K1 Visa vs. B-2 Visa

[Fearian 0]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum.

I've been in a relationship, a long distance one, for over four years now with a beautiful German lady.

Over a year ago, I hired a lawyer to handle our visa processing, and long story short, he failed us miserably.

We had hoped to be married by this summer.

Now I am considering this -

Would there be legal conflicts/consequences if my fiance happened to file for a visitor visa, and came to the US perhaps even on a round trip ticket, but with no intentions of leaving it.

According to this gov't website - http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/visa_b...CFSOsGgodn3qM-w - the b-2 visa is as follows:

B-2 Visa for Tourists: Foreign nationals who wish to visit the United States for leisure or tourism are normally eligible to receive a B-2 Tourist Visas. B-2 Tourist Visas are "visitor visas" required for citizens of countries that are not included in the Visa Waiver Program. However, even citizens of countries included in the Visa Waiver Program are required to obtain a B-2 visa if they plan to stay in the United States for longer than 90 days, change status to other nonimmigrant visa, or adjust status to permanent resident (Green Card) after entering the country.

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Furthermore, the site also provides this information on marriage in the US:

United States citizens and non-U.S. citizens (including temporary visitors, legal and illegal immigrants) have the right to get married in the United States. There are no limitations for foreigners to get married in the United States. However, there are several steps that must be followed in order for the marriage to be valid. The marriage process differs sometimes substantially from state to state. One important prerequisite is the residency requirement, as some states require it and others do not. Other factors that must be taken into consideration include blood tests, ID requirement, types of legal marriages and age constraints.

Once a marriage has taken place between a foreigner and U.S. citizen (or permanent resident), the foreign citizen can apply for a Green Card and later apply for U.S. citizenship. There are a number of different requirements that must be fulfilled before a Green Card is issued or U.S. citizenship can be obtained. Getting married can be a very stressful experience, especially for non-U.S. citizens. In addition to the usual marriage procedures and planning a wedding, foreigners need to take in the consideration the immigration requirements. For detailed information on how to receive a Green Card based on a marriage to a United States citizen, please refer to the Green Card through Marriage application guide.

Possible Marriage Scenarios:

If the spouse is a U.S citizen, the foreign citizen may apply for a green card based on the marriage.

If the spouse is a green card holder, the foreign citizen can apply for a green card but it may take longer until it is issued due to immigration quotas (only a certain number of Green Cards are issued to spouses of Green Card holders).

If the marriage is between two non-U.S. citizens, the marriage must be officially recognized in the home country for it to be valid. Foreigners (non-U.S. citizens) that get married to each other in the United States do not obtain a Green Card, U.S. citizenship or any kind of immigration status or benefit.

If the marriage is between two U.S. citizens, no immigration application is required or needed.

“How to get Married in the United States” information guide includes:

Marriage procedure overview for all 50 U.S. states

How to obtain a marriage certificate

Identification requirements

Residency requirements

Required medical and blood tests requirements

Instructions for divorced applicants

Age limits for marriage

Links to application forms

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With all due respect to all of you brave souls going through all of this insane red tape, I have already done it and waited and my lawyer, a former friend, failed both my fiance and myself with his incompetence and I do not have the stomach for another wait time such as that; it has already been four years of traveling, writing, webcams and telephoning, etc., with only a few weeks at a time to celebrate the ability to hold each other's hand (times which were, in fact, separated by months and months).

So, if my fiance applied for a visitor visa (b2) and 'visited' me and we 'happened' to marry, what problem is there?

Are there legal (SP?) repercussions?

30 days is the average wait time for this visa, versus another 9 or 10 months of waiting...

I love this woman, I should make this clear; I am not trying to scam a marriage for money or anything like that, simply trying to bypass the red tape I've already gone through which amounted to nothing (not because of rejection, but because of our lawyers failure to handle the matter properly) to be with the woman I love.

Please advise.

Sincerely,

M.

Write me, please: Fearian889@aol.com

[Corey-Mariya 14]

Hey there!

Me and my fiance were going to try that but she got denied for a tourist Visa! You can go for it! If you get it there is always a risk that they will say your marriage is a fraud and deport her because they will say you defrauded the us government! This is a very small chance though! If you get the tourist visa make sure you wait a couple months because you have to make it look like she came there just to visit and fell in love with you i know you have bad luck with lawyers but a lawyer would be helpful with this! Its worth a shot!!!

