Married a week after arrival in US on Tourist Visa

[Ruka 4]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to get some advice on my current situation. Forgive me if my post is too long!

 

Here's my (Visa?) history:

I was a green card holder but my parents gave it up when we decided to come back to our home country for good.

I applied for a Tourist Visa when I was 17 so we can travel to the US for vacations and was approved (I was given a 5 year Tourist Visa). I went to the US every year for a few weeks at a time for 5 straight years.

When my Tourist Visa expired, I had it renewed and was given a 10 year Tourist Visa. I began travelling to the US again but this time only every other year for 4-6 months instead of a few weeks since I'm done with school. I traveled to the US 3 times already in 2011 (6 months), 2013 (6 months), and 2015 (4 months). I always returned before the 6-month limit without fail.

I met my then-boyfriend online in late-2011, got together officially on 2012, then finally met in 2013. We saw each other during my visit in 2013 and 2015. He met my family, I met his.

Late-2016, I went to the US again, still with the same Tourist Visa and we got married a week after my arrival.

 

My main questions:

Is it okay for me/us to file for AOS? Is it legal or will they think I'm commiting fraud? Was it bad that we married so quickly after I arrived?!

My husband never asked me "officially" to marry him but we have at least discussed the idea of marriage several times before I came to the US again to visit him. (But that was to have a church wedding here in my country, not in the US.) Does that count as having "intent" to marry?

 

We married just a week after I arrived in the US and it was on a whim done at a courthouse (we don't even have rings yet). I still have my return ticket (since I bought a round-trip ticket when I came here) scheduled for the next couple of months so I still have the option of returning to my home country and we can file for a Spouse Visa(?) but when we found out about the Adjustment of Status, it sounds more appealing in that we don't have to separate anymore. I can do either option but we both prefer to stay together and not waste money on travelling back and forth as well as spending too much time apart since we've been in a long-distance relationship for too long already.

 

I also hear its safer/better to wait a while before filing AOS (30/60/90? I read about it online) and I don't mind waiting a few months to do it since I'm still deliberating whether to file AOS or return to process for the Spouse Visa anyway.

 

Some additional info.:

We're both of age already and as far as finances go, we're stable. My husband is currently enlisted in the US military and I also own a couple of family-owned businesses in my country (which is why I can travel whenever I wanted for however long I wanted) and I can settle matters online to have my family takeover while I'm going through the process of the AOS.

 

Any advice on my situation will be greatly appreciated!

Edited January 24, 2017 by Ruka

[Ruka 4]

Also I have another question:

Say, our discussions on getting married proves as actual "intent" to get married but I still didn't come to the US planning to file for AOS.

So it still considered visa fraud (or will the interviewers consider it as visa fraud) if I knowingly came here to get married but without having the intention to stay and adjust my status?

 

I feel like I'm confusing myself, but I hope I'm making sense...

[A'n'L 735]

Since you successfully entered the US, whatever your intent was or was not no longer matters. It was the CBP agent who let you in who was responsible for determining the intent of your visit.

 

If you have no need to leave the US for the next 3-4 months, you can go ahead and file AOS whenever suits you (sooner the better for your own sake, getting a work permit and starting your life here for real).

[A'n'L 735]

Oh, and just for clarity: Entering the US on a visitor visa with the intent to marry is perfectly fine for anyone (tourists get married here all the time). It is entering with the intent to remain/take up residence that is illegal.

[Ruka 4]

11 minutes ago, A'n'L said:

Since you successfully entered the US, whatever your intent was or was not no longer matters. It was the CBP agent who let you in who was responsible for determining the intent of your visit.

 

If you have no need to leave the US for the next 3-4 months, you can go ahead and file AOS whenever suits you (sooner the better for your own sake, getting a work permit and starting your life here for real).

Thank you for the reply!

 

As for filing the AOS, is it really okay to file for it sooner rather than later? I would have thought that if I filed it now, they might see it as me having already planned beforehand to immigrate and file an AOS since it hasn't been that long since I arrived in the US + gotten married. Won't they possibly use that as an excuse to say that I may have already intended to stay in the US since everything happened so fast since my arrival here (with my quick marriage and the AOS filing not too long after)?

 

7 minutes ago, A'n'L said:

Oh, and just for clarity: Entering the US on a visitor visa with the intent to marry is perfectly fine for anyone (tourists get married here all the time). It is entering with the intent to remain/take up residence that is illegal.

This is very reassuring. It definitely took away a good chunk of my worries. I've been having all sorts of thoughts after reading several stories online wondering if I could even get deported or something. lol

[A'n'L 735]

It doesn't matter what they think. As per some legal ruling I don't remember the name of, they can't hold that against you. You and your spouse have a solid relationship history, and should have no trouble proving that you married for love and not immigration.

[Ruka 4]

1 hour ago, A'n'L said:

It doesn't matter what they think. As per some legal ruling I don't remember the name of, they can't hold that against you. You and your spouse have a solid relationship history, and should have no trouble proving that you married for love and not immigration.

I see, again thank you very much for the help! I feel better about our situation now.

[Marco&Bettina 502]

Congrats on your marriage by the way OP!

[Daisy.Chain 317]

You married on a whim?

 

Are you going back to your country to apply for CR-1? If not, be prepared for especially heavy scrutiny from USCIS.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Just now, Daisy.Chain said:

You married on a whim?

 

Are you going back to your country to apply for CR-1? If not, be prepared for especially heavy scrutiny from USCIS.

False.  Many aos on a tourist visa without heavy scrutiny.  Intent no longer matters 

[KierenHby 899]

Ya never know.. some unlucky AOSers do get scrutinized, as evidenced by RFEs. 

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1 minute ago, KierenHby said:

Ya never know.. some unlucky AOSers do get scrutinized, as evidenced by RFEs. 

RFE's for aos are not often for relationship evidence from what we've seen.  It's usually for something like a birth certificate, marriage certificate or divorce certificate.  In fact, I've seen more cases of rfe's for evidence on VJ or aos rejections for aos from a K1 than a tourist visa or vwp.

 

 

[Ruka 4]

3 hours ago, Marco&Bettina said:

Congrats on your marriage by the way OP!

Thank you very much!  

8 minutes ago, Daisy.Chain said:

You married on a whim?

 

Are you going back to your country to apply for CR-1? If not, be prepared for especially heavy scrutiny from USCIS.

It's as I said above, we have discussed marriage before I came to visit him in the US but we never made any real/sure plans. It just happened. Right now I'm between staying here and filing AOS or returning to my home country and getting a Spouse Visa but I'm now leaning more on doing the former if there won't be any real problems doing it (like me being deported or something?).

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Just now, Ruka said:

Thank you very much!  

It's as I said above, we have discussed marriage before I came to visit him in the US but we never made any real/sure plans. It just happened. Right now I'm between staying here and filing AOS or returning to my home country and getting a Spouse Visa but I'm now leaning more on doing the former if there won't be any real problems doing it (like me being deported or something?).

If AOS is denied, you can always fix the problem and apply again.  You enter a new period of authorized stay and will not Ben in removal proceedings at that point.  Have plenty of relationship evidence, play by the book and best of luck.

[Ruka 4]

Now I can't help but think about all this again. does anyone know if the length of time between arrival in the US and getting married affects my chances at all of getting AOS approved? Would it have been better if we waited, say, a month after I arrived before getting married?