Sticky situation?

[yehaww 0]

Hello everyone. Here's my story. I'm an American citizen and was working in Sweden a few years ago when I met the woman I'm currently seeing, Sanna. Over the past 2 years, she's been here 3 or 4 times, I've been there twice and we've met in between a few times as well. This is all documented with lots of photos. We've met each others families and spent lots of time together. The thing is, we've never lived together for more than, maybe 4 weeks. We would like to give this a shot and we love each other. She has decided to quit her job and come over for an extended stay. If, after a month or 2, we decide we want to remain together, we will get married. At which point we'd file for an AOS and she could stay here, as I understand it. Would this be legal? It seems that it's not legal if your full intention is to get married on a visitors visa. I don't know if we will or not, but it's something we will decide after a month or two.

The K1 thing kind of sucks because she'd have to go back home and wait and since she'll be quitting her job, there's not much to go back to. And if we don't know whether or not we will get married when she comes over, wouldn't it technically be legal for us, if we decide to do it, to do a quick spur of the moment Vegas wedding and just file for AOS?

It seems strange that someone could come here from a foreign country, get drunk and marry some guy she met in a casino in Vegas and get married and that would be perfectly legal. Right?

Also, how intense is the interview and review process? Would they be contacting her previous job or family and inquiring about her and why she left? Or do they not quite go to that extent?

[yehaww 0]

I guess I just want to add a few things. I don't want to give the impression we're looking to scam the system. The purpose of her visit will be for us to really decide if we want to marry. To spend more than just 2 or 3 weeks together. To live together for a few months. But she will not have a job to return to if we decide to not marry. Or if we just got engaged and sent her back to Sweden and filed for a fiance visa. That is why, I guess, if I can do it legally by avoiding a k1, it would make more financial sense to do that, considering her job situation.

So just to reiterate, If she came over here for a visit, like she's done 3 or 4 times before, and I proposed and married her during the time of her visitor visa, then that would be legal? Like I said before we don't know if we will marry or not, but it IS an option that's on the table.

[Shelly&Jay 0]

From what I have read places, you should not marry within 30 days of arriving on the visitor visa.

It's hard to say if you will be processed or not. The biggest issues is to provide evidence of a relationship. Check out the guides on here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

This will help you with the AOS packet. You can have the packet ready to go before you are married and just add the marriage certificate. Once you file the AOS and you receive the NOA's (which is currently taking about a week) she would be able to over stay the visitor visa.

Is there any chance she could get a job over here on say a H1 visa? Then if it doesn't work she still has a job and isn't tied to you. My husband came over on a O1 visa and we were able to live together before we decided if we wanted to get married.

Good luck,

shelly

[iLoveAPolishGirl 0]

Fundamentally, if your intended comes over with "intention" to somehow convert to a more permanent status (excepting certain visas that allow this), you have commited visa fraud which can bar your intended with ever being readmitted (in any capacity) for life.

However, if you did not "intend" such a deception, then all is good and right with the world and you will be accepted with open arms... Ok, maybe not quite that easy, but... not to worry

If I sound slightly cynical, than it just maybe has to something to do with the shear idiocy of this american system??

dvc

[yehaww 0]

Fundamentally, if your intended comes over with "intention" to somehow convert to a more permanent status (excepting certain visas that allow this), you have commited visa fraud which can bar your intended with ever being readmitted (in any capacity) for life.

However, if you did not "intend" such a deception, then all is good and right with the world and you will be accepted with open arms... Ok, maybe not quite that easy, but... not to worry

If I sound slightly cynical, than it just maybe has to something to do with the shear idiocy of this american system??

dvc

I know, this system sucks. For us to live together, live REAL lives where we are both working and living together for any length of time, you pretty much have to get married. We'd have to get married so she can work and we can have a normal life. So that's where we're at. I want her to come here and live with me for a few months, even though she won't be able to work, so it still won't be real life, necessarily, unless I can find some under the table work or something for her. Then after say, 2 months, we decide to make it official, then we'd get married.

There's no chance of an H1 visa, I've already looked into that.

She's coming over so we can decide if we want to marry. And if we decide yes, and time allows on her VWP, and we just do it, I'm just wondering if it's legal? It sounds like it is.

[bantam 0]

If she is coming with the intention of marrying you that is bad. If she is coming to stay with you for a while and you decide to get married later that is fine.

I adjusted on VWP.

[rebeccajo 14]

It seems to me that if your girlfriend is giving up her job, that's quite a large risk for someone who 'has not made up their mind'.

Most Europeans have the option of taking an unpaid sabbatical from their jobs while still retaining them. This is what my husband did when he felt he wanted a longer visit to make up his mind for certain about life in the US.

I'm not a proponent of criticizing persons for adjusting from the VWP. But I do think persons should weigh carefully whether or not they are abusing it simply to avoid long separations.

It is possible to file a K1 whilst your girlfriend is here. The only extra thing one has to do is enter her current I94W number on the I129F. She can stay here with you for up to 90 days whilst the petition is processing before she returns to her home country.

[rebeccajo 14]

Fundamentally, if your intended comes over with "intention" to somehow convert to a more permanent status (excepting certain visas that allow this), you have commited visa fraud which can bar your intended with ever being readmitted (in any capacity) for life.

