Attorney Quote on us getting married on (her) Visitor's Visa

[NikLR 13,232]

Not being able to work or travel for 3+ months.  Never would have gone the AOS route.  Not for a K1. Not because of spontaneous decision. 

 

People act like spontaneous marriage doesnt happen.  Like Brittney Spears didn't get married in vegas.  Lmao

[Nitas_man 3,100]

6 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Slight difference between an overnight camping trip and getting married, though.

The USC never gets to stay camping.  I wonder why

[NikLR 13,232]

1 minute ago, Nitas_man said:

The USC never gets to stay camping.  I wonder why

I like camping for 2 nights personally. 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

17 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

The USC never gets to stay camping.  I wonder why

It seems extremely rare that we get a usc on here who spontaneously married their foreign spouse while visiting them in their home country, yes? Most of the ones who sponsor spouses abroad seem to have planned those weddings. Must be something in the water here.

[jptt1239 0]

On 12/29/2019 at 2:04 AM, Rose711 said:

I have friends who married spontaneously on a visitors visa.  It all worked out.

 

Just to point something out : She had to stay for the entire process which took over a year. She couldn’t work or so much of anything, that was difficult for her, even though she was planning a long visit on her visa. She had visited after  a contract job that just ended. Her mom took care of getting her documents, etc. They ended up traveling a lot.

 

They filled out the forms on their own but got a request for evidence even using the guides here. If you fill out the forms yourself do it carefully. 
 

Good luck.

 

Staying won't be a problem, and I spent a lot of time looking over the guides and everything here. I had no idea there would be so much documentation outlying this all online and something I could easily do myself.   

 

 

 

On 12/29/2019 at 8:07 AM, Cathi said:

So you're going to give 3k to an attorney who doesn't know what he's talking about when you can do it all on your own?

 

Interesting...

 

(It's a little obvious that the marriage wasn't spontaneous when you went out of your way to tell everyone that it was spontaneous. Especially when your spouse can stay for an extended amount of time without tying up loose ends at home. Just sayin')

I mean, obviously I didn't know what I didn't know - there wasn't a way for me to know if he doesn't know what he's talking about when I know even less haha. I am learning a lot on my own though, reading through the guides here has been helping a lot on learning what is and isn't the right thing to say. A note on the usage of "spontaneous", I made sure to not that in my original post because that's a pretty big key factor in whether or not it would be allowed. There are no loose ends to tie - her father is out of the picture, she lived with her mom. We're not business owners or volunteer types, her city is dangerous so going out and hanging out wasn't something she would actively do, most of her friends are based outside the country.

 

 

On 12/29/2019 at 4:59 PM, geowrian said:

It's even more nuanced that that, really. If somebody went to the AOS interview and said "I told the CBP officer I was visiting but I really was planning to stay.", things likely would not go very well...a misrep inadmissability at least would probably be in the future.

So it's not a matter of being "forgiven"...it's that - combined with the rulings about preconceived intent - they do not pursue the issue. It doesn't make it legal even if they got through POE intending to violate law...just that they aren't going to get caught (barring something like telling the IO otherwise).

 

Anyway,

There's nothing in the OP's post that implies they intended to do so beforehand. It's all conjecture.

Of course, if others from her country start doing the same en masse (VWP requires like what...<=3% for the prior year and <=2.5% over 2 years?), then VWP privileges for everybody from that country goes away.

This is good to know, and yes during her travel over here she was interviewed quite a bit and also we have plenty of messages between us, her mom, posts on social media and even buying an expensive laptop for her return trip. It really wasn't until halfway through the month that our "haha what if..." ideas actually started to turn serious instead of just playful future-ideas.

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 2:27 PM, Ortolan said:

If there are no oddities or flags in either your or your girlfriend's background (prison, drugs offenses, arrests, huge age difference, etc.) then there's really no reason why you need to use an attorney. You can find all the information you need to file here, on VisaJourney.

 

Questions you have about the process after reading the guides can be posted here and answered by a number of very, very knowledgeable folks. 

