Need urgent Advice reg marriage visa.

cr.marsh

Registered Users (C)
My girlfriend visited me a two times in the last 2 years and now we have confirmed our decision to move ahead by getting married. I am still awaiting my N 400 interview which should come hopefully sometime in the next two or three months if not sooner.
Her I 94 will expire soon and we are wondering what we should do.
Should we get married before she leaves and then apply for k3 in her home country? She has a 10yr multiple as of now.
Second option is that we wait for my N 400 to materialize and then do the needful. Ideally is there any option which would allow her to stay and not go back and change her status in the US after we marry?
Third is that we marry now and apply for her I-130 then after i get citizenship change the status to one of spouse of USC.Will that be better and faster?
I am still a LPR and my N 400 PD was 3/2007 so I should be in line for the interview soon.
Any help will be appreciated. Also,we don't want to do anything that is not legal like overstay. We just want to know if there is any other option without making trips back and forth. If not what will be the fastest way to get her to come back?
Thanks
 
My advice

My girlfriend visited me a two times in the last 2 years and now we have confirmed our decision to move ahead by getting married. I am still awaiting my N 400 interview which should come hopefully sometime in the next two or three months if not sooner.
Her I 94 will expire soon and we are wondering what we should do.
Should we get married before she leaves and then apply for k3 in her home country? She has a 10yr multiple as of now.
Second option is that we wait for my N 400 to materialize and then do the needful. Ideally is there any option which would allow her to stay and not go back and change her status in the US after we marry?
Third is that we marry now and apply for her I-130 then after i get citizenship change the status to one of spouse of USC.Will that be better and faster?
I am still a LPR and my N 400 PD was 3/2007 so I should be in line for the interview soon.
Any help will be appreciated. Also,we don't want to do anything that is not legal like overstay. We just want to know if there is any other option without making trips back and forth. If not what will be the fastest way to get her to come back?
Thanks

Based on what you have written, I have thought about it. In my opinion your best bet would be to get married now. Let her stay and then when you get your citizenship you can file for AOS (GC). If you get married now and let her go before her I-94 expires, she will have to wait a long time before she can re-enter US on an immigrant visa coz if she tries to enter on a tourist visa again considering that you 2 are married, it will be considered fraud and you don't want to do that. On the other hand, if you two decide to get married on her next trip, please be ready to wait atleast 3 months after her entry into US to play it safe otherwise it can be considered fraud that she entered US on a tourist visa with the intention to get married to her BF.

In short I would get married (preferably before her I-94 expires) and also apply for her I-130. Let that I-130 cook in the back burner. Once you become USC, you can always include a copy of that I-130 receipt notice or approval notice whatever is applicabale and file for her adjustment of status with the rest of the paperwork (I-485, G325, medical exam, I-864).

Good luck.
 
Thanks Atlanta Brother

Thanks for your reply Atlanta Brother. There is just one thing that if she overstays her I 94 she would be out of status. Then in the same breath if I file the I 130 soon after and she is still here and out of status ,won't that pose to be a problem later when we file the I 485? We really don't want for her to go back and yet we don't want to do the wrong thing too. Its really complicated and as you said her going back will make it another long ordeal of waiting for her there and even here for the 30-60-90 equation.So, how serious is this overstay issue? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

This whole situation would not have happened if my N 400 had come through but the fact is that USCIS is another world of horror altogether.
 
Don't worry

Thanks for your reply Atlanta Brother. There is just one thing that if she overstays her I 94 she would be out of status. Then in the same breath if I file the I 130 soon after and she is still here and out of status ,won't that pose to be a problem later when we file the I 485? We really don't want for her to go back and yet we don't want to do the wrong thing too. Its really complicated and as you said her going back will make it another long ordeal of waiting for her there and even here for the 30-60-90 equation.So, how serious is this overstay issue? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

This whole situation would not have happened if my N 400 had come through but the fact is that USCIS is another world of horror altogether.

cr.mash,

Overstay won't be an issue. If your future wife entered US legally, I mean if she was inspected and got a stamp which she did, so in that respect she will be ok. Once you become USC, her overstay will be forgiven and she will get a GC. I have heard cases where candidates came on tourist visas, overstayed their visas and once their spouses became USC, their adjustment of status was filed and they were granted green cards. You should just hope and pray that your citizenship process doesn't take forever and once you become a citizen you guys should be all set.
 
