Plese I want a sincere and sensible advice and comments

A

Aryan2005

New Member
Hello everyone,I am so glad to hit this forum, thanks everyone for setting up this forum and contributing and helping people like me.

I have a question and I will deeply appreciate if I get answer to it. I am living here in India and I have a GF in US we both met on net and have been talking since past 6 months now. We both share similar understandings and mindset, or shall I say chemistry between us is terrific. I have never met her in person but my sister has seen her once in US. She had a bad experience in past becasue of which she suffered 2 divorces. She is also elder to me for about 6 years(but since we relate well it doesnt affect me). She was suppose to come visit me in India 2 months back but because of her new job and her father got hospitalised she could not come.

I have traveled to US before on my 10 year B1/B2 visa but it was long time back. I never felt to visit again. Since my GF says she had some debts to pay on account of hospital bills when her father was hospitalised and cant take a break from her job, we are now thinking and working on another idea i.e. I come to US and meet her this will be easy since I already have a visa. ONLY IF WE LIKE EACH OTHER after meeting in person and decide to marry we will go marry as per state laws there. My GF tells me than she will want to go apply for my adjustment of Visa so I dont breach laws.

Can we adopt this method or I should come back after meeting her and than she goes and apply for a K-1 visa, I think of how hard was for me to obtain my current visa and I really dont feel like going back to embassy again requesting for another type of visa and attend interview, they just expect you to fill so many forms, collect and bring so much of documents/certificates/proofs affidavit of support/police cerificate/vaccination tests etc etc and and than grill you with so many questions. I still carry a bad taste I got from my last one. I was also going thriugh K-1 visa guide and it seems a complex process so to make it easy if we decide to marry in her state can we just go marry and apply for visa change there or we cant do this noways???

I have been a law obedient citizen always, and I respect laws of US and no intentions to break them too. But really I feel so frustrated and anguished when you are made to feel that you are sham or cheat, for instance when I went to apply for my B1/B2 visa years back, I felt like visa officer there was preconditioned to accept everyone as a betrayer and now you have to do your best to prove him that you are not a chiseler and have all intentions to come back to your own country, so you have to answer so many idiotic questions and if you are able to prove yourself honorable you are among those lucky few in that long queue(who is waiting for last 6 hours) who is granted a visa else you are turned down and your application money is forfeited(which is a lot for a middle category family in India), anyways I was fortunate who was granted a visa and I went to US and came back after 4 months and even though I had this active valid visa I didn't go back.

When I will be travelling/visitng US in future it will just be to visit and meet a friend(her) and a relative(my cousin), now after we meet impulsive reaction can work out bothways, say if do wish to get married as one of the case what is wrong in it? At POE I am not certain and its not definate we are to be married, so I will just say I am visiting to meet a friend and a relative.(now what if I had just met my GF in US while I was there, does this imply you cannot marry an US citizen when on a visit - is this just one rule?)

So if we get married we would be honest and tell USCIS we knew each other just as a friend and after we had met out of whimsical reaction, we wished to get married, Now will this jeopardise our life and marriage?? What if we take help of a ATTORNEY will it do any good??

With sincerity and candidly let me put it this way I feel scared that if for any reason our fiance visa keep getting rejected it will be casuing delay(not to say mental stress and frustration which will be given to both of us) and than we also would be spending a lot on my air-tickets(2 times) and visa fees/other tests and documents. Also if when we would be settling together we will need money to raise a home and gather stuff too till I dont start working.


Please help!!!!



best regards and thanks for reply


Aryan
 
Welcome to the forum and don't stress out about it. For your words is my understanding that your gf is a US citizen.

If you come to the US with the "preconcive" intention to get marry that is against the law. In other ways if you come to the US and you get marry after a month to enter it could be a problem to convince the officer in charge of your case that you didn't was thinking about it when you enter. If you enter and then you realize that after awhile to met her (and you have proof that you spend time with her meeting her) and then you decide that she is the woman of your life and then get marry, there is nothing wrong with that.