This has been a great help yeah, there's no oddities at all. We're within 3 years of age difference, no jail or any bad run-ins with the police (actually had quite a few good run-ins over the last month locally including helping the police document a case, but that's another story).

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 2:30 PM, SusieQQQ said:

Why does he advise waiting until she has overstayed her visa before marrying? I don’t understand this bit. (From what you said I assume she has an allowed stay of 90 days, not sure if I misunderstood that.)

That's what I didn't understand either - that really surprised and scared me. 90 days is her legal limit and I should have noted that in my OP.

 

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 2:46 PM, Bill & Katya said:

How long is her current authorized stay?  If she has the ability to stay for a period of time without working, or leaving the US for up to five/six months, then get married and file for the AOS.  As to the mythical 90 day rule your attorney seems to be alluding to, that is simply a myth, if you want to get married and adjust status, just do it. 
 

Good Luck!

This is starting to look like the much smarter route. She can stay without working just fine, she WANTS to work and is bored at home, but she knows that's a huge legal no-no

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 2:49 PM, missileman said:

I would not use that attorney.  There is no reason to wait until she has overstayed her visa to file.

seems to be a reoccuring theme, good to note

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 3:35 PM, geowrian said:

There is nothing to be gained by overstaying. There is nothing to be gained by waiting - except a delay.

 

What exactly does the $3k do for you...? It won't save you time on gathering the documentation or providing the information for the forms. It won't make the process go any faster.

It may or may not provide a peace of mind. That does have value, although it varies from person to person. Personally I would rather use the money to start my new married life, or at least go on a honeymoon.

It seemed like the $3K was going to allow him to help our case, file our documents, "prepare us for the 9 month process" is what he said

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 6:42 PM, Jorgedig said:

So she has the type of lifestyle where she can just up and move and not go back to Chile or work for 6-8 months?  

That is correct - it was too dangerous for her to continue her education in Chile taking the subway or work for the last half of a year before her visit

 

 

On 12/28/2019 at 6:53 PM, Nitas_man said:

Amazing right?  Absolutely no business to close out back home.

Almost seems.......planned

What sort of business do people have to "close out"? I've moved across the country twice. The only business I've ever closed out was having a bro-hug with my best friend and telling my mom I'll facetime her when I get there.

 

 

 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

26 minutes ago, jptt1239 said:

What sort of business do people have to "close out"? I've moved across the country twice. The only business I've ever closed out was having a bro-hug with my best friend and telling my mom I'll facetime her when I get there.

pssst hey dude we all know what saying goodbye and leaving with no intent to return is like.  Good luck

[US-UK 32]

1 hour ago, jptt1239 said:

What sort of business do people have to "close out"? I've moved across the country twice. The only business I've ever closed out was having a bro-hug with my best friend and telling my mom I'll facetime her when I get there.

Moving across the country is a little different. Most people leaving their homes permanently —- or at least for the duration of AOS— would need to quit a job, break a lease, sell their car, close bank and other accounts, pack or sell all of their belongings, say goodbye to friends and family... 

 

I personally can’t imagine the cost and aggravation just to replace my clothes, shoes, makeup, etc. if I packed to go somewhere for 90 days and ended up staying 6+ months.

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

29 minutes ago, US-UK said:

Moving across the country is a little different. Most people leaving their homes permanently —- or at least for the duration of AOS— would need to quit a job, break a lease, sell their car, close bank and other accounts, pack or sell all of their belongings, say goodbye to friends and family... 

 

I personally can’t imagine the cost and aggravation just to replace my clothes, shoes, makeup, etc. if I packed to go somewhere for 90 days and ended up staying 6+ months.

😂😂The things we do for love

[US-UK 32]

13 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

😂😂The things we do for love

There wouldn’t be much, if any, love if it required not working, not traveling, potentially not driving, and not having my clothes and shoes... so it’s a good thing the OP is not marrying me (and also the reason we went for an EB1 rather than an Elvis wedding in Vegas). 

