I have 2 paths to take and I could use some advice

[nj5b 2]

Merry Christmas to all who peruse this helpful resource!

 

My situation is as follows:

 

I am a US citizen and my girlfriend is a Philippine citizen with a US passport (the one that allows her to travel here from her country in case there was any confusion)

 

We met ten years ago in Hong Kong and kept in touch on and off through out the years via email (how are you doing type stuff) but reacquainted last august when she was here on her tourist visa and have rekindled our love for each other. 

 

She arrived here in July and then left in October to handle affairs back home and re-entered the US last month where she is staying with me. 

 

Upon her arrival at customs she said she was visiting her boyfriend (me).  

 

We have decided to get married but want to do this the correct way.  

 

I can either:

 

1.  File for the K1 visa and send her back when she gets her appointment date (or before her current stay expires)

 

2.  or get married here and file for the i-130+AOS

 

3.  or i'm open to other suggestions

 

My questions are if go with option 2 will she be able to stay here for the duration of the process?  Would we be looking at an uphill battle because we spontaneously decided to get married while she was on a tourist visa?

 

If I went with option 1 would it make sense to do that?  I believe that going this route would make for a more agreeable application since we didn't violate any laws. 

 

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[JFH 12,190]

If she has a US passport she doesn't need a visa.

 

If she needs a visa to come here, she clearly doesn't have a US passport. 

 

Which is it to be? 

[JFH 12,190]

edited as the girlfriend is in the USA so can AOS if she doesn't have US citizenship - that part is still unclear. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by JFH

[JFH 12,190]

Moved back - OP can AOS. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by JFH

[JFH 12,190]

OP, it seems that you are on very shaky ground here. In your previous thread (last month) you said that your girlfriend was "living with you" on a B-2 and you were advised not to say is as immigration takes a dim view of people "living" in the USA as a tourist. 

 

Now you're saying she was here but went home briefly "to take care of some affairs" and is now back. It sounds very much like her intemtion was to stay all along - hence the wrapping up of business back home and the "living with you" on the B-2 visa. Did she lie when she was admitted? She said she was visiting you but it doesn't sound like it. Although that won't cause the AOS to be denied, it's not a good way to deal with immigration. Lying to them is a bad habit to get into. 

[payxibka 10,045]

far too many conflicting facts here

[Going through 5,671]

Sounds like she had intent on immigrating when she crossed the border recently?

[azblk 338]

Any option will work. Most people would choose option 2.

[azblk 338]

5 hours ago, Going through said:

Sounds like she had intent on immigrating when she crossed the border recently?

Preconceived intent does matter for immediate relatives of US citizens and AOS can not be denied on those grounds.

[nj5b 2]

On 12/12/2017 at 8:49 PM, JFH said:

OP, it seems that you are on very shaky ground here. In your previous thread (last month) you said that your girlfriend was "living with you" on a B-2 and you were advised not to say is as immigration takes a dim view of people "living" in the USA as a tourist. 

 

Now you're saying she was here but went home briefly "to take care of some affairs" and is now back. It sounds very much like her intemtion was to stay all along - hence the wrapping up of business back home and the "living with you" on the B-2 visa. Did she lie when she was admitted? She said she was visiting you but it doesn't sound like it. Although that won't cause the AOS to be denied, it's not a good way to deal with immigration. Lying to them is a bad habit to get into. 

I clarified my statement later in that particular thread to say she was staying with me while here for the sake of precision. She left after I posted that message and has since returned.  She was also concise on her reentry that she was going to be visiting her boyfriend as I stated above in this thread. She has a ten year visa to the US which is the b-2.

 

I believe that should round off any remaining questions. If there's any more info that would be helpful pertaining to this then let me know and I'd be happy to oblige.

 

-painfully typed on my Samsung galaxy

 

[azblk 338]

Go for it.