There is just one thing that if she overstays her I 94 she would be out of status. Then in the same breath if I file the I 130 soon after and she is still here and out of status ,won't that pose to be a problem later when we file the I 485?
if she gets caught and deported prior to your filing I-485 - yes. And guess what? by filing I-130 for her you are notifying the USCIS that she is here out of status and where she resides!!!!

Get your citizenship, have her travel on her B1/2 visa in meanwhile, after you become a citizen you will apply for her K-1 visa, and she'll be here in a couple of months.
 
Couple of months, I don't know about that

if she gets caught and deported prior to your filing I-485 - yes. And guess what? by filing I-130 for her you are notifying the USCIS that she is here out of status and where she resides!!!!

Get your citizenship, have her travel on her B1/2 visa in meanwhile, after you become a citizen you will apply for her K-1 visa, and she'll be here in a couple of months.

The way USCIS is working esp with overseas cases, I dunno if she will be able to join u in couple of months. Usually females don't run into namechecks but God forbid if she gets stuck in NC, forget about it.

I know quite a few people who applied for I-130 after their I-94 expired. Yes you are telling USCIS where you reside, but trust me FBI has better things to do instead of coming to your home and taking your wife in, but if you feel filing I-130 is risky and you rather not go thru that route, let her stay and keep a low profile. Atleast she will be with you and when the time comes she will get her perm residency. You guys can still lease an apt together open up bank accounts all sorts of things. Nobody cares. This way you are building your marriage too (joint stuff together) and it will come handy at the time of her GC interview.
 
if she gets caught and deported prior to your filing I-485 - yes. And guess what? by filing I-130 for her you are notifying the USCIS that she is here out of status and where she resides!!!!

I have yet to hear of a single case of this happening. I'd file the I-130 and I-485 immediately after naturalization.
 
Hmm, makes me think,but hey thank you guys for all the advice.Just feel a little anxious about the whole thing.
Has anyone actually gone through the same situation? I have read about it but still would like to know if someone has gone through it first hand.
thanks all the same for your perspectives.
 
Yes, ofcourse

Hmm, makes me think,but hey thank you guys for all the advice.Just feel a little anxious about the whole thing.
Has anyone actually gone through the same situation? I have read about it but still would like to know if someone has gone through it first hand.
thanks all the same for your perspectives.

Yes, someone has gone thru this if that answers your question, that's why I am telling you this....I am not shooting in the dark.
 
Yes you are telling USCIS where you reside, but trust me FBI has better things to do instead of coming to your home and taking your wife in

FBI truly does have better things to do, since they are not in charge of catching the illegals.

But guess what - about 6 months ago, a wife of a senator (or a congressman) here in ATL was about to be deported for overstaying her student visa. Thanks to an extremely expensive attorney and the help of fellow congressmen, she didn't get deported. ATL_Brother, you should remember that, right? Who's to say that cr.marsh has an expensive attorney and congressmen on his side?

I am telling you about a legal way of immigrating. Pushing somebody into staying illegally is illegal in itself, so I'd steer clear of it.
 
I agree that the overstay may be pardoned but it will certainly red flag her which would be a pity because everything else has gone smooth for her because of her assets and job etc. So to jeopardize the 10 year multiple which was a cake walk for her would require serious thinking.Much as we are tempted, the alternative is a longer wait. Oh well!
Lets just see how to figure this out. No I have no expensive attorney and would stay clear of them for sure.
Thanks Lucymo and Atlanta bro !
 
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