K1 VISA, now Pregnant can we get Married Prior to Approval

[kevlar 0]

ok.

 

So we'll have a wedding in June, then file for AOS.  What exactly is the AP for? I only recall that term from movies so it's a bit confusing.

 

One more thing, my Fiancé is a bit concerned and doesn't want anything to go wrong and is strongly thinking we should contact a lawyer....is that really necessary? With a wedding and a little one on the way, I don't want to throw cash at a problem if its not necessary.

 

Thanks!

 

Kev

Edited May 3, 2017 by kevlar

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

3 minutes ago, kevlar said:

So we'll have a wedding in June, then file for AOS.  What exactly is the AP for? I only recall that term from movies so it's a bit confusing.

You're a good candidate to review the Visa Journey guide for AOS. Here's the link: [DELETED]

 

EDIT: oops, wrong link. Here's the correct one: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

Edited May 3, 2017 by Russ&Caro

[CubaAndChill 389]

Just now, kevlar said:

ok.

 

So we'll have a wedding in June, then file for AOS.  What exactly is the AP for? I only recall that term from movies so it's a bit confusing.

 

Thanks!

 

Kev

 

AP is so she can travel while waiting for her green card and be accepted back into the US without a problem.. It's called Advanced Parole and can be filed at the same time she's adjusting her status and along with the EAD for permission to work.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

If your wife leaves the US during her AOS without AP, her AOS is considered abandoned and she will not be allowed back into the US.

 

If your wife leaves the US during her AOS with AP, she can return to the US to continue her AOS.

[trudi 1,317]

3 minutes ago, kevlar said:

ok.

 

So we'll have a wedding in June, then file for AOS.  What exactly is the AP for? I only recall that term from movies so it's a bit confusing.

 

One more thing, my Fiancé is a bit concerned and doesn't want anything to go wrong and is strongly thinking we should contact a lawyer....is that really necessary? With a wedding and a little one on the way, I don't want to throw cash at a problem if its not necessary.

 

Thanks!

 

Kev

The guides on VJ will tell what you need to do every step and the folk in the AOS ( adjustment of status) forums will be there to offer support, guidance and tips

 

Be aware that your fiancée will not be able to work until she receives her EAD ( Employment Authorization) and cannot leave the country without the AP.

 

Congratulations to you both and best wishes for your immigration journey

[kevlar 0]

Just looked over the guide and the "warning" at the top has me shivering in my shoes:

 

"If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US."

 

Does this mean we should get married, then file the forms the day she leaves to go home to visit parents?  We can't file a AOS while she's here?  Also, after reading the above post that says she shouldn't leave until we receive AP, this all seems contradicting, and getting more confusing!  

 

Thanks again.

 

Kev

Edited May 3, 2017 by kevlar

[broppy 204]

11 minutes ago, kevlar said:

Just looked over the guide and the "warning" at the top has me shivering in my shoes:

 

"If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US."

 

Does this mean we should get married, then file the forms the day she leaves to go home to visit parents?  We can't file a AOS while she's here?  Also, after reading the above post that says she shouldn't leave until we receive AP, this all seems contradicting, and getting more confusing! 

Don't worry about the warning for your situation - I've bolded the important bit - from what you've said, your fiancee didn't enter with the intention of marrying and immigrating on this trip - your intention was to file the paperwork for K-1 and follow the proper procedure. Your situation has changed since then thanks to the pregnancy. There should be no problem with you two marrying and filing for adjustment of status while she remains here in the US (and as others have said, she shouldn't leave until the advance parole comes through).

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

This is called visa fraud if you are in the USA  and actively planning a wedding then AOS. What they are referring to is if you all of a sudden get married at the courthouse or a quick wedding. Not a preplanned wedding that is bad and will raise scrutiny.

[Ashley Scott 180]

19 minutes ago, kevlar said:

Just looked over the guide and the "warning" at the top has me shivering in my shoes:

 

"If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US."

 

Does this mean we should get married, then file the forms the day she leaves to go home to visit parents?  We can't file a AOS while she's here?  Also, after reading the above post that says she shouldn't leave until we receive AP, this all seems contradicting, and getting more confusing!  

 

Thanks again.

 

Kev

To break it down--

1. Marry

2. File for AOS

3. Wait for Advanced Parole to be approved.

4. Visit parents in Canada

 

She can NOT go back to Canada until she receives her Advanced Parole (which could be up to 5 months or so from what I have seen) or she can not come back in the country.  She will need to plan to stay in the US until this is received so it will probably be the end of the year before she can go visit her parents. 

