Kids in Love

[aaron2020 11,651]

5 minutes ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

I was replying to your advice. You mentioned that it does not matter if she comes here on a tourist visa- she can get married and adjust status.  If she is here on a tourist visa and she comes here to get married, and adjusts status within the United States, and PLANS on remaining within the US, it can be considered immigration fraud* (my apologies). You gave poor advice. Sorry for calling you out but from what I've seen on here, it's frowned upon.

You're the one giving poor advice.  Have you read Matter of Batista or Matter of Cavozos?  No, shocking.

 

It does not matter if she came on a tourist visa or the VWP or anything else.  ONCE SHE HAS BEEN ADMITTED, immigrant intent does not matter.  Where is she now?  She has been admitted.  That makes it legal for her to marry and adjust status.

 

IF SHE WAS OUTSIDE THE US, then it would be immigration fraud for her to enter with the intent to immigrate.

 

SINCE SHE HAS BEEN ADMITTED AND IS CURRENTLY INSIDE THE US, then it's perfectly legal for her to marry and adjust status in accordance with Matter of Batista and Matter of Cavazos.  
 

Report me to the moderators if you think I am encouraging immigration fraud.  Go right ahead.  

Edited January 24, 2019 by aaron2020

[millefleur 5,046]

I'm backing up @aaron2020 here, it is not fraud if they decided to get married after she has already been admitted to the US.

 

She can marry and adjust status, people adjust status from tourist visas all the time, there's even a whole forum about it here on VJ.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/130-adjustment-of-status-from-work-student-amp-tourist-visas/

 

Fraud occurs when there is pre-planned intent to adjust on a tourist visa before entering the US, in order words, entering the US on a tourist visa with the pre-planned intent to get married.

Edited January 24, 2019 by millefleur

[AtlToBlr 64]

3 hours ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

But it is absolutely frowned upon and is legally considered immigration fraud

You are absolutely wrong. Intent is determined at the border. 

 

Please don't give bad negative advice. 

Edited January 24, 2019 by AtlToBlr

[Going through 5,671]

3 hours ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

If she is here on a tourist visa and she comes here to get married, and adjusts status within the United States, and PLANS on remaining within the US, it can be considered immigration fraud* (my apologies). 

 

If she came on a tourist visa (or any visa for that matter), and crossed the border with the INTENT to marry AND stay within the US to adjust status, then yes, that is fraud.

 

The important part in regards to "fraud" is not the getting married on a tourist visa part, or even the staying in the US to adjust after being married.  It's the intent to adjust status in the US when crossing the border, in terms of it fitting immigration fraud, as other have pointed out.

 

For example, I crossed into the US on a Canadian passport.  At that time, I was in a long-distance relationship with my now-husband.  I came to visit him, spend some time, etc.  He suddenly proposed, we got married a couple of weeks later. I was legally able to remain in the US and adjust status because when I crossed the border, my intent was to return to Canada after a short vacation.   

[geowrian 22,337]

5 hours ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

Sure she can, go ahead. But it is absolutely frowned upon and is legally considered immigration fraud. Multiple forums have confirmed this, and they have also stated that it against VJ ToS.

Frowned upon? Depends who you ask, but not an immigration issue.

Fraud? Absolutely not.

 

5 hours ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

Coming to the US with intention to marry and adjust status CAN be done but it risks being denied, deported and even banned. I would not recommend this! 

The "and adjust status" is the crucial piece. That makes it fraud. Coming to marry is not an issue. Deciding to stay after entry is not an issue.

There's nothing in the thread that suggests there was intent to stay at the time of entry (wanting to stay in the US does not imply intending to stay on that trip...many people visit who plan to eventually live in the US later).

 

4 hours ago, Jaret&Rachael said:

If she is here on a tourist visa and she comes here to get married, and adjusts status within the United States, and PLANS on remaining within the US, it can be considered immigration fraud* (my apologies). 

Yes. if there was intent to stay at entry. Intent was determined at entry already. It's no longer an issue.

[iam2blessed 0]

1 hour ago, AtlToBlr said:

You are absolutely wrong. Intent is determined at the border. 

 

Please don't give bad negative advice. 

