Marriage with a US citizen and nonimmigrant visa

Marriage with a US citizen and nonimmigrant visa

If you are considering entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa with the intention of marrying a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident to apply for adjustment of immigration status, please note that this is considered a form of visa fraud. .

1) If you are considering entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa with the intention of marrying a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident to apply for adjustment of immigration status, please note that this is considered a form of fraud. of visa.

As a consequence, and if you do well, you may have to return to your country of origin and start the application process from there; In the worst case, you could be denied entry to the United States for several years.

2) If you come to the US as a visitor and only later decide to get married, that's a different matter. That is, if you entered the US as a visitor and then met someone and decided to get married, you have the opportunity to make a compelling case that there was no visa fraud and be successful with an adjustment of status application.

The complicated thing about this case is that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must be convinced that the marriage was not planned from the beginning to obtain immigration benefits but that it is a bona fide marriage.

The United States government takes visa scams very seriously and if the officer detects any signs of fraud they may make the decision to deny your application and send you back to your country of origin revoking your existing visa.

If your situation is credible in the eyes of immigration, you will be allowed to submit a green card application using the procedure known as “adjustment of status,” meaning you will not have to leave the United States during the entire application process.

In either case, it is very important that you know and take into account the 90-day rule.

What is the 90 day rule?

The 90-day rule is the replacement rule for the 30/60 rule, which with the same purpose is intended to curb the misuse of conditional green cards, which are provided on a temporary basis.

It is an analytical tool used by consular officials to evaluate cases indicating possible fraud and, when appropriate, refer them to Fraud Detection and National Security in accordance with existing procedures.

Example of the 90 day rule:

To better understand the interpretation of this rule by USCIS, we have the example of a person who enters the United States with a nonimmigrant visa and in less than 90 days decides to get married and request an adjustment of status.

To begin with, immigration will presume that if her marriage took place within a short time of entry into the United States (based on 90 days), the purpose of entry was to get married.

People who enter on a visa, get married, and apply for green cards without paying attention to the 90-day rule could end up in serious trouble.

However, it is important to remember that while the 90-day rule may raise alarm bells for USCIS officers to presume misrepresentation of intent, it also allows applicants to present evidence to the contrary.

If an applicant can convince the USCIS officer that he came to the United States without misrepresenting his plans and that his intentions genuinely changed during the 90 days after he arrived in the United States, he can still be approved. for a green card. If he waits only 30 or 60 days, he will have to deal with visa fraud issues.

What happens if 90 days pass?

After the 90 day period there will be no presumption of misrepresentation.

However, this does not mean that your application will be approved, therefore, if you have a case to prove regarding the 90-day rule before a USCIS officer, it is best to seek advice from an immigration attorney so that they can help you correctly develop the proof of your good faith.