Jd

I am sure this has been covered previously, I have trouble finding
answers to my particular circumstance:

I am a US citizen who desires to marry a Brazilian woman. I am going
to Brazil next week. She has duel citizenship, Brazil and Italy and 2
passports. She has worked in the US in the past, has travelled
extensively throughout Europe and Asia and has 4 years left on a 10
year tourist visa. We wish to marry immediately and have her move
here.
As I understand it, the fiancee visa is faster than the spouse visa
but is it risky to have her come to the US on her tourist visa and
marry here in the US? What conditions of her travel on a tourist visa
should be met to minimize any risk of problems? Length of stay, etc.
She is an architect and I am in construction, would it help to get her
sponsored by my company as a consultant?
I do not wish to skirt the law, only to expedite her ability to live
here legally.

Thank you in advance.

Scout

If she enters on a Tourist Visa with the intent to marry and you do marry then Visa Fraud has been committed.

Leslie

Shannon

To avoid problems when she comes to the US on a tourist visa:

1) She should not be coming here to marry you without evidence of strong evidence that she will return to Brazil. Otherwise she will likely be refused entry which could prejudice later visa or travel plans.

2) She should not be coming on a tourist visa with intent to immigrate to the US. Ie. She will be planning to return home and wll not have all her worldly possessions in 7 large suitcases.

It is not OK for your company to sponsor her surreptitiously. I have read about a SF man who did that and married his fiance but she was subsequently deported for visa-fraud when it was proven that was the intent all along.

Just FYI this newsgroup is not the best place to explore entry and marriage in the US under VWP, although it is common. Some ppl feel very strongly about the illegality of the act, some attempt to enter and are refused, while many many others do it and have no problems adjusting to residency.

Shannon

bequibar

What some people did was have their fiance(e) visit the States on their tourist visas while they prepped the paperwork and filed for the k1...
Then the fiance(e) flew back to their home country just for the consulate/embassy interview and medical... this shortened the length of the separation and still made the whole process legal.

We didn't do this, but you might get a reply or two from the couples who did...
I read on one post a day or two ago that someone was prevented to file the i-129-f while their sweety was in the country, but from what I understand that was the exception rather than the rule... run a search.

Mrtravel

    > I do not wish to skirt the law, only to expedite her ability to live
    > here legally

Then do it legally..... That would be with a fiance or spouse visa.

ironporer

Brazil allows Direct Consular Filing of I-130's... have you explored this? It certainly would be quicker/easier IMHO

Hypertweeky

Hey there!!

I personally dont think that a K1 is faster than a K3, It all depends on what service center you will be filing to.. If It is NEBRASKA or TEXAS center (The busiest) I would recomend you to go with the K3 route, You could also do DCF if available in your fiancee's country, It is the fastest way.
Correct me someone if I am wrong

Good Luck!!

Folinskyinla

Hi Shannon:

The reason the lawyers treat this with a "10-foot pole" is that there is a difference on what is done ONCE you are here on a VWP and planning BEFORE entry to enter as a tourist or VWP in order to marry and apply for adjustment.

It happens to be illegal to enter as a tourist with intent to get married and adjust. In one gets away with it by making a material misrepresentation at the POE, then one cannot adjust. If one gets away with it and does NOT make a material misrepresentation, then one can adjust.

BTW, do you realize that a reasonable prosecutor could INDICT you under 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and seek JAIL for YOU of up to five years?

You are so right, this NG is not the right place to engage in criminal acts. It upsets people.

BTW, the OP suggested work sponsorship. He said absolutey NOTHING about it being surreptitous. If the job offer is legitimate, then an H-1B with expedited processing would be just fine. Unlike the tourist, an H-1 can have immigrant intent.

Matthew Udall

Hi Shannon,
I think the original poster stated their plans and intentions pretty clearly. His fiancée enters the U.S. using a nonimmigrant option for the purpose of marrying and filing for adjustment of status. I’m just curious as to how your telling them to have the fiancée commit an illegal act at the POE, and how to better conceal her true intentions, is helping them to “avoid problems�. Seems to me, you just told them to break the law and run the risks that entails.

Matthew Udall

And don't forget that Shannon is the immigrant in her marriage. If she ever wants to become a U.S. citizen, I wonder if she will answer truthfully the questions in part 10 that ask, "Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested", and "Have you ever helped anyone enter or try to enter the U.S. illegally"?

Folinskyinla

Hi Matt:

I see no reason why she shold not answer truthfully now that she is aware of the facts.

Of course, she should also now be aware of the fact that she has now reset the "good moral character" clock for purposes of citizenship! Her posting is clearly and unequivocally an act which Congress has defined as preventing a finding of GMC -- see section 101(f)(3) of the Immigration & Nationality Act.

Of course, one of the reasons I participate in this NG is that you opened my eyes to the plethora of bad information floating out there and I try to correct it. It bothers me to see people stub their toes against the law when it could have been avoided in the first place.

Sigh.

Jd

Allrighty then,
Having been thoroughly scared of doing this the WRONG way..
I understand marrying in Brazil is a whole other bueracratic nightmare
(I am divorced), so...
Suppose she comes to the US on her tourist visa, we apply here, in the
US, for a finacee visa and bide our time, she returns to Brazil long
enough to take care of the neccessary paperwork there and wait for the
Fiancee Visa to be issued, then she returns to the US on the new visa
and we marry. Hmmm.... I do not make light of those who struggle
through these processes, I am just one of those guys who hates reading
directions. (Christmas Eve is hell for me)

Just a side note: A longtime friend met a woman from Belgium while she
was touring the US. They married, she applied for a greencard, 20
years later there have been no problems. Have things changed that much
or is it because she is from Europe?

Best Wishes

Sennia

"Just a side note: A longtime friend met a woman from Belgium while she
was touring the US. They married, she applied for a greencard, 20
years later there have been no problems. Have things changed that much
or is it because she is from Europe?"


It's a matter of intent, isn't it? This woman entered the U.S. to holiday here and then *happened* to marry while she was was here and adjusted her status. Unless I'm mistaken, this is perfectly legal because her intent when entering the country was not to immigrate. Planning to marry and settle in the U.S. before ever setting foot in the country isn't legal. Ever. Even if you don't lie to the immigration officials, you've still committed a crime by entering the country with the intent to immigrate.