However, if you did not "intend" such a deception, then all is good and right with the world and you will be accepted with open arms... Ok, maybe not quite that easy, but... not to worry

If I sound slightly cynical, than it just maybe has to something to do with the shear idiocy of this american system??

dvc

I know, this system sucks. For us to live together, live REAL lives where we are both working and living together for any length of time, you pretty much have to get married. We'd have to get married so she can work and we can have a normal life. So that's where we're at. I want her to come here and live with me for a few months, even though she won't be able to work, so it still won't be real life, necessarily, unless I can find some under the table work or something for her. Then after say, 2 months, we decide to make it official, then we'd get married.

There's no chance of an H1 visa, I've already looked into that.

She's coming over so we can decide if we want to marry. And if we decide yes, and time allows on her VWP, and we just do it, I'm just wondering if it's legal? It sounds like it is.

You have the same problem the rest of us had. When it was my problem, I called it 'looking for the boyfriend visa'. There is no such thing.

Don't let your girlfriend work under the table. That's illegal. Should her place of employment suffer an ICE raid, she's deportable.

Not something most of us want for the person we love.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

As long as the person came into the US legally, and there are no adverse factors that would prevent it, the person probably will get to AOS if married to an USC.

[Jon&Lindsey 0]

I also adjusted from VWP, and if you have intention to stay then it's fraud. I'm afraid it seems like you do have at least some intention, and what would you do if asked to prove that she really intended to go back, when she gave up her job to come here? No matter whether you really, really intended for her to stay for not, giving up a job looks like pretty good evidence she wasn't going back and you might have a hard time convincing USCIS otherwise - if asked, it would be up to you to prove she was going back, not USCIS to prove she wasn't. Given the possibility of a ban, I don't think this is a risk I'd want to take. Please don't let her work 'under the table', it could have severe consequences and when you start talking about things like that, it gives the impression you don't care much for doing things correctly/legally. Like rebeccajo said, if you want to marry you can file for a K1 while she is here, or else marry and file for a CR1. It is possible for her to visit (or you visit her) during the process, so with that and the 90 day stay, you wouldn't have to be apart as much as many people on VJ. That would also allow her to sort things out in her home country and prepare for the move properly.

[rebeccajo 14]

As long as the person came into the US legally, and there are no adverse factors that would prevent it, the person probably will get to AOS if married to an USC.

"Probably" is the reason this subject is often referred to as "The Ten Foot Pole Question".

[john_and_marlene 162]

If you come with the possible intention of immigrating through marriage to a USC and you make no material misrepresentations at the POE, they you will not be denied adjustment of status based solely on preconcieved intent to immigrate.

[john_and_marlene 162]

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?...8ce159d286150e2

Matter of Cavazos , 17 I. & N. Dec. 215 (BIA, 1980) . In the absence of other adverse factors, an application for adjustment by an immediate relative should generally be granted in the exercise of discretion notwithstanding the fact that the applicant entered as a nonimmigrant with a preconceived intention to remain.

Matter of Ibrahim , 18 I. & N. Dec. 55 (BIA, 1981). The benefits of Matter of Cavazos , supra , are limited to immediate relatives, and an application for adjustment by a fifth preference immigrant with a preconceived intention to remain is properly denied in the exercise of discretion.

[baron555 934]

So, you two have been back and forth between each other's country visiting, etc. Now you want to get together and live together to see if you like that and maybe you'll decide to get married. All of this "history" will show up in the AOS proceedings. How can one NOT get the impression that you two were an item before her intended next "just a visitor visit"?

Sure sounds like prior intent to me. Doesn't at all sound like "I was just visiting and I met this tremendous guy."

Bring her over, decide and marry her. Then you can K-3 or CR1 her while she is here but she'll just have to go back for the final interview over there.

[yehaww 0]

It seems to me that if your girlfriend is giving up her job, that's quite a large risk for someone who 'has not made up their mind'.

Most Europeans have the option of taking an unpaid sabbatical from their jobs while still retaining them. This is what my husband did when he felt he wanted a longer visit to make up his mind for certain about life in the US.

I'm not a proponent of criticizing persons for adjusting from the VWP. But I do think persons should weigh carefully whether or not they are abusing it simply to avoid long separations.

It is possible to file a K1 whilst your girlfriend is here. The only extra thing one has to do is enter her current I94W number on the I129F. She can stay here with you for up to 90 days whilst the petition is processing before she returns to her home country.

Well, sure it's a big decision, and a risk on her part. But we've hit a point in our relationship where we have to make the decision, and it's not one easily made on 2 week visits and phone calls. You can learn a lot about someone and compatibility by living with them for 2 or 3 months that you can't learn from sporadic visits and phone calls and e-mails. She was laid off last year and just got this current job a few months ago. She already took vacation time in advance for my last visit to see her, so she doesn't really have any more time off coming up, hence the decision to leave it to come here to for a trial cohabitation, so to speak. How would anyone know she quit her job if she doesn't tell them?

The problem with filing for a K1 while she's here, is that she's already going to be out of work for 3 months for her visit. Pushing that to another 6 months out of work would be financially tough. What would be the benefit of filing K1 if she's already here and we decide to marry?