Thank you all for your assistance.  I was assuming that everyone would respect the advice of others and just provide information based on the limited information provided and not make assumptions.  I was just asking a question based on a hypothetical situation.  She has a return ticket back to Greece and there is no intentions for them to marry today.  I was trying to get a worse case scenario situation outside of her being here without a visa.  She goes back to Greece in April and I am going as well to meet her family.  While she is here visiting we'll sit down and decide which is the best Visa for her to come over on a permanent basis and begin the process.  My son does crazy stuff sometimes so I wanted to know what would happen if he decided to jump the broom.  He has assured me that he is not ready to get married and talking about it right now makes him uneasy.  However, I have known him to do some crazy things so I just wanted to know the options

[Going through 5,671]

2 minutes ago, iam2blessed said:

I was trying to get a worse case scenario situation outside of her being here without a visa. 

Hypothetically, if they were to get married while she was in the US, once the Adjustment of Status paperwork is filed (for the green card), she would be in "authorized stay" which would allow her to legally reside (and eventually work) in the States while the application was pending.

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

5 minutes ago, iam2blessed said:

Thank you all for your assistance.  I was assuming that everyone would respect the advice of others and just provide information based on the limited information provided and not make assumptions.  I was just asking a question based on a hypothetical situation.  She has a return ticket back to Greece and there is no intentions for them to marry today.  I was trying to get a worse case scenario situation outside of her being here without a visa.  She goes back to Greece in April and I am going as well to meet her family.  While she is here visiting we'll sit down and decide which is the best Visa for her to come over on a permanent basis and begin the process.  My son does crazy stuff sometimes so I wanted to know what would happen if he decided to jump the broom.  He has assured me that he is not ready to get married and talking about it right now makes him uneasy.  However, I have known him to do some crazy things so I just wanted to know the options

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US (currently about 3 months sooner)    
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US (currently about 3 months later)

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
   

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by missileman

[geowrian 22,337]

Just wanting to point out that if she wants to do AOS, then now is the time. She can't leave and come back later on a tourist visa to do it (she would need to complete the process abroad).

[Mrsamoah2019 593]

In this situation to be safe I would suggest for her to file a K1 or CR1 and marry in her country. Adjusting a status on a tourist visa  is very risky

Edited January 24, 2019 by Mrsamoah2018

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

8 minutes ago, Mrsamoah2018 said:

In this situation to be safe I would suggest for her to file a K1 or CR1 and marry in her country. Adjusting a status on a tourist visa  is very risky

Can you give any examples where a person was denied because they filed AOS after entering the US via a tourist visa?

[Celie 793]

13 minutes ago, missileman said:

Can you give any examples where a person was denied because they filed AOS after entering the US via a tourist visa?

 

[Going through 5,671]

5 minutes ago, cduran said:

 

So from that you divulged that the AOS was denied solely due to her being on a tourist visa?  Sounds more like the AOS was denied due to insufficient evidence of a valid relationship/marriage if the IO made notes of it being a "sham" in the denial.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Going through

[Celie 793]

Being that the plan is for her to return, the only two options are k1 and CR1 visa. Although you can "legally" get away with her coming on a tourist visa and her staying and adjusting her status, it's just cutting corners tbh. Plus they'll have to deal with USCIS and how THEY perceive the situation. Now they won't just have to prove bonafide relationship (which I'm sure is real and easy to prove, but very time and money consuming) but now they'll also have to prove the intent was not to come on a tourist visa to marry and stay.

 

I know tons of y'all disagree and that's fine. No need to argue your point with me..  you're not gonna change my mind. In my opinion, legislation should change to where you can't adjust from B1/B2 to LPR and maybe they wouldn't have so much tourist visa fraud. Unfortunately, until then we will have to deal with the confusing technicalities of our tourist visas.

[Celie 793]

3 minutes ago, Going through said:

So from that you divulged that the AOS was denied solely due to her being on a tourist visa?  Sounds more like the AOS was denied due to insufficient evidence of a valid relationship/marriage if the IO made notes of it being a "sham" in the denial.

He asked for an example and I gave it to him. Perceive it as you must. That decision could have been based on the fact that they decided to take the tourist visa to AOS route vs applying for a fiance/spouse visa. That's the tricky part of this process and nobody can know what will happen other than the IO.