Need Guidance, Already married in the US but will return to Japan

[Kenta007 0]

Writing this post for a friend who dosn't have the best English. I have a Japanese friend who has married a woman in the US (on a tourist visa) and is now in a bit of a confusing situation.

 

He flew to the US with a tourist visa they got married. He got married like 4 days after he arrived on the tourist visa. They had originally planned to move to Japan together and she could apply for a Japanese green card there (which by all accounts is much quicker.) The marriage in the US was mainly a symbolic gesture, however they also registered it at the city hall, so they ARE legally married in the US. 

 

But now plans have changed and his wife is going to stay here and work and he must return to Japan to take care of the family business. The new plan is for them to live in the US for at least a few years together after he is done settling his affairs in Japan.

 

Is the answer here just a typical CR-1 Visa? He specially flew to the US to marry his US wife but he does not plan to stay in the US and will be in Japan for at least a year.  Is it a problem that he has already gotten married here on a tourist visa? Or since he does not plan to reside in the US during the application time then it's a non issue?

 

Any advice or guidance greatly appreciated.

 

[Crazy Cat 41,893]

Marrying in the US is not a problem.  He has two options if he wants to live in the US:

 

1.  They simply start the spousal visa process.  The US citizen starts by filing an I-130.   He goes back to Japan at the end of this visit to wait out the process.  This process could easily take 18-24 months.  Visiting the US is possible during the processing....at the discretion of CBP.  In a couple years, he can enter the US as a legal resident.

 

2.  File for adjustment of status and stay here in the US.  He will not be able to work or leave the US for up to 8 months.  Leaving prior to receiving an advance parole document (possibly 8 months) will abandon the adjustment of status.

 

There are guides for each of these situations here on VJ.

https://www.visajourney.com/guides/

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, Kenta007 said:

He specially flew to the US to marry his US wife but he does not plan to stay in the US and will be in Japan for at least a year.  Is it a problem that he has already gotten married here on a tourist visa? Or since he does not plan to reside in the US during the application time then it's a non issue?

 

Not an issue.  Ours is a real-life example of the path you described.  I traveled to the US on a tourist visa, got married within 1 month of my arrival, then returned to my home country on time.  My USC spouse filed the I-130 petition for me, and 18 months later, I got my spouse visa and moved to the US.  There was no hassle from any US immigration agency about me being married in the US while on a visit.