NCSox

Good Evening / good morning.

A little about myself to start. I have been dating my current fiancé since last year and we have been engaged since October 2013. I visited the USA in December 2013 (and am not scheduled to leave until 16 march).
We were hoping to get married on Valentines day, but all the good venues were already taken, so we had to push back until 20th February. Everything for the wedding is all booked. I just have a few questions I hope can be answered...
I am based just outside Orlando Fl, and was wandering where I need to go to collect my USCIS application forms? Or can they be applied for online and posted to my residence?
I am going to book my medical in the next few days, as I understand the medical can be done before or after the wedding?
Will I need to apply for an extension on my tourist visa? As there is a chance that by the time I am applicable to work then my current stay will have been exceeded?
I have a good idea of the situation thanks to the contributes on this forum aswell as looking online over the past few weeks.

I dare say that these questions get asked/ answered on a daily basis, I was just hoping for a little clarity for my situation.
Thanks in advance and I look forward to contributing to this forum in the future.

RICH

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on the imminent wedding.

You might be pleased to know that you do not need a medical exam in order to marry on the VWP. (Tourist visa)

Is your Fiancee a US citizen? Are You a Brit?

You might have a shock in store, in terms of being able to work/stay in US any time soon.

NCSox

Sorry I should of mentioned it. Yes she is American and I am British.
What do you mean a shock in store for staying / working in the Us?
I spoke with an attorney recently and he saidc that I would need a medical. Slightly confused now?.....

hungryhorace

He's talking about marrying and then applying to stay whilst on the visa waiver, instead of doing it correctly via a K-1 (before the fact) or CR-1 (after the fact).

hungryhorace

The poster is referring to the fact that you may have entered the US with the intent to marry & stay. If you can't convince a USCIS officer otherwise, you're looking at a potential deportation order.

It's up to you how you proceed. I would suggest to you that it there was intent to marry and stay then you leave the US after the wedding and apply for the CR-1 in the UK. If you did not intend to marry and stay when you entered the US then stay and file the adjustment.

Noorah101

All USCIS forms are found at www.uscis.gov. You fill them out online, print them, and mail them to the correct address for whatever process you are starting.

If you are pursuing an Immigrant Visa, the medical must be done in your home country, prior to the visa interview.

If you are thinking of filing to adjust status to permanent resident, have a 1-time consultation with an immigration attorney before filing anything. Trying to adjust status from a VWP visit can have consequences if the AOS is denied. If you go this route anyway, make sure you and your spouse are OK living back in your home country forever.

Do you actually have a B-2 tourist visa in your passport? Or are you talking about the VWP? And, which process are you intending to do? The answer to your question above depends on the answers to my questions above.

If you are doing an Immigrant Visa process, then you will be work authorized from Day 1 when you enter the USA using your IV. If you are applying for AOS, there is a form to include for work authorization. It takes between 60 - 90 days to get EAD in hand, but if you file AOS you are allowed to stay in the USA until a decision is made, so your current stay won't have been exceeded.

YOU might have a good idea of the situation, but since you only mention getting married on Feb 20, I really have no idea what your plan is after that. Are you doing to return home and do an Immigrant Visa, or are you considering applying for AOS?

Rene

Jerni

Fair bit of misinformation floating in this thread...

AOS is just as 'correct' as doing K1 or CR1.

As long as the OP is marrying a USC, entered lawfully, does not have any admissibility issues (e.g. CIMTs and so on) and is in a Bona fide relationship AOS should not be a problem.

All this talk about intent is irrelevant. It is *not* up to the applicant to prove there was no intent, it is up to USCIS to prove there was intent. Besides intent alone is not a valid reason to deny. See matter of Cavazos which says:

Jerni

If you stay in the US after marriage and file for AOS then you will need a medical for the I-693.

RICH

Aaand they're off...

RICH

Oh. I just looked at your other posts. It seems your impression that AOS is straight forward may be rose tinted, as a result of the recent DOMA changes.

If you are right, going forward, I am all for allowing incidental spouses in, no questions asked.

hungryhorace

1980? Are you sure that's the most recent judgement on this issue? I doubt it. If, like you say, AOS from VWP was so easy why would the US bother with the K-1 or CR-1/IR-1 visa anymore?

ian-mstm

People often fixate on what's known as the "shared focus" or "shared denial". Anything that doesn't agree with their perception is ignored, in favor of anything that does agree with their perception.

It's the same reason why people get obsessed about being denied entry on the VWP. They focus on the few negative stories, and dismiss or minimize the many positive stories.

Ian

Pulaski

There is, thanks to you!

But entering on the VWP you have NO right of appeal, so USCIS can pretty much decide what they want safe in the knowledge that the decision can't be challenged.

Jerni

I suggest you read current USCIS documentation. OP is entitled to receive opinions on *all* available options.

Pulaski

But if the OP entered the US on the VWP intending to immigrate then adjusting status is NOT an available option.