What would happen if I visited as a tourist and got married before I went back to my country?

[AquiLyn 0]

I am just wondering, if I visited my love with a tourist visa then we got married (a small simple service ) before I finally come back to my own country.... Will that be ok? What will be the next step for us? Any ideas from you guys will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[JenT 0]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

[AquiLyn 0]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

Thanks Jen! My question now is, Do I need to go back to my country afterwards? Or can I stay with my love?

[Jasman0717 9]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

Thanks Jen! My question now is, Do I need to go back to my country afterwards? Or can I stay with my love?

You could file AOS but keep in mind that it is illegal to come in on a visitor visa with the intent to marry.

[JenT 0]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

Thanks Jen! My question now is, Do I need to go back to my country afterwards? Or can I stay with my love?

You could file AOS but keep in mind that it is illegal to come in on a visitor visa with the intent to marry.

Not true. It's perfectly legal to arrive in the US on a visitor's visa with the intent to marry AS LONG AS the person who enters the US returns to their home country before the visa expires.

AquiLyn, you must return to your home country and your USC-spouse will then file for a K3 for you. You will re-enter the US as the spouse of a USC once the K3 is approved.

Jen

edited to add: once the K3 is approved

Edited October 31, 2007 by JenT

[archie07 0]

http://www.skyweb.net/~rlls/intro/tourist.html

[tdegrenier 1]

Technically speaking the above posters are correct. Someone entering the country on a Tourist Visa with the "intent" on getting married while here is illegal. However, the law does allow for a tourist to marry a citizen.

The question is "what was your intent upon entry to the US"? Was your intent solely to "visit" and somewhere during the visit it turned into love and then marriage? In a case such as that, it is 100% legal and you do not have to return to your country. You and your spouse will simply file the AOS package and you will wait in the US until the processing is complete.

My wife and I visited each other several times, both here and in her home country of Mexico. On one of her trips here, I popped the question and we flew to Vegas for the wedding. After which, we filed for her AOS, EAD and Travel Authorization. We have now been married for over 2 years and are filing to remove the conditions of her residency.

The two questions you should always keep in mind when dealing with USCIS. What was your intent and what do your actions show to what your intent was . . .

If you get married close to your arrival in the US, it "looks like" your intent was to marry. If you get married closer to the end of your visit, it looks less like that was your intent.

What ever happens, if you file for a K-1, K-3 or AOS, good luck!

[eau_xplain 2]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

Thanks Jen! My question now is, Do I need to go back to my country afterwards? Or can I stay with my love?

You could file AOS but keep in mind that it is illegal to come in on a visitor visa with the intent to marry.

Not true. It's perfectly legal to arrive in the US on a visitor's visa with the intent to marry AS LONG AS the person who enters the US returns to their home country before the visa expires.

AquiLyn, you must return to your home country and your USC-spouse will then file for a K3 for you. You will re-enter the US as the spouse of a USC once the K3 is approved.

Jen

edited to add: once the K3 is approved

Or file for a CR1/IR1 visa

[vylex 0]

In our case, when my fiance (at the time) came to visit me in the US, we got married. The intention was not for her to come and get married (and stay). But, once we were together we wanted to make that personal commitment so we married in civil court shortly after she came.

However, we had no intention of having her stay and adjust status. She went back home as planned, except she was now married to me. We filed for the IR1/CR1 visa (Immigrant Visa) instead of a K-3 because it required less paperwork in the end. If you plan on coming, getting married, and adjusting status I think it's a risky move.

During my wife's interview at the Consulate there was no mention at all about why we got married as soon as she visited me since we didn't break any laws. I feel if we tried to adjust status after she visited and married me, I would expect lots of questions as to our intent. That becomes a game of persuasion. We didn't want to put our future life together in the hands of a consular officer questioning our intent. Granted we were apart for 8+ months during the filing but we now have our visa and no worries about being apart any longer.

You can also have your love file for a K-1 Fiance/e visa. Those generally get approved faster and when you come, you can get married within 90 days and then adjust status with minimal issue.

