90 days to marry? How long do we actually have?

[RojoGringo 6]

I believe he is worried about the lapse in time from when he sends his paperwork in for AOS and for the government record it and send him the information back that she is ok to stay in the USA until further notice. If it takes the government two weeks to record the marriage and the aos and he got married on the 90th day, it would mean his wife in in the country two weeks illegally.

So the question is how long after you are married does it take to get the AOS?

[Pheebs1201 269]

So the question is how long after you are married does it take to get the AOS?

Roughly 90 days to receive EAD and AP

My understanding is that it can take up to a year to get your green card.

This type of overstay is "forgiven" however as leaving would be seen as abandoning the adjustment of status.

[CowBoE 429]

I am confused. Can we wait 89 days and get married? Or do we have to allow time for papers to be received. Where do we send the proof of Marriage? Does this go with the AOS?

Thank you for your help.

Everyone has answered pretty clearly.

And I'm sure you are fiancee is not flying to US so that

there will be few "trial" months, before 100% committing to marriage.

Yes, you can wait until 89th day,

but read the consequences mentioned above,

and it will delay her work permit and green card processing by that much.

Also, she is not eligible to be added to your health insurance

until you are married.

And after marriage, there is a lot you still have to do to build up the

financial co-mingling evidences to include in the AOS packet.

[baron555 934]

I believe he is worried about the lapse in time from when he sends his paperwork in for AOS

That can be done at any time after the marriage....it is suggested to be done prior to the 90 day time period but there is no deadline. Many folks, especially young recent students, need to wait some time to file for AOS due to money reasons. THE only requirement is to become married within the 90 day period. Period.

and for the government record it

Record what? The county records the marriage and the official date is the date of the marriage, not when it's recorded.

and send him the information back that she is ok to stay in the USA until further notice.

No such notice is ever sent.

If it takes the government two weeks to record the marriage and the aos and he got married on the 90th day, it would mean his wife in in the country two weeks illegally.

No, not illegal, just out of status. Once you marry within the 90 days, you've met the requirement. The time period between the marriage and approval of AOS you are out of status, not illegal. A copy of the AOS filing can be used as proof.

So the question is how long after you are married does it take to get the AOS?

Need to be more specific. Usually 3 months for the EAD and AP and about 5 months for the GC.

[Marco&Bettina 502]

How long can we wait before marriage if she enters US on March 7th.

Your marriage ceremony (can be in front of the county judge) must be on or before June 6

90 days, including POE date, is actually by June 4. http://www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?m1=3&d1=7&y1=2015&m2=6&d2=04&y2=2015&ti=on

[Marco&Bettina 502]

Everyone has answered pretty clearly.

And I'm sure you are fiancee is not flying to US so that

there will be few "trial" months, before 100% committing to marriage.

Yes, you can wait until 89th day,

but read the consequences mentioned above,

and it will delay her work permit and green card processing by that much.

Also, she is not eligible to be added to your health insurance

until you are married.

And after marriage, there is a lot you still have to do to build up the

financial co-mingling evidences to include in the AOS packet.

At what point is financial comingling for AOS required? The interview? Because I had to supply 0 evidence of that with my AOS packet.

[Pianist27 31]

Logic Test - is 89 less than 90?

Not for sufficiently large values of 89.

[Zedayn 485]

I am confused. Can we wait 89 days and get married? Or do we have to allow time for papers to be received. Where do we send the proof of Marriage? Does this go with the AOS?

Thank you for your help.

You can get married by the expiration date that is listed in the I-94. You only need to have your marriage license signed and dated by the 90th day or the expiration date in the I-94. You do not need to have it recorded at the county recorder's office by that date. You will need to have your marriage recorded officially, but this can be done after the 90 days. You will also need to wait to get a certified copy of your marriage certificate, and the wait time will vary depending on the recorder's office. In Iowa in my county, I was able to record my marriage and get the marriage certificate within 30 minutes. You will need to send this marriage certificate in with your AOS application.

If it takes the government two weeks to record the marriage and the aos and he got married on the 90th day, it would mean his wife in in the country two weeks illegally.

So the question is how long after you are married does it take to get the AOS?

Technically yes, you are correct. She will be accruing days of illegal presence in the US from the date that the I-94 expires and the receipt of the AOS application. Once the AOS application is received (and you have the NOA1) she will no longer be accruing days of illegal presence, but she will still maintain the days of illegal presence she already accrued to that point.

She will be out of status from the date of expiration of the I-94 until receipt of the green card. When she has a pending AOS application, she will be neither illegal nor legal, but she will be in a period of authorized stay by the attorney general pending approval of the AOS application. Because she isn't "illegal" or "legal" she is considered out of status.

It can take 6 months to a year or more to get approval of the AOS and green card in hand. We've been waiting since September.

And after marriage, there is a lot you still have to do to build up the

financial co-mingling evidences to include in the AOS packet.

This is not required for the AOS application. The only thing you need to include with the AOS is EXACTLY what the instructions require. For proof of the marriage, all you need is the marriage certificate.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Zedayn

[baron555 934]

Technically yes, you are correct. She will be accruing days of illegal presence

No, No, No.......they are just out of status....they are NOT illegal....they entered the US legally using the K-1 and fulfilled it's requirement to marry within 90 days.

in the US from the date that the I-94 expires and the receipt of the AOS application. Once the AOS application is received (and you have the NOA1) she will no longer be accruing days of illegal presence, but she will still maintain the days of illegal presence she already accrued to that point.

Not illegal.....stop using that word.

