AOS on VWP - Moving from the UK (introduction)

[leethompson 31]

Hi everyone!

Firstly wanted to thank every contributor to the site - it's been invaluable in making my dreams come true!

My fiance & I met online while we were both at Disney World in Florida on holiday.

I was visiting from the London, England, he from Seattle, Washington.
We went on a couple of dates before making our own ways back to our respective homes.

We then spent the next 15 months travelling back and forth to see each other (I've never racked up the miles so quickly! British Airways made a fortune from the pair of us!), before deciding to spend three months together in Seattle to see how we fared on a more 'everyday' schedule. It worked out so well we've opted to get married before my visa waiver expires and file for AOS while we stay together - thanks to info and others' stories right here on VisaJourney.com!

It wasn't our intention to do it this way (we'd talked about filing for a K1 when I got back to London), and we were both convinced that AOS wasn't possible on the VWP, but after some serious research and digging on here it turns out quite a few couples have done it in the past, so we're embarking on a similar journey.

Our ceremony is happening late November at a major local landmark, our marriage license is in hand, my medical is done, and I'm just putting the finishing touches to our big pack to send to USCIS the day after we're officially married.

Wish us luck!

[Inikamoze 86]

Oh dear, you want people on here to wish you luck.

I think you've just set the hounds of VJ users off on you! You are going to hear plenty of people telling you it's not fair, you're cheating the system.. you give others who are doing it the "right way" a bad name...

I'm sure someone is going to mention fraud too!

In any case if you believe that this avenue is open to you and precedents have been set of other couples having done this from a VWP then go for it. Expect t a huge amount of scrutiny obviously and I mean from immigration officials not the sour pusses who will want to deflate your optimism on here.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Inikamoze

[lost_at_sea 995]

Good luck! I assume you've checked out the guides here? I doubt you'll have any issues.

[leethompson 31]

Thanks guys; I realise some may not appreciate or know the specific details of our situation, but I'd hope not everyone is mean! In our case, we'd at least like to get the forms in as soon as possible ahead of what could be a tumultuous time in not only immigration matters but also LGBT issues with the incoming administration.

We've both been reading all the guides, sample forms and threads from others who've followed the same path that we're going down. I feel confident we've met all the requirements and can prove we didn't originally intend to do this (the wedding itself is taking place on Day 85 of my time in the US).

We've been fortunate that a lot of things have aligned for us when it comes to work, travel and money, not to mention the support of friends and family.

It's obviously nerve-wracking because there a lot of forms, stages, and processes to follow, but with the info here I feel a lot more confident.

[TBoneTX 45,288]

Welcome to the forum.

[2ndMessiah 184]

Once married you become an immediate relative. Immediate relatives can adjust status in country.

as to the rest of it. Good luck with it.

[Marc_us82 49]

Don't sweat, they won't even question whether you have intent or not upon entry because that's not relevant! Many people will tell you that they will scrutinize you (just to make you uneasy) but truth is, if you have a legit relationship, they cannot deny you the GC!

We are also same sex marriage and I adjusted from b1/b2 and the interview was a breeze. Never talked about intent for one second. She asked the usual questions; how we met, the timeline, the proposal, looked at some pictures, and we were good to go.

So I say, relax and be candid at the interview.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.