Tourist Visa + Adjust Status

[JenT 0]

She can come in on a tourist visa and you can marry here. There's no fraud in that. BUT, she will need to go back home before the visa expires. You would then file a K3 to have her enter the US as the spouse of a USC.

[Minya's wife 25]

Well, it is fraudulent if you intend to adjust status and live in the US, right?

It is fraudulent if you intent to adjust your status based upon a marriage to a US citizen, when you apply for the tourist visa.

Further....one is not prevented from marrying even here in the US, you just can't subsequently stay here and file Adjustment of Status using your marriage to USC as the basis for the application if you're here on a visa which was granted to you because you've satisfactorily proven to the consulate that you have no intent to emigrate.

That's how I make sense of it.

-P

[payxibka 10,045]

Well, it is fraudulent if you intend to adjust status and live in the US, right?

If that is the intent upon entry then that is defining moment...

[SR VS 0]

She can come in on a tourist visa and you can marry here. There's no fraud in that. BUT, she will need to go back home before the visa expires. You would then file a K3 to have her enter the US as the spouse of a USC.

Would this route be less complicated/expensive/time consuming than going the K1 route?

[payxibka 10,045]

She can come in on a tourist visa and you can marry here. There's no fraud in that. BUT, she will need to go back home before the visa expires. You would then file a K3 to have her enter the US as the spouse of a USC.

Would this route be less complicated/expensive/time consuming than going the K1 route?

K-3 would be slightly more time consuming a than K-1 based on today's reported timelines. Expense and complications are relatively the same (normal caveats apply)

Edited November 14, 2007 by fwaguy

[JenT 0]

She can come in on a tourist visa and you can marry here. There's no fraud in that. BUT, she will need to go back home before the visa expires. You would then file a K3 to have her enter the US as the spouse of a USC.

Would this route be less complicated/expensive/time consuming than going the K1 route?

K-3 would be slightly more time consuming a than K-1 based on today's reported timelines. Expense and complications are relatively the same (normal caveats apply)

And a year ago, it was the opposite, so who really knows... ???

[zqt3344 21]

UNREAL, a diocese(probably the Catholic Church) told you to do this! As stated above this is blatant visa fraud, because you "intend" to get married on a tourist visa which your finance will take an oath and be asked a question by USA officials if she intends to come to the USA and immigrate or not on this tourist visa, which if she says no and then does so later on, guess what visa fraud. I am totally shocked at the number of people on this website that abuse the USA immigration law and flagrantly and arrogantly try this or give you such advice. What needs to happen to shut down this supposedly legal loophole is for anyone filing for a GreenCard after marrying on a tourist visa or work visa, that did not apply for a K1 or K3 needs to pay $10,000 to apply for AOS green card since they cannot follow the law, maybe the USCIS knew what they were doing when they raised these fees in July 30, I am getting my eyes opened more and more and more to the outright dishonesty and abuse this great country experiences with it's immigration rules even for those of us that can do it legally and choose not to or get advice from others not to, and from a diocese, just unbelievable. That diocese needs it's tax exempt status yanked, then I bet they would not be giving out that advice or trying to shelter so many would be immigrants or helping them game or ripoff the US laws. I am disgusted at this. Get a k1 or k3 that is what they are for, marriage visa.

Take a zanax and CALM DOWN. You're spazzing again.

I think you will need one on your interview since you cannot follow USCIS interview instructions for proper documentation of tax returns, hope you calm down and stop spazzing.

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

[meemette 0]

UNREAL, a diocese(probably the Catholic Church) told you to do this! As stated above this is blatant visa fraud, because you "intend" to get married on a tourist visa which your finance will take an oath and be asked a question by USA officials if she intends to come to the USA and immigrate or not on this tourist visa, which if she says no and then does so later on, guess what visa fraud. I am totally shocked at the number of people on this website that abuse the USA immigration law and flagrantly and arrogantly try this or give you such advice. What needs to happen to shut down this supposedly legal loophole is for anyone filing for a GreenCard after marrying on a tourist visa or work visa, that did not apply for a K1 or K3 needs to pay $10,000 to apply for AOS green card since they cannot follow the law, maybe the USCIS knew what they were doing when they raised these fees in July 30, I am getting my eyes opened more and more and more to the outright dishonesty and abuse this great country experiences with it's immigration rules even for those of us that can do it legally and choose not to or get advice from others not to, and from a diocese, just unbelievable. That diocese needs it's tax exempt status yanked, then I bet they would not be giving out that advice or trying to shelter so many would be immigrants or helping them game or ripoff the US laws. I am disgusted at this. Get a k1 or k3 that is what they are for, marriage visa.

Take a zanax and CALM DOWN. You're spazzing again.

I think you will need one on your interview since you cannot follow USCIS interview instructions for proper documentation of tax returns, hope you calm down and stop spazzing.

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

zqt3344, you really need to stop this now. most of your posts are judgmental and insulting (and often factually inaccurate with no qualifications whatsoever), this is not what people are looking for here!! maybe you should wonder before you post whether what you're going to say is (1) helpful and (2) true. i think this post is both helpful and true because it reflects what numerous people on this forum think of you!

