Isabel.S

if was like what IF that happened. and i said it was lying because well jeez. why are u nit picking seriously... I was THINKING of doing i wasn't SET on doing it... so maybe when i said i was lying i shouldnt have, i shoudl have just said it was hypothetical. but really WHY does it matter?

SecretGarden

Well, it matters because if forum members try to help a poster out and give advice or suggestions and then find out that the original poster gave information that was (conveniently) incomplete or erroneous, they tend to get a little bit upset; perhaps they might feel that you wasted their time. That's not very nice.

I don't think you intended to do that to the forum members, but as you said, you cooked up a hypothetical set of circumstances regarding your situation. I read it as a hypothetical, others did not, and then things got off track. Tone and intent can be easily misunderstood on an internet forum.

The important thing is that you have learned NOT TO LIE TO IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS, EVER. You can cause yourself many problems that way.

~SecretGarden

nettlebed

Up to being barred for life from ever entering the US: it really can be that serious, in case you are wondering, Isabel.

Isabel.S

yes I know that, and sorry if i made everyone feel that way. not my intentions.

Bob

Just as long as they know what they are getting themselves in for....only way they can get out of it is if your other half gets US citizenship, get his 40 quarters in, dies or gives up his LPR status. Not even divorce will get them out of this obligation, and it's usually during a divorce that this can hold for quite a good bargaining chip.

Rete

Look, of course, she said she lied in the second post because she did. She made up a story. But you are the one that is taking the story to be the truth. I only see one other person on all this pages that thought she was telling the truth.

Let's give it a rest. You read things your way. I don't happen to agree with your interpretation on her post and think you have carried it a little to far. JMO.

Rete

Life would be so much easier for everyone if the USCIS would be consistent in its dealings with marriage on the VWP Express.

Hundreds of thousands of people have used the VWPE to come here with full intent to marry and remain and have successfully been given their green cards. In my 11 years in these forums I have only seen refusal twice and in the last three months have heard of two new refusals because the filing was after the VWP had expired.

It isn't even that the rules change but that each individual within the USCIS organization seems to play by their own rules. And this confuses the hell out of everyone who has to deal with it. Some attorneys will tell clients to do it and others will tell them not to. On this forum we advise against it if asked as the OP asked.

What posters have to remember is:

1. There is no guarantee you will be successful;

2. There is no guarantee you will not be asked to prove your intent;

3. If you are denied, you have to leave;

4. There is no appeal process for you if denied;

5. The rules change as quickly as a prim school teacher changes her undies;

6. How much of a gambler are you?

7. Do the wise thing, consult an immigration attorney and keep the info to yourself.

Temperence

Rete, seriously, that happens a lot? so these people never actually return to the UK to wait it out?

Noorah101

It does happen a lot, yes. Some people do the VWP express and have no problems along the way. A few people that we've seen on here do the VWP express had problems along the way. Some people realize it's illegal and end up returning to the UK to do it the right way.

Rene

nettlebed

And people who use VWPE successfully (even though it is illegal), and come here to crow about it afterwards may very well get a frosty reception from some people who did it the right way...

meauxna

Yes, I'm sure they phear our wrath!

Temperence, I see that you are curious about it from a couple of posts... what do you want to know?
The difference is in planning to arrive this way to stay vs being admitted as something else and having a genuine change in circumstances.

notacrime

Thanks for posting this Rete. It's good to see it stated so clearly. I had been wondering about this too. It's like Pandora's box. Once you have educated yourself enough to know that it's illegal you can't put that knowledge back in to the box. But if you are ignorant and just do it without thinking about it there's a good chance you'll be OK.

US immigration seems to work this quite a lot - there are the rules, and sticking to them is often a pain in the ass, (mostly because the process is so slow.) A lot of people are ignorant of the rules, consequently do something 'illegal', yet don't have any problems. But for those that do have problems the penalties are severe (3 or 10 years deportation.)

I'm constantly amazed at how ignorant my USC friends are of their country's own immigration system. Many otherwise educated people assume that once I married a USC I was automatically a citizen. With that in mind it's not hard to see how someone could arrive in the US on VWP, meet someone and then figure they'll just get married so that they can stay together.

Noorah101

Actually, this is the exact scenario that is allowed legally.

penguinbar

It amazes me how many people think that if you come to the US on a VWP or otherwise and marry a citizen you automatically become a US Citizen your self! So many of my customers would ask why my husband wasn't working or job hunting and I would explain the whole process to them about the K1 and immigration and they all had no idea! If it was that easy there wouldn't be so many illegals would there? It does upset me that so many people who are here illegally complain about their"rights". I work in the restaurant business and hear it all the time. I actually had gotten into an arguement with a former boss who came here illegally from Ireland in the "80's" and he said that illegals should have the same rights as citizens. I worked with a girl who did the Visa waiver express a few years ago. It took over a year for her husband to get his AP and EAD and he still doesn't have his green card.He's Irish. They were married two years ago. She admitted that they could have done it the right way but didn't want to bother.

notacrime

Ah, right, because there was clearly no intent to do marry that person (in this case because they'd never met.)