I entered with a K1 visa to the United States but marry someone else

[Family 3,988]

7 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

~~MOved to Effects of Major Family CHanges, from K1 P&P- As similar threads are discussed here.~~

 

First I'm sorry the ex was a dirtbag. 

Sadly you should have went home when you  did not marry. When entry on the K1 you can only ever Adjust status through the Petitioner of that K1. 

 

 You will need your spouse to file the I-130 to petition you to come to the us. You cannot adjust through him. When you leave the US you will then be slapped with a 10yr ban. At the interview you will be denied but given the chance to file a waiver for that ban. It would be fast but faster then the 10yr bar.

File I-130 for consular process

Once you have approved notice , pay IV fee and send email to notify NVC you are filing I-601 A Waiver . 
 

File I-601 A and  wait in the US with your husband and family for the approval. Once approved  , finish NVC process , get scheduled  and go to home country consulate for interview . Return with green card. 
 

Take action now …administration could change 

[Family 3,988]

7 hours ago, Nick0128 said:

I’ve heard i can apply for the waiver inside the United States, if things go well, and waiver is approved, should i take the risk to leave the US and go to the interview in my home country?

You heard and understood correctly. It’s the I-601 A . Doable..do it fast

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-601a

[Gee2023 10]

Hi Nick0128,

 

YES! I had the exact same situation as you and now I have my green card!!  DM me so I could share my experience to you. I entered US through K1 visa, had problems with my marriage and later divorced, and met my 2nd husband (also a USC). So the answer is yes, there's definitely a way to fix your status because I just did mine!

 

Step 1: I recommend you hiring an attorney because the situation/process is complex, although you can still diy it no problem to save a lot of money! I paid my attorney 15k start to finish, and they handled everything. 

 

Step 2: The attorney or yourself will need to file an I-130 ( petition for an alien relative). YOU CANNOT DO i485 (adjustment of status), due to the nature of our visa when we entered the US. My I-130 approval came in only 1 month after filing, which is really unheard of! But usual process takes about atleast a year or more for this stage. YOU NEED to get i-130 approved before you can apply for the waiver. 

 

Step 3: Decide which waiver you wanna do. There's 2 types of waivers, #1 is the i-601 A  waiver - meaning you'll stay in the US till you get the approval before you go home. Because of covid delays, unfortunately it runs about 3-4 years to get the waiver approved.

#2 is the i-601 waiver- meaning you'll go home and do the consular interview knowing that you'll get refused because you would trigger the 3 or 10 year ban. I wouldn't recommend this because getting a waiver approved whichever you choose is hard to get approved. You'll have to show "extreme hardship" for your USC spouse.  That's why it's best to do the i-601a while still in the US to see if you can even get the waiver approved. 
 

Step 4: Once the i-130 is approved and the i-601a waiver is approved then you'll have to go back to your home country for the interview. If your interview gets approved then you'll get your visa to fly back to the US and get your 10 year GC. 
 

Don't hesitate to reach out to me, when I started my process I couldn't find anyone who was in the same boat or atleast know someone who went through the process. So I'd be more than happy to share with you my journey!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nick0128 3]

3 hours ago, Gee2023 said:

Hi Nick0128,

 

YES! I had the exact same situation as you and now I have my green card!!  DM me so I could share my experience to you. I entered US through K1 visa, had problems with my marriage and later divorced, and met my 2nd husband (also a USC). So the answer is yes, there's definitely a way to fix your status because I just did mine!

 

Step 1: I recommend you hiring an attorney because the situation/process is complex, although you can still diy it no problem to save a lot of money! I paid my attorney 15k start to finish, and they handled everything. 

 

Step 2: The attorney or yourself will need to file an I-130 ( petition for an alien relative). YOU CANNOT DO i485 (adjustment of status), due to the nature of our visa when we entered the US. My I-130 approval came in only 1 month after filing, which is really unheard of! But usual process takes about atleast a year or more for this stage. YOU NEED to get i-130 approved before you can apply for the waiver. 

 

Step 3: Decide which waiver you wanna do. There's 2 types of waivers, #1 is the i-601 A  waiver - meaning you'll stay in the US till you get the approval before you go home. Because of covid delays, unfortunately it runs about 3-4 years to get the waiver approved.

#2 is the i-601 waiver- meaning you'll go home and do the consular interview knowing that you'll get refused because you would trigger the 3 or 10 year ban. I wouldn't recommend this because getting a waiver approved whichever you choose is hard to get approved. You'll have to show "extreme hardship" for your USC spouse.  That's why it's best to do the i-601a while still in the US to see if you can even get the waiver approved. 
 

