Getting married in USA with a tourist visa

[Angine 0]

Good evening everyone! 

 

4 months after the government shutdown in my country (Dominican Republic) due to the pandemic, my boyfriend and I were able to reunite once again in July. He then proposed me 11 days after I got to the USA, so we decided to get married. Now it's been almost 4 months and we know we have to get the marriage license and all that also submit the application, but we are kinda lost here. So we would really appreciate your help! Does anybody have experience with this? Is there any advice that you can give us? Do you know the procedures and so?  Thanks for considering my request! 

[igoyougoduke 1,675]

You can start by reading the guide here . It has plenty of info 

 

 

[Angine 0]

7 minutes ago, James120383 said:

You can start by reading the guide here . It has plenty of info 

 

 

I was just reading that. Thank you very much! 

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas forum.

[PA_Couple 4]

Only advice is that you have lost some precious time by waiting so long after the marriage to start looking into the process given your tourist visa status. From my understanding you have to file the Adjustment of Status before the exit date of your I-94 tourist stay in order to remain  lawfully present in the US. If your spouse is a US Citizen it should be a problem for your AOS approval if you file past the I-94 expiration, but still puts you at risk in the rare case you get in trouble with the law or ICE, complicating your situation more. Also can cause trouble if you need to travel given the overstay.  The marriage itself does not grant you the right to stay in US. File as early as possible so your stay is authorized while you wait for it to be processed.  

[Angine 0]

7 minutes ago, PA_Couple said:

Only advice is that you have lost some precious time by waiting so long after the marriage to start looking into the process given your tourist visa status. From my understanding you have to file the Adjustment of Status before the exit date of your I-94 tourist stay in order to remain  lawfully present in the US. If your spouse is a US Citizen it should be a problem for your AOS approval if you file past the I-94 expiration, but still puts you at risk in the rare case you get in trouble with the law or ICE, complicating your situation more. Also can cause trouble if you need to travel given the overstay.  The marriage itself does not grant you the right to stay in US. File as early as possible so your stay is authorized while you wait for it to be processed.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply my post. Now, I have gallbladder issues and many other things that I need to take care of so my fiancé and I agreed on me going back to my country so I can get a surgery done there and many other medical procedures, since here I'm not able to visit any doctors and besides to get my gallbladder removed I'll have to be in an one year waiting list and also pay over 8,000 USD with insurance. Imagine that! We are planning to then start with the K1 visa from my country. 

[PA_Couple 4]

13 minutes ago, PA_Couple said:

Only advice is that you have lost some precious time by waiting so long after the marriage to start looking into the process given your tourist visa status. From my understanding you have to file the Adjustment of Status before the exit date of your I-94 tourist stay in order to remain  lawfully present in the US. If your spouse is a US Citizen it should be a problem for your AOS approval if you file past the I-94 expiration, but still puts you at risk in the rare case you get in trouble with the law or ICE, complicating your situation more. Also can cause trouble if you need to travel given the overstay.  The marriage itself does not grant you the right to stay in US. File as early as possible so your stay is authorized while you wait for it to be processed.  

My bolded line above meant to say "If your spouse is a US Citizen it should NOT be a problem for your AOS approval if you file past the I-94 expiration"

[Angine 0]

5 minutes ago, PA_Couple said:

My bolded line above meant to say "If your spouse is a US Citizen it should NOT be a problem for your AOS approval if you file past the I-94 expiration"

He is indeed an US citizen, but like I mentioned before on my previous reply, I have to go back to get a gallbladder surgery done, cause here I won't be able to get lt done soon and it's waaay to expensive. Worry about what the officer may ask for the time I stayed here. By the time I travel I would have had 5 months here. 

[PA_Couple 4]

3 minutes ago, Angine said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply my post. Now, I have gallbladder issues and many other things that I need to take care of so my fiancé and I agreed on me going back to my country so I can get a surgery done there and many other medical procedures, since here I'm not able to visit any doctors and besides to get my gallbladder removed I'll have to be in an one year waiting list and also pay over 8,000 USD with insurance. Imagine that! We are planning to then start with the K1 visa from my country. 

