Married with an ESTA (tourist) visa

[Crazy Cat 41,761]

21 minutes ago, Calicolom said:

At this time, i would not take a chance to adjust from a tourist or ESTA visa. They find out you had a boyfriend in the US for 3 years, your application is toast. ou may never get to the US anymore.

There is nothing to prohibit adjusting status from a B2 or ESTA if there was no intent to do so prior to entering the US........

Edited August 24, 2019 by missileman

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 8/21/2019 at 11:58 AM, Sarah G said:

I entered the US using ESTA / VWP. I was already married to my husband when I arrived, and just came for a visit while we were waiting for the spousal visa process to move forward. Shortly after I arrived, my husband asked me to stay and after much thought I agreed and we filed for AOS. 

@missileman & @geowrian is this legal?  If so, why don’t we hear about it more?  I never realized this was an option. 

[Lil bear 4,181]

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

@missileman & @geowrian is this legal?  If so, why don’t we hear about it more?  I never realized this was an option. 

This is my thinking only ....

Because the minute you start thinking about it while still outside the US, it becomes a consideration , bordering on an intention.. it’s only legal when there was no intent at entry ... and knowledge of the possibility kind of makes it difficult to then say it was spontaneous change of plans . 

[Crazy Cat 41,761]

8 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

@missileman & @geowrian is this legal?  If so, why don’t we hear about it more?  I never realized this was an option. 

As posted, yes, it is legal....It all revolves around intent prior to entering the US..........it is not a legal option to enter via ESTA/VWP with the intent to adjust status.

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

16 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

@missileman & @geowrian is this legal?  If so, why don’t we hear about it more?  I never realized this was an option. 

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

As posted, yes, it is legal....It all revolves around intent prior to entering the US..........it is not a legal option to enter via ESTA/VWP with the intent to adjust status.

^This

It's only an option for people already inside the US, not those coming to the US.

[Soley 73]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:05 PM, Linda91 said:

We got married already, so we also got the marriage certificate. My husband is looking what to file online ATM. The office doesn't really pick up our calls either.

 

How long do you have to wait til you can work and drive? 

 

Did you also enter with tourist visa? 

I entered on a tourist visa 3,5 years ago. While in the US my then boyfriend and I spoke to a lawyer and told him we would like to get married in the my home country and then return to the US. He advised us to get married while in the US so we wouldn’t have to be separated for a long time while awaiting the correct visa overseas. So we decided to change our plans and get married in the US. Directly afterwards we filed all the required documents. In my timeline you can see how much time everything took. I did get a green card. The hardest part was waiting for the Advanced Parole (the permit to travel) as I had left my country intending to be back in a couple of months and I had things to take care of. When I received that, I was able to travel back for a few weeks. Re-entering the US was no problem once I had the right documents. I did take a copy of our marriage certificate just in case I needed it but they never asked for it. Other than our first talk with an immigration lawyer we did everything ourselves. My visa had not run out like yours but would be running out while waiting for approval. As long as you have filed your adjustment of status you are in the country legally so that’s no problem. Good luck and congratulations on your marriage!! 

[MJMH 5]

On 8/20/2019 at 4:14 PM, Linda91 said:

Hi,

My family and i came to the states for a family vacation (with ESTA/tourist visa). My american citizen boyfriend of 3 years spent some time with us. After 86 days together, he asked me to marry him because he couldnt bare to seperate from me. We are now married. How do we go on from here? What steps do we take? What forms do we need to submit? Will we be denied?

 

My ESTA visa is about to expire in 3 days, will that be a problem with the process?

 

Thank you,

Linda 

 

Hi Linda!

 

I am in your exact situation. You should file a one-step IMMEDIATELY.  I-130, I-131,I-485, I-765, I-864. You must do so as soon as possible, because you have started to accrue illegal stay after your 90 days ended. Check your I-94 online, it should tell you your status.

 

Let me know if you need any help.

[MJMH 5]

On 8/20/2019 at 4:49 PM, Linda91 said:

The financial part is not a problem for us. We are going to file ASAP but how long will it take for us to receive our notice that they have received it?

Thank you

I filed 3 days after we got married, and received the NOAs about 10 days later. I filed 6 days before my time was up. I stayed in the USA with my hisband. As for the driving, depending on the State in which you live, you may get a driver's license without a SSN, others don't allow it. Mine doesn't, so I took and passed the test, and have a provisional driver's license until I get my SSN. 

[MJMH 5]

3 hours ago, geowrian said:

^This

It's only an option for people already inside the US, not those coming to the US.

Yes, it is legal. There are a few considerations though, like the 60-90 day rule. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

7 minutes ago, MJMH said:

Yes, it is legal. There are a few considerations though, like the 60-90 day rule. 

Such as?  

[geowrian 22,337]

24 minutes ago, MJMH said:

Yes, it is legal. There are a few considerations though, like the 60-90 day rule. 

It is legal if one is already in the US. It is not legal if one comes to the US with intent to stay.

No such rule exists.

[geowrian 22,337]

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-7

Quote

C. Visa Waiver Programs

A foreign national admitted as a nonimmigrant without a visa under a Visa Waiver Program is barred from adjustment of status. ^[8]Similarly, a foreign national admitted as a nonimmigrant without a visa to Guam or to the CNMI is barred from adjustment of status. ^[9] These bars do not apply, however, to those seeking to adjust status as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or VAWA-based applicants.

 

That said, this topic is about legal immigration paths - meaning those who are already in the US. I would highly suggest keeping to that topic.

[jumbo mambo 4]

11 minutes ago, geowrian said:

If their AOS was denied, then they would need to address the reason for denial.

 

I've seen it regularly on this website week after week after week.

Yes  USCIS always need to mention the reason for denial and  the options with a letter .

Nowadays they use public charge a lot  also   /212 (a) (6) (C) or  (i) / 212 (a) (7) ( A) and some others to deny 

if some others had their status using a VWP its possible but right now they deny many applications.

 

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

******* yes again many posts of bickering and wrong information removed and stricter admin action taken against one poster.  If you see someone arguing/ using bad language/ doing stuff against TOS, please report them and do NOT engage and add fuel to the fire.  Additionally, if you feel you need to correct them, do not quote their missinformaton, as that means your post will be removed alongside their wrong info when  a Mod cleans up the thread.  ******

Edited August 25, 2019 by Penguin_ie

[MJMH 5]

On 8/24/2019 at 3:47 PM, missileman said:

There is nothing to prohibit adjusting status from a B2 or ESTA if there was no intent to do so prior to entering the US........

Exactly. The whole thing is INTENT. My boyfriend proposed to me while I was visiting him, I had told the Border Patrol I was coming here to visit my boyfriend, so there was no lie there. The proposal and marriage was completely unplanned. It happened about 3 weeks before I had to go back.