Fabian Behague

I'm a Belgian Citizen and last friday I got married to a US citizen in
Brussels. It was only a civil wedding.
Yesterday, she came back to Miami to prepare our religious wedding there on
January 4,2003.
I'm going to go there on December 22,2002. Last year I apply for a B2 visa
and I got it but there is a special annotation: "visiting US citizen fiancee
for 2 weeks, Miami". The visa is valid until May 2003. So it's still valid
for December but now we are married and my status is different I'm not
single and the visa seems to be unvalid now because of the annotation. So I
don't know what to do? Can I apply for a new visa before I leave ? or just
go like everytime and said at the POE I'm coming to visit my friend ? or
they are going to know we are married ? are they going to consider me like
an immigrant because of the civil wedding in Belgium ? Do we need to apply
for the residency after the wedding ?
We don't plan to live in the US now and we come back together here in
Belgium just after our wedding.
What's the best option now ?
Thankx a lot for advise !

Steggy

Fabian Behague wrote:
    >
    > I'm a Belgian Citizen and last friday I got married to a US citizen in
    > Brussels. It was only a civil wedding.
    > Yesterday, she came back to Miami to prepare our religious wedding there on
    > January 4,2003.
    > I'm going to go there on December 22,2002. Last year I apply for a B2 visa
    > and I got it but there is a special annotation: "visiting US citizen fiancee
    > for 2 weeks, Miami". The visa is valid until May 2003. So it's still valid
    > for December but now we are married and my status is different I'm not
    > single and the visa seems to be unvalid now because of the annotation. So I
    > don't know what to do? Can I apply for a new visa before I leave ? or just
    > go like everytime and said at the POE I'm coming to visit my friend ? or
    > they are going to know we are married ? are they going to consider me like
    > an immigrant because of the civil wedding in Belgium ? Do we need to apply
    > for the residency after the wedding ?
    > We don't plan to live in the US now and we come back together here in
    > Belgium just after our wedding.
    > What's the best option now ?
    > Thankx a lot for advise !

Just a thought: enter based on that visa, so visiting your
fiancee. Personally I do not believe they have data on your
wedding in Brussels. But if worse comes to worse, you just
maintain that for you she is still a fiancee, until the
Religious Wedding is there. It is an excuse, I know, but hey.....

You say you are not planning to stay in the US. Take proof
of that with you (house, lease for the rent, job data)
anything that shows you wil be returning to La Belgique.
That is the main concern for INS.

BTW: why did you use a B2 and not a regular waiver?
--
steg

Mrtravel

steggy wrote:
    >
    > Fabi
    >
    > Just a thought: enter based on that visa, so visiting your
    > fiancee. Personally I do not believe they have data on your
    > wedding in Brussels. But if worse comes to worse, you just
    > maintain that for you she is still a fiancee, until the
    > Religious Wedding is there. It is an excuse, I know, but hey.....

That isn't an "excuse", that is a mistatement of facts, that might be
counted as fraud.
If he has a wife here, he can't tell INS at the POE that she is his
fiance. They are legally married.

Nobby

I agree with MrTravel..
You would be lying to the INS which is a crime in itself, as you are already married. B1/B2 is for business and tourist use only. What you should have done is gotten married here in the USA and then filled I130 and I485. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing wrong with doing that "provided that when you entered the USA you didn't intend on getting married!'' Then you can file for AOS.

A word of warning: I know of a couple where she was USC.. he was from Norway. They met on the net, and just before Xmas 99 he came over to the US on a visa waiver. He spent four weeks with this girl and on January 5th 2000 they got married. He then went 'back' to Norway to get his 'belongings'.. and about the middle of February 2000 he came back to the US and entered on another Visa Waiver.

Well.. to cut a long story short.. when this couple went to file at the local Las Vegas office guess what happens?? He got deported for Visa fraud as INS said that his intentions were to stay in the USA, that he had lied to INS at POE and that isn't what the Waiver is for.

For what its worth.. I think he was a lot more interested in the Green Card than he was the girl/wife. Who else brings his mother's engagement ring with him to give to his future wife if his intentions aren't to marry and to get married quickly. He got himself a wife and she gets to live in the frozen north. She didn't have to go of course.. and he didn't have to take her to Norway. But if he really wants to come to America what choice does he have.

Now they both live in Norway! His big mistake was to leave the US and then try and return once he was married to the USC without the approipiate visa. *Kabboom*

So the point is this.. don't lie to INS cos they aren't stupid. You are kind of up a pickle tree me thinks o'l chap.

Steggy

Fabian asked the question again so I searched for the last
answers. Missed this one. Reaction below.

Nobby wrote:
    >
    > I agree with MrTravel..
    > You would be lying to the INS which is a crime in itself, as you are
    > already married. B1/B2 is for business and tourist use only. What you
    > should have done is gotten married here in the USA and then filled I130
    > and I485. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing wrong with doing
    > that "provided that when you entered the USA you didn't intend on
    > getting married!'' Then you can file for AOS.
    >
    > A word of warning: I know of a couple where she was USC.. he was from
    > Norway. They met on the net, and just before Xmas 99 he came over to the
    > US on a visa waiver. He spent four weeks with this girl and on January
    > 5th 2000 they got married. He then went 'back' to Norway to get his
    > 'belongings'.. and about the middle of February 2000 he came back to the
    > US and entered on another Visa Waiver.
    >
    > Well.. to cut a long story short.. when this couple went to file at the
    > local Las Vegas office guess what happens?? He got deported for Visa
    > fraud as INS said that his intentions were to stay in the USA, that he
    > had lied to INS at POE and that isn't what the Waiver is for.
    >
    > For what its worth.. I think he was a lot more interested in the Green
    > Card than he was the girl/wife. Who else brings his mother's engagement
    > ring with him to give to his future wife if his intentions aren't to
    > marry and to get married quickly. He got himself a wife and she gets to
    > live in the frozen north. She didn't have to go of course.. and he
    > didn't have to take her to Norway. But if he really wants to come to
    > America what choice does he have.
    >
    > Now they both live in Norway! His big mistake was to leave the US and
    > then try and return once he was married to the USC without the
    > approipiate visa. *Kabboom*
    >
    > So the point is this.. don't lie to INS cos they aren't stupid. You are
    > kind of up a pickle tree me thinks o'l chap.
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Your answer is fully correct, Nobby. But the example you
give is totally different from Fabians problem.

Now, besides that, you stated:
quote:
To the best of my knowledge there is nothing wrong with
doing that "provided that when you entered the USA you
didn't intend on getting married!''
/unquote

How many times is *that* a lie) I do realize that lying to
INS is a mistake. If you come inside the POE however, the
INS officer asks about the goal of your visit etcetera, and
someone sais: just a visit or something, while he/she has
the ring and the wedding clothes in the suitcase as a matter
of speeking, isn't that lying??

But Fabian wants to come over for two weeks, on an existing
visa, and leave again. He is not abusing the visa, he is
visiting someone, without the intention to stay. My
"excuse-solution" was based on that. What would happen if he
just used a regular tourist waiver. In his case he has a B2.
Not much I would say.

Their intent is to live in Europe, this is not an
immigration question, he is coming over for a religious
ceremony in America. Let him bring enough proof that he will
return to Belgium, and at least evade problems.
--
steg
_what is a pickle tree and what am I dong there_