K1 Illegal entry and its effects if discovered

[Boiler 45,670]

Read my earlier reply.

The proof is always on you.

[flmike1979 2]

Thank you all for the advice and opinions. Just wanting to do the right thing.

[minions2 24]

based on my readings here in VJ, you can't hide anything from immigration.. even charges that were years ago, will still haunt you.. hopefully they won't give you a hard time for the illegal entry

[TBoneTX 45,540]

OP, you might be in luck if you want an informed legal opinion. The (or one of the) largest immigration firms in the U.S. is in Houston, where you appear to be:

http://www.fosterglobal.com/contact-us/setup-a-consultation/

When I consulted them (their similar predecessor incarnation) a few years ago, I got service far beyond the very reasonable fee that I paid.

If you haven't already contacted them, please do.

I have no connection with the firm except as a satisfied past customer.

[raven52 233]

Lies, and deception, is no way to build a relationship.

Tell the truth, have her go back asap, and file the K-1 is what I would do, and as for the number 15 question.,.,,..,I just do not know, many problems if you tell the truth, and """IF"" you do not .,.,and they find out she was here.,.,.,wow.,.,to me she made a bad choice coming here!

Good Luck!

[Andie 147]

"For what ever reason she was not granted a VISA to travel with her family."

Does this mean she applied for a visa and a visa was not granted, or it didn't ever get that far?

[Ashli&Alonso 6]

People keep saying that she will be banned, but I don't think so. From what I understand the bans only apply if she spends 180 days or more. If she has only been here for 34 days, then the bans wouldn't apply, unless there is some other ban that I'm not aware of.

The fact that she entered illegally is a problem because it will lead to more questions, but if she leaves now and does it the right way, tell the truth, etc, she shouldn't be barred from reentering the US legally assuming she is otherwise eligible.

What I don't know however is if she will be required to prove that she spent less than 180 days here, or if the burden of proof is on them.

This is a great point. And I agree. People keep telling you to "do the right thing" but you clearly know what the right thing is. You don't need a speech on ethics, you need to know what to do NOW... with the circumstances you have in front of you. I'm not an attorney and I don't pretend to know the legalities or specifics of bans, etc. HOWEVER, I would say this: If you can afford to take a couple years and live in Nicaragua, then y'all could marry there and then apply for a spouse visa. By then, things may be cooled down a litlte bit. A spouse visa is a litlte more expenive and tends to take a litlte longer than a K-1 fiance visa but at least you could be married and together while you're going through it.

My fiance and I are approaching the end of the fiance visa process and the distance is killer. But we decided to do that route instead of marrying in his country and being "stuck" there while we wait for our visa. Everyone's situation is different. You just need to ask yourself what are your goals/priorities. For us, being married was obviously #1. Then you have to ask yourself WHERE WHEN and HOW? For us, we wanted to get married (where) in the US (when) as soon as possible and (how) with all of my family and friends. So we chose that route.

If your priority is to marry in the US, then go the fiance visa route. If your priority is to simple get married and you are less concerned with where that happens, get married in Nic and go the spouse visa route.

It sounds to me like the only thing you need to figure out is if you should: (a) ask for a waiver now or (b) get her out of the US and then be honest on your application. As far as her getting out undetected: I know, according to OUR knowledge, it seems like it should be an easy fix. Just leave on the boat you came on. But immigration officers and USCIS know EVERYTHING. Things that you don't even know about yourself... they find it out. So be very aware of that!

Best of luck with everything and keep us updated on all of this!!

[Lorvin 45]

"For what ever reason she was not granted a VISA to travel with her family."

Does this mean she applied for a visa and a visa was not granted, or it didn't ever get that far?

This is the question I intended to raise. I would think you would want to know exactly why she wasn't granted one because it may be something that you will need to consider when applying for a fiancee visa.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Lorvin

[msbau764 245]

This is the question I intended to raise. I would think you would want to know exactly why she wasn't granted one because it may be something that you will need to consider when applying for a fiancee visa.

ironically probably because of presumed "intent to immigrate" and "lack of ties"

221(b)

[Marco&Bettina 502]

"For what ever reason she was not granted a VISA to travel with her family."

Does this mean she applied for a visa and a visa was not granted, or it didn't ever get that far?

I wondered the same. Why would family members be here legally but she couldn't get a Visa. Something's amiss.

[msbau764 245]

I wondered the same. Why would family members be here legally but she couldn't get a Visa. Something's amiss.

it happens all the time. Nothing strange about it.

[Ontarkie 14,280]

~~One post removed for advocating fraud - Condone or instruct, either directly or indirectly, others on how to commit fraudulent or illegal immigration activities in any way, shape, manner or method.~~

[slangofoil 50]

You can get married here if you want, but don't try to adjust her status. People who enter without inspection are ineligible. So either get married now, have her leave, and apply for the CR-1, being honest about her illegal entry on any forms and in interview. Or have her leave and apply for the K-1, again being honest about the illegal entry.

[NikLR 13,227]

I see that you have two options. The best one is because she entered without inspection is to leave before she would incur a ban and file a K1. If you want to get married now, you can, and then you follow the CR1 route but you'd require a I-601a so that she could interview in her home country. That is specifically a waiver for people who entered without inspection. http://www.uscis.gov/i-601a

She is was not inspected upon entry so she cannot AOS.

Call the lawyer suggested by Tbone before making any decisions.