RoyalBlue22

Thanks for the response! Thinking about it a bit, I actually don't have a problem with AOS as a concept, but just in its execution. Both the "prior intent to adjust status" exclusion and the fact that it takes less time to process than either the K1/CR1, create a situation where your relationship is deemed to be superior to mine from an immigration prioritization perspective (even if our spouses/gfs were from the same country), and I just don't see why that should be the case. My girlfriend as well could go out and apply for a graduate study program in the US (she's likely to do so) and put herself in the same situation you were previously in as a foreign student here. But because of the fact that we decided before she entered the country that we wanted to get married and adjust her status to take advantage of the shorter processing times (just as you did, only you made that decision while in country), we get the short end of the stick? It just seems like an odd value judgement to make/codify into our policy. And yet people on this website seem to want crucify people who try to find ways around the "prior immigration intent" exclusion...go figure.

I previously asked a question in a thread regarding a potential strategy to propose to and marry my long-time, foreign girlfriend while she is in the US on a tourist visa, and then have her apply for an AOS to a greencard, with her having no prior knowledge of this plan--nor intent to immigrate/apply for the AOS--until her arrival in the country. I got a few comments claiming such a strategy is not permitted/could be illegal, which I appreciated (any feedback is useful, even if it's not the feedback I was hoping for), and then the thread was locked. Fair play, as the Brits say. Seems like K1/CR1 is going to be the way to go. But this raised a more fundamental question for me, which I think is worth posing to the group: Why does the US allow marriage based AOS in the first place? What is the goal of this immigration pathway, as it pertains to the US national interest/our immigration policy in general? The only scenario I can envision where it would seem fair/serve the US national interest for allowing marriage based AOS at all (as opposed to removing that as an option, and requiring the petitioner to return home and file for a CR1/K1), let alone expediting such cases/processing them more quickly than K1/CR1s, would be if there is some dramatic change in circumstances in a person's home country--or their circumstances in that country--meaning that they can't return home safely and apply for a KR1/CR1 there. Maybe a war broke out, a huge natural disaster struck, the Taliban took over and they worked for the old government...essentially the same circumstances that qualify people to be granted asylum/Temporary Protected Status. If the AOS applicant doesn't even to try to claim to meet that standard, why should their application take any less time than my girlfriend or wife's K1/CR1 application? In so doing, it seems to me that the system is essentially incentivizing (pressuring, really) couples to get prematurely married and adjust their status after only knowing/dating each other for.a short period of time, and meanwhile penalizing couples like me and my girlfriend who decided not to get married prematurely and instead take years of long-distance and in person (as much as possible) courting to get to know each other and our families better. More power to the couples who take the leap quickly and manage to get an AOS processed successfully (sometimes I wish I was one of them), but research shows that longer courting time correlates to higher marital satisfaction and lower divorce rates (https://www.thecut.com/2018/06/do-marriages-last-longer-if-the-couple-dated-longer-first.html), so you'd think those would be outcomes we'd want to promote in our immigration policy. I'll close with a final question: If AOS were banned except in emergency circumstances (or at least de-prioritized from its current priority over K1/CR1 petitions), might USCIS be able to shift some of those resources to K1/CR1 applications, and shorten those times?

Summary (feel free to respond after reading this if you don't want to read the whole text wall): If I, a US citizen, were to propose to and marry my long-time, long-distance girlfriend (non-US citizen, B2 visa holder) on a future visit she makes to the US, and then she were to subsequently apply to adjust status to a green card on the same trip, would this open either of us up to allegations of wrongdoing/visa fraud? The key point here is that the whole plan would be something I spring on her only AFTER she arrives into the country, which she wouldn't have previous knowledge of. -------- I'm a US national, and my foreign (non-US citizen, B2 visa holder) girlfriend and I have been in a long distance (international) relationship for a number of years. We've talked of marriage, and both understand the fact that it's the only way we can close the distance be together permanently. We've also talked of the idea of the US being more likely the place we'd settle, between my country and hers. She'll also be graduating from university in the near future. I intend to propose to her soon, and I have no doubt she'll say yes. However, I understand that the typical route for someone currently outside the country who is married to--or intends to marry--a US citizen, is a K1 or CR1 visa, and that those are taking forever (+18 months?) to process right now. As an aside, we have a rock solid story and plenty of documentation, and friends and family from both sides who can attest to our longstanding relationship, so maybe that would expedite the process? In any event, I understand that a likely faster route would be for her to arrive on some other kind of visa (either B2, which she has, or J1 or F1, which she is considering applying for in order to work temporarily/study for a grad degree here after she graduates undergrad), and then for us to get married and for her to file for an AOS to a green card. I understand its illegal/visa fraud for her to arrive on one of the non-immigrant visa types I mentioned, with the intent to try to adjust status on the same trip and get a green card. However, what if that idea comes from me, the US citizen, and it's a plan I spring on her/propose to her only after she arrives? Would either of us open ourselves up to allegations of wrongdoing/visa fraud in that case?