Marriage and Stuff

[scott32]

OK, I know that once we are married, we need to go to the INS Office and apply for a change of status form and get her WOrk Permit and stuff.

 

My question is more to do with the Timming.

We are getting married on May 3rd. Her Financee VISA expires on May 5th. We were thinknig of leaving for our honeymoon on May 5th. So my question is, should we change our plans and go to the INS office on May 5th, and then leave on our honeymoon on May 6th. Or if we wait and go to the INS office on May 12, will we be ok. Or are we going to have problems with that?

 

Please send responses to: xxxxxxxxxxx.com

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[tonado]

Wow. You are not giving yourself much spare time. I believe you have to do the AOS prior to expiration date. Or she would be an illegal.

 

Also, you should edit out your email address since the link for PM and Email are at the bottom.

[Eric&Yuhui]

OK, I know that once we are married, we need to go to the INS Office and apply for a change of status form and get her WOrk Permit and stuff.

 

My question is more to do with the Timming.

 We are getting married on May 3rd.  Her Financee VISA expires on May 5th.  We were thinknig of leaving for our honeymoon on May 5th.  So my question is, should we change our plans and go to the INS office on May 5th, and then leave on our honeymoon on May 6th.  Or if we wait and go to the INS office on May 12, will we be ok.  Or are we going to have problems with that?

 

Please send responses to:  scott@skc-pollock.com

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

Oh boy ! Yes you are going to have a problem.

Not only do you need to get married by May 5 ( which you are on 5/3 ), but you also need to have filed adjustment of status before or on that date, otherwise she will be out of status on her K visa.

Big and unnecessary mess ahead.

I don't see how you can marry on 5/3 and get all the paperwork together to file AOS by 5/5, when her visa expires ( you need certs of marriage licence etc etc and all that other stuff for I-485 and I-864 .. ).. And it will take some days for BCIS to send you a receipt for your filing, proof that you indeed filed

 

You might want to delete your email addy from the thread, unless you like spamming :-) People can contact you by email or PM by clicking your name

[Mick]

If at all possible, I would suggest that you plan an earlier day for the marriage. As Eric and Tony both have pointed out, you are not giving yourself enough time to file for adjustment of status. There is a load of paperwork required for this. Many items are included plus financial information has to be updated. It takes a while to accomplish. From my perspective, two days may not be enough. I think you have to file adjustment of status prior to the visa expiring.

[chinadave2001]

Just a thought- a possible solution might be to do a Justice of the Peace wedding discretely in advance of the big wedding - that way you can keep the same date but meet the AOS requirements on time. Good Luck.

Dave

[Eric&Yuhui]

If at all possible, I would suggest that you plan an earlier day for the marriage. As Eric and Tony both have pointed out, you are not giving yourself enough time to file for adjustment of status. There is a load of paperwork required for this. Many items are included plus financial information has to be updated. It takes a while to accomplish. From my perspective, two days may not be enough. I think you have to file adjustment of status prior to the visa expiring.  

Two days will NOT be enough. Guaranteed FUBAR if you even try.

And yes, you do need to file before K1 goes kaputt

[bobmal99]

Absolutely, you should file the AOS at the very least two weeks before your K-1 expires. You never know what may happen.

 

Good Luck.

[owenkrout]

Get a civil ceremony as soon as possible. Just go down to the courthouse and have a judge marry you. You don't even need to tell anyone if you don't want to and then have your big ceremony as planned. That will give you time to get the paperwork assembled and filed.

 

You definately don't want to wait to the last minute like you have currently planned. Something will not get done in time or will go FUBAR. The result would be that she would technically be an illegal alien. Given the current government's mindset, I would not risk that. Get stopped for a traffic violation and she could get deported and be denied a future visa. Not likely, but why risk it?

 

P.S. I edited out the e-mail address for you. Anyone can e-mail you by clicking on the "e-mail" link.

[Eric&Yuhui]

Dissenting opinion coming.

 

To be perfectly legal, filing for AOS before the K-1 expires is always a good idea. However, under current immigration laws, marriage to a USC waives the out-of-status if the AOS is filed months later. This is a topic that comes up frequently on the alt.visa.marriage usenet group. Even one who delayed filing over a year had not problems.

 

But, given the current mood, it would be wise to not tempt fate.

Don. Technically, you are correct..Although I am not 100% sure and I don't feel like researching this anyway. But like you said... nobody these days wants to confuse BCIS more than they already are !

[Eric&Yuhui]

Absolutely, you should file the AOS at the very least two weeks before your K-1 expires.  You never know what may happen.

 

Good Luck.

2 weeks sounds about right. I filed 3/26.. Got receipt 4/4.

Also remember that not ALL offices accept walk-in filings.. It might have to be mailed.

" Do not assume this NOA2 I-797 "approval notice" is a form letter. Read it carefully, front and back. Many approval notices state..."The marriage and filing of the adjustment application must both occur within these 90 days". A copy of the approval notice must be submitted with your I-485 Adjustment of Status application"

 

Good luck.

[Mick]

Dissenting opinion coming.

 

To be perfectly legal, filing for AOS before the K-1 expires is always a good idea. However, under current immigration laws, marriage to a USC waives the out-of-status if the AOS is filed months later. This is a topic that comes up frequently on the alt.visa.marriage usenet group. Even one who delayed filing over a year had not problems.

 

But, given the current mood, it would be wise to not tempt fate.

Thanks for posting this Don as I was unaware of the fact that the marriage itself would change status of the case. We plan to file AOS soon, but I would be interested to know what the law is. What is your source on this? Can you post a synopsis?