[payxibka 10,045]

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

We are still waiting for chapter and verse that getting married on a tourist visa is fraudulent....

Many USC's travel to France or Italy to get married... Do you think the USA doesn't have destinations where foreigners desire to have the same? Like maybe Hawaii for example?

[meemette 0]

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

We are still waiting for chapter and verse that getting married on a tourist visa is fraudulent....

Many USC's travel to France or Italy to get married... Do you think the USA doesn't have destinations where foreigners desire to have the same? Like maybe Hawaii for example?

fwaguy i apologize, you are perfectly correct that entering the US with a tourist visa to get married is not fraudulent per se -- in fact, europeans do it all the time when they go to vegas!

[zqt3344 21]

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

We are still waiting for chapter and verse that getting married on a tourist visa is fraudulent....

Many USC's travel to France or Italy to get married... Do you think the USA doesn't have destinations where foreigners desire to have the same? Like maybe Hawaii for example?

fwaguy i apologize, you are perfectly correct that entering the US with a tourist visa to get married is not fraudulent per se -- in fact, europeans do it all the time when they go to vegas!

By all means twist what I say and go off on a tangent. USCIS clearly states that if you come on a tourist visa with the intent to marry and immigrate you have committed visa fraud, and it is what it is, I suppose that is made up or misinformation or inaccurate, well it is not.

While marrying in the US after entering the country with a tourist visa and the intent to get married is fraudulent, please not that everybody's situation is different and that the situation of people with a work visa is unique.

No fraud in the situation you describe above....

Oh yes there is fraud and the USCIS law and policy is quite clear on this, sound familar FWAGUY!

We are still waiting for chapter and verse that getting married on a tourist visa is fraudulent....

Many USC's travel to France or Italy to get married... Do you think the USA doesn't have destinations where foreigners desire to have the same? Like maybe Hawaii for example?

And we are still waiting on a chapter and verse for you to prove that entering with the intent to immigrate or marry on a tourist visa is not considered visa fraud.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

zqt3344

OMG you are still at it......

We discussed the other day there is nothing illegal about coming to the US on a Tourist Visa/VWP to get married....

It is illegal to come to the US on a non-immigrant visa and file for an ajustment of Status to a immigrant visa if your intention at the time of entry was to Remain in the US.... it has nothing to do with marriage....

Go and re-read the USCIS Law that I gave you the other day... AND Please stop this one man cruisade to convice people that they are breaking US law....

Kez

Edited November 15, 2007 by Kezzie

[Mags 112]

To clarify:

If you come over on the VWP with intent to marry AND stay to adjust status it is breaking the law. If you come over on the VWP with intent to marry but NOT stay and adjust status (i.e. you go back to your country of origin to file for a visa) then that is NOT breaking the law.

And can we please have a little more respect for each other in this thread and quit the digs and snide remarks. Answer the question if you know the answer and move on.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Mags

[payxibka 10,045]

And we are still waiting on a chapter and verse for you to prove that entering with the intent to immigrate or marry on a tourist visa is not considered visa fraud.

I challenge you to find any quote of mine anywhere that indicates that I said any such thing.....

[Caladan 19]

Let's also stop with the digs about the evil Church; they're giving wrong advice, but so do most lawyers.

To the OP: it all attaches to *immigrant intent.* If your fiancee is planning to come here and stay, then she needs to use a visa designed for that purpose. The marriage is actually secondary here. If she gets married and leaves, that's absolutely fine. They're not all that interested in what you do here on your tourist time, as long as it's legal for you to do so (and marriage is administered by states) and you leave when you're done.

Where it gets a little tricky is that intent to marry is usually a reliable proxy for intent to immigrate (since most people want to live with their spouses.) This is why some people get turned around at the POE, because the existence of a USC boyfriend or girlfriend increases the presumption of immigrant intent. So you get people thinking that getting married in the U.S. is illegal unless you're on a fiance visa, which is just not correct.

To compound it further, something like getting married is the sort of big life event that could change one's plans. (Most usual case: someone enters on a student or work visa, falls in love, marries, and develops the intent to stay *because* of the marriage.) To compound it even further, many people come to the U.S., get married, and spontaneously decide to stay and adjust status. The bar for proving it was spontaneous, based on people's experiences, seems to be relatively low (they don't have to prove they met on that visit, or anything like that, but they should show they had ties, like a job they abandoned), but there is a risk.

So, the question is, does your girlfriend have an intent to immigrate once she gets married here? It sounds like she does, and so the right path for her is going to be a K-1. If she has to get a tourist visa, I think there's a question about whether she has a fiance in the U.S. that she'd need to answer truthfully, making it unlikely that she'd get a visa anyway. (Certainly if she says she wants the tourist visa to go get married she'll probably be denied.)

And we are still waiting on a chapter and verse for you to prove that entering with the intent to immigrate or marry on a tourist visa is not considered visa fraud.

I challenge you to find any quote of mine anywhere that indicates that I said any such thing.....

Plus, laws tell what is illegal, not what is legal. There isn't a statute that says 'giving cookies to friends is legal.'