[SalishSea 18,168]

Some people even have kids, property, pets, professional careers, aging parents etc.  In other words, the “ties” that they state they plan to return to when they visit on VWP or B-2.  But, returning means waiting in the visa line with everyone else, so....

[Dashinka 24,831]

8 hours ago, jptt1239 said:

Staying won't be a problem, and I spent a lot of time looking over the guides and everything here. I had no idea there would be so much documentation outlying this all online and something I could easily do myself.   

 

 

 

I mean, obviously I didn't know what I didn't know - there wasn't a way for me to know if he doesn't know what he's talking about when I know even less haha. I am learning a lot on my own though, reading through the guides here has been helping a lot on learning what is and isn't the right thing to say. A note on the usage of "spontaneous", I made sure to not that in my original post because that's a pretty big key factor in whether or not it would be allowed. There are no loose ends to tie - her father is out of the picture, she lived with her mom. We're not business owners or volunteer types, her city is dangerous so going out and hanging out wasn't something she would actively do, most of her friends are based outside the country.

 

 

This is good to know, and yes during her travel over here she was interviewed quite a bit and also we have plenty of messages between us, her mom, posts on social media and even buying an expensive laptop for her return trip. It really wasn't until halfway through the month that our "haha what if..." ideas actually started to turn serious instead of just playful future-ideas.

 

 

This has been a great help yeah, there's no oddities at all. We're within 3 years of age difference, no jail or any bad run-ins with the police (actually had quite a few good run-ins over the last month locally including helping the police document a case, but that's another story).

 

 

That's what I didn't understand either - that really surprised and scared me. 90 days is her legal limit and I should have noted that in my OP.

 

 

 

This is starting to look like the much smarter route. She can stay without working just fine, she WANTS to work and is bored at home, but she knows that's a huge legal no-no

 

 

seems to be a reoccuring theme, good to note

 

 

It seemed like the $3K was going to allow him to help our case, file our documents, "prepare us for the 9 month process" is what he said

 

 

That is correct - it was too dangerous for her to continue her education in Chile taking the subway or work for the last half of a year before her visit

 

 

What sort of business do people have to "close out"? I've moved across the country twice. The only business I've ever closed out was having a bro-hug with my best friend and telling my mom I'll facetime her when I get there.

 

 

 

What the lawyer did not tell you is that you would still be responsible for gathering all the documents, and then their paralegal would fill out the forms for you.  Hiring a lawyer is a personal choice, but with a simple case, it is usually better to save the money and do it yourself.

 

Good Luck!

[jptt1239 0]

16 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

pssst hey dude we all know what saying goodbye and leaving with no intent to return is like.  Good luck

clearly

 

15 hours ago, US-UK said:

Moving across the country is a little different. Most people leaving their homes permanently —- or at least for the duration of AOS— would need to quit a job, break a lease, sell their car, close bank and other accounts, pack or sell all of their belongings, say goodbye to friends and family... 

 

I personally can’t imagine the cost and aggravation just to replace my clothes, shoes, makeup, etc. if I packed to go somewhere for 90 days and ended up staying 6+ months.

She lived with her mom and brother, there was no job to quit or any cars involved, no bank accounts to close out since her financial lets her perform out-of-country transactions just fine, and she had very few belongings. Her biggest belonging was her PC that is shared with her brother anyway.

 

10 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Some people even have kids, property, pets, professional careers, aging parents etc.  In other words, the “ties” that they state they plan to return to when they visit on VWP or B-2.  But, returning means waiting in the visa line with everyone else, so....

I think we're fortunate then that none of this applies to her in this case. She's definitely fortunate to be in a living situation that isn't tying her down.

 

8 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

What the lawyer did not tell you is that you would still be responsible for gathering all the documents, and then their paralegal would fill out the forms for you.  Hiring a lawyer is a personal choice, but with a simple case, it is usually better to save the money and do it yourself.

 

Good Luck!

 

Thank you! And yes he didn't make it apparently that *we* would be the ones having to compile all the documents, the more we read about this the simpler it seems and, given our specific situation, the more obvious it becomes we wouldn't need to invest thousands of dollars for someone to tell us we're doing it right haha