Getting married under business visa?

[Ann R 2]

Hi all, 

 

I hope I am posting at the right section and I'm really sorry if I don't (mods/admin can move my post to the correct thread)

 

I came to United States a year ago under business visa (B1/B2) and I’ve been here for a year and currently living with my boyfriend.

 

The reason I came to United States in the first place was to pursue yoga therapy certification and I did try to apply for student visa but unfortunately, my yoga therapy school is not a university/college so they couldn’t give me the 1-20 form (also my intention was to finish my certification and go back to Malaysia once I’m done with it) so I thought it would be a better idea to apply for tourist visa while completing my certification)

 

I met my boyfriend (He is a US Citizen) the first 3 weeks I came here a year ago while doing airBNB, seeing and getting to know each other after a few months and finally decided to be in a relationship few months after that, and now finally we are planning on getting married and serious about building our life and future together (as for now we have been knowing each other for a year and been in a relationship for almost a year)

 

But the first thing came into my mind was that I’m on Business Visa, almost finish with yoga school and also I wasn't so sure how to start and where do we have to get informations. We tried to call the immigration office but couldn’t get informations about our situation since his call was only answered by machine.

 

We both are planning on getting married this summer probably July-Aug this year through local courthouse / register for marriage license (excuse me if that is not the correct term) and then applying for the visa adjustment but at the same time we are also planning to go back to my native country to visit my family on September for 2 weeks with his sister.

 

My questions are :

 

1. Is it possible to get married under B1/B2 visa while I’m still in United States? Do I have to go back to my native country first and then apply for the adjustment?
2. Can I travel outside of United States after applying for visa adjustment? 
3. I heard the process can be really long, and after reading and making my own research , we both still wasn’t so sure where to start (eg : getting married first? apply for fiance/spouse visa first? postpone the trip?)

 

Is there anyone here has same experience like me? Kinda confuse on how and where to start now, not sure if we should postpone the marriage or the trip.

 

Thank you everyone.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Ann R

[Coco8 1,042]

2 minutes ago, Ann R said:

 

1. Is it possible to get married under B1/B2 visa while I’m still in United States? Do I have to go back to my native country first and then apply for the adjustment?
2. Can I travel outside of United States after applying for visa adjustment? 
3. I heard the process can be really long, and after reading and making my own research , we both still wasn’t so sure where to start (eg : getting married first? apply for finance visa first? postpone the trip?)

 

1. Get marry and apply for adjustment of status in the US. Here are the guides: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

2. Do not leave. You can leave in like 3-4 months after application. You need to check the I-131 form in the link above. If you leave the application will be dropped and you will get a 10 year ban for staying in the US illegally. 

3. You do not a visa. Get married and follow the guide I sent in the link. Do not travel outside of the country!!!

 

 

[Dashinka 24,918]

8 minutes ago, Ann R said:

Hi all, 

 

I hope I am posting at the right section and I'm really sorry if I don't (mods/admin can move my post to the correct thread)

 

I came to United States a year ago under business visa (B1/B2) and I’ve been here for a year and currently living with my boyfriend.

 

The reason I came to United States in the first place was to pursue yoga therapy certification and I did try to apply for student visa but unfortunately, my yoga therapy school is not a university/college so they couldn’t give me the 1-20 form (also my intention was to finish my certification and go back to Malaysia once I’m done with it) so I thought it would be a better idea to apply for tourist visa while completing my certification)

 

I met my boyfriend (He is a US Citizen) the first 3 weeks I came here a year ago while doing airBNB, seeing and getting to know each other after a few months and finally decided to be in a relationship few months after that, and now finally we are planning on getting married and serious about building our life and future together (as for now we have been knowing each other for a year and been in a relationship for almost a year)

 

But the first thing came into my mind was that I’m on Business Visa, almost finish with yoga school and also I wasn't so sure how to start and where do we have to get informations. We tried to call the immigration office but couldn’t get informations about our situation since his call was only answered by machine.

 

We both are planning on getting married this summer probably July-Aug this year through local courthouse / register for marriage license (excuse me if that is not the correct term) and then applying for the visa adjustment but at the same time we are also planning to go back to my native country to visit my family on September for 2 weeks with his sister.

 

My questions are :

 

1. Is it possible to get married under B1/B2 visa while I’m still in United States? Do I have to go back to my native country first and then apply for the adjustment?
2. Can I travel outside of United States after applying for visa adjustment? 
3. I heard the process can be really long, and after reading and making my own research , we both still wasn’t so sure where to start (eg : getting married first? apply for fiance/spouse visa first? postpone the trip?)

 

Is there anyone here has same experience like me? Kinda confuse on how and where to start now, not sure if we should postpone the marriage or the trip.

 

Thank you everyone.

It really depends on your life circumstances.  Certainly if you are already here in the US you can get married and adjust your status for a GC which can take anywhere from 6-12 months to get.  You would also apply for an EAD (I765) and AP (I131) to allow you to work and travel internationally while the GC application is processing and this takes approximately 90 days.  Coco8 provided the links for that process.  If you do need to go back to Malaysia to get things in order you could also do the K1 (fiancé) or CR1 (spouse) visas.  Most people do the first option as they can usually wait 3 or so months for the AP before they need to go back home.

 

Good Luck!

[Pakxicans 18]

Best option for you is to get married and apply for Adjustment of Status. Get the EAD and AP the fly back. It might will delay your plan to visit your native country but that's the safest option you have. If you leave as you over stayed your business visa. You will be banned for 10 years and you won't be able to do anything till ban is over. So under the circumstances, get married and apply for adjustment of status.

[Ann R 2]

Thank you so much everyone, now at least my boyfriend and I know how to plan and where to start first. Appreciate it !