She will be out of status from the date of expiration of the I-94 until receipt of the green card. When she has a pending AOS application, she will be neither illegal nor legal, but she will be in a period of authorized stay by the attorney general pending approval of the AOS application. Because she isn't "illegal" or "legal" she is considered out of status.

It can take 6 months to a year or more to get approval of the AOS and green card in hand. We've been waiting since September.

This is not required for the AOS application. The only thing you need to include with the AOS is EXACTLY what the instructions require. For proof of the marriage, all you need is the marriage certificate.

[RojoGringo 6]

If it takes the government two weeks to record the marriage and the aos and he got married on the 90th day, it would mean his wife in in the country two weeks illegally.

No, not illegal, just out of status. Once you marry within the 90 days, you've met the requirement. The time period between the marriage and approval of AOS you are out of status, not illegal. A copy of the AOS filing can be used as proof

Ah, Thank you that is what I needed to know. I believe somewhere I read that you should not wait to long to get married when your fiance arrived as the government needs time to make the adjustment of status to the visa. If I can find where I read that I will post it.

[baron555 934]

Ah, Thank you that is what I needed to know. I believe somewhere I read that you should not wait to long to get married when your fiance arrived as the government needs time to make the adjustment of status to the visa. If I can find where I read that I will post it.

No you really shouldn't wait too long.....there also have been reports where folks have been dallying near the border and when they couldn't produce any documentation of legal presence, have had troubles. Carrying a copy of your NOA2, I-94, marriage certificate and AOS filing is suggested if you do this type of dallying. If you don't go near a border town, you shouldn't need any of this.

[Zedayn 485]

Technically yes, you are correct. She will be accruing days of illegal presence

No, No, No.......they are just out of status....they are NOT illegal....they entered the US legally using the K-1 and fulfilled it's requirement to marry within 90 days.

in the US from the date that the I-94 expires and the receipt of the AOS application. Once the AOS application is received (and you have the NOA1) she will no longer be accruing days of illegal presence, but she will still maintain the days of illegal presence she already accrued to that point.

Not illegal.....stop using that word.

She will be out of status from the date of expiration of the I-94 until receipt of the green card. When she has a pending AOS application, she will be neither illegal nor legal, but she will be in a period of authorized stay by the attorney general pending approval of the AOS application. Because she isn't "illegal" or "legal" she is considered out of status.

It can take 6 months to a year or more to get approval of the AOS and green card in hand. We've been waiting since September.

This is not required for the AOS application. The only thing you need to include with the AOS is EXACTLY what the instructions require. For proof of the marriage, all you need is the marriage certificate.

Actually you are partially incorrect. You are correct that they enter the US legally. Once the I-94 expires, and if they have not started the AOS process, they are "unlawfully" here. Usually unlawful means illegal.

From the INA § 212 (8 USC 1182 (a)(9)(B)(ii)) Inadmissible aliens: http://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/act.html

For purposes of this paragraph, an alien is deemed to be unlawfully present in the United States if the alien is present in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.

The period of authorized stay is considered as:

• The period of time from POE until the expiration of the I-94
• The period of time from receipt of an immigration application (such as the Adjustment of Status) to adjudication.

Therefore what I have previously stated is correct, although I have interchanged the words "illegal" with "unlawful". You are illegally (or unlawfully) present in the US after the expiration of the I-94. You continue to accrue these days of unlawful presence until you are in a period of authorized stay again.

During the time period of the I-94, you are considered in the US legally (lawfully present). After the I-94 expires, you are no longer lawfully present here. If you have a pending AOS application, you are also no longer UNLAWFULLY present here.

This is where the "out of status" comes from. You are neither legal (lawfully present) nor illegal (unlawfully present).

[Zedayn 485]

If it takes the government two weeks to record the marriage and the aos and he got married on the 90th day, it would mean his wife in in the country two weeks illegally.

No, not illegal, just out of status. Once you marry within the 90 days, you've met the requirement. The time period between the marriage and approval of AOS you are out of status, not illegal. A copy of the AOS filing can be used as proof.

You are correct here except for one little change: The time period between the marriage receipt of the AOS application and approval you are out of status, not illegal (also not legal--which is why it is called out of status). You can argue that being out of status is in a sense being here legally, but officially it is not true.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Zedayn

[Al422 221]

You must marry on or before day 90 after your arrival. This is strictly enforced, such that one day extra will blow the whole thing and cannot be fixed. So don't mess with it. Get it done on or before day 90.

As for filing AOS on or before day 90, technically you are supposed to, but in actual practice, nothing of consequence will happen if you file late. Technically you will be out of status and technically they can come for you and deport you, but the chances of that happening are about the same as being hit by a meteor. It just won't happen because they just don't do it.

If you file the AOS on or before day 90, you will never be out of status, as your 90 day status gets extended until USCIS takes final action on your AOS, with the end result being (hopefully) issuance of a green card. But if you file late, i.e. while you are out of status, the filing will not cure your out of status condition. You wil remain out of status until you get your green card. But again, even though they can come for you and deport you, they won't It simply does not happen. With 30 million illegals in this country and none of them even thinking about legalizing themselves, there is not a chance in hell they will take action against someone pursing AOS in good faith.

Many people file AOS late because they don't have the $1070 filing fee, and none of them were ever denied AOS or deported because they filed late.

The only potential fly in the ointment is if you are 6 months or more out of status and you leave the US and try to re-enter with your AP card. You could potentially be denied re-entry due to being out of status for over 6 months. This is not something to press your luck with.

[banjoruth 8]

Thank you all for your explanations and your sarcasm.

I was a little unclear about the process, and I wanted to make sure I understood completely.

I have read and re-read so many of the guides and searched forums, still I wanted to be sure.

Thank you all so much for answering.