Marriage on ESTA

[cd37 229]

On 11/22/2017 at 1:30 PM, ramesesthe2nd said:

My wife is a Dutch citizen. We got married while she was here on ESTA. It was our intent to get married. I did talk to three different attorneys about taking the AOS route and all of them advised against it. She went back and we filed for CR-1. It is not worth taking the risk IMO with our current administration; they are looking to make an example out of these things. In the mean time, I will visit her a few times and she will come over here on ESTA to stay with me for a while. 

👍✌️

[DrEllaNJ 288]

On 11/22/2017 at 8:35 PM, .yana said:

Not true. Many people (myself included) adjust with overstay and out of status.

true, you're right. Overstay is forgiven for spouses of USC (to complicate matters more). but if OP is concerned about being in status etc, it's more prudent to file before the 90 ESTA days are up so that he won't accrue overstay if denied (which is very unlikely as long as you have good proof of bona fide marriage).

[Carlas 1]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! We have decided to go for this option since it seems to make most sense for us right now. I am so grateful for all the personal advice and opinions given by you all!

[mustang85635 182]

On 11/21/2017 at 8:27 PM, Becci391 said:

If I were you I'd get married and apply for a CR1 visa.

It is not recommended to adjust status from ESTA. 

 

To adjust status from ESTA is perfectly legal and can be done without any problem what so ever if the marriage is real. Now what some other people have pointed out is completely true. It is very hard to keep two mouths fed while on one salary but who are we to judge maybe they have enough money for the process. I came on a B2 and got married, let me tell you the waiting time and not being able to work SUCKS. I would not recommend that and would go the CR1 route any day if I had to do it all over again. 

The Netherlands is a nice place and money is good so yes a year will fly by very quickly and you will be able to visit. You will be able to save money for the move and thats always a good thing. Let me tell you a relationship from my experience can only handle so much and not being able to work and stay at home all day will get you depressed really fast. Think about all those things also. 

Good luck 

[mustang85635 182]

On 11/21/2017 at 8:23 PM, Carlas said:

Hi everyone,

 

I am a Dutch national and while visiting my American GF we decided to get married. We did not want to cope with long distance anymore. After some research we saw that it is possible to get married and apply for the AOS while visiting on a ESTA, given that the marriage was not the intent of visiting (which is our case).

However, this is still a stressful and somewhat ambigious process so we hoped if you could help us out with some advice. 

 

Does it matter if we get married before the 60 day mark? we'd rather get married sooner, so that we can speed up the paper work.

if i am in the process of applying for the AOS, and my ESTA expires (90 days) before I attain the AOS, what would be my status during that in between period?

My SO is currently working and living in California, but does not have a California state ID, (she still has her New York one) would this affect where we can apply for the AOS?

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

PS: I am currently in the US on my ESTA which is still valid for 2 more months.

Ah and to awnser your questions. 

It is kind of an unofficial rule the 30/60/90 days that people keep bringing up on this forum but its just that rumor, unofficial... At the interview they might ask you about your intent when you came initially but you can say it was a snap decision and that is the end of it. 

So no I would say if you go through it do it ASAP because that means getting your EAD/AP sooner too. ( Work and travel permit )

Also you can be out of status once you file for AOS, it is the legal admission ( seeing a CBP officer at the border) that counts . Although I would not advise that on a VWP . Try to file it within your 90 days because in case your marriage breaks down you will still be able to use it in the future like others have kind of pointed out.

The ID thing doesn't matter at all its the address you put down on the AOS paperwork that will assign you your local office. 

 

So if you do it file straight away . EAD/AP takes around 3 months at the moment so if you wait out 2 months to file you will wait 5 more months for your EAD/AP.