good/bad news.... meet with a lawyer

well I met with a well respected lawyer from the dallas area this weekend. Here is the process that he has suggested that I take with my wife.

my wife entered legally in the U.S. with a passport and visa, and the INS officer gave her some restrictions on her passport and I-94 (NO COS & NO EOS). INS officer only have her 2 weeks to stay. She entered on july 21 and we got married on july 27.

lawyer says.
for us to file for a K visa and for us to start the process while she is in the US still. she has 180 days to stay in the US without getting penalized with the 3 year ban. hopefully in Jan when my wifeneeds to go back her K visa will be ready and she can justgo back for the interview pick up the visa and come back and start her paperwork here with me!

I hope this really works out. the only bad part is that we got married 6 days after she entered the US. but we have tons of proof that we are "really in love" so hopefully INS will look at that. the bad part is that she has to leave and then come back in the US. and I am kinda scared of this since she had a hard time entering last time.

WISH ME LUCK. its going to cost me about 5K for everything (work permit, travel permit, etc....)

well I met with a well respected lawyer from the dallas area this weekend. Here is the process that he has suggested that I take with my wife.

my wife entered legally in the U.S. with a passport and visa, and the INS officer gave her some restrictions on her passport and I-94 (NO COS & NO EOS). INS officer only have her 2 weeks to stay. She entered on july 21 and we got married on july 27.

lawyer says.
for us to file for a K visa and for us to start the process while she is in the US still. she has 180 days to stay in the US without getting penalized with the 3 year ban. hopefully in Jan when my wifeneeds to go back her K visa will be ready and she can justgo back for the interview pick up the visa and come back and start her paperwork here with me!

I hope this really works out. the only bad part is that we got married 6 days after she entered the US. but we have tons of proof that we are "really in love" so hopefully INS will look at that. the bad part is that she has to leave and then come back in the US. and I am kinda scared of this since she had a hard time entering last time.

WISH ME LUCK. its going to cost me about 5K for everything (work permit, travel permit, etc....)

That doesn't make much sense to me...I thought a K Visa was a fiance visa (?????) if you are already married it seems a bit pointless. I think what she need to do is either one of two things, either adjust whilst staying here, but if she does that she cannot leave until she has the GC in her hand. The only down side to this is that you married within 6 days of her arriving in the states, this shows immigrant intent and the INS could throw the book at her, irrespective of how much in love you are. The other option and the one that makes the most sense to me, would be for her to go back to her native country and do consular filing from there. You do the I130 here, she completes all the other ****e and hands it in to her local US embassy. It may take a year or so and she will probably not be allowed to visit you in the USA during this time, but you wont face the wrath of the INS. I would suggest that if you do this, that she leaves soon and not push it to the 180 days.....She doesn't want any overstay of anykind on her record.

In short..... seek another lawyers advice.

K1 is for fiancees, and K3 is for spouses.

yes its a k3 visa that we are looking for.

ttt

Sorry, this is going to be brief. I had written a long analysis, but somehow it slipped off my screen, so I will summarize.

I have been practicing immigration law for 24 years. I am a regular contributor to ILW letters to the editor. I am a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and an officer of my local Bar Association Immigration Section.

You did not mention it, but I assume you are not a U.S. Citizen, or the "K-3" visa issue would not surface. If not you are not a U.S. Citzen, then you have probably received good advice from your attorney, and the following does not apply.

If you are a U.S. citizen, hear me well . . . because "K" visas do not apply in your situation and any mention of them is silly.

To be certain you do not run into visa fraud and pre-conceived intent to enter into a marriage and adjust to permanent residence after entry on a visitor visa (rather than a K-1 fiance visa, as would have been appropriate in your case), I would advise filing the I-130 at the INS Service Center and doing Consular processing for issuance of the Permanent Residence Visa.

DO NOT, under any circumstances allow your wife to remain in the USA more than 180 days after the expiration of her authorized stay, as this will trigger the 3 year bar to admissibilty, and require an I-601 waiver. You do not want to go there because this can take a year or more in and of itself.

You have a simple problem and a simple solution. Consult competent counsel in your area. Be sure they have been practicing immigration law more than 5 years and are a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Intec,
I don't understand your post. K-3 visa is for U.S. citizens' spouses only! If he's not a U.S. citizen, he's not qualified to file a K visa for his spouse (why did you say that if he's NOT a citizen then the lawyer's advice would be good?)! Am I missing something here?

I do agree that you (Richard) should start filing I-130 though.. and after it's approved, she can stay here and wait for the AOS.

I dont understand your response as well.. here are the requirements for the k-3 (Spousal Visa)

Qualifications for filing a Spouse K3 visa petition :
1) You must be married to the beneficiary (foreign spouse).
2) You must have also filed an I-130 visa petition and have proof of doing so.
3) You must be a US Citizen.
4) You must have sufficient income to qualify for the Affidavit of Support.

Foreign spouse's eligibility:
1) Must be married to you and wish to stay married.
2) Must wish to live with you in the United States.
3) Must be in and able to process through the U.S. Consulate in country where marriage took place. If marriage took place in the U.S., then foreign spouse must be processed through U.S. Consulate in his/her country of residence.
4) Must pass medical exam.

Note: If marriage took place while spouse was in the U.S. on another type of visa, the spouse must return to his/her country. If marriage took place while spouse was on a visitor visa, spouse could be barred from the U.S. for 3 years. The K3 visa laws do not allow filing for change of status in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa.

Benefits:
1) Significantly faster processing that the I-130 Relative (spousal) visa. The K3 allows him/her to await the immigrant processing in the U.S. Processing time from filing should be faster than a fiance visa.
2) Children of spouse may come along without having been petitioned first. That can be done in the U.S.
3) Neither spouse nor children require Advance Parole to leave and return to U.S.
4) You don't have to go through the quagmire at the National Visa Center (NVC) while awaiting the I-130 petition to process.


so basically I got married here in the U.S. (I am a USC) and my wife is here with me now. She has 180 day until the 3 yr ban takes place (got here july 21,02). We are going to file the I-130 petition first. She leaves in Jan 03. to Mexico and waits for the interview and then she comes to the U.S. with the K visa and we start to file for everything else here (adjustment of status)

I want to know how long it takes to get the I-130 approved and the interview set up???

This website is for marriage while on tourist visa. http://www.kamya.com/intro/tourist.html

Did your lawyer tell you that the AOS might be rejected since you got married right away after she entered the U.S.? I don't know if there is any work-around for this.. but you should definitely ask your lawyer about that.