Proposed to now fiance here on B2 visa

[Tjg312 14]

Hi there,

My now fiance from Spain entered the US in November, after the officer at port of entry gave her a very hard time they ended up letting her in. She is able to stay here for another 3 months, and I proposed to her just last week and she said yes!

So my only concern is that the immigration officer at the port of entry was giving her a hard time because she said she was going to be staying with me. We did do tourist things too(I actually proposed to her on a road trip we did through the national parks on the West Coast the day before valentines day) and she truly entered the country with no intent of getting married.

 

We wanted to do a wedding here in the States with our families and file for AOS, but I was hearing from people that now it is very hard to file for Adjustment of Status these days because of Trump, but I'm seeing plenty of posts here of people successfully filing lately. Is there anything I should be concerned about if I do end up filing for Adjustment of Status? Are we better off getting married out of the country and waiting it out due to the officer's suspicions upon entering?

We really want to be together as much as possible, and if this would work it would be absolutely amazing, but we don't want to jeopardize her ability to come here in the future and getting a Green Card.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Tjg312

[Boiler 45,499]

So what has changed because of Trump? Who have you been talking to?

 

Is there any reason she has a B? Most Spanish people would use the VWP.

 

 

[arken 4,197]

So the POE officer was right in giving her hard time since his guess is true. Did your now fiance bring her Birth Certificate coz that will be needed for AOS.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

If your fiancé can stop her life in Spain (quit a job(sounds like she did), no bills, not go back in over a year etc) then marry and file for AOS now. If she has to tie things back up at home then marry and apply for a CR1 (spousal), she goes back to Spain to wait. She probably would have difficulty visiting again since she has now shown immigrant intent but that doesn't mean you can't go to Spain or meet up in a third country. 

 

Additionally, make sure you read up on what the requirements are to sponsor an immigrant and that you are capable or have someone who is willing to be a joint sponsor.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Luckycuds

[Tjg312 14]

She came on a B2 visa because we wanted to be able to spend more than 3 months in a row this time,  she came in the past on a VWP

The Trump stuff just came from people who know people who've gone through this... I know it's not very good source of information but figured I'd ask about it. They basically just said it's a lot more strict now.

 

regarding Birth Certificate- that's not a problem. If need be her parents can send it over to us

[Tjg312 14]

4 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

If your fiancé can stop her life in Spain (quit a job(sounds like she did), no bills, not go back in over a year etc) then marry and file for AOS now. If she has to tie things back up at home then marry and apply for a CR1 (spousal), she goes back to Spain to wait. She probably would have difficulty visiting again since she has now shown immigrant intent but that doesn't mean you can't go to Spain or meet up in a third country. 

She can work her job and has been working her job from a laptop over here, so while it would be nice to be able to travel back it can definitely wait. Thank you!!

 

My main concern is possibly getting denied, would we be facing any repercussions if something did go wrong? Just trying to see if there's any real risks to be concerned about if we marry and file.

Also hello from a fellow Connecticut resident

Edited February 19, 2020 by Tjg312

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Just now, Tjg312 said:

She can work her job and has been working her job from a laptop over here, so while it would be nice to be able to travel back it can definitely wait. Thank you!!

 

My main concern is possibly getting denied, would we be facing any repercussions if something did go wrong? Just trying to see if there's any real risks to be concerned about if we marry and file.

Real risk- she's working. She can't work on a B visa. The purpose of a B visa is tourism- that's all-she shouldn't have been working this entire time. 

You may not want to hear it but the officer who let her in and gave her a hard time was correct- she is not only working on a tourist visa but is now staying in the US.

The biggest concern with getting denied, IMO, is in sponsorship. Look over the forms that you would need to complete and make sure you are financially capable at this time. During this time frame she would not be able to work as well until she has her EAD (work authorization).

[JFH 12,190]

Stop listening to people with political agendas. The process has not changed “because of Trump”. 

[Tjg312 14]

2 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

Real risk- she's working. She can't work on a B visa. The purpose of a B visa is tourism- that's all-she shouldn't have been working this entire time. 

You may not want to hear it but the officer who let her in and gave her a hard time was correct- she is not only working on a tourist visa but is now staying in the US.

The biggest concern with getting denied, IMO, is in sponsorship. Look over the forms that you would need to complete and make sure you are financially capable at this time. During this time frame she would not be able to work as well until she has her EAD (work authorization).

Understandable. I know it probably doesn't really change much, but it's a family business that her mom/dad runs and she moreso just helps out by sending emails and whatnot and actually doesn't get money directly, her parents send her money.

Regarding financial/sponsorship, that's not a problem, I already read about the fees and no problem with those. If she has to wait 6 months or so before working we can handle it

[Unlockable 7,314]

2 minutes ago, Tjg312 said:

Understandable. I know it probably doesn't really change much, but it's a family business that her mom/dad runs and she moreso just helps out by sending emails and whatnot and actually doesn't get money directly, her parents send her money.

Regarding financial/sponsorship, that's not a problem, I already read about the fees and no problem with those. If she has to wait 6 months or so before working we can handle it

I agree with the others about the working part. Yes, it is understandable to be able to work while traveling. It helps. I have done many times in my career. But that was for 1 - 2 weeks. When you start staying in another country for up to 6 months at a time and working remotely, you are crossing that line of abusing that visitation privilege.

[JFH 12,190]

29 minutes ago, Tjg312 said:

Understandable. I know it probably doesn't really change much, but it's a family business that her mom/dad runs and she moreso just helps out by sending emails and whatnot and actually doesn't get money directly, her parents send her money.

Regarding financial/sponsorship, that's not a problem, I already read about the fees and no problem with those. If she has to wait 6 months or so before working we can handle it

You can see now why she was given a hard time and why those of us who genuinely visit (without a laptop) are also given a hard time. People regularly overstay and break the rules. The CBP officers know that of all the people who line up at the border each day with their B-2 visitor visas a good percentage are going to overstay or work illegally (and what she is doing is working illegally). They have to spot which ones. So all of us who have been given a grilling for just wanting to visit our spouses know who to thank. 
 

It’s interesting that you referred to her as “having a job” and when told that working on

a B-2, even remotely, this suddenly changed to answering a few emails and not really getting paid. Very interesting indeed...
 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by JFH

[Tjg312 14]

Just now, JFH said:

You can see now why she was given a hard time and why those of us who genuinely visit (without a laptop) are also given a hard time. People regularly overstay and break the rules. The CBP officers know that of all the people who line up at the border each day with their B-2 visitor visas a good percentage are going to overstay or work illegally (and what she is doing is working illegally). They have to spot who h ones. 
 

It’s interesting that you referred to her as “having a job” and when told that working on

a B-2, even remotely, this suddenly changed to answering a few emails and not really getting paid. Very interesting indeed...
 

 

She was completely transparent to the officer about her situation with work, which I'm sure is probably what caused her the problems on entry. I mentioned the comment about her having a job, as in she does have some money coming in as a result of her doing some work. It's not a huge amount,  but she doesn't really have any expenses while here, so no issues there. Have no reason to lie to people on the internet, so do with it as you will

[Tjg312 14]

So I contacted an immigration lawyer via one of those hire-a-lawyer websites.. and he mentioned it's possible she may be charged with material misrepresentation if they think she came here with the intention to immigrate? Is this a valid concern?

[Boiler 45,499]

No

[little immigrant 801]

Why not marry and send her back to complete the process via consulate processing? That's how I did it. This way she can continue working in Spain and when she comes here, she immediately is a green card holder with the privilege to work.