Step 4: Once the i-130 is approved and the i-601a waiver is approved then you'll have to go back to your home country for the interview. If your interview gets approved then you'll get your visa to fly back to the US and get your 10 year GC. 
 

Don't hesitate to reach out to me, when I started my process I couldn't find anyone who was in the same boat or atleast know someone who went through the process. So I'd be more than happy to share with you my journey!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, this gives me a lot of hope. Thank you so much!

[EmilyW 1,422]

OP didn't marry their petitioner.  Does that make a difference?

[Boiler 45,399]

1 minute ago, EmilyW said:

OP didn't marry their petitioner.  Does that make a difference?

No

[Family 3,988]

1 hour ago, EmilyW said:

OP didn't marry their petitioner.  Does that make a difference?

It does not matter. Only point worth  clarifying is that OP cannot “ decide “ between waivers . ..or have other potential inadmissibility ( criminal record, public charge issue example) 
 

[Boiler 45,399]

There is nothing to suggest a I 601 would be a better bet in this case.

[jostermacedo 54]

1 hour ago, Family said:

It does not matter. Only point worth  clarifying is that OP cannot “ decide “ between waivers . ..or have other potential inadmissibility ( criminal record, public charge issue example) 
 

I'm reading and learning. Someone said that the process would be fairly straightforward assuming the only issue was the overstaying. How about working or claiming US Citizenship in job applications? Would this impact in any way the process going forward?

[Boiler 45,399]

7 minutes ago, jostermacedo said:

I'm reading and learning. Someone said that the process would be fairly straightforward assuming the only issue was the overstaying. How about working or claiming US Citizenship in job applications? Would this impact in any way the process going forward?

Yes no waiver for that.

[Family 3,988]

53 minutes ago, jostermacedo said:

I'm reading and learning. Someone said that the process would be fairly straightforward assuming the only issue was the overstaying. How about working or claiming US Citizenship in job applications? Would this impact in any way the process going forward?

Unauthorized employment has been treated same as for IRs adjusting in the US, no issue.

False claim to US Citizenship at a POE / port of entry is a permanent bar. 
‘Get yourself a confidential consultation with an immigration attorney to learn how that is handled …public inquiries like this usually result in speculative interpretations or could be  mistakenly interpreted as a way to circumvent law. 
 

 

[Pinkrlion 2,713]

11 hours ago, Gee2023 said:

Hi Nick0128,

 

YES! I had the exact same situation as you and now I have my green card!!  DM me so I could share my experience to you. I entered US through K1 visa, had problems with my marriage and later divorced, and met my 2nd husband (also a USC). So the answer is yes, there's definitely a way to fix your status because I just did mine!

 

Step 1: I recommend you hiring an attorney because the situation/process is complex, although you can still diy it no problem to save a lot of money! I paid my attorney 15k start to finish, and they handled everything. 

 

Step 2: The attorney or yourself will need to file an I-130 ( petition for an alien relative). YOU CANNOT DO i485 (adjustment of status), due to the nature of our visa when we entered the US. My I-130 approval came in only 1 month after filing, which is really unheard of! But usual process takes about atleast a year or more for this stage. YOU NEED to get i-130 approved before you can apply for the waiver. 

 

Step 3: Decide which waiver you wanna do. There's 2 types of waivers, #1 is the i-601 A  waiver - meaning you'll stay in the US till you get the approval before you go home. Because of covid delays, unfortunately it runs about 3-4 years to get the waiver approved.

#2 is the i-601 waiver- meaning you'll go home and do the consular interview knowing that you'll get refused because you would trigger the 3 or 10 year ban. I wouldn't recommend this because getting a waiver approved whichever you choose is hard to get approved. You'll have to show "extreme hardship" for your USC spouse.  That's why it's best to do the i-601a while still in the US to see if you can even get the waiver approved. 
 

Step 4: Once the i-130 is approved and the i-601a waiver is approved then you'll have to go back to your home country for the interview. If your interview gets approved then you'll get your visa to fly back to the US and get your 10 year GC. 
 

Don't hesitate to reach out to me, when I started my process I couldn't find anyone who was in the same boat or atleast know someone who went through the process. So I'd be more than happy to share with you my journey!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a difference in marrying K-1 and divorcing than never married K-1. 

[Pinkrlion 2,713]

6 hours ago, EmilyW said:

OP didn't marry their petitioner.  Does that make a difference?

Yes 

[Boiler 45,399]

One involves a Second marriage

[Gee2023 10]

7 hours ago, Nick0128 said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, this gives me a lot of hope. Thank you so much!

You're welcome! I am happy to help especially when I did my process nobody heard about my situation and it was pretty scary. Just make sure you don't go home before the waiver gets approved and triple check everything so you don't get a permanent bar from other things.