Question:
A friend of mine that I have known for a couple of years is going to
visit me here in America. She has a visitors visa. I was told the
length of time she will be able to stay will be determined when she
arrives. How long is the normal length of time someone is allowed to
stay in the U.S. on a visitors visa? While she is here, I may ask her
to marry me. If she says yes, will I be able to marry her right away?
Will she be able to stay here without returning to her country?
Answer:
Well, somembody correct me if I am wrong, but I thought you got 6 months on a
visitor's visa, but I also thought that this was specified when you got that
visa...so I certainly *could* be wrong (been wrong a few times in my life...hahahah)
If you want to marry her, I suggest you apply for a k-1 visa and marry her
here in the US *after* you get that visa...otherwise you may wait a year or
more before being allowed to bring her to this country and would only be
allowed to visit her outside of this country. She would not be allowed to
stay after you married if she did not come in on that visa.
Suggest you go to my visa page to get a brief look at the k-1 visa process,
there are links there too to the immigration laws:
http:www.apex.net/users/thehydes/I-129F.html
also suggest that you frequent the alt.visa.us.marriage-based newsgroup, if
you do not have it on your news server, you can access it from DeJaNews...
True, sisx months is normal, but it is determined by the INS officer at the
point of entry. This authorized stay can be later be extended by filing I-539
45 days to 60 days before the end of the authorized stay.
No. In fact visitor visas (B1/B2) are issued for up to 10 years and used to be
even FOR LIFE (I have two of these for life ones).
Not true. She can adjust status (and staty) as long as SHE did not have any
intention to marry when she entered on the visitor visa.
OK, so if that is true, then why in the world is anybody getting a k-1 visa?
Seems like to me, all of us involved in that process are kinda wasting our
time, nes pa? Maybe we shoulda just done it your way...??
Another question: how does one prove to the INS that they had no intention to
marry/stay when they entered?
Because they are engaged (there is intention to get married), because it is
difficult to get a visitor visa having an American fiance(e) in the States,
because the INS inspector at the POE may determine that the visitor have
immigration intent (due to his/her fiance/e) and deny entry and bar from entry
for years without recouse...
No, you are doing it the right way (K-1) IF there is intention to get married
and immigrate to the States. I am not suggesting to use B1/B2 to avoid K-1. If
one is PLANNING for it as an ex-ante alternative, it is NOT an alternative for
him/her.
It is not MY way. I am just saying that an alien can adjust status (and stay)
as long as THE ALIEN did NOT have any intention to marry when he/she entered on
a visitor visa (or even on the visa waiver program).
The INA specifically address and allow this case.
to marry/stay when they entered?
Having made no arrangements to move to the States (still
business/accounts/house/employment/personal effects/money in the home country),
not having made any plans or arrangements for the wedding before entering, not
getting married immediately after entry (wait at least 90 days), evidence of
getting engaged after entering...
Useful items: dated pictures of the engagement ceremony, dated letters of
wedding/honeymoon/invitations arrangements, date of application for marriage
license, roundtrip ticket, evidence of unfinished businesses at home (letter
grating on leave by the employeer, current appartment lease at home, current
back account statements at home country....), date of the birth certificate for
the adjustment of status (obtained after the wedding, not before coming!)
OK, I think I see what you are saying...so then, if she comes on a visitor
visa and marries him, she better stay and not leave, at least until she might
get an advanced parole doc, or something like that? How long would she have
to stay before she would be able to leave on that basis?
The one thing I have to comment on this procedure would be that it appears
very unfair, compared to the k-1 process...they will allow somebody to marry
on a first-time-they-met basis, (possibly never having met before), and let
them stay it seems...however, for those of us who have tried to *be sure* we
are entering into a good marriage and have met in the past and planned our
intent, *we* have to allow them to bar our fiance from coming here until we
marry...that seems so unfair to me, you know?
It would further seem to defeat the INS's goal of having only those interested
in bona fide marriages participate in immigration...are there any safeguards
against that happening?
I know I'm full of questions...sorry about that...the whole process interests
me a lot, it seems.
Depending on the urgency, advance parole (for marriage cases filed at the local
INS office) can be issued even on the same day that the adjustent of status is
filed.
US immigration is based on unbearable waiting times, complex rules, forms and
ever-changing regulations; these may or may not coincide with fairness.
Fiarness is not an stated key objective of US immigration.
I do not think that "having only those interested in bona fide marriages
participate in immigration" is an INS goal: what about all other immigration
basis? In addition, I do not see how this (bona-fide B1/B2 -> unplanned
engagement -> marriage -> adjustment of status) would defeat this presumed
goal.
In any case, the INS checks carefully the bona-fide nature of all
marriage-based cases; as a further anti-fraud check, marriage based-GC are
conditional until two yeras of marriage have passed.
