Advisable to use B1/B2 visa for marriage while in the US or should apply for new K1 visa for this purpose?

[Mo Tahir 0]

I have a long term B1/B2 visa issued in Ghana by the US consulate. I have used the visa a cuple of times for visits to the US for work related actvity and visit friends. I am intending to tie the knot with my girlfriend (US resident) in December 2022. My current  B1/B2  would still be valid by then. I need advice if I can enter the US ith my B1/B2 visa for our marraige ceremony or should I apply seperatelyf or a K1 visa for this purpose? I intend to move to the USA after our marriage  and looking for the best scenario to ease the whole process of moving ahead. Thank you!

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

Thsre is nothing wrong with traveling to the US gettibg married and leaving the US to apply for a spouse visa (CR1/IR1) in your home country. Or you can apply for k1 now if approved you move to US. However, since you still in ghana... You cannot use your B1/B2 to travel to US, marry and attempt to adjust status as you already have preconceived intent. That is visa fraud. 

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

49 minutes ago, Mo Tahir said:

I have a long term B1/B2 visa issued in Ghana by the US consulate. I have used the visa a cuple of times for visits to the US for work related actvity and visit friends. I am intending to tie the knot with my girlfriend (US resident) in December 2022. My current  B1/B2  would still be valid by then. I need advice if I can enter the US ith my B1/B2 visa for our marraige ceremony or should I apply seperatelyf or a K1 visa for this purpose? I intend to move to the USA after our marriage  and looking for the best scenario to ease the whole process of moving ahead. Thank you!

Be advised that entering the US via a B2 with the intent to stay and adjust status is visa fraud, and it can be a serious offense.  However, entering the US via a B2, marrying, and then leaving at the end of your visit is fine.  As always, every entry into the US is at the discretion of CBP, and you must be truthful if questioned.  Good luck, and congratulations.

 

BTW, once married, you would no longer qualify for a K-1.  Your US spouse would petition you via an I-130 to start the spousal visa (CR-1) process.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

There are no rules against using b visa to come and marry and return home after wedding/honeymoon.  This issue is it is immigration fraud if you know your sole purpose is to come get married and stay.

[Nat&Amy 623]

4 hours ago, Mo Tahir said:

I intend to move to the USA after our marriage  and looking for the best scenario to ease the whole process of moving ahead. Thank you!

You should be aware that no visa path will allow you to get married and move to the USA right away. Therefore, if your plan is to move to the US by the end of next year, the process needs to start now and even so, it's not guaranteed you will have your visa in hand in 14 months.

 

Consider saving a big wedding party for later and getting married sooner so that your spouse can petition for an i130 asap.

[powerpuff 6,746]

Moved from K1 Case Filing and Progress to What Visa Do I Need - OP is asking about options to immigrate to the US 

 

Agree with others. Easy and immigration don’t go together. 

 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

@Twistie - The forum is entitled to have a ToS and the ToS is clear that you cannot advise someone to break immigration law. Advising someone to conceal their intent to adjust status when applying for admission under a single-intent non-immigrant status is material misrepresentation regardless of actual enforcement after admission.

 

Such a plan could go horribly, for example if an applicant for admission conceals their true intent, and CBP find it out during a phone search during secondary...that person is now at risk of a permanent bar to the US. Not a good idea.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[Rocio0010 5,599]

Back to OP, you can apply for a B1 B2, visit here, get married, leave, and then apply for a CR1. Absolutely nothing wrong in doing that, just be honest with the CBP and if anything, be prepared for a little scrutiny. Or you can apply for a K1, wait the process and then come, get married here in the US and file for AOS. 

[Racethom 2]

9 hours ago, Mo Tahir said:

I have a long term B1/B2 visa issued in Ghana by the US consulate. I have used the visa a cuple of times for visits to the US for work related actvity and visit friends. I am intending to tie the knot with my girlfriend (US resident) in December 2022. My current  B1/B2  would still be valid by then. I need advice if I can enter the US ith my B1/B2 visa for our marraige ceremony or should I apply seperatelyf or a K1 visa for this purpose? I intend to move to the USA after our marriage  and looking for the best scenario to ease the whole process of moving ahead. Thank you!

I will advice you to invite your girlfriend to Ghana  so you can get married here. And then apply for spousal visa, be aware that it will take you more than 30 months to finally get your visa. This is because Ghana currently has a lot of spousal visa backlogs dating back to people DQ in February 2020. Currently fiancé and spousal visas are taking the same time intervals to process.  Since spousal visa has greater benefits and less expensive, just go for the spousal visa. Hope this helps.

[Nat&Amy 623]

And one last word of advice to OP: visitor visas in many countries have HUGE rejection rates and Ghana is one of them. Reason being that citizens of those countries are considered at high risk of violating the terms of their non-immigrant visas, which is exactly what @TWISTIE is suggesting in their posts. In practical terms, if you misuse your visitor visa, you might be contributing to the future denial of friends or relatives that one day try to visit you in the US.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Nat&Amy

[Ontarkie 14,369]

~~Multiples posts removed for instructing how to commit immigration fraud. And number of posts that quoted or no longer made sense in the thread after removing posts. Admin action to follow~~

Edited August 8, 2021 by Ontarkie