I-130 Needed For K1 Visa?

[ohsobecky 0]

Is the I-130 necessary when filing for a K1 Visa Holder? 

[Jeff fed 12]

13 minutes ago, ohsobecky said:

Is the I-130 necessary when filing for a K1 Visa Holder? 

If you marry within the 90 days and fill the AOS, so no you don’t need I-130

[Crazy Cat 41,857]

Just now, Jeff fed said:

If you marry within the 90 days and fill the AOS, so no you don’t need I-130

If a K-1 entrant marries the petitioner within 90 days, an I-130 is not needed.  

[TurtleMoss 17]

Only needed for a K-1 visa holder if you get married after the 90 days are up. If you marry within the 90 days and adjust status, then no. 

Edited June 24, 2021 by TurtleMoss

[QW1 0]

 

Actually this same question came up with me too.  My spouse entered the US on a K1 visa -- we legally married within 90 days, and has been out-of- status for a long time.  I actually prefer to try adjusting status ourselves, but my spouse and other extended family have a very strong preference for using a lawyer for the process currently.   We got a consultation recently with one lawyer who, after explaining our situation, said that because of how long my spouse has been out-of-status would do an i-130 along with the green card application (as they put it).   I have myself researched before what would be needed for our particular case, & I wasn't familiar with this i-130.  The lawyer was nice on the phone, & I think it was very nice to tell us specifically what their strategy would be to do an AOS for my spouse during our initial consultation.  I looked up their credentials, they've been doing this several years, and they do do other legal things along with immigration, but immigration is a big focus of their practice.   So I was wondering if anyone on this forum knows this to be a valid tactic for doing AOS in this situation;  or (since my spouse likes this lawyer/lawyers in general) if using this tactic -- using an i-130 along with the "green card application" (which I assume they meant i-485) --  would at least not hurt anything?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, QW1 said:

I was wondering if anyone on this forum knows this to be a valid tactic for doing AOS in this situation;  or (since my spouse likes this lawyer/lawyers in general) if using this tactic -- using an i-130 along with the "green card application" (which I assume they meant i-485) --  would at least not hurt anything?

 

As stated repeatedly by other posters in this thread, an I-130 is NOT needed if the K1 couple married within 90 days of the visa holder's US entry.

 

Did you explain to the lawyer that your marriage certificate lists your wedding date within 90 days of your spouse's arrival?  If you did and the lawyer still insists that you need to file an I-130, ditch that lawyer.

 

[SalishSea 17,829]

8 hours ago, QW1 said:

 

Actually this same question came up with me too.  My spouse entered the US on a K1 visa -- we legally married within 90 days, and has been out-of- status for a long time.  I actually prefer to try adjusting status ourselves, but my spouse and other extended family have a very strong preference for using a lawyer for the process currently.   We got a consultation recently with one lawyer who, after explaining our situation, said that because of how long my spouse has been out-of-status would do an i-130 along with the green card application (as they put it).   I have myself researched before what would be needed for our particular case, & I wasn't familiar with this i-130.  The lawyer was nice on the phone, & I think it was very nice to tell us specifically what their strategy would be to do an AOS for my spouse during our initial consultation.  I looked up their credentials, they've been doing this several years, and they do do other legal things along with immigration, but immigration is a big focus of their practice.   So I was wondering if anyone on this forum knows this to be a valid tactic for doing AOS in this situation;  or (since my spouse likes this lawyer/lawyers in general) if using this tactic -- using an i-130 along with the "green card application" (which I assume they meant i-485) --  would at least not hurt anything?

Not needed, waste of money, makes no sense.

[QW1 0]

Now I remember during the phone interview, the lawyer did ask if we had our marriage certificate, and my spouse answered that the original one got lost.  It was going too fast at that point for me to interject that I did have a certified abstract of marriage that I had ordered from our county afterwards that I still have (& I saw now I do still have a printer scan of the original one).  Maybe that partly influenced their decision of thinking it best to do an i-130 along with the i-485 (They quoted the government fees will be $1,760, so I see now when I add it up, this is exactly what they have in mind).   Also I didn't get into exactly how long my spouse has been out of status here, but I'm assuming from the answers here that there isn't some special exception that this lawyer knows that if it's been over "x" amount of time, that we should make this move.   I saw they had emailed us an i-130 questionnaire sheet for both the petitioner and beneficiary -- I assume that the same information on it would be used for the i-485.  So from the responses, it seems like USCIS would still accept this application method this lawyer has in mind, but would probably just effectively throw the i-130 to the side and focus on the i-485 (being a waste of money & time).  And perhaps USCIS also wouldn’t tell us that an unnecessary extra form was filed.

I may discuss again with my spouse the idea of trying to do AOS ourselves (which they saw as risky given the length of time out-of-status) 

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

1 hour ago, QW1 said:

Now I remember during the phone interview, the lawyer did ask if we had our marriage certificate, and my spouse answered that the original one got lost.  It was going too fast at that point for me to interject that I did have a certified abstract of marriage that I had ordered from our county afterwards that I still have (& I saw now I do still have a printer scan of the original one).  Maybe that partly influenced their decision of thinking it best to do an i-130 along with the i-485 (They quoted the government fees will be $1,760, so I see now when I add it up, this is exactly what they have in mind).   Also I didn't get into exactly how long my spouse has been out of status here, but I'm assuming from the answers here that there isn't some special exception that this lawyer knows that if it's been over "x" amount of time, that we should make this move.   I saw they had emailed us an i-130 questionnaire sheet for both the petitioner and beneficiary -- I assume that the same information on it would be used for the i-485.  So from the responses, it seems like USCIS would still accept this application method this lawyer has in mind, but would probably just effectively throw the i-130 to the side and focus on the i-485 (being a waste of money & time).  And perhaps USCIS also wouldn’t tell us that an unnecessary extra form was filed.

I may discuss again with my spouse the idea of trying to do AOS ourselves (which they saw as risky given the length of time out-of-status) 

The USCIS will happily take the money for the I-130, but the fact still remains that it is not needed in your case. As others already stated, you do not need an I-130. If you entered with a K-1 and married within 90 days of entry, makes no difference how long your I-94 has been expired, no I-130 needed. Being out of status is not issue for filing AOS. You will be in a period of authorized stay once you file the I-485 to adjust. You follow the same guides and sample forms found on this site for AOS from a K-1. You should file for the EAD and AP at the same too, as they are free to file with your I-485.

 

Nonimmigrant fiancé(e) beneficiaries of Form I-129F always have a visa available, but may file Form I-485 only after marrying the U.S. citizen (Form I-129F petitioner) within the requisite 90-day period after admission to the United States on a K-1 visa. In addition to the evidence listed in the What Evidence Must You Submit with Form I-485 section, you must submit a copy of the marriage certificate to show that the K-1 nonimmigrant fiancé(e) married the U.S. citizen (Form I-129F petitioner) in the 90-day period. This additional requirement applies to both K-1 principal and K-2 derivative applicants. <-- Provide copy of approved I-129F along with proof that you married within 90 days of entry.

 

Read through this, especially the section about what to submit to file for AOS. No I-130 needed or asked for. >> 

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-fiancee-of-us-citizen

 

Your eligibility is based on the approved I-129F, your lawful K-1 visa entry and marriage within 90 days to the petitioner.>> 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-2