Marrying in phils., file adjustment of status here??

Question

we will marry in the philippines. i am a us citizen. she will come here using a b1b2 visa valid for the next 8 years. if we file for adjustment of status after she is here, will it be considered visa fraud? she will come here with the intent to file adjustment of status but she is also coming legally. she has been here more than once as i have been there more than once so we can prove this isnt a sham marriage. we are just trying to make it work. if we file a fiance visa, it might take a year. if we file a k2, it might take a while as well. help! this is a tricky question. i have talked to my congressman who tells me that once she gets here, we can file for adjustment of status with no problem but i have also talked to lawyers who tell me the opposite.

Answer 1

The visa she is entering on is the wrong one for marriage. Do it the correct way from the start and get a K1 and marry in the US.

Otherwise you will be fighting immigration department trying to adjust that non-immigrant visa.

Answer 2

Yes, it is fraud the way you describe it. She is coming here with the express intent to file adjustment of status. So, she is by definition an intending immigrant, and should be denied entry on a tourist visa, because she intends to stay, and they wouldn't let her in, if she told the truth. It's actually pretty straightforward.  Can you get away with it? Maybe, many do, and others don't.  You don't mention when you intend to marry. If you've already met, you could file a K-1 tomorrow. If you haven't actually met already, then you would have to go to the Philippines in any case, whether you marry there, or not. If you marry, you can't file a K-1, that's for fiancees only. You could file a CR-1 I-130 immigrant visa petition and a K-3 I-129f nonimmigrant visa petition, and you're right, they do take quite a while to process.

Answer 3

Just do it the right way and file for a K2, will save you any doubts down the track.