The comparison to enter as a visitor B2 visa and then adjust status and a K1 visa, is that the K1 visa is with the intention to get marry to a US citizen and then apply for adjustment of status. A B2 visa is with the intention of visit and tourism. The law permits that a B2 visa adjust status as a permanent resident (I am one of those) but is very important that you don't get in with the intention to get marry a US citizen, it's happen fine but sometimes some officers make an issue of it, some don't is just who you get in your interview, but you don't have to be scare if you are not with the "intention".

K1 visas (consular and then adjustment of status)
You don't apply for a K1 visa, your fiancee as a US citizen apply for it and then you should undergo to several forms, medical, police background as a normal visa issue and an interview to demostrate that you really know each other. You at least should meet in person before and it is important that you keep all your emails, letters, pictures that you have been send it to each other as proof when she apply for it. At the same time in your interview you should have proof that all the time that you have been share together, how you meet her, tickets, etc. The burden and always will be in you as an alien and in her when apply that you are really want to marry because you really know each other.
If you get the K1 visa you JUST can marry the person who petition for you and you can't stay after the validity of the visa neither extended (unless you get hit by a car or something pretty serious) if you don't marry her. The K1 visa already undergo part of the forms as an adjustment of status, so USCIS know that you will undergo through AOS after you marry so some of the forms like the medical, you don't have to repeat it again. And with a K1 visa you can work and apply for SSN (social security number) when you enter.

Adjustment of Status (from one type of visa to Permanent Resident-within the US)
As I said before, let's say that you come, you met, you spend time together and you realize that you want to spend the rest of your life with her. By law, you can marry to whoever you want in the US as long as its valid. How you get marry it has nothing to do with immigration laws. The part of immigration laws about marriage is to be sure that your marriage is bona fide and not to skip the law. That doesn't matter where you come from or whatever, everybody most of us in this forum who are marry to a US citizen are in that process.
As per a bunch of forms and everything like that, well let me tell you your story as K1 visa won't be too different as an adjustee. As an adjustee you must undergo a LOT of forms, it's not complicated if you read several times and with calm. I have to say that I never felt the forms with any problem, they are pretty easy to read if you seat down with a cup of coffee and make some questions if you have a doubt at the customer service number. I took 2 copies of it and my documents to have it in my records. In general the total fees are more or less $800 bucks depends in what applications you are going to apply (work and travel documents are optional but you must pay a fee for each one). Your sponsor or petitioner in any case most file an affidavit of support and will must gather documentations like birth certificates, marriage certificate, tax returns and others. And yes you won't escape from the medical, every alien should undergo through a medical in a civil surgeon designated by USCIS (US citizenship and Immigration Services - www.uscis.gov) and you must pay it and that can be from $150-$300.
You can work and travel while you are in adjustment of status but you must wait to get your EAD (work authorization) card in your hands to be able to work and then apply for your SSN, that can take from 60-90 days after you received your receipts from your application.
In adjustment of status you must go to an interview (when they send you a letter for it) and you must gather all documentation to proof that your marriage is bona fide like: utility bills, banks accounts, property, lease, etc in both names. Plus pictures like wedding pictures (can be in the courthouse), trips, meeting with friends, dinners, park trips, etc, plus pictures and emails, letter when you met.

The timelines are: for K1 visa depends in the approval of the petition (Service Center) and the Consulate to approve the visa. The adjustment of status you send the application ALL to Chicago Lockbox (read the instructions and over this forum) and the MSC (Missouri Service Center) approve your EAD and AP (travel document-advance parole) if you apply for them. The rest of your application the final process that is the interview is in hand of the timeline of the district office (DO) where you going to live.

