I married my fiance on a tourist visa... now what??

Question

Im married and my tourist visa expires in sept. What do i do to be legal without leaving him? What paperwork do i appy for?

Answer 1

You came to the US on a tourist visa and married a US citizen?  You just triggered a marriage fraud investigation.

If your fiance had applied for a fiance visa and you were approved, then entered the US, you would probably be approved to remain while the spousal visa was processed.  Now you have to leave the US, and it will take much longer to get the spousal visa.

Marriage fraud has become so rampant these days, that the old "get married & stay" scheme no longer works.

Answer 2

You might have to leave and then come back depending on the timeline, you really do need a lawyer for this.

Answer 3

Is he your husband or fiance? If your husband is an American, then you should apply for a residency based on your marriage. If your husband is on a tourist visa as well, then your marriage doesn't make any difference for your legal status. See the immigration lawyer for your options but do it before your visa expires. Usually the first consultation is free.

Since your husband IS an American, then a piece of cake :) Apply for the green card. All forms and information are in the website: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

I would still recommend hiring a lawyer because the forms are complicated and it is easy to make a mistake. A lawyer will guarantee that you did everything in order and on time.

I would strongly recommend starting a process before your visa expires... but I will tell you that even if the worst happened and you overstayed your visa and then applied for the residency, don't panic, no one will send you home. You will be okay and able to get a green card. The American law looks other way if you are out of the status (illegal) when you marry an American citizen.  And the one and only exception is if a person is in a deportation process because then it doesn't matter if a person is married to an American and even if one has kids here. But as I said, don't wait, do it now. The sooner, the better and the less headache you will have.

Susie> I will answer your question to Jessica. If a person comes to the US using the visa waiver program (for up to 90 days as a tourist), then one will not be able to apply for any visa or residenship while already in the US.  If it was otherwise, it would beat a purpose of the program. It is states clearly that if you plan on staying in the US for any longer than 90 days or planning on studying/working in the US, then the VWP is not an option for you. You need to apply for an appropriate visa before you enter the country. After you enter the US with the VWP, you are out of luck. You cannot stay and  better leave in 90 days or otherwise, you are automatically illegal with all the consequences and nothing will help (neither a marriage, I suppose).

Sorry for the long response but you didn't include all the details in the original question. I told you to get an immigration lawyer. Now you are stuck with K-1 process. A big mistake. You should have waited until you got married and then apply for a green card. K-1 is a NON-immigrant visa. What you need is an immigrant visa because you are obviously planning on living here permanently, right? Get an immigration lawyer and apply for I-130.

Answer 4

if you are here on a valid visa besides the J1 and excluding the waiver program you do not have to leave.  if your husband is an American citizen you can go ahead and file the I-485 and the I-130 asap, you should have the PR card around September but if it doesn't come before your visa expires then you can use the receipt from the I-130 and I-485 as proof that you are under processing.  whatever you do, do not leave this country before you have that PR card, because you will not be admitted back in. email me if you have any other questions.  you can find the necessary forms here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.

dont worry as long as you were married on the visa, which may i ask?,  you do not have to leave.  it may take a while for the I-130 to process.  have you filed the AOS yet thats the I-485?

Answer 5

My English fiance and I have researched this in detail trying to figure out the best way to get married and keep him in the US. Assuming that one of you is American, that person needs to go to the website I listed as my source.

The American needs to apply for your Visa with probably an

I-129 (fiance visa) or I-130 (spouse visa). You probably won't be able to stay in the states as processing time is 6 to 9 months. It is the same whether applying for either visa, except that getting married while on a tourist visa may complicate things. (We considered it, then didn't do it.)

We have filed the I-129 and he went back to England. He's gotten a temporary contract job to save money while we wait for the application to be processed. It's really hard being apart but extremely important to do things as near right as possible.

You may be wise to even pay an immigration attorney to give you advice because of marrying on a tourist visa. I promise I'm not trying to scare you but rather being honest about all the research we've done---but I'm not an immigration attorney, just an American girl who loves a British man.

QUESTION ADDED:

I would like to know from Jessica3 what she means by "excluding the waiver program".  If there is something we missed and can get married, we'd like to do that.

Answer 6

get a good immigration attorney now or asap he your husband will have to file on your behalf if your in the united states first you will get a conditional green card than after about a year the conditions will be removed than you will get a perm-ante green card but check with your attorney she or he will tell you better detail of the steps you need to take