[kevlar 0]

Well, I'm not sure I 100% understand...

 

After the advice here, updated tentative plan below:

 

Plan on now having a wedding end of June (or earlier depending if we can find a place to do this in time), then after filing AOS, AP, and EAD all at once.

 

Given our back story does this sound like the right path?  We were going to follow the steps for K1 but with the surprise pregnancy want to have it sooner.

 

 

[kevlar 0]

6 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

This is called visa fraud if you are in the USA  and actively planning a wedding then AOS. What they are referring to is if you all of a sudden get married at the courthouse or a quick wedding. Not a preplanned wedding that is bad and will raise scrutiny.

We planned on having a wedding AFTER the K1 went through, however, now she is pregnant and we want to marry sooner, hopefully here in the US within a month or so....  how does this fit into what you've said above?

[afortunada 182]

 

2 minutes ago, kevlar said:

We planned on having a wedding AFTER the K1 went through, however, now she is pregnant and we want to marry sooner, hopefully here in the US within a month or so....  how does this fit into what you've said above?

 

Basically: you will have no problems and just need to follow the advice above that said:

To break it down--

1. Marry

2. File for AOS

3. Wait for Advanced Parole to be approved.

4. Visit parents in Canada

 

As far as the lawyer goes....

You can definitely do it all on your own, but if you make mistakes then that could potentially cause delays in your wife's ability to leave the country. So, sometimes the money is worth it if you just want someone else to deal with it, but of course like I said many people can and do successfully complete it on their own.

Also keep in mind that with this plan she will not be able to work, drive, leave the country etc. until her AP is approved.

 

 

[broppy 204]

10 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

This is called visa fraud if you are in the USA  and actively planning a wedding then AOS. What they are referring to is if you all of a sudden get married at the courthouse or a quick wedding. Not a preplanned wedding that is bad and will raise scrutiny.

No it's not! The fraud you're thinking of occurs when people come to the US with the intention of marrying and AOS but don't have the correct visa. The fraud happens when they misrepresent their intentions to CBP at POE. OP has already made it clear his fiancee had no intention of marrying and immigrating on this visit. They told the truth at POE and committed no fraud.

 

3 minutes ago, kevlar said:

We planned on having a wedding AFTER the K1 went through, however, now she is pregnant and we want to marry sooner, hopefully here in the US within a month or so....  how does this fit into what you've said above?

cyberfx1024 is talking rubbish.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

19 minutes ago, broppy said:

No it's not! The fraud you're thinking of occurs when people come to the US with the intention of marrying and AOS but don't have the correct visa. The fraud happens when they misrepresent their intentions to CBP at POE. OP has already made it clear his fiancee had no intention of marrying and immigrating on this visit. They told the truth at POE and committed no fraud.

 

cyberfx1024 is talking rubbish.

No it is visa fraud. They will be scrutinizedoing if they do this. Sorry if you think myou comment is rubbish but its how I feel. So go ahead get married right away then file for AOS.  But do not plan it, get married, the file bc that is fraud.

[geowrian 22,338]

42 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

This is called visa fraud if you are in the USA  and actively planning a wedding then AOS. What they are referring to is if you all of a sudden get married at the courthouse or a quick wedding. Not a preplanned wedding that is bad and will raise scrutiny.

Absolutely false. You can plan a wedding while in the US and file for AOS just fine without any issues. The issue is during entry into the US - you cannot enter the US with the intent to stay. No scrutiny will be raised via a planned wedding...they are not permitted to consider it (see Matter of Battista and Matter of Cavazos).

6 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

No it is visa fraud. They will be scrutinizedoing if they do this. Sorry if you think myou comment is rubbish but its how I feel. So go ahead get married right away then file for AOS.  But do not plan it, get married, the file bc that is fraud.

No, it's simply not. Lookup those cases. They cannot hold intent against you during AOS as the spouse of a USC.

 

30 minutes ago, afortunada said:

As far as the lawyer goes....

You can definitely do it all on your own, but if you make mistakes then that could potentially cause delays in your wife's ability to leave the country. So, sometimes the money is worth it if you just want someone else to deal with it, but of course like I said many people can and do successfully complete it on their own.

Lawyers certainly don't prevent mistakes... (and in some cases they cause them...they are human.). Lawyers come in handy for difficult cases. For simple cases, they tend (IMHO) to cause more mistakes because they're literally just asking you for the same information you would have to provide if you did it yourself. It's just one more place to make a mistake. haha

 

 

Edited May 3, 2017 by geowrian