Can I marry on a tourist visa?

[Bobbrown 0]

Hello, 

 

I am new to all of this. My girlfriend of 3 years lives in Canada.  Without going into our whole back story we have been visiting each other about once per month over the last 3 years.  Can she come to the US for up to 6 months and then we marry within that timeframe? 

 

If if we do trips within that timeframe while she is living at home with me, would this constitute her reason for a tourist visa? If we decide to Marry after say 4 months of her being here will that raise red flags? 

 

Thanks for all all the insight! 

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, Bobbrown said:

Hello, 

 

I am new to all of this. My girlfriend of 3 years lives in Canada.  Without going into our whole back story we have been visiting each other about once per month over the last 3 years.  Can she come to the US for up to 6 months and then we marry within that timeframe? 

 

If if we do trips within that timeframe while she is living at home with me, would this constitute her reason for a tourist visa? If we decide to Marry after say 4 months of her being here will that raise red flags? 

 

Thanks for all all the insight! 

Yes you can marry, but you cannot have a preconceived plan to use a non immigrant entry with the intent to gain immigration benefits.   

Edited March 27, 2018 by payxibka

[Going through 5,671]

Yes you can get married...however she cannot cross the border with the intent of staying and adjusting status from within the US.  She would have to return to Canada and you would file for the CR-1 (Spouse) visa.

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to what visa do I need from K1 progress reports~~

 

Also a 5 month stay is rather risky, even for a Canadian.  

[KeratNY 76]

On 3/26/2018 at 8:24 PM, Bobbrown said:

I am new to all of this. My girlfriend of 3 years lives in Canada.  Without going into our whole back story we have been visiting each other about once per month over the last 3 years.  Can she come to the US for up to 6 months and then we marry within that timeframe? 

 

If if we do trips within that timeframe while she is living at home with me, would this constitute her reason for a tourist visa? If we decide to Marry after say 4 months of her being here will that raise red flags? 

You shouldn't really do this, but if you do then you absolutely wait more than 90 days after her entry into the US. Anything less than 60 days shows intent to marry and 60-90 days is their judgement call, but over 90 days you are probably ok. 

 

When you say trips - make sure she does not leave the US until she gets her Advance Parole. 

 

Other options include fiancee visa and spouse visa if you get married in Canada. Keep in mind with the latter one is she won't be able to enter the US until the process is complete. 

[KeratNY 76]

On 3/26/2018 at 9:12 PM, NikLR said:

~~moved to what visa do I need from K1 progress reports~~

 

Also a 5 month stay is rather risky, even for a Canadian.  

Not sure what you mean. Canadians get 6 months on their tourist visa so they won't be overstaying. 

[NikLR 13,227]

6 hours ago, KeratNY said:

Not sure what you mean. Canadians get 6 months on their tourist visa so they won't be overstaying. 

Chances of getting denied entry when you plan on staying for 6 months is much higher. I said nothing about overstaying.  

Edited May 8, 2018 by NikLR

[NikLR 13,227]

5 hours ago, KeratNY said:

You shouldn't really do this, but if you do then you absolutely wait more than 90 days after her entry into the US. Anything less than 60 days shows intent to marry and 60-90 days is their judgement call, but over 90 days you are probably ok. 

 

When you say trips - make sure she does not leave the US until she gets her Advance Parole. 

 

Other options include fiancee visa and spouse visa if you get married in Canada. Keep in mind with the latter one is she won't be able to enter the US until the process is complete. 

intent is established at entry.  AOS cannot be denied on intent alone.  The 30/60/90 method doesnt mean anything. 

[KeratNY 76]

40 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Chances of getting denied entry when you plan on staying for 6 months is much higher. I said nothing about overstaying.  

Why is staying 5 months risky when Canadians get a 6 month tourist visa? It isn't.

[KeratNY 76]

38 minutes ago, NikLR said:

intent is established at entry.  AOS cannot be denied on intent alone.  The 30/60/90 method doesnt mean anything. 

