flipperz_39

Hello Experts:

I have a question regarding the K1 visa.
I got my K1 approved in Nov 2005. So my K1 is valid till May 2006 (i.e. 6 months). I plan to enter the US a week before my K1 will expire.

By the time we get married in the US and apply for adjustment of status, chances are my K1 would've have expired, because i will be entering the US a week before the expiration of my K1. If my K1 expires, and we haven't applied for AOS, would i be considered out of status?

I always thought, that once you enter the US on a K1 visa you have 3 months to get married and apply for AOS as long as you enter the US before the K1 expires.

But now a reliable source is telling me that one must enter the US and apply for AOS before the K1 expires otherwise i will be considered out of status. I am a little concerned and would to know if that is indeed the case?
thanks
flipper

Rete

Your reliable source is incorrect. The K-1 must be used for entry into the US within its 6 month validity period. Once it is used, you then have 90 days in which to marry your USC fiancee. It does not matter when you file for adjustment but not if you are pass the 90 days after entry, each day is a day out of status.

Just Jenney

I guess it depends on who this "reliable source" is. You don't say.

You MUST marry before the 90-day period is up on the K1 after entry. However, you do NOT have to file for AOS within that same 90 days. It's preferable to do so within the same 90 days, but if it's not possible then it's preferable to do so as soon as you can.

My husband, Mark, got his K1 visa approved on March 24, 2003 and entered the US on May 29th, meaning the 90 days expired on August 26th. We married on June 18th but didn't file for AOS until mid-October, two months after his K1 visa expired. We had no problems or issues with this at all. We had our AOS interview on June 3, 2004 and he was approved. Just two days ago we filed to have the conditions removed from his green card.

Every post I've read on this forum regarding this issue has been of the same opinion -- that filing for AOS a couple of months after the K1 expires shouldn't be a problem. There are no guarantees, obviously, but I've never of anyone having any troubles with doing that, including my husband.

Hope that helps.

~ Jenney

flipperz_39

Rete/Jenney:

thanks for the clarifications. I just started freaking out when i heard this.
Apparently, the reliable source is someone who is actually going through the K1 process and he even pointed me to the following site where it states the following:
"Apply for Adjustment of Status (AOS). You should file as soon as possible. If you have not filed for AOS and your K-1 expires, you will be considered out-of-status until you file."

URL: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/in...om&page=k1flow

thanks for the prompt info though.

regards
flipper

meauxna

Ah, well, that's not after your *visa* expires, but after your I-94 expires. Different critters.

With the K-1, you are admitted for 90 days. You must get married in the 90 days, and you *should* apply to Adjust Status as soon as possible. Many benefits of normal living will be cut off until you get your AOS filed.

Just Jenney

This "reliable source" is confusing the K1 visa's validity with the 90-day period in which to marry after the K1 is actually used.

Your K1 visa expires in May -- meaning you have until May to use your K1 to enter the States. But once you enter the States, you have a further 90 days -- sometime in August, I presume -- to get married and, preferably, file for AOS. So, until August, when that 90-day period expires, you ARE in-status. After that 90 days, you are out-of-status. You can still file for AOS when you're out-of-status, but it's not recommended. (If I had to do it over again, I would have worked harder to get our AOS application compiled sooner so we could have filed before Mark's 90 days expired.)

~ Jenney

meauxna

Oh, so this tardiness-in-filing thing has become a habit, has it?
<g>

Just Jenney

OI!!! Our I-751 petition wasn't LATE -- it just wasn't filed immediately after the 90-day period began! That's not the same as being late.

Cheeky!!!

~ Jenney