Wait Time Before Getting Married on F-1 Based on Date of Last Entry

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imminewb

Registered Users (C)
Hello

I have a question about marriage upon re-entry into the US on an F-1 visa.

I have been on an F-1 visa for almost 5 years in the US and I took a short vacation to mexico recently.
My fiancee and I would like to get married soon and we were wondering if we had to wait a certain amount of time after re-entry, before getting married?

I have heard that getting married soon after last date of entry indicates preconceived intent to immigrate. I was recommended by a friend to wait at least 60 days before getting married.

Is there any official documentation of this rule/recommendation about how long to wait?

Thank you all for your help and responses.

I have posted this same question, with less explanation, a moment ago in the following topic: F-1 marrying citizen just after re-entering US.
 
Upon re-reading my post, I noticed that I forgot to mention that my fiancee was a US citizen. In case, it wasn't apparent.
 
It's not an official written rule, it's an operating procedure derived from a court case.

http://usvisasolutions.com/K-1-K-3.html
Firstly, it is legitimate to enter the US on a tourist visa or visa waiver and marry a U.S. citizen if AFTER doing so you actually intend to return to your home country. However, if someone simply enters as a tourist and subsequently marries a US citizen or otherwise applies for a Green card thru the adjustment of status process, and does so soon after entering as a tourist the Immigration service could accuse them of 'visa fraud'.
By and large, the 30/60/90 day rule is applied to determine whether the 'tourist' had a fraudulent intent upon entry.

The rule is applied as follows:

* if s/he apply for a green card/adjustment of status within 30 days of entering the US, fraud is pretty much presumed-and the application will be denied
* If s/he enters between 30 & 60 days, the presumption of fraud can be overcome, i.e. it is 'rebuttable'
* I s/he enters between 60 and 90 days the presumption reverses. Unless their is specific evidence of a preconceived immigrant/fraudulent intent the adjustment of status application will be granted
* For an application filed more that 90 days after entry , the visa fraud issue seldom arises

If fraud is found, then the consequences could be severe. At the very least the applicant will be required to return to his or her home country to file for a fiancée of spousal visa. In the worst case, the individual could be barred from re-entering the United States in the future under any circumstances.
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For more sources, you can Google for "30-60-90 day rule".
 
Thank you very much for the information and for pointing me in the right direction.

The information you referenced seems to apply only if you are entering on a tourist visa.
Would it still apply in my case, an F-1 student for almost 5 years, and living in the US for almost 10 years? With the only complication being that I re-entered the US recently after a Mexican vacation?

Thanks again.
 
imminewb said:
Would it still apply in my case, an F-1 student for almost 5 years, and living in the US for almost 10 years? With the only complication being that I re-entered the US recently after a Mexican vacation?
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Yes and yes. If you didn't travel outside the US recently, it would be a non-issue.
 
I think it depends. Did you know her before the trip? Were you dating her before you went on the trip? Did you take the trip with her? If you were dating or knew her before the trip. Its ok to get married anytime you want. If you didnt know her before you made the trip, then you should wait for 60-90 days.
 
thomkip said:
I think it depends. Did you know her before the trip? Were you dating her before you went on the trip? Did you take the trip with her? If you were dating or knew her before the trip. Its ok to get married anytime you want. If you didnt know her before you made the trip, then you should wait for 60-90 days.
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If anything the opposite would be true. An ongoing relationship before the trip is an indicator of having the intent to marry her and immigrate at the time of returning to the US, if that trip was soon followed by marriage and AOS.
 
We've been together for over 5 years, way before the trip which was last week.

It seems odd to me that "every date of entry", not just "initial date of entry", would be considered for preconceived intent to defraud/immigrate. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of our long term relationship.

Oh well, bureaucracy is what it is, thanks for deciphering it for me.
 
imminewb said:
We've been together for over 5 years, way before the trip which was last week.

It seems odd to me that "every date of entry", not just "initial date of entry", would be considered for preconceived intent to defraud/immigrate.
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It's the last date of entry that matters for immigrant intent, not every date. On your last entry, you had a plan to stay and immigrate, instead of leaving when you graduate or converting to a different nonimmigrant visa. If they could read your mind at the port of entry, you wouldn't have been allowed to reenter the US on that last trip.

Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of our long term relationship.
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That long term relationship is an indicator of you being likely to stay and immigrate. That's also why people who are married to a US citizen are refused tourist and student visas at a high rate.
 
I have a similar issue and was curious if it is just the application for AOS or the marriage that has the applicable 30/60/90 day rule. If someone on an F1 were to marry an American citizen within a week of entering the US, and then applied for an AOS after 60 days could a preconceived intent still be construed? Could you say that you originally wished to settle in the foreign country and then changed your mind about immigrating to the US? Thank you.
 
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