Disagree. They are cracking down in people who say they have non immigrant intent and then get married within 60 or 90 days. It shows misrepresentation of intent. 

[Going through 5,671]

2 minutes ago, KeratNY said:

Why is staying 5 months risky when Canadians get a 6 month tourist visa? It isn't.

It can be risky sometimes...not all the time, but sometimes.   Coming for a 5 or 6 month visit, returning home for a short period, and then coming back for another 5 or 6 month visit to the US can lead a POE officer to presume one is attempting to "live" in the US whilst on a tourist visa and deny entry.  Sometimes a person is denied just for "visiting too much" over a 12-month period even with short stays. Comes down to the discretion of the officer, but it has happened multiple times in the past to Canadians as evidenced by threads on this board.

 

A 6 month duration of stay doesn't mean they are encouraging one to stay in the US for the entire 6 months.  It means that period of overstay begins to be  accumulated after 6 months.  Two different things.

 

I was heavily questioned once after staying only 2 months in the US.  

[KeratNY 76]

1 minute ago, Going through said:

It can be risky sometimes...not all the time, but sometimes.   Coming for a 5 or 6 month visit, returning home for a short period, and then coming back for another 5 or 6 month visit to the US can lead a POE officer to presume one is attempting to "live" in the US whilst on a tourist visa and deny entry.  Sometimes a person is denied just for "visiting too much" over a 12-month period even with short stays. Comes down to the discretion of the officer, but it has happened multiple times in the past to Canadians as evidenced by threads on this board.

 

A 6 month duration of stay doesn't mean they are encouraging one to stay in the US for the entire 6 months.  It means that period of overstay begins to be  accumulated after 6 months.  Two different things.

 

I was heavily questioned once after staying only 2 months in the US.  

Yes I agree with that. One must be spending more time out of the US than inside over the previous 12 months. Didn't know that's what you meant by risky. 

[NikLR 13,227]

My ex SIL was denied entry while her 15 year old was in Hawaii on her own.  People on the forum have been denied entry for even short stays because they don't have enough ties to Canada.  Before I immigrated, even on 7-10 day stays the 2nd question asked was ALWAYS where do you work? No job or schooling allows someone 6 months off without a sabbatical.  Attempting a long stay will up the risk of being denied entry.  Attempting multiple long stays will pretty much guarantee it. 

 

Again, they cannot deny an AOS on intent alone.  Look it up.  We've discussed it a lot on the forum. Intent is established at entry. You could marry the next day and they couldn't deny AOS. 

[KeratNY 76]

7 hours ago, NikLR said:

Again, they cannot deny an AOS on intent alone.  Look it up.  We've discussed it a lot on the forum. Intent is established at entry. You could marry the next day and they couldn't deny AOS. 

Disagree. What is happening is that they are cracking down on people that are using ESTAs and visitor visas inappropriately when they have immigrant intent. 

http://www.nafsa.org/Professional_Resources/Browse_by_Interest/International_Students_and_Scholars/DOS_Expands_Presumption_of_Misrepresentation_Rule_to_90_Days/

"A key element of DOS policy is the "90-day" rule, which establishes a presumption of willful misrepresentation "if an alien violates or engages in conduct inconsistent with his or her nonimmigrant status within 90 days of entry." That is to say, if these actions occur within 90 days of entry, a consular officer "may presume that the applicant's representations about engaging in only status-compliant activity were willful misrepresentations of his or her intention in seeking a visa or entry."

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by KeratNY

[dazed'nconfused 14]

10 hours ago, KeratNY said:

Disagree. They are cracking down in people who say they have non immigrant intent and then get married within 60 or 90 days. It shows misrepresentation of intent. 

Got a source on this?   It's a myth that's been touted everywhere on this forum for so long that I think everyone just believes it, despite there never being a single verifiable story from any user OR news article about an AOS case being denied on that basis.