Submitting marriage certificate with AoS application

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

My fiancee and I will marry 3 weeks prior to the expiration of her I-94 and within the 90 day windows for her K-1 visa. We might or might not be able obtain the official marriage certificate before the expiration of her I-94, however. My question is,

Is it better to file the AoS application before the I-94 expires but without the marriage certificate and then submit the marriage certificate as a separate document to ensure the AoS application is filed prior to the I-94 expiration and she never ends up out of status?

OR

Is it better to submit the marriage certificate together with the AoS application even if it means filing the AoS after the I-94 expires, meaning fiancee might be out of status a few days?

[oatmeal 8]

Hi.. You can file the AOS anytime. It doesn't have to be within 90 days. The 90 days period is to get married. I filed my AOS after 90 days.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

Hi.. You can file the AOS anytime. It doesn't have to be within 90 days. The 90 days period is to get married. I filed my AOS after 90 days.

Thanks. And the USCIS had no problem with that?

[baron555 934]

My fiancee and I will marry 3 weeks prior to the expiration of her I-94 and within the 90 day windows for her K-1 visa.

Super

We might or might not be able obtain the official marriage certificate before the expiration of her I-94, however. My question is,

Is it better to file the AoS application before the I-94 expires but without the marriage certificate

No, you can't. Your petition will be returned or denied or RFE. You NEED the marriage certificate to go along with the other AOS documents.

and then submit the marriage certificate as a separate document to ensure the AoS application is filed prior to the I-94 expiration and she never ends up out of status?

Not possible, per above.

OR

Is it better to submit the marriage certificate together with the AoS application even if it means filing the AoS after the I-94 expires, meaning fiancee might be out of status a few days?

Yes, that's what everyone does.

[oatmeal 8]

There's no problem because we get married within 90 days. The advantage when you file early is that you can work right away and not out of status. My sister filed her aos after a year. And there's no problem at all.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

There's no problem because we get married within 90 days. The advantage when you file early is that you can work right away and not out of status. My sister filed her aos after a year. And there's no problem at all.

Thanks! I worry less about the work and mostly about the out-of/status and how it might affect the AoS application, but it seems its OK as many end up in the same boat as we are in.

[Dohan 133]

This was discussed in another thread which I can't locate at the moment but if your new wife will be out of status for some time it might cause concern with AP. Other VJers have mentioned that while nearly everyone get's approved for AP, if the immigrant is out of status at any time before receiving AP it could cause issues getting back into the country. I don't mean to worry you but this was just recently mentioned by some senior members, including the admins. Just wanted you to have the full picture. We plan on marrying ASAP so we can adjust status before I 94 expiration.

If you're not planning on using AP, then don't even worry about it. Plenty of people do AOS much later.

Also, depending on your state you might be able to get certified copies of your marriage certificate right away if you do a city hall marriage. NY does this. But in CA it takes longer.

[TBoneTX 46,167]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the AOS/Family-Based main forum -- topic involves Adjustment. ***

[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 and the overstay will not matter, even when using AP.

Being barred from entry when you have more than 180 days of overstay no longer applies to those that have received AP based on being an AOS applicant.

There was a BIA ruling a few years back, Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly.

FAM notes now state this > http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87120.pdf

9 FAM 40.92 N2.2 INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) Departure At Any Time

The 10-year bar under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) does not contain the same language as the three-year bar under INA 212(a)(9)(i)(I) relating to the alien having departed voluntarily prior to commencement of removal proceedings. Thus, an alien who departs the United States after having been unlawfully present for a period of one year or more subsequent to April 1, 1997, is barred from returning to the United States for 10 years, whether the departure was before, during, or after removal proceedings and whether the alien departed on his or her own initiative or under removal order. The one exception to this rule (see also INA 212(a((9)(B)(v)) is that an alien cannot become inadmissible under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) solely by virtue of a departure and return to the United States undertaken pursuant to a valid grant of advance parole based on the alien’s pending application for adjustment of status. Note that this does not preclude a trip under a grant of advance parole from being considered a “departure” for any other purposes under the INA, nor does it call into question the applicability of any other inadmissibility ground. On the contrary, it is well settled that an alien who leaves the United States and returns under a grant of advance parole is subject to those grounds of inadmissibility that may apply, rather than grounds of deportability, once parole is terminated. (See Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012.)

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

What the other people are saying and what I know from personal experience with my asawa that it is OK to file the AOS after the 90 days are up, that is if you are already married by then. But this does not give you leeway to file it say a year after the 90 days are up. I filed my asawa's AOS paperwork literally one month after the 90 day period and everything was fine.

[CowBoE 429]

We had a civil marriage by a Justice of Peace,

and I took the proper paperwork to the county office next door,

and got the certified copies of marriage certificate literally minutes after our marriage.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

What the other people are saying and what I know from personal experience with my asawa that it is OK to file the AOS after the 90 days are up, that is if you are already married by then. But this does not give you leeway to file it say a year after the 90 days are up. I filed my asawa's AOS paperwork literally one month after the 90 day period and everything was fine.

Yes, it does give you leeway to file even a year later. There is no deadline to file as long as you married within 90 days of entry with the K-1 visa. Marrying within the 90 days of entry is what makes you eligible to file for AOS. There is no expiration on that eligibility.

[raven52 233]

As one poster said, depending on the state, you can have certified copies of the marriage certificate, within a day or two, but no longer than a week.

You have not shown your state, that I have seen, maybe it is in the time line, but ""way too many never fill in their time line's" so I did not look.

This document should be readily available to you.

[Hank_ 9,174]

My fiancee and I will marry 3 weeks prior to the expiration of her I-94 and within the 90 day windows for her K-1 visa. We might or might not be able obtain the official marriage certificate before the expiration of her I-94, however. My question is,

Is it better to file the AoS application before the I-94 expires but without the marriage certificate and then submit the marriage certificate as a separate document to ensure the AoS application is filed prior to the I-94 expiration and she never ends up out of status?

OR

Is it better to submit the marriage certificate together with the AoS application even if it means filing the AoS after the I-94 expires, meaning fiancee might be out of status a few days?

Read the requirements for the I-485 instructions, a copy of the marriage certificate is required, silly to fill without the required documents. No issue filing after the 90 days.

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

Edited February 13, 2015 by Hank_

[Marco&Bettina 502]

I researched the topic before sending my AOS but decided not to send the certified copy of the marriage certificate as there were complications getting it before I sent the packet; so mine just has a normal copy. It would have been at least a couple weeks delay if I waited. I know I may get an RFE. I'm prepared for it if so.