Coronavirus, cancelled flights, K-1 vs marry and AOS?

[caliliving 606]

She is already in the USA! Get married and file AOS.  You did not come here with the intent to marry so you will be fine!  Marry asap and file asap and she should have a travel/work permit in 5-6 months.  Also, you can then have a bigger wedding later (if you choose).  I know so many who have done this and they did not even tell anyone they were 'married' and so most will not even know that when you have a larger wedding!  People have no idea how immigration works lol 

You can have documents that she needs mailed to you. She will not be able to leave the country until she gets her AP/EAD but that is better then leaving and not being able to come back. 

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

10 minutes ago, caliliving said:

She is already in the USA! Get married and file AOS.  You did not come here with the intent to marry so you will be fine!  Marry asap and file asap and she should have a travel/work permit in 5-6 months.  Also, you can then have a bigger wedding later (if you choose).  I know so many who have done this and they did not even tell anyone they were 'married' and so most will not even know that when you have a larger wedding!  People have no idea how immigration works lol 

You can have documents that she needs mailed to you. She will not be able to leave the country until she gets her AP/EAD but that is better then leaving and not being able to come back. 

Agree with this. You don't need a lawyer. You should be able to get this all dealt with within the next 25 days and if you do go a little bit over, I'd suggest your wife staying at home until you've got your noa1 - but given the current situation, I'd recommend everyone staying at home for the time being. Flatten the curve and all that.

[Loren Y 2,755]

5 hours ago, geowrian said:

You can go to Vegas and marry right now, then file the same day or tomorrow (I think LV gets you the marriage certificate right away...if not, you just need to wait for that).

So it is possible. Local laws apply so it may take a little longer to do it locally, but usually no more than 3-7 days. Just check how long it takes to get the marriage certificate...some areas that can take weeks.

Call ahead to ensure they are open and issuing licenses given the situation.

 

No potential fraud issue regarding intent here.

Come to Vegas, I am still hooking people up with marriage certificates in under an hour until further notice. Everything is still doable here, and flights will not get any cheaper than they are now. My last couple was very surprised at how fast I got them taken care of... and my services are still FREE to VJ members!

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Loren Y

[African Zealot 1,455]

I think you’re overly complicating what under current immigration, global, health, and logistical considerations is the only logical choice, i.e. get married ASAP and proceed via AOS. Your interview in Colombia has not happened, and is not going to happen for the fordable future. It is such a large range of values that you cannot even start to analyze it’s possible values.

 

Once you have decided to go that route, honestly your questions about whether/when she starts accruing illegal presence etc become irrelevant. You cannot do anything about that. All you control is getting your package in as soon as possible. You cannot do more than your best hence if it’s submitted a few days after the deadline, oh well it is what it is. It’s forgiven when one marries a citizen anyway.

 

Get married as soon as possible and send in your package as soon as you possibly can. The rest is out of you hands.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ray.Bonaquist

[Loren Y 2,755]

Government just shut down Nevada, no marriages are happening for 30 days. Sorry, business will return as soon as possible.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

35 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

Government just shut down Nevada, no marriages are happening for 30 days. Sorry, business will return as soon as possible.

Maybe they can get married somewhere else? 

[Loren Y 2,755]

11 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Maybe they can get married somewhere else? 

Still about 30 states open.

[Newhawaiki 20]

I'm looking for some clarification about this exact topic. What is being said here is that they can get married in the U.S. while the spouse-to-be is on a tourist visa and then file AOS, all the while with the spouse staying in the U.S. during all this? I thought that the spouse has to go back to their home country until the C1 is granted (if they got married in the U.S. on a tourist visa which the O.P. says his spouse-to-be is in the U.S. with). 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Newhawaiki

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, Newhawaiki said:

I'm looking for some clarification about this exact topic. What is being said here is that they can get married in the U.S. while the spouse-to-be is on a tourist visa and then file AOS, all the while with the spouse staying in the U.S. during all this? I thought that the spouse has to go back to their home country until the C1 is granted (if they got married in the U.S. on a tourist visa).

They are already in the US and there was a change of circumstances, so they can AOS fine.

This differs from, say, somebody who has intent to come to the US with intent to file for AOS. That would be fraud.

