Engaged and Entering US on P1 work visa

[john_and_marlene 162]

It may be possible to do AOS, but I'm in agreement with consulting an immigration attorney.

The poster indicated that he is not here yet. Entry with a nonimmigrant visa with intentions to immigrate IS NOT LEGAL. Any legitimate immigration attorney will tell them the same. The issue here is that their current plan involves the use of a nonimmigrant visa with intent to immigrate.

That's the whole point...we don't know what an immigration attorney will tell them. Some student and work visas are dual-intent. I have no idea if a P visa is or not, and I'm guessing you don't either.

This is not a DIY job, I suspect. Her fiance does have a visa which for all intents and purposes is legit, and they want to get married. We don't know how USCIS is likely to treat a P adjustee, whether or not it's legal to come in on a P visa with the intent to fulfill the terms of the visa and then marry...we don't know. And I don't think it's wise for people to be telling her that it's definitely illegal to adjust from a P visa if the couple in question is engaged at the time of entry. It may very well be. But it may be do-able.

Which leads me to believe that we should be telling the OP that very few people on VJ, myself included, know the first thing about work-visa-to-marriage-to-AOS, and that she might be better served by posting at British Expats (www.britishexpats.com) and consulting a good immigration attorney.

Presently, only E, H-1 and L category visa holders are allowed to remain nonimmigrants while simultaneously pursuing permanent resident status. Other nonimmigrant visa holders may be denied extensions or re-issuance of a nonimmigrant visa if they appear to have a dual intent of coming to the U.S. temporarily while pursuing permanent resident status.

http://www.nvo.com/beaulier/dualintent/

[pax 0]

Right, but that is not the OP's fiance's situation. He's not trying to hold onto the P-1 visa.

Can we all agree that a consult with a lawyer isn't going to hurt anything, and that maybe, just maybe, we're not the best bunch of people to ask for advice about adjusting from a class of visa that most of us had never even heard of until yesterday?

Edited March 8, 2006 by pax

[john_and_marlene 162]

Right, but that is not the OP's fiance's situation. He's not trying to hold onto the P-1 visa.

Can we all agree that a consult with a lawyer isn't going to hurt anything, and that maybe, just maybe, we're not the best bunch of people to ask for advice about adjusting from a class of visa that most of us had never even heard of until yesterday?

I hope the consultation is free. I don't see the need. There's no question here of intent. A lawyer can't change the rules. Entry with this nonimmigrant visa with the intent to immigrate is not allowed.

If they do consult a lawyer, I hope they return here to post the results of the consultation.

[ChristinaM 0]

As I said earlier, from what it looks like it would be much the same as adjusting from a B2, or F1 - that is to say, you can do it if there was no preconceived intent. Since there IS preconceived intent, there's nothing to stop them marrying and filing for K3 (CR1 is not an option through London unless the US spouse has LTR and has lived there for a period of 2 years, I am informed).

I agree that they should not need an attorney if the route they choose is K3, but if they wish to question our judgment based on the information available a consultation is the only way to go. Most reputable attorneys do offer an free one-off consultation, I believe.