filing for a green card after marrying a US citizen. If was in response to a post that said

One of the big "perks" of the H1B is that the person can seek a Greencard and permanent residence while in the US. The OP did that, just in a different way.

I was just indicating that it did not automatically give you the "right" to file for a green card on your own -- you still had to have some form of sponsorship, be it an employer, a spouse, whatever.

And, you can, in fact, apply for a spouse-based greencard from any non-immigrant status (including tourist and student visas) -- you just can't enter the U.S. with the INTENT of doing that. Unless you get married and file within a couple of days/weeks of entry, it's hard for USCIS to show that you entered intending to adjust status.

[JayJayH 546]

Hi guys

I moved here in November 2011 on an H1B visa but I was laid off in December 2013. The new job that I got have just back out of my sponsorship unfortunately.

I've been living with my girlfriend since February 1st and I'm wondering if the option for us to get married would still be allowed?

If so how complicated is it, and is this my best option?

Given that the marriage is bona fide, and you can show reasonable evidence to support this, you should be fine.

Sorry, but that is incorrect. While a lot of people cite that it is "dual intent", what is really accurate is that 214b doesn't apply in the normal sense, i.e., you don't have to maintain a residence abroad, etc. You still have to have a clear intent to leave the U.S. at the end of your approved status. In accepting an H1B you are committing to live up to the terms of the visa -- one of the requirements of which is that, should the job on which it is based ends, you leave the U.S. (unless, of course, you already have a new job with a new petition approved). He basically fell out of status in December when he did not leave the U.S.

Even in that sense, it would only be illegal if his intent at entry on the H1b was to get married and stay.

Thanks guys. So as I am now out of status, would it be better to just move home, come back a few weeks later with on a tourist visa and then start the marriage process? Or could I just do it now without having to leave the country?

Entering on a tourist visa to adjust status in the US leaves two options when asked "what is the purpose of your trip?"

1. Be honest and say "to get married and adjust status" and get sent on the first available flight home.

2. Lie and say "Just visiting" and face a lifetime ban for misrepresentation.

In fact, to stay in the US through marriage to your now girlfriend, you have three options:

1. Get married, stay here and adjust status.

2. Get married, leave, have your wife file an I-130 petition for you to apply for an immigrant visa in London.

3. Get engaged, leave, have your fiancee file an I-129f petition for you to apply for a K-1 visa in London. Arrive in the US on the K-1 visa, get married within 90 days of arrival, and adjust status.

Ok great, so the fact that I am now out of status and technically 'illegal', wont have any effect on my chances of getting a greencard through marrying my girlfriend?

As long as the marriage is legal and bona fide, your adjustment of status cannot be denied based on you being out of status.