AoS after marriage on ESTA

[Yan yan 19]

 

4 hours ago, HRQX said:

I130 with I-130A and copy of marriage certificate, filing fees, etc.;

This can also be filed online as well under the uscs' online uscis account. Just fill in the required information,  upload the required documents, review the information and submit payment. A receipt notice will be available to you at the same time under the documents tab. You can then print that receipt notice and file it concurrently with the other documents that was listed to the Chicago lockbox. 

Thank me later🙂

[GermanPlasma 2]

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

In the aggregate perhaps, meaning if every AOS applicant decided to forgo getting an AP and EAD, USCIS would have less work to do.  
 

But since most do not forgo, you aren’t doing yourself a favor, and I am certain you will regret it (unless your green card is issued before AP and EAD, which in them Covid era is happening more often).  

I will definitely fill that out as well.

 

I do wonder though, is the fact that I proposed to my wife shortly before entry an issue? She posted about it online too, I just hope they don't get the wrong idea because of that..

[Dashinka 24,697]

2 hours ago, GermanPlasma said:

I will definitely fill that out as well.

 

I do wonder though, is the fact that I proposed to my wife shortly before entry an issue? She posted about it online too, I just hope they don't get the wrong idea because of that..

I would not worry about that.  You never know what USCIS will ask about, but it seems you have a pretty good story that there was no pre-conceived intent.  As others have said, couples AOS from B2/ESTA all the time, just work on getting the package together right now.  I would also recommend submitting the I130/I130A on paper since you are also including the I485 package (I131/I176/I864, etc.).

 

Good Luck!

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

As you have been advised, you need to let go of fear... No path guarantees immigration into the USA... Spousal and K1 visa get rejected too... Since you are married already file AOS in a matter of days (ASAP) in other not to get into trouble. Include as many evidence as you can gather laying emphasis on the story line of your relationship.. USCIS knows you cant have all the evidence at once. After you submit, do not stop accumulating evidence, mingle your finances... Life insurances everything... Because you will need all that for your interview. 

[Mike E 11,742]

5 hours ago, GermanPlasma said:

I do wonder though, is the fact that I proposed to my wife shortly before entry an issue? 

It isn’t an issue.  
 

My advice is to stop admiring the problem and instead  commit yourself to filing before your I-94 expires. 

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

6 hours ago, GermanPlasma said:

is the fact that I proposed to my wife shortly before entry an issue?

Intent was determined at POE.  There is no issue here unless you lied and  misrepresented yourself at the border.  

[mushroomspore 3,044]

8 hours ago, GermanPlasma said:

I will definitely fill that out as well.

 

I do wonder though, is the fact that I proposed to my wife shortly before entry an issue? She posted about it online too, I just hope they don't get the wrong idea because of that..

They're not going to ask about that. They don't have time to sit down with every couple and ask us to explain our love stories and relationships in detail. You asked me on the previous page if my process was complex. Answer: it was not. Why? Because I have no criminal history and I have always entered and been inside the US legally and my husband and I were able to provide the financial proof that USCIS asked for (we had to get a joint sponsor, but that's not a big deal). You should also be aware that there is no rule or law that says that if you enter as a tourist but then get married within X number of days after entry, it is seen as fraud. I got married 1.5 months after entry as a tourist. Cases are only complicated if you have criminal history and especially if you have an existing negative history with US immigration. If you have neither of these and you meet the financial requirements, then this entire process is merely a gigantic formality and you are essentially nothing more than a stack of papers for the USCIS agent to stamp "APPROVED" and put away into storage until you file for Removal of Conditions and/or Citizenship.

 

Also, once this is all over, you're going to laugh at how easy the interview is. Ours took place 3 hours past the scheduled time. The interviewer only asked like 4-5 basic questions: how/when/where we met, names of each other's parents, marriage day/time/location. He did not look at our photo album. He didn't ask for anything extra. He did apologize for the long wait time and said, "Well you guys are basically approved. Here's the letter saying that. Green card will be in the mail. Bye now." Whole thing was like 10-15 minutes. Honestly the most annoying part about it all was that I was hungry and my stomach was making those slight squelching noises.

 

As I mentioned earlier, if you do a search, you will find many many threads about adjusting status from tourist visa/status. We have a whole sub-forum dedicated to that topic. So...yes, it's legal and you'll be fine. It's also against this website's rules to suggest/instruct anything illegal. Such posts are immediately taken down. So just take a deep breath, get the paperwork together and send it as soon as it's ready. The waiting is really annoying but hey, you'll be getting that green card at the end of it.

Edited August 12, 2021 by mushroomspore

[GermanPlasma 2]

Thank you everyone, I will take all the recommendations to heart and we both will work on letting go off the fear. We are already starting to prepare for everything, I'm not going to just wait around until my I-94 expires!

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

1 minute ago, GermanPlasma said:

Thank you everyone, I will take all the recommendations to heart and we both will work on letting go off the fear. We are already starting to prepare for everything, I'm not going to just wait around until my I-94 expires!

