Marriage after tourist visa?

[R. Wolfe 25]

Suppose that I (a US citizen) have been visiting a woman (Thai citizen) a month or so at a time, a couple of times per year; and she - via tourist Visa - has been visiting me in the US the same way; for a year or two. If, during her current visit, we decide we'd like to spend the rest of our lives together in the US; what's the best way to go about that?

 

My initial assumption was that she'd return to Thailand, we'd file an I-130 etc., and wait a couple of years for the interview and all that before she could return permanently to America. I'm not sure if she could she still visit as a tourist while we wait, but that's not my main question.

 

I read where someone suggested that we could get married while she was in the US and then she would not have to leave while we waited on the I-130 etc..

Is that correct?

 

The same source said it was better to wait for her to be officially overstaying the tourist visa before getting married as otherwise it would look like the tourist visa was fraudulently used to get married; but I would have thought that overstaying a visa would be a serious black mark that would cause problems later on.

 

If anyone has experience with this sort of situation or a good place I could learn more, any information would be much appreciated. I'm not in the situation yet, but I could see it happening someday. It would be wonderful to be able to be together every day during the months/years of waiting on an I-130, but not if that means the petition is going to be rejected because of that.

 

 

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

If she is CURRENTLY in the US, there is no reason to wait.....assuming she didn't misrepresent herself when she entered.  Here is the guide you need to follw:  Be aware that she cannot work in any way or leave the US for 3 to 6 months.

 

 

Edited November 18 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

***Moved to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, and Tourist Visas***

[SalishSea 17,969]

36 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

Suppose that I (a US citizen) have been visiting a woman (Thai citizen) a month or so at a time, a couple of times per year; and she - via tourist Visa - has been visiting me in the US the same way; for a year or two. If, during her current visit, we decide we'd like to spend the rest of our lives together in the US; what's the best way to go about that?

 

My initial assumption was that she'd return to Thailand, we'd file an I-130 etc., and wait a couple of years for the interview and all that before she could return permanently to America. I'm not sure if she could she still visit as a tourist while we wait, but that's not my main question.

 

I read where someone suggested that we could get married while she was in the US and then she would not have to leave while we waited on the I-130 etc..

Is that correct?

 

The same source said it was better to wait for her to be officially overstaying the tourist visa before getting married as otherwise it would look like the tourist visa was fraudulently used to get married; but I would have thought that overstaying a visa would be a serious black mark that would cause problems later on.

 

If anyone has experience with this sort of situation or a good place I could learn more, any information would be much appreciated. I'm not in the situation yet, but I could see it happening someday. It would be wonderful to be able to be together every day during the months/years of waiting on an I-130, but not if that means the petition is going to be rejected because of that.

 

 

 

 

 

So clearly she isn’t currently here, and as a result what you are contemplating is actually immigration fraud.

 

Don’t do that, or she risks a ban.   Your ONLY option is to petition her properly for an immigrant visa and wait in the queue like everyone else.

[R. Wolfe 25]

Thank you. I understand the marriage visa process and paperwork fairly well - I've been through it unsuccessfully a couple of times.

I looked over the Step by Step guide though and see that it is very clear that she should return to her country to wait IF she came here on a tourist visa with the intention of getting married. That makes sense.

 

But it sounds like if she came with the intention of returning home, but does end up getting married, then she could (and should) stay in the US.

And I believe you are saying it doesn't matter if the marriage is during the approved duration of the tourist visa, vs her overstaying?

 

Re-reading my initial post, a simpler way to pose my question would have been:

 

"If I marry a foreign citizen who came to the US on a tourist visa, can she stay in the US while we go through the I-130 process? Does this affect the chances of the petition being successful? Does it make a difference if she was overstaying when we married?"

 

And I'm reading your response as "Yes, no, no". 

Thank you, though now I need to go back to the original source and ask about why they think it's better to marry after overstaying (it seems counterintuitive to me - but so does the whole process :).

 

PS: I saw the pinned post about visiting back and forth on a tourist visa while waiting on an I-130, so I understand the implications of that option now.

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

12 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

"If I marry a foreign citizen who came to the US on a tourist visa, can she stay in the US while we go through the I-130 process? Does this affect the chances of the petition being successful? Does it make a difference if she was overstaying when we married?"

Adjustment of Status is not available to her if she is outside the US right now......case closed.

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

14 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

And I'm reading your response as "Yes, no, no". 

Where is she right now??

[R. Wolfe 25]

In the US.

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

50 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

In the US.

If she is actually inside the US, follow the link I provided above.

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

1 hour ago, R. Wolfe said:

Does it make a difference if she was overstaying when we married?"

There is no reason to wait until she has overstayed.  However, there is a very good reason NOT to overstay. 

[Dashinka 24,634]

50 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

In the US.

Then you can pursue the I130/I485 filing if plans have changed since her arrival.  Intent is determined upon entry into the U.S., but sometimes plans change, so if she can live with staying, not being able to leave the U.S. for several months without abandoning her I485, and not working for several months, you can legally pursue that path.  Otherwise, pursue the consulate path and only file the I130, she can visit assuming she has not violated the terms of her B2 visa.

 

Good Luck!

[belinda63 3,039]

Why would you want to risk her being arrested, detained, and deported by waiting until after her period of authorized stay has expired.

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

4 minutes ago, belinda63 said:

Why would you want to risk her being arrested, detained, and deported by waiting until after her period of authorized stay has expired.

Agree.  Henceforth, I would NOT want to be out of status for any length of time.

[R. Wolfe 25]

7 minutes ago, belinda63 said:

Why would you want to risk her being arrested, detained, and deported by waiting until after her period of authorized stay has expired.

 

I certainly wouldn't want that! It's all hypothetical (and likely years away) at this point regardless. When I read "if someone visiting on a tourist visa gets married then they can stay for the I-130 process without repercussions - but it's better if you marry after they overstay the visa", I thought "that doesn't sound right - for a couple of reasons".  So I came by here to check.  

If I ever do decide to pop the question while she's here then she'll still go home after. That had been my assumption of how things worked anyway, but I would have been kicking myself if we did that and then found out she could have stayed in the US! It would save a lot in travel expenses but it would be a pain logistically given her stuff (and job and family and obligations) back home. Being together every day would be been nice though.

 

Anyway, thank you - everyone - for the help!

 

[OldUser 6,971]

49 minutes ago, R. Wolfe said:

It would save a lot in travel expenses

But it would double if not more the fees to go through adjustment of status in comparison to counsular processing. Plus she couldn't have the intent to stay in the US as she was coming in to the US.