[Jesse and Hema 2]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=otheraos

Entering the US on another

type of visa, such as student (F-1) or H1B, followed quickly by marriage to a US citizen, and then followed

quickly by an application for adjustment of status might be construed by the USCIS to be visa fraud. The

reason for this is that you applied for the original visa, and then after entry into the US quickly applied for

adjustment of status, which makes the real purpose for your original visa request suspect.

When the B-2 is acquired, the VISITOR had to prove intent to return to their home country after a visit, and agree to use visas only for their intended purpose. If a visitor uses a B-2 with the intent to marry and adjust status, he/she is committing fraud. Plain and simple. Sure, plenty have "gotten away with it," but that's not a risk I would condone taking.. And it's a violation of VisaJourney's TOS to endorse such illegal behavior.

Also, note that the website you link to (usimmigrationsupport.org) is NOT a government site as you stated!! They are merely trying to make money off intending immigrants.

Edited March 15, 2008 by Jesse G

[STEPHnRIA 2]

Hey Fearian! I just sent you a message.

[Fearian 0]

Hey Fearian! I just sent you a message.

Yes thanks; I received it.

Thanks for the other responses.

What is the risk that I would be taking, please?

[BlakeandOlha 0]

Hey Fearian! I just sent you a message.

Yes thanks; I received it.

Thanks for the other responses.

What is the risk that I would be taking, please?

Well committing fraud with the US government carries with it a number of risks - the most significant of which is that your girl will be deported and banned from re-entering the US. There may be penalties and fines, but the seperation with be the worst. Be careful with what you do. If this person is the one you want to spend your life with, consider seriously doing it the right way, even if it takes longer. I'm sorry the attorney screwed your situation up. For most of us they are not only expensive but can do much more harm than good.

Good luck with whatever your choice is.

[Corey-Mariya 14]

If you get the tourist visa and get married in the USA! You have to make it look like you met in the Usa and them marry towards the end of the visa! I asked a lawyer about this 2 awhile ago if you do this there is like a 95% chance everything will be ok! If she did get deported then you would definitly hneed a lawyer to fill out some paper work to help her to be able to enyter the country again if you get the tourist visa go for it!

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Sorry to hear that your lawyer doesn´t know how to do his job. Lotsa people complain about their lawyers. I don´t think it´s wise from you to do what you are trying to plan to do though. Better take it in your own hands and apply for K1 yourself. It should be really easy for you since you must already have all the papers ready for it if you tried to go through K1 process already and the guides here will help you too and so will the people here. Besides I have noticed that lotsa people these days get their K1 approval pretty fast (in like 3 months) not like us last year when it took 6-7 months. I know there are still people who have to wait those 6 months but I think if you could have waited for 4 years you can wait just a couple of more months and you will do everything the right way and have no problem with USCIS in the future whatsoever. I think that´s worth it I think if you apply now, you can still have a 2008 wedding

[Fearian 0]

I grant that the questionable nature of the whole idea makes me feel extremely guilty, but consider this; Germany is a part of the visa waiver program. What if we married within 90 days? I'm 24, she's 23 btw.

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Let me put it this way...to be able to get married in USA to your fiance you need K1 visa. If you have anything else it´s visa fraud. There are people that get away with it sometimes if they can prove they didn´t intend to marry (sometimes they even might ask that at the point of entry). Then if she wants to get the green card to be able to stay here with you she/you will have to prove that it´s a bonfide relationship. As you can see these two requirements contradict each other. Better just sit on it, file the paperwork and wait a couple of months and not have to deal with all the lies you would have to come up with and stuff... When you commit visa fraud it´s not like we are before 9/11...this is year 2008 and everything is very strict.

[KarenCee 3]

To the OP: Coming to the US - no problem. Getting married on a whim. No problem. It's this intent that you have, and which seems to be encouraged by a couple posters on here that IS the problem. The INTENT is where it become fraud. The OP has already hinted to the INTENT.

When one makes the statement, "If you get the tourist visa and get married in the USA! You have to make it look like you met in the Usa and them marry towards the end of the visa" that is fraud.

Again, to the OP, I'm sorry you had a ####### lawyer. Most of us on here have done this process ourselves with much success. Check the timelines of others who have gone through this process with fiancée's from Germany. It will give you a guesstimate of the timeframe for how long it takes to get a K-1.

These are merely my opinions from what I have read and interpreted from what I've seen here on VJ.

[bakofoil 27]

To the OP: Coming to the US - no problem. Getting married on a whim. No problem. It's this intent that you have, and which seems to be encouraged by a couple posters on here that IS the problem. The INTENT is where it become fraud. The OP has already hinted to the INTENT.

