Late filing AOS- will I be deported?

[nifiance 7]

Hi everyone 

 

my fiancé and I got married last month and my K1 expires on March 28. He lost his job in January and starts his new one on Monday so we might not have the AOS filed in time because obviously we need to have the money to pay for it. Am I at risk or being deported? What should I do?

 

 

[p-ana 933]

As long as you don't go through any cbp checkpoints you should be fine. Those are usually inside airports and by the border.

[Everlast 49]

You will be out of status, but not illegal in the country.

[Scandi 4,166]

Once your i-94 expires and you haven't filed for AOS you're out of status, and when you're out of status there's always a risk. However, it's a very, very tiny risk, if you don't do anything stupid you have nothing to worry about. And any overstay will be forgiven as soon as you file for AOS. Some people wait for months and even years to file for AOS, but it's definitely recommended to file asap after the wedding. Being out of status is never a good thing.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Scandi

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

****** Moving from K1 to AOS from Family Visa forum *****

[zilchfox 296]

Once your I-94 expires you'll be out of status, but technically in limbo too. The moment AOS is filed, your overstay is forgiven.

 

During this limbo period, try to stick to your local community and don't travel anywhere far where CBP officers might intercept, as there could be the risk of deportation if you haven't yet filed for AOS. 

 

Of course, to make the AOS a smoother process, you can wait until your husband has a job again, or you can file with a joint sponsor on the I-864 that's willing to sign off for you. 

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Everyone should note that there is no out of status that isn't illegal. You either have status (legally here on a visa), you have an application pending (Limbo/Legal Presence during the pending application), or you have no status (Illegal).


Your legal stay ends when your I-94 expires. Between that time and the time you receive your I-797 AOS paperwork, you are out of status, without status, also known as illegal. The best way to view it, is if you have no proof that you're in the country legally, then you're not in the country legally. Between expiration of I-94 and before the I-797 for the I-485, you have nothing showing that you have legal presence. You have a promise that you'll AOS and that you did K-1 to stay and adjust, but there's nothing that protects you in that time frame if the worst happens.

Once you receive the paper copy of your I-797, THEN you are in limbo, you are allowed to have legal presence within the US while your application is being processed and adjudicated. The I-797 is proof of legal presence.


While it is possible to say convince an officer that you will file for AOS and everything be fine if something were to happen, on the other end of the coin, you're just as illegal as anyone else who overstayed  for the same time period and they could absolutely use that against you. People see the world illegal and freak out, but they aren't looking for people who are overstaying K-1 visas. Yes, the longer you wait to AOS the better chances of something happening, but they don't go after every person the second their I-94 expires, they don't have the money, time or man power for that, and honestly, some CBP don't even care.

Again, is it likely? No, so far I don't think I've seen anyone put in removal for a K-1 overstay of a short period of time, but there's a reason everyone says to lay low between the I-94 expiring and receipt of I-485, and it's not because you're legal lol.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Ash.1101

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

@Jrsg1989

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