[Newhawaiki 20]

@geowrian Thank you for your response, just for a bit more clarification: so if they got married his wife would not have to leave the U.S., even though she's currently in the U.S. on a tourist visa on got married on a tourist visa, and did not utilize the pending K1? Would her visa become a C1 in that instance?

 

I was under the impression that yes, you can get married on a tourist visa, but you have to leave till the C1 is granted.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Newhawaiki

[geowrian 22,337]

Just now, Newhawaiki said:

@geowrian Thank you for your response, just for a bit more clarification: so if they got married his wife would not have to leave the U.S., even though she's currently in the U.S. on a tourist visa on got married on a tourist visa, and did not utilize the pending K1? 

Correct. The K-1 process would be abandoned and they would do AOS from the VWP status.

[Newhawaiki 20]

@geowrian I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten me! I'm not sure if this is only because the circumstances it's become a major blessing for the OP and/or why more people don't do this especially with how long spouses spend apart doing the CR1 process (is this a major loophole?). If this is the case it makes the K1 and CR1 seem irrelevant, especially if the couple gets to be together for the process.

 

(If I'm wrong about this I'm not trying to spread disinformation, please correct me if I'm wrong. it's just a very interesting circumstance to read about and the implications have made my imagination run wild as I have filed a K1 and my partner is planning on coming to the U.S. on her ESTA in a few weeks, provided that the virus doesn't impact this plan)

Edited March 18, 2020 by Newhawaiki

[geowrian 22,337]

5 minutes ago, Newhawaiki said:

@geowrian I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten me! I'm not sure if this is only because the circumstances it's become a major blessing for the OP and/or why more people don't do this especially with how long spouses spend apart doing the CR1 process (is this a major loophole?). If this is the case it makes the K1 and CR1 seem irrelevant, especially if the couple gets to be together for the process.

 

(If I'm wrong about this I'm not trying to spread disinformation, please correct me if I'm wrong. it's just a very interesting circumstance to read about and the implications have made my imagination run wild)

As noted, it's only an option for people already in the US. It is fraud to come to the US with intent to AOS. One cannot use an NIV as a means to immigrate (barring certain NIVs like K visas, specific work visas, etc., which do allow immigrant intent).

The reason people don't and shouldn't do it to get around a K-1 or CR-1 is:

1. It is fraud.
2. If the fraud is caught at POE, it can result in:
   1. Being denied entry
   2. Being issued an expedited removal, including a 5 year ban
   3. Being issued a misrepresentation bar, which is permanent (but waivable) ban

Edited March 18, 2020 by geowrian

[Newhawaiki 20]

@geowrian you have been a blessing. I had a moment of existential dread for a moment there that I did the K1 for nothing but my faith has been restored through your education. I can’t thank you enough!

[Mike E 11,739]

14 hours ago, rotodash said:

Sorry, I'm confused. We're not contemplating waiting and having her stay here unlawfully, we want to avoid that at all costs. My question is if we are able to get marriage certificate and file the 130/485 before her 90 days are up (25 days from now), but the NOA takes another 2-3 weeks, is she staying unlawfully during that time frame? Or does "USCIS records the AOS was received" something that happens once they just receive the forms in the mail? We recognize the risks of overstay are significant but weren't sure the timing of marriage/filing. 

Getting an NOA1 in hand before she accumulates unlawful presence is clearly the most desirable situation.  
 

In my unlicensed and non-degreed legal opinion proof that the AOS package was received by USCIS (such has Usps tracking confirmation) might not good enough to keep her from spending time in ICE custody but it will be good enough to keep her from being deported.  I base this on our own AOS experience (from K-1).
 

We didn’t plan of filing a week before her authorized stay was up but due to complications with birth records (which made me wish we had a lawyer from the I129-F stage) we had to.  Our lawyer wasn’t bothered by the idea of filing on day 90, but she vehemently opposed filing on day 91. Meaning she knew that she could get her client out of ICE custody and keep her out of trouble if they came between day 91 and when the NOA came.  
 

Others are telling you that at day 91 and beyond, unauthorized presence is forgiven if there is an AOS application afterward. That’s only true if there is an AOS sent before apprehension. Personally I would not DIY in that situation.  I’d want an offficer if the court swearing that the AOS was sent before ICE came.