At the end as you see you must file a lot of forms either way and pay and to make a decission like this for me it is your call.
Good luck,
Disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer. Must of this information you can find in www.uscis.gov, www.state.gov and others immigration websites.
The fees is including EAD and AP, you must make the sum yourself for your own package. The timeline varies according to your District offices. It has been reported delay in the issues of EAD and AP from the MSC (can take more than 90 days). The civil surgeons fees varies so check prices in your area.
 
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bona fide is the key word

Aryan2005,

I think cherr1980 provided you with a very accurate picture of the situation you might face either ways you take. And cherr is right: don't get stressed.

I think you should come here on your B1/B2 visa. You are just visiting. You clearly stated that you dont have the very intention to marry your friend. You said that you should meet and hang out together for a while before deciding to marry.
What if you come to the US, you meet her and then realise you don't want to marry her? or after realising you dont like her, what if you fall in love with someone else?... so come with the tourist visa. You cannot come with the intention of marrying someone you never met. Remember: you are just visiting!!
If , just if, you decide to marry, then you have two options: either go home and apply and/or make your fiancee to apply a petition for you so you get your K1 visa... and then come and get married before this kind of visa expires.
... or just stay longer with her in the US, take all the time you need to get to know each other pretty well (this won't take you less than several months, I believe) then, if you propose, take your time to make all the arrangements for the wedding... and... get happily married and live together happily everafter. (i think this way is more practical and you both won't have to undergo the stress of being separated for so long and expose your relationship to such a strain).

To sum up... just follow your heart... be truthful to yourself and everyone else. That way you won't have to worry about breaking the immigration laws as regards AOS through marriage, since once you'll be married, your marriage will be bona fide.
 
Good advice peeps :)

Aryan, my 2 cents...
1. Your first priority is to make sure you are marrying the right person. Immigration would only come in picture after you make up your mind and get married. At the POE, you would be sent back if you mention that you have come to the US for a possible marriage. Avoid mentioning anything related to marriage.

2. I assume your GF is a USC. These type of cases are scrutinized under the microscope by USCIS. If i was the immigration officer looking at your case, this is what i would think. You guys met online and 6 months later you show up in US, spend time with your gf (who has been divorced twice already and is 6 years elder to you), got married to her and applied for GC. I dont mean to scare you or put you in the wrong light, but this technique has been used and abused earlier to commit immigration fraud and USCIS keeps an eye on such cases. The fact that she has been in and out of relationships makes her more vulnerable and an easy prey for people to take advantage of her for immigration pruposes. This has happened way too many times in the past and USCIS is alert.

The virtual medium of online communication has posed immigration problems as well as relationship problems. Things might look pretty and perfect sitting across the other side of the globe and imagining the other person in a pink rosy picture, but reality bites when you come meet the person face to face and things are not what you expected. Chemistry is what happens when you are with the other person (physically), no offence meant but in your case, the chemistry has been only between you and your computer.

3. If you are honest and have good intentions, you should not be worried about the immigration process or the interview. The officers are trained to fish out fraud cases and they could be intimidating at times trying to break you down and corner you if there is fraud involved. They would start off with the idea that you got married to a USC to skirt the laws, but that doesnt mean you should get demoralized. The burden would be on you to prove that the officer is wrong and your intentions are good. If you are honest and no fraud is involved, you have nothing to be scared of.

4.As for the immigration process and the interview, my advice to you would be to save every bit of communication (letters, emails, chat transcripts) that could serve as proof that you were in a active long distance relationship. If you meet, take pictures as they would be the proof that you actually met and spent time together. Save those movie tickets, restaurant bills, plane tickets and whatever you can.

Bottomline is... Your life and happiness is important. Green card is not. So you should take your time and make sure you are marrying the right person. The B1 visa should let you stay legally in the US for 3-6 months, so that should be enough time for you to analyze the whole thing (conidering that you can take a break from work or education for that long) and make a good decision. Good Luck to you! If you have any specific questions, ask away...

The above was my opinion, so please your judgement and caution interpreting it.
 
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