When one makes the statement, "If you get the tourist visa and get married in the USA! You have to make it look like you met in the Usa and them marry towards the end of the visa" that is fraud.

Again, to the OP, I'm sorry you had a ####### lawyer. Most of us on here have done this process ourselves with much success. Check the timelines of others who have gone through this process with fiancée's from Germany. It will give you a guesstimate of the timeframe for how long it takes to get a K-1.

These are merely my opinions from what I have read and interpreted from what I've seen here on VJ.

Totally agree with this. Plus, if your lawyer has already submitted an I-129F (regardless of the outcome) it will be difficult to prove there was no intent to marry on a tourist visa (VWP or B2). If you file the I-129F now you could be together within 9 months (sometimes significantly less) at no risk to your relationship - any other way carries a risk and however small people are commenting that risk might be it is still what it is - a possibility you will find it difficult to remain together in future.

[GabiandVi 34]

To the OP: Coming to the US - no problem. Getting married on a whim. No problem. It's this intent that you have, and which seems to be encouraged by a couple posters on here that IS the problem. The INTENT is where it become fraud. The OP has already hinted to the INTENT.

When one makes the statement, "If you get the tourist visa and get married in the USA! You have to make it look like you met in the Usa and them marry towards the end of the visa" that is fraud.

Again, to the OP, I'm sorry you had a ####### lawyer. Most of us on here have done this process ourselves with much success. Check the timelines of others who have gone through this process with fiancée's from Germany. It will give you a guesstimate of the timeframe for how long it takes to get a K-1.

These are merely my opinions from what I have read and interpreted from what I've seen here on VJ.

Totally agree with this. Plus, if your lawyer has already submitted an I-129F (regardless of the outcome) it will be difficult to prove there was no intent to marry on a tourist visa (VWP or B2). If you file the I-129F now you could be together within 9 months (sometimes significantly less) at no risk to your relationship - any other way carries a risk and however small people are commenting that risk might be it is still what it is - a possibility you will find it difficult to remain together in future.

I was going to point out the same thing. I think people do get away with this. In the beginning, I was mislead by two of the questions on the I-130, questions 14 and 22, and I thought about my husband coming on a B-2 and filing an AOS, but then I read a little more and realized that would be fraud. We are still planning on my husband coming on a B-2, but only for a visit. In your case, the fact that you have already filed a K-1 would seal it if they decided to question you.

I know it is hard to wait. Believe me, we all know. We have a 16-month-old daughter. She will be almost 3 when her father can finally join us for good. (My fault. for not filing sooner. It's a long story.)

[ga1jin 0]

I grant that the questionable nature of the whole idea makes me feel extremely guilty, but consider this; Germany is a part of the visa waiver program. What if we married within 90 days? I'm 24, she's 23 btw.

The Visa Waiver Program has nothing to do with people intending to immigrate. It is for temporary business or pleasure. Babblesgirl and GabiandVi make an excellent point - if you've already applied once before, then the government KNOWS of your intent to marry and your fiancee's intent to immigrate. And if you try to do it on a tourist visa that is her ticket to getting kicked out and barred from entering for years. DON'T DO IT! Even if you didn't apply before and you think you could fool the government, it's not worth the risk. Your relationship has survived this long. It can survive a few more months. Besides, the K-1 process is getting faster all the time. Do it the right way and you will have nothing to worry about.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Let me put it this way...to be able to get married in USA to your fiance you need K1 visa. If you have anything else it´s visa fraud. There are people that get away with it sometimes if they can prove they didn´t intend to marry (sometimes they even might ask that at the point of entry). Then if she wants to get the green card to be able to stay here with you she/you will have to prove that it´s a bonfide relationship. As you can see these two requirements contradict each other. Better just sit on it, file the paperwork and wait a couple of months and not have to deal with all the lies you would have to come up with and stuff... When you commit visa fraud it´s not like we are before 9/11...this is year 2008 and everything is very strict.

It's not visa fraud if you come over on a visitor visa and get married. It's only fraud if you do that and then intend to STAY.

You can get married at any time, it's the staying and living part where the fraud comes in.

The new spouse would have to go home and file a spousal visa in order to come back to the USA and live.

Say if you went to the USA on a student visa, you are there for 4 years. Halfway through that, you meet an American, fall in love, get married and adjust status, there is nothing wrong with that because there was no intent to marry upon entry, you didn't even know the person at the time of entry.

To the OP: Best of luck with whatever you decide and I'm very sorry about your lawyer..that's sad. You'll find a way!!!