How to go from J1 Visa to K1

[Lmab 1]

7 minutes ago, beloved_dingo said:

Do you already have a valid tourist visa?

Yes I have a tourist Visa already. 
 

But I didn’t enter the country with this one 

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, Lmab said:

Yes I have a tourist Visa already. 
 

But I didn’t enter the country with this one 

 

Are you sure that tourist visa is still valid?  It's possible that the tourist visa was cancelled in the Department of State system when they issued your J1 visa.

 

[Lmab 1]

12 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Are you sure that tourist visa is still valid?  It's possible that the tourist visa was cancelled in the Department of State system when they issued your J1 visa.

 

Yes, the tourist Visa is valid for 10 years!

 

There’s no such thing as cancel this Visa just because I entered in the country with another one. If I come back to my home country I still can return to the US as a tourist.

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, Lmab said:

Yes, the tourist Visa is valid for 10 years!

 

There’s no such thing as cancel this Visa just because I entered in the country with another one. If I come back to my home country I still can return to the US as a tourist.

 

Of course the DOS can cancel the tourist visa if they want, regardless of the expiry date printed on the visa itself.  They did so with mine when I got my other visa.

 

[serret 55]

2 hours ago, Lmab said:

Thank you everyone for your responses!

 

As an Au Pair I’m not subject to the 2 years rule. I’m not gonna apply for K1 since it’s too complicated and this would result in spending too much time away from my fiancé.

 

So, if I get engaged, leave the program and change my status for tourist (I’m aware that I won’t be allowed to work or course and other rules) and then get married after a couple months, do you think I’ll have problem in my green card interview or when filling the forms to change status again?

You should ask this to a lawyer. I tend to think this might be a bit problematic.

I don't know if you can change a J-1 visa to a tourist visa while you are still in US soil. Let's say you can, a tourist visa is a non-immigrant visa. So they will issue it only if they believe you will go back to your country. But if you don't go back and instead get married and file for a greencard, then that might be considered immigration fraud.

But I'm no legal expert, just someone who spends too much time in immigration forums these days. Your best bet is to ask an immigration lawyer. Immigration is a very tricky process and you have to be very careful. "I didn't know" is not a valid excuse for immigration officers.

[Lmab 1]

11 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Of course the DOS can cancel the tourist visa if they want, regardless of the expiry date printed on the visa itself.  They did so with mine when I got my other visa.

 

There’s no reason for canceling your Visa unless you did something wrong. There are many causes but it’s all related with illegal or mistakes made in the process.

You can enter the country many times you want, as long as your Visa is valid. 
 

If this happened to you, probably something happened. Can be related with your country, or the kind of Visa you were applying,  and maybe now you don’t need the other Visa you had. I don’t know. Every case is different. But don’t make generalizations as if this is applied for everyone in any circumstance. 

[Lmab 1]

8 minutes ago, serret said:

You should ask this to a lawyer. I tend to think this might be a bit problematic.

I don't know if you can change a J-1 visa to a tourist visa while you are still in US soil. Let's say you can, a tourist visa is a non-immigrant visa. So they will issue it only if they believe you will go back to your country. But if you don't go back and instead get married and file for a greencard, then that might be considered immigration fraud.

But I'm no legal expert, just someone who spends too much time in immigration forums these days. Your best bet is to ask an immigration lawyer. Immigration is a very tricky process and you have to be very careful. "I didn't know" is not a valid excuse for immigration officers.

Yes I’ll definitely talk with an immigration attorney.

 

But yes you can change your status in the US. You can’t change your Visa tho. Visa is made abroad in the foreign country. If you’re already in the US what you change is your status.

[Chancy 6,241]

44 minutes ago, Lmab said:

There’s no reason for canceling your Visa unless you did something wrong. There are many causes but it’s all related with illegal or mistakes made in the process.

 

You came here for advice, but now you seem like you know so much about visas to even insinuate that I did something wrong or illegal to get my visa cancelled (lol).  Good luck with your process.

 

[Verrou 1,962]

1 hour ago, Lmab said:

Yes, the tourist Visa is valid for 10 years!

 

There’s no such thing as cancel this Visa just because I entered in the country with another one. If I come back to my home country I still can return to the US as a tourist.

they can cancel the visa. there's such a thing. they just didnt tell you about it 

the validity of ur visa means nothing if they cancel ur visa ( they can)

they dont need to tell you about it

 

with a valid tourist visa u can come to the US but its at CBP discretion

there many many stories, including my friend's father who never abused his tourist visa, they got sent back to their home country and not allowed to enter to the US with that visa. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Misscloud

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Lmab said:

There’s no reason for canceling your Visa unless you did something wrong. There are many causes but it’s all related with illegal or mistakes made in the process.

Go tell that to the CBP officer. Good luck

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

You came here for advice, but now you seem like you know so much about visas to even insinuate that I did something wrong or illegal to get my visa cancelled (lol).  Good luck with your process.

 

C’me on… spill the beans!!! What happened ?! Lol

[Marieke H 2,512]

There is no visa or status for "I have a boyfriend here and we want to spend more time together but we are not ready to get married". You'll either have to go home and have him petition you when you are ready, or you'll have to get ready for marriage very soon.

 

Changing your status to tourist while you have no intention to return to your country is visa fraud.

 

But hey, it looks like you have it all figured out and know better than all the very experienced VJ'ers who have tried to help you, so good luck!

[Daphne . 1,877]

I think OP closed their account. I guess we’re done! 

[Family 4,013]

13 minutes ago, Daphne K said:

I think OP closed their account. I guess we’re done! 

I was hoping to see it confirmed that her J-1 did not have the 2 yr home residency requirement. ..