When is it too late to file AOS from a K-1 Visa?

[rafato 6]

My fiance and I just got married through civil court on the 6th of July and her K1 Visa expired on the 7th of July as per the Visa stamp.  It took us 5 weeks to receive the social security number and Harris county in Texas would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number.  After that we had to wait three days to request a marriage appointment with the judge and the dates available did not allows us to get married until the 6th at the earliest.  To make a long story short, with all the delays at the SS office and county due to COVID, we were not able to get married until the 6th, a day before my fiances K1 visa expired, is that too late for us to get married?  and did we have to file the AOS before the visa expires?   

[payxibka 10,045]

4 minutes ago, rafaeltostado said:

My fiance and I just got married through civil court on the 6th of July and her K1 Visa expired on the 7th of July as per the Visa stamp.  It took us 5 weeks to receive the social security number and Harris county in Texas would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number.  After that we had to wait three days to request a marriage appointment with the judge and the dates available did not allows us to get married until the 6th at the earliest.  To make a long story short, with all the delays at the SS office and county due to COVID, we were not able to get married until the 6th, a day before my fiances K1 visa expired, is that too late for us to get married?  and did we have to file the AOS before the visa expires?   

You needed to get married before the expiration date of the i94.  If you did that, then file the i485 as soon as you can. 

[SalishSea 17,829]

3 minutes ago, rafaeltostado said:

My fiance and I just got married through civil court on the 6th of July and her K1 Visa expired on the 7th of July as per the Visa stamp.  It took us 5 weeks to receive the social security number and Harris county in Texas would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number.  After that we had to wait three days to request a marriage appointment with the judge and the dates available did not allows us to get married until the 6th at the earliest.  To make a long story short, with all the delays at the SS office and county due to COVID, we were not able to get married until the 6th, a day before my fiances K1 visa expired, is that too late for us to get married?  and did we have to file the AOS before the visa expires?   

No, it isn't too late.  But as she is now out of status, she could potentially be deported.  If I were you, I'd order the marriage certificate as soon as it is available.  While you're waiting for that, get everything else ready to send the package out asap.

 

And because you live in a border state, be aware that she may want to lay low around border checkpoints (I'm not sure what they're called - the ones that are *near* borders, but not actual border crossings) until you get the NOA1 for the AOS, at which point she will be under "authorized stay" while waiting.  Don't forget to apply for the EAD/AP concurrently with the AOS - it's free.

[Skyman 321]

57 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

And because you live in a border state, be aware that she may want to lay low around border checkpoints (I'm not sure what they're called - the ones that are *near* borders, but not actual border crossings) until you get the NOA1 for the AOS, at which point she will be under "authorized stay" while waiting.  Don't forget to apply for the EAD/AP concurrently with the AOS - it's free.

We live in San Antonio and drove to Bend National Park, which on the Rio Grande, a couplemonths ago. Didn't think about it but we crossed through a couple border checks each way. My Filipina wife is often mistaken for being Hispanic. They asked me her status and I said we were adjusting her status. Then asked her visa and I said B-2 but didn't mention her I-94 expired.  No problem. I don't think we had her passport with us.  Hahaha

 

Neither of us has a US DL either, only Philippines. I guess we both could have gotten deported. Hahaha

Edited July 9, 2021 by Skyman

[Mike E 11,739]

2 hours ago, rafaeltostado said:

My fiance and I just got married through civil court on the 6th of July and her K1 Visa expired on the 7th of July as per the Visa stamp.
 

What do you mean by a visa stamp?

 

1. The date of expiration in the visa,

or

 

2. The stamp CBP put in the passport page with an entry date and an “admitted until” date.  
 

Quote

It took us 5 weeks to receive the social security number and Harris county in Texas would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number.
 

 

For the benefit of others facing this predicament: You have married somewhere that doesn’t require an SSN.  And a place with available appointments.  Like Vegas or the Utah Zoom Marruage.  
 

 

Quote

After that we had to wait three days to request a marriage appointment with the judge and the dates available did not allows us to get married until the 6th at the earliest.  To make a long story short, with all the delays at the SS office and county due to COVID, we were not able to get married until the 6th, a day before my fiances K1 visa expired, is that too late for us to get married?  and did we have to file the AOS before the visa expires?   

if you got married before the I-94’s authorized stay expired then you are permitted to file I-485 to adjust status.  The period of unauthorized presence will be forgiven by USCIS. 
 

However the rest of DHS, namely CBP and ICE, do not have to forgive.  
 

The alien spouse should avoid encounters with law enforcement, airports, and the border (stay over 100 miles away) at least until the AOS package is filed.  File the package with proof of mailing. 
 