[archie07 0]

Technically speaking the above posters are correct. Someone entering the country on a Tourist Visa with the "intent" on getting married while here is illegal. However, the law does allow for a tourist to marry a citizen.

The question is "what was your intent upon entry to the US"? Was your intent solely to "visit" and somewhere during the visit it turned into love and then marriage? In a case such as that, it is 100% legal and you do not have to return to your country. You and your spouse will simply file the AOS package and you will wait in the US until the processing is complete.

My wife and I visited each other several times, both here and in her home country of Mexico. On one of her trips here, I popped the question and we flew to Vegas for the wedding. After which, we filed for her AOS, EAD and Travel Authorization. We have now been married for over 2 years and are filing to remove the conditions of her residency.

The two questions you should always keep in mind when dealing with USCIS. What was your intent and what do your actions show to what your intent was . . .

If you get married close to your arrival in the US, it "looks like" your intent was to marry. If you get married closer to the end of your visit, it looks less like that was your intent.

What ever happens, if you file for a K-1, K-3 or AOS, good luck!

I agree with you completely, although all this is possible, keep in mind she is dealing with the manila embassy. There was an appeals court justice last year that applied for a visitors visa to attend his nieces graduation in california and was denied. She would need some very strong ties and still may be denied the visa. Before she gets her hopes up she may want to do some research, the odds seem slim in the filipines.

[dalegg 143]

I think it's not illegal to do it, it's just illegal to come over with the intent of doing it. It is of course the burdon of the interviewer to prove your intent.

We have a friend who did just that. I cannot say as to whether or not she intended on marrying her husband when she first visited the U.S though.

[AquiLyn 0]

http://www.skyweb.net/~rlls/intro/tourist.html

Thank you...this link is really informational!

[AquiLyn 0]

Entirely possible.... Your spouse would then file for a K3 visa for you.....

Jen

Thanks Jen! My question now is, Do I need to go back to my country afterwards? Or can I stay with my love?

You could file AOS but keep in mind that it is illegal to come in on a visitor visa with the intent to marry.

Not true. It's perfectly legal to arrive in the US on a visitor's visa with the intent to marry AS LONG AS the person who enters the US returns to their home country before the visa expires.

AquiLyn, you must return to your home country and your USC-spouse will then file for a K3 for you. You will re-enter the US as the spouse of a USC once the K3 is approved.

Jen

edited to add: once the K3 is approved

Or file for a CR1/IR1 visa

Thank you so much Jen...It seems that there's a lot of process involve and from what I see it, it is not simple to do...Patience is all we need at this point until we can really decide on what to do. Thank you again!

[AquiLyn 0]

Technically speaking the above posters are correct. Someone entering the country on a Tourist Visa with the "intent" on getting married while here is illegal. However, the law does allow for a tourist to marry a citizen.

The question is "what was your intent upon entry to the US"? Was your intent solely to "visit" and somewhere during the visit it turned into love and then marriage? In a case such as that, it is 100% legal and you do not have to return to your country. You and your spouse will simply file the AOS package and you will wait in the US until the processing is complete.

My wife and I visited each other several times, both here and in her home country of Mexico. On one of her trips here, I popped the question and we flew to Vegas for the wedding. After which, we filed for her AOS, EAD and Travel Authorization. We have now been married for over 2 years and are filing to remove the conditions of her residency.

The two questions you should always keep in mind when dealing with USCIS. What was your intent and what do your actions show to what your intent was . . .

If you get married close to your arrival in the US, it "looks like" your intent was to marry. If you get married closer to the end of your visit, it looks less like that was your intent.

What ever happens, if you file for a K-1, K-3 or AOS, good luck!

I agree with you completely, although all this is possible, keep in mind she is dealing with the manila embassy. There was an appeals court justice last year that applied for a visitors visa to attend his nieces graduation in california and was denied. She would need some very strong ties and still may be denied the visa. Before she gets her hopes up she may want to do some research, the odds seem slim in the filipines.

Is this true? Hmmmm....Thanks for the info...