Just got married - can he stay here?

[HFM181818 750]

If you are that concerned, have him return home for a while........if this keeps up, don't be surprised if the VWP gets put on hold, given all of the incidents in the US recently.

[LORIEandPHIL 123]

If you are that concerned, have him return home for a while........if this keeps up, don't be surprised if the VWP gets put on hold, given all of the incidents in the US recently.

I would be very very suprised if the VWP, was put on hold. Mainly because of all the financial implications involved.

[liefdeis21 0]

Well it's a bit complicated. There is a housing shortage there and with his limited income he did have to give up his place in social housing to get here for the wedding- so he has no home to return to. However it was never our intent for him to stay as we didn't know that was an option. We had an expensive wedding planned by my parents prior to his housing situation that would've cost thousands to cancel. So we figured we'd just have to try to secure him new housing there while he's here as hard as it will be. He is a contractor so he can leave work and return at any time. But if he can stay here given that he is effectively homeless in his home I'd feel better. But no it was never our intent to circumvent any laws.

[enibas 2]

Stay and do the AOS. IT won't be more expensive the the CR1

if they invite you to an interview then tell them what you told us. There was no intent to stay in the USA after marriage.

It is not true what some people wrote here, that you need the K1 to get married. You need the K1 to be allowed to stay in the USA after the marriage.

[Alaska2012 462]

Just have him stay and adjust. Why go through the heartache of being apart when you don't have to? Since you guys didn't pre-plan this you are good to go!

[meagan 3]

This happend to me I met a man here in the us he was here on student visa it was running out he needed to go go back we got married and adjusted status so he could stay and not go back and re file cr1 it was much faster and easier for us to do it this way it does take time to file papers and have them processed make sure you do have enough money to meet the needs of a sponser or have someone that is willing to co sponcer with you just in case you don't have enough money also he will not be able to leave to go back home for quite a while with out filing the papers and applying for permission to leave if you do file papers and he leaves the us he will not be able to re enter and then will have to re do all paper work over and re file the cr1 so you rely need to be sure he doesent need to go back home anytime soon and he can wate till all paper that are filed are finished and processed which can take 3 mo or a year or longer there's no telling a exact time frame best of luck on your journey

[liefdeis21 0]

Thank you so much everyone. I feel so much better having people to talk to!

[AB loves AG 54]

It is not true what some people wrote here, that you need the K1 to get married. You need the K1 to be allowed to stay in the USA after the marriage.

This is not true ^^^ You need the K-1 to enter the US. The I-94 allows you to stay in the US for 90 days after entering with the purpose of getting married. The K-1 is void once you step foot on US soil.

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Irrelevant post removed along with posts quoting. Another post importing drama from another thread also removed.***

**Moderator hat off**

To set the record straight:

• Decisions made by the Board of Immigration Appeals that came down to the predecessor agency of USCIS resulted in the Adjudicators Field Manual specifically stating that suspicion of intent alone cannot be the sole reason to deny an AOS case.
• It's up to the Government to prove Material Misrepresentation, not on the applicant to prove they didn't lie.
• As far as intent to use a non-immigrant visa to circumvent consular processing by staying and adjusting, it's not legal. To do this, you have to lie to CO's and/or CBP officers and lying to said officials about your intentions is Material Misrepresentation.
• It's perfectly fine to have intent to get married on a tourist visa or the VWP as long as the foreign citizen departs before or at the time their authorized stay ends. What's not ok is intent to marry and stay (this is an important difference that needs to be pointed out and some posters in this thread fail to do this).
• The OP has clearly stated they did not have any intent to stay so it's a non-issue for their specific case.

**Moderator hat back on**

***The purpose of this thread is to answer the OP's questions and how they can use a legal avenue as it relates to their case. It is not a place to discuss the merits of the INA as is that permits immediate relatives of US Citizens to adjust status on non K visas nor is it a place to speculate about the future of the VWP. Such discussions belong in standalone threads in the proper forum.***

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

If he traveled there with the intention of getting married on a tourist visa then its not the right approach . If the intention is to get married in the US then it should be a K1 visa . I would suggest please do your research before you make a decision

It is perfectly legal to have intent to marry on a tourist visa. You do not have to get a K-1 just to marry in the US. That would make destination weddings a nightmare for the tourist/wedding industries.

Having intent to marry and then STAY and adjust would be the wrong approach.

The OP had no intent to stay when they entered. They are legally able to just stay now and file for AOS.

[HG&TG 4]

Did he did come over to get married? If he did, it's better for him to leave and wait back home in the Netherlands. If there was no intent to get married but it happened he can stay and adjust.

It's all about intent to stay. If you planned the wedding, he quit his job, sold his house, and then came over it doesn't look good for him. If he still has a job, a house etc. it's easier to proof there was no intent to get married and stay. You have to proof there was no intent to stay and if you can you will be fine.

Personally, when you can, play safe let him go home and wait.

I agree. Let him go home. We did it that way. I know it is hard to separate, been there and done it.

Now we are together and enjoying it at the fullest.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Coming from a VWP country, I HATE it when people enter the US under the VWP, get married and adjust or overstay because it affects everyone from a VWP country. It's the reason why two of my VJ friends were refused entry at the border when coming to visit their husbands and why my friend's mum was also refused entry at the border, CBP thought they were coming to immigrate without the proper visa.

With that said, in your circumstance, with your husband basically being homeless in his own country and living in special housing, I totally understand that you want your husband staying in the US with you. It's not like US immigrations can prove that your husband had intent to immigrate when he entered the US anyway, so don't worry about that. I've heard of people selling their home and furniture in their home country and quieting their jobs, then flying over to "visit" on a tourist visa or VWP, getting married, adjusting and saying they had no intent of immigrating when they flew over. They had no problem adjusting. I think this whole law/rule that says you can't marry and immigrate on a tourist visa or VWP is just a way to try and scare or deter people from doing it, but if you still do it, it's not like it has any consequences. It's ridiculous, they should either allow it or don't allow it...

[Boiler 45,663]

I did the K1, a mistake with the benefit of hindsight.

[ValerieA 350]

You have to proof there was no intent to stay and if you can you will be fine

No, you don't. The officers at the border determine intent. If they let you into the country, they have decided you have no intent to immigrate on a non-immigrant visa. Additionally, suspicion of intent is not a reason to deny, as per the field guide. So no, the OP will not have to prove there was no intent to stay when the non-US spouse entered the US.

Edited December 14, 2015 by ValerieA