Good plan.  Once you file a proper I-485, you will be granted "authorized stay" until the adjustment of status is either approved or denied.  Just be aware of the travel and work restrictions.

[GermanPlasma 2]

23 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Good plan.  Once you file a proper I-485, you will be granted "authorized stay" until the adjustment of status is either approved or denied.  Just be aware of the travel and work restrictions.

I am aware of that, in that aspect it is a bit more simple in our situation, as I am just a college student, and so is she. That is also why we need a co sponsor, but the family fully embraces me, which I am incredibly thankful for. It is a giant topic, but as everything dear to me, I do want to put in all the effort I possibly can.

 

On another note, my wife still retains her current name, she wants to change it to be my last name, however that will have to take a little bit more time. Should we still go ahead with all the documents that she fills out with her full name, or wait until she changes her last name, this includes getting a new passport e.t.c. 

And if we can do this process after we already sent the package, how do we inform USCIS of her name change?

 

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

7 minutes ago, GermanPlasma said:

I am aware of that, in that aspect it is a bit more simple in our situation, as I am just a college student, and so is she. That is also why we need a co sponsor, but the family fully embraces me, which I am incredibly thankful for. It is a giant topic, but as everything dear to me, I do want to put in all the effort I possibly can.

 

On another note, my wife still retains her current name, she wants to change it to be my last name, however that will have to take a little bit more time. Should we still go ahead with all the documents that she fills out with her full name, or wait until she changes her last name, this includes getting a new passport e.t.c. 

And if we can do this process after we already sent the package, how do we inform USCIS of her name change?

 

In most states (maybe all), a marriage certificate is a legal name change document.  After marriage, just fill in the documents with her new last name.  

[mushroomspore 3,044]

50 minutes ago, GermanPlasma said:

Thank you everyone, I will take all the recommendations to heart and we both will work on letting go off the fear. We are already starting to prepare for everything, I'm not going to just wait around until my I-94 expires!

BTW, I forgot to add: please also research I-751 Removal of Conditions (ROC) and N400 Citizenship forms while you're doing AOS. If your marriage is younger than 2 years old at the time of the green card approval, you will receive a 2-year green card, which is known as a CONDITIONAL green card. 90 days before the expiration of that green card, your window opens to file I-751 and this is mandatory. If you do not, USCIS presumes you no longer wish to hold onto your permanent resident status and they will initiate legal proceedings to terminate your resident status. Ultimately, only an immigration judge can officially terminate your status. But USCIS has a process that you have to go through to get in front of a judge and obviously, you don't want that process to be started at all. You most likely will have to do ROC since you are filing AOS shortly after your marriage. Expect AOS to take about 1-1.5 years. It's unlikely it will take 2+ years.

 

If your marriage is 2 years old or older at the time of green card approval, you receive a 10-year green card, which is considered UNconditional. You do not need to do ROC in this case. But if you choose to not do citizenship, you are still expected to file Form I-90 to renew the green card. Note that Form I-90 is absolutely not the same as Form I-751. Do not mix these forms up. It says very clearly on the official I-90 webpage, "Do NOT file this form if you have a 2-year green card." Yet somehow, people still mix it up and that causes its own headache.

 

Citizenship is optional and it also depends on your origin country's laws about dual/multiple citizenship. However, I encourage you to look at I-751 and N400 for the purposes of simply knowing the entire process. AOS is really only the first step.

[TenderHearted 39]

2 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

If your marriage is 2 years old or older at the time of green card approval, you receive a 10-year green card, which is considered UNconditional. You do not need to do ROC in this case. But if you choose to not do citizenship, you are still expected to file Form I-90 to renew the green card. Note that Form I-90 is absolutely not the same as Form I-751. Do not mix these forms up. It says very clearly on the official I-90 webpage, "Do NOT file this form if you have a 2-year green card." Yet somehow, people still mix it up and that causes its own headache.

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought CR-1 became IR-1 after 2 years of marriage? This is based on when the beneficiary enters the US and the first use of the approval stamp in their passport....

 

When the beneficiary gets the approval for the spousal visa. IF, they enter the US before the 2nd anniversary, they enter as CR-1, which means they receive a 2 year conditional green card. 3 months before the 2 year after entering on the approved visa, they must pursue removal of conditions on their green card, then they get a 10 year card without conditions to replace the 2 year conditional card.

 

IF, they enter the US after the 2nd year anniversary, they enter as IR-1, and the beneficiary receives a 10 year green card with conditions removed, and there are no conditions to remove ever.

 

Please clarify...

[HRQX 4,145]

3 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

Please clarify...

OP is asking about Adjustment of Status process, not IR-1/CR-1.

 

In OP's case, the 2-year anniversary and I-485 approval dates matter.

[TenderHearted 39]

3 minutes ago, HRQX said:

OP is asking about Adjustment of Status process, not IR-1/CR-1.

 

In OP's case, the 2-year anniversary and I-485 approval dates matter.

Oh, my bad. I thought it was about initial enter on a spousal visa. I misunderstood.