My husband and I have been together for 3 years, married for 1 year. I am from the Philippines and he is a US citizen. We filed I-130 in June 2024.
I am currently in the US visiting him for 7 weeks (B2 visa) and on extended leave from work. This is my 3rd time coming here, first time as his wife. We got married last year on my 2nd visit but left shortly after for my job. When I entered the US this time, they put me through second screening, asked if we already filed a petition, and was told it is important that I go back home and continue the process there. The first 2 times I visited was smooth, I was coming in from the UK as I used to work there. I have a clean record and no history of overstay in any of the countries I've visited before.
When I came here, my intention was really to just visit and come back. I have a return flight booked, didn’t bring a lot of important documents and belongings, only on leave from my job. Now that we’re together, we’re really dreading the day we’ll be apart again and counting down the days. I didn’t know you could switch to AOS after already starting consular processing and just found out now that we’re looking if there is an option to stay together. Continuing the process in PH will take roughly 2 more years. We’ve been in LDR from the beginning of our relationship.
This is probably the last time I’m visiting as a tourist as I really don’t want to risk getting denied entry. Is it possible for me to adjust status despite what they told me at the border? Is it going to affect my application negatively? Or should I just go home? We have a pretty straightforward case so I don't want to complicate anything. We just want to know if it is even an option without risking denial. We used SimpleCitizen when we filed and have a consultation we haven’t used so we might ask an attorney, but just wanted to hear from anyone with the same experience. Thanks!