Even after the AOS package is filed, ICE can still make life painful until there is a decision on the I-485.  

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mike E

[Steve_64 5]

9 hours ago, rafaeltostado said:

It took us 5 weeks to receive the social security number and Harris county in Texas would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number. 

Harris County Texas does not require an SSN to get a marriage license.  We just got our license a few days ago with no issue.  Passport was all she needed.  She was asked if she has an SSN and said no, still got the license.

[rafato 6]

11 hours ago, payxibka said:

You needed to get married before the expiration date of the i94.  If you did that, then file the i485 as soon as you can. 

The I-94 says July 6th. We got married on July 6th. But the visa stamp says July 7th?  So are we good still if we got married on the 6th?

[rafato 6]

9 hours ago, Mike E said:

What do you mean by a visa stamp?

 

1. The date of expiration in the visa,

or

 

2. The stamp CBP put in the passport page with an entry date and an “admitted until” date.  
 

 

For the benefit of others facing this predicament: You have married somewhere that doesn’t require an SSN.  And a place with available appointments.  Like Vegas or the Utah Zoom Marruage.  
 

 

if you got married before the I-94’s authorized stay expired then you are permitted to file I-485 to adjust status.  The period of unauthorized presence will be forgiven by USCIS. 
 

However the rest of DHS, namely CBP and ICE, do not have to forgive.  
 

The alien spouse should avoid encounters with law enforcement, airports, and the border (stay over 100 miles away) at least until the AOS package is filed.  File the package with proof of mailing. 
 

Even after the AOS package is filed, ICE can still make life painful until there is a decision on the I-485.  

I mean the stamp cbp agent put on her passport with the admitted until date.

 

We got married on July 6th, that is also the same date that the i-94 expired.  So is it too late if I got married on the same date of expiration? Or is it after the date when it's considered expired?  The visa stamp says admitted until the 7th though. 

[rafato 6]

11 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

No, it isn't too late.  But as she is now out of status, she could potentially be deported.  If I were you, I'd order the marriage certificate as soon as it is available.  While you're waiting for that, get everything else ready to send the package out asap.

 

And because you live in a border state, be aware that she may want to lay low around border checkpoints (I'm not sure what they're called - the ones that are *near* borders, but not actual border crossings) until you get the NOA1 for the AOS, at which point she will be under "authorized stay" while waiting.  Don't forget to apply for the EAD/AP concurrently with the AOS - it's free.

It's not too late even if the i-94 expires on  on the 6th?  We got married on the 6th.  I just realized the i-94 expires 1 day before the visa stamp.  

[Ontarkie 14,225]

~~Moved to AOS FAmily K1/K3 P&P, from K1 P&P - as this is now an AOS process not K1 process.~~

[Mike E 11,739]

36 minutes ago, rafaeltostado said:

I mean the stamp cbp agent put on her passport with the admitted until date.

 

We got married on July 6th, that is also the same date that the i-94 expired.  So is it too late if I got married on the same date of expiration? 

What was the date of entry into the USA according to:

 

* reality

 

* what the passport stamp says 

 

* what the online I-94 record says?

[HRQX 4,145]

34 minutes ago, rafaeltostado said:

It's not too late even if the i-94 expires on  on the 6th?  We got married on the 6th.

You are still good since you did not marry "beyond the date specified on the Form I-94."

12 hours ago, rafaeltostado said:

would not let us apply for a marriage license without a Social Security number.

See Steve_64's post above. The foreign passport is all that is needed. Also, Texas Family Code § 2.004 states: "social security number, if any" Thus if an applicant does not have a SSN then the applicant can still receive a marriage license.

[rafato 6]

53 minutes ago, Mike E said:

What was the date of entry into the USA according to:

 

* reality

 

* what the passport stamp says 

 

* what the online I-94 record says?

*April 8th 2021

 

*Passport stamp says July 7th, 2021

 

* I-94 record says July 6th

[rafato 6]

39 minutes ago, HRQX said:

You are still good since you did not marry "beyond the date specified on the Form I-94."

See Steve_64's post above. The foreign passport is all that is needed. Also, Texas Family Code § 2.004 states: "social security number, if any" Thus if an applicant does not have a SSN then the applicant can still receive a marriage license.

Thanks !   I was worried that went beyond the allowed time  and I wish I would of known that before because we were literally told to come back when we received her ssn #.   We are beginning the AOS packet already.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,453]

2 hours ago, rafaeltostado said:

*April 8th 2021

 

*Passport stamp says July 7th, 2021

 

* I-94 record says July 6th

90 days would be July 7.