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

[infrasonic 0]

This may or may not be what the OP was asking, but I think this will clarify things for a lot of people who have challenges with the 90 day period. For others, please correct me if I'm wrong anywhere.

After your visa is approved, you have up to 6 months to get to the USA. Once you get to the US, you have 90 days to marry.

So technically, post visa, you have up to 6+3 = 9 months before you have to be married.

Things that reduce this timeline are:

- Your I-94. Based on what your I-94 states, you may have less than 90 days to get married

- Your medical. Please correct me if I am wrong but you have 6 months to get to the USA not since the Visa approval but since your medical approval.

- Your courthouse date. Some courts are busy. So if you wait till the last moment to want to get a certificate, you may not get the appointment in order to get the certificate.

Edited January 30, 2015 by infrasonic

[banjoruth 8]

What is the confusion? Is 89 days less than 90?

Stop overthinking things.

I read somewhere that if the paperwork is not received by the 90 day deadline, then we would have to start this process all over again.

Now thanks to all the replies, I understand that I have the full 90 days and that as long as the wedding takes place within the 90 days we are ok.

"Stop over thinking things"

Hihihi

This is my curse. I think too much.

[Marco&Bettina 502]

I read somewhere that if the paperwork is not received by the 90 day deadline, then we would have to start this process all over again.

Now thanks to all the replies, I understand that I have the full 90 days and that as long as the wedding takes place within the 90 days we are ok.

"Stop over thinking things"

Hihihi

This is my curse. I think too much.

& please ensure you use 90 days, not 3 months. There's confusion about that & people seem to not understand the difference.

[baron555 934]

I read somewhere that if the paperwork is not received by the 90 day deadline, then we would have to start this process all over again.

Now thanks to all the replies, I understand that I have the full 90 days and that as long as the wedding takes place within the 90 days we are ok.

"Stop over thinking things"

Hihihi

This is my curse. I think too much.

I don't mean to continue the "other" part of this thread, the subject of status between marriage and expiration of the I-94 and filing or receipt or approval of the AOS filing.

Just thinking here but if USCIS allows the K-1 couple up to the full 90 days after entry.......or equal to the expiration of the I-94 to become married........

then why would USCIS then purposefully "allow" or "force" the beneficiary to become....unlawful, or illegal, or no status, or out of status?

If one were to do the math, if you marry on day 89, there is no way you can file for AOS before the end of day 90 since it takes county clerks at least a week or more to record the marriage and issue the marriage certificate....which is required for AOS filing.

So even if by strict definition this person is illegal and unlawful....one can wonder if the same sense of urgency is made from USCIS concerning this illegal versus a true illegal immigrant...one who enters the US totally unlawfully.

If USCIS were to be so concerned with the K-1 illegal, then why don't they say the K-1 couple has to marry within 60 days of entry to allow time to obtain the marriage certificate and file for AOS? Just thinking.

[NikLR 13,232]

After the receipt of the NOA1 for the AOS you have a legal prescence in the USA until a decision is made on the case.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

There is no time limit/deadline in which to file for AOS. As long as you married within 90 days then you are eligible to file based on your approved I-129F petition and fulling the requirements of the K-1 visa. However, you will be out of status and begin to accrue unlawful presence between your I-94 expiring and filing for AOS. Once you file for AOS, you then enter a period of authorized stay while waiting for your green card approval.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-485instr.pdf

Who May File Form I-485?

3. Based on admission as the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen and subsequent marriage to that citizen

A. You may apply to adjust status if you were admitted to the United States as the K-1 fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen, and you married that citizen within 90 days of your entry.

Who Is Not Eligible to Adjust Status?

6. You failed to maintain your nonimmigrant status, unless your failure to maintain status was through no fault of your own or for technical reasons; unless you are applying because you are:

B. A K-1 fiancé(e) or a K-2 fiancé(e) dependent who married the U.S. petitioner within 90 days of admission

8 CFR Sec. 214.2(k)(6)(ii)

(k) Spouses, Fiancées, and Fiancés of United States Citizens—

(6) Adjustment of status from nonimmigrant to immigrant.

(ii) Nonimmigrant visa issued on or after November 10, 1986. Upon contracting a valid marriage to the petitioner within 90 days of his or her admission as a nonimmigrant pursuant to a valid K-1 visa issued on or after November 10, 1986, the K-1 beneficiary and his or her minor children may apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident under section 245 of the Act. Upon approval of the application the director shall record their lawful admission for permanent residence in accordance with that section and subject to the conditions prescribed in section 216 of the Act.

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.

out of status = overstay = unlawful presence = illegal

Being in the US illegally does not only mean you entered without inspection. This is why ICE can detain a K-1 entrant that has an expired I-94. It is a rare occurrence, but it has happened.

The K-1 is a special case type of non-immigrant visa, since it actually has immigrant intent. However, it is still a non-immigrant visa and the same rules apply to it as entry with any other non-immigrant visa. When the I-94 expires, you begin accruing days of unlawful presence. When you apply for AOS and are awaiting a decision, you are in a new period of authorized stay.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87120.pdf

9 FAM 40.92 N1 INTERPRETATION OF "UNLAWFUL PRESENCE"
(CT:VISA-1741; 10-13-2011)

a. INA 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)(ii)) provides the following construction for the term "unlawful presence": “… the alien is present in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay authorized by the [secretary of Homeland Security] or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled." Under this construction, an alien would generally be unlawfully present if he or she entered the United States without inspection, or stayed beyond the date specified on the Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record, or was found by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to have violated status. However, even aliens fitting into one of these categories may be deemed to be in a period of authorized stay in certain circumstances, as noted below.

b. DHS has interpreted "period of stay authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security" as used in the construction of unlawful presence in INA 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) to include:

(1) For aliens inspected and admitted or paroled until a date specified on the Form I-94 or any extension, any period of presence in the United States up until either:

(a) The expiration of the Form I-94 (or any extension); or
(b) A formal finding of a status violation made by DHS or an immigration judge or the BIA in the context of an application for an immigration benefit or in removal proceedings, whichever comes first.

...

(5) For aliens who have properly filed an application for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident (LPR), the entire period of the pendency of the application, even if the application is subsequently denied or abandoned, provided the alien (unless seeking to adjust status under NACARA or HRIFA) did not file for adjustment "defensively" (i.e., after deportation proceedings had already been initiated);

[TBoneTX 46,170]

thanks to all the replies, I understand that I have the full 90 days and that as long as the wedding takes place within the 90 days we are ok.

Because the OP has the answer, and because the debate has gone beyond the scope of the actual query, this thread is closed to further comments. Thanks to all who participated, except for two posters whose comments were removed.

TBoneTX

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