Good to read. From your original post I read it as if you had been married already for 4 months. Good luck with your gallbladder issues, I also have been debating for some time if I should remove mine or not. 😖  For the K1 the advise would be to also file early as it takes a good time for it to be approved (6-9 months but COVID is rendering all times to be longer). You would still have 6 months after the K-1 is issued to come and marry. So time it carefully if you want to limit how long you are apart. 

[PA_Couple 4]

7 minutes ago, Angine said:

He is indeed an US citizen, but like I mentioned before on my previous reply, I have to go back to get a gallbladder surgery done, cause here I won't be able to get lt done soon and it's waaay to expensive. Worry about what the officer may ask for the time I stayed here. By the time I travel I would have had 5 months here. 

Has your I-94 date of exit already passed? If the time they gave you is the typical 6 months of allowed stay you should be ok. 

[Angine 0]

32 minutes ago, PA_Couple said:

Good to read. From your original post I read it as if you had been married already for 4 months. Good luck with your gallbladder issues, I also have been debating for some time if I should remove mine or not. 😖  For the K1 the advise would be to also file early as it takes a good time for it to be approved (6-9 months but COVID is rendering all times to be longer). You would still have 6 months after the K-1 is issued to come and marry. So time it carefully if you want to limit how long you are apart. 

Thanks again for replying my inquiries! Yes, going through all this gallbladder issues is driving me crazy so we can relate on that. I'm aware that I may take some time for the K1 visa due to the Covid-19 virus, but I have to go back to get that surgery done. Do you know how much it cost to get it done without insurance in Dominican Republic? It's 1500 USD and if you have insurance it's only 250 USD. Can you believe that? 

[Angine 0]

39 minutes ago, PA_Couple said:

Has your I-94 date of exit already passed? If the time they gave you is the typical 6 months of allowed stay you should be ok. 

No, the 6 moths are going to be due in January, so I'm planning to leave this December ASAP. The reason why I don't leave just now is cause I basically have to start all over and make some arrangements before I travel back to my country so everything can be ready when I get back there. BTW, I sent you a message to your INBOX. 😊

[Chancy 6,243]

On 11/17/2020 at 10:05 AM, Angine said:

We are planning to then start with the K1 visa from my country. 

 

If you are together in the US now and ready to get married, why not marry already then start the CR1 spouse visa process after you return to your country?  K1 has so many disadvantages like not being able to work and travel freely for many months after entering the US.

 

[Angine 0]

6 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

If you are together in the US now and ready to get married, why not marry already then start the CR1 spouse visa process after you return to your country?  K1 has so many disadvantages like not being able to work and travel freely for many months after entering the US.

 

Wow, I didn't know I could do that. Would you care to explain me more if you have more information please? Thank you so much for taking the time to reply my inquiries. 😊

[Chancy 6,243]

12 minutes ago, Angine said:

Wow, I didn't know I could do that. Would you care to explain me more if you have more information please?

 

First step is to get married.  Anywhere is fine as long as you can get a valid marriage certificate.  Also, the wedding does not need to be big or fancy.  A courthouse wedding with just the two of you (and any witnesses required by the state) is just as acceptable for immigration purposes as a hotel wedding with 500 guests.

 

While you are together in the US, it would be a good idea to start collecting your evidence of bona fide relationship.  Prioritize evidence from time spent together in person, such as passport stamps, boarding passes, your I-94 travel history.  This would also be a good time to start commingling your finances.  For example, your husband-to-be can add you as authorized user on his US bank accounts and credit cards.

 

After you've collected the required documents and evidence, your husband can file the I-130 petition for you.  Although your husband can file the petition while you are still in the US, I recommend filing only after you've returned to your country.  Easier for you and less confusing for USCIS that way.  Instructions here -- https://www.uscis.gov/i-130

 

For a good overview of the whole process, check out the VJ guides that you can access from the blue ribbon at the top of this page.  If you have specific questions about any part of the CR1 process, feel free to post them at the sub-forum -- https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/110-ir-1-cr-1-spouse-visa-process-amp-procedures/