not bothering with AOS

[TQM_Angie 0]

I've been in US for two weeks on K-1. We got married on Saturday.

My wife and I are beginning to think we want to live in England and not the US now. We hadn't really realised how torturous the process of adjusitng status was (we were just happy to get the K-1 approved). We wanted to get married in the US anyway, so nothing is wasted if we leave and we could spend the AOS money on getting a permanent settlement visa for her in UK instead (which takes 5 days not several months).

My question is, if i leave without adjusting status, will it affect my ability to come back to visit the US on visa waiver in the future?

Also, if in sometime in the future we wanted to move back to US, would me leaving before AOS on K-1 now hinder my chances of getting approved for K-3 visa in the future?

Any advice from anyone would be much appreciated.

[payxibka 10,047]

If you decide to do this leave before the expiration of your I-94 because an overstay will potentially cause problems.

[TQM_Angie 0]

Yes, i understand leave before I-94 expires but that isn't til November. I am more talking about future visits once i'm back living in England.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You may not be able to use the VWP in the future you will need to check this out with the US customs and border, I am sure there is a question on it that asks if you have ever held a visa to the US before and if you answer yes to any question you need a visa to enter...

Kez

[payxibka 10,047]

Yes, i understand leave before I-94 expires but that isn't til November. I am more talking about future visits once i'm back living in England.

Visa overstay = problems for future visits and when you say torturous AOS process what do you mean?

[*JG* 2]

You are in the home stretch now. Hang in there and get it over with.

[TracyTN 237]

I guess I don't see the AOS process as 'torturous'. And if even if I did, I at least researched it ahead of time so it wouldn't be anything I was surprised by.

At any rate, I believe what Kez said is correct. I'd research that if you think you may be traveling back here very often.

[*JG* 2]

I guess I don't see the AOS process as 'torturous'. And if even if I did, I at least researched it ahead of time so it wouldn't be anything I was surprised by.

At any rate, I believe what Kez said is correct. I'd research that if you think you may be traveling back here very often.

I do agree with that. What is the torturous part for you? Ours was mailing in some paperwork, going to a 15 minute biometrics appointment, and waiting for the mail. Easiest thing we did in the whole process.

[TQM_Angie 0]

I arrived on 16 August. My I-94 stamp says 14 November- so if i leave for england before then i won't be a visa overstay will i? My question is then, how would this affect me coming to visit the US in the future?

AOS being torturous- the waiting i mean. I wouldn't mind paying all that if it didn't take so long. For my wife to come to UK it appears to take 5 days for her permanent settlement visa to arrive from applying and costs the same as AOS.

[no name 1]

Mine took 61 days. Not the norm but not unheard of either.

[Caladan 19]

You might, as Kez said, need to apply for a tourist visa now that you've had another visa to the U.S. Though I'm not certain about this, as I have friends who had F-1s from VWP countries, left to go home, and returned on visits. I am not certain if they needed a visa but it wasn't a lot of hassle in any case. But from there it's just like any other tourist visa: can you prove ties to the UK?

Having had a K-1 shouldn't adversely affect your ability to get a K-3 in the future.

The U.S.'s process is tortuous compared to the UK. Time to unmarried partner visa: three weeks. Time for USCIS to figure out how to cash a check for AOS: four. But mostly it is just a lot of waiting.

[TracyTN 237]

Wait times can vary for the GC. You can't compare what your experience may be compared to anyone elses. It may not be 'easy', but it'll be worth it in the end (at least that's our perspective).

But if moving back to the UK is what you want to do (for reasons beyond it being 'easy' for your wife to go), then I hope its a smooth transition for you, and that you can visit here without a problem.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I arrived on 16 August. My I-94 stamp says 14 November- so if i leave for england before then i won't be a visa overstay will i? My question is then, how would this affect me coming to visit the US in the future?

AOS being torturous- the waiting i mean. I wouldn't mind paying all that if it didn't take so long. For my wife to come to UK it appears to take 5 days for her permanent settlement visa to arrive from applying and costs the same as AOS.

Lets hope your wife does not want to work as soon as you get to the UK... she will have to apply for a NINO and that will take 12 weeks min. but as I said before you need to check the conditions that apply to the VWP with regards to having held a prior visa to the US... I am sure that excludes you from using the VWP...

Kez

[Happychap 0]

I think you can get your wifes Settlement Visa same day if you go in. Its 5 days if you apply online....still unbelievable when you compare to the US system , whereby you dont get anything in return for the hassel just a headache. Hope your wife enjoys the free health and education back home As for the implication of visitng the US again i would imagine you would need a visa as they would say you may have intent to stay in the US if you attempted on a VW.

[TQM_Angie 0]

Ultimately we do both want to live in the UK. That has always been the case. However, we wanted the wedding to be in the US and were under the impression (rightly or wrongly) that getting married in the US was illegal without K-1 (i.e. on visa waiver).

We had intended to live in the US for 1 year, two at most, before going back to settle permanently england. However we are now thinking, it seems a waste going through AOS just to live here for a year and no longer- and so we might feel obliged to stay, get comfortable here etc etc and end up in america forever. Also, if return to settle in UK once received greencard i expect that it will expire after a year or two and the problem of needing a visitor visa everytime want to visit the US will still be there.

So yeah, we're not sure what's best at moment. I've only been here two weeks and with the wedding just last weekend not had time to research the AOS vs UK immigration in massive detail.

I apologise for my ignorance and to those of you offended by the association of torturous with AOS in my original message.