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Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa

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  • 05-09-2011, 01:56 PM
    offrdguy
    Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa
    I have heard that getting married to an Immigrant on a Student or Touriest visa complicates things. Do we still need to get a K1 visa if she is already in the US? What else will we need to do before we get married besides the obvious licence.
  • 05-10-2011, 08:41 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa
    You can't get a K1 visa for somebody who is in the United States.

    Getting married is the easy part. When you apply to adjust her status you will want the USCIS to believe that you have a bona fide marriage and that your wife didn't enter the U.S. under false pretenses.
  • 05-10-2011, 09:05 PM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa
    Additionally, the timing might be key. If she entered on the VWP and got married within that 90 day period...there might be a big problem. Very big.
  • 05-10-2011, 10:34 PM
    livinskey
    Re: Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa
    First off, don't believe rumors, usually they are just speculations by people who don't understand the system. The most important piece of advice would be to do everything by the books, she should pay her taxes properly, work only 20 hours a week on campus if that is all her visa allows her and so on.
    Basically the USCIS starts from the assumption that you have a legit marriage.
    Go to the USCIS website for the most accurate information, but basically she will not need a new visa, she will apply for a temporary green card once you get married. Once the application is filed, her legal status extends automatically by 6 months. That is plenty of time to get the temp green card which is good for two years. After the two years are up, she will apply for a permanent green card (actually expires every 10 years but it's easy to renew). Finally after 3 years of permanent green card she can apply for citizenship.
  • 05-10-2011, 10:53 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Marrying a Woman in the U.S. on a Student or Tourist Visa
    Quote:

    Quoting Dogmatique
    View Post
    Additionally, the timing might be key. If she entered on the VWP and got married within that 90 day period...there might be a big problem. Very big.

    The marriage isn't an issue, as such - it's whether she petitions to adjust her status based on marriage within a time frame that suggests to the USCIS that she misrepresented the purpose of her visit and intended to immigrate when she entered the country. If she marries, leaves, and petitions to reenter on a spouse visa, the fact that she married while present on a tourist visa isn't a problem as it's not inconsistent with the purposes of that visa.
    Quote:

    Quoting livinskey
    View Post
    First off, don't believe rumors, usually they are just speculations by people who don't understand the system.

    Like... you?
    Quote:

    Quoting livinskey
    Basically the USCIS starts from the assumption that you have a legit marriage.

    You have that exactly backwards. The USCIS starts with a presumption that the marriage is fraudulent and the burden of proving that a marriage is valid lies with the petitioner.
    Quote:

    Quoting livinskey
    The most important piece of advice would be to do everything by the books, she should pay her taxes properly, work only 20 hours a week on campus if that is all her visa allows her and so on.

    What she should do is abide by the terms of her visa, and not work at all unless authorized to do so under her visa.
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