Hawkibinkler

My girlfriend of 3 years and I entered the US on her B2 on 3/7/07. The
officer told her that she shouldn't be coming and going from the US so
much (this was her 3rd entry on this Multiple entry visa. He said that
it was suspicous of a pattern of intending to immigrate. Then he
suggested that we just get married! We have now decided to get
married and would like to AOS with her leaving the US, however the
officer wrote on the back of her i-94 "NO EOB, NO COB, NO AOS". I
don't know what the first two even refer to, and I may not have read
them correctly. Will this hinder our ability to be approved if we file
the I-485, etc?

I remember on her second entry the officer asked if we were planning
on getting married and I foolishly replied, "well, eventually
probably" at which he warned us not to AOS and also wrote something
like that on her I-94 at the time. Is this a problem?

Thanks!

Just Jenney

I've never heard of this happening before, but I guess anything's possible. Assuming that "NO AOS" means "No Adjustment of Status" then no, I probably wouldn't try to do what it says not to do.

However, she can still marry in the US while on her B2 visa -- she just can't adjust status immediately afterwards. Instead, she'll do what you are planning to do anyway -- marry in the US, leave the US before her I-94 card expires, then obtain a visa to allow her to back to the US as an immigrant (not a visitor). Depending on the type of visa she obtains, she may be able to enter the US with a green card right off the bat -- no AOS required.

~ Jenney

ian-mstm

How exactly did you enter the US on *her* B2?


I don't see the problem. You wrote that you "would like to AOS with her leaving the US"... so if she leaves the US, then what the officer wrote doesn't matter.

Ian

Noorah101

Perhaps it says NO EOS, NO COS, NO AOS"? Maybe it's No Extension of Stay, No Change of Status, no Adjustment of Status?

Since you've already been warned not to AOS, then yes, I'd say that will hinder your ability to be approved if you file the I-485, etc.

It's not really a problem, it just means that you can't AOS after you marry in the USA. If you want to marry now, in the USA, you can. But your wife will have to then return to her home country for immigrant visa processing. Or, you can start the fiance(e) visa process now, and then get married when she returns to the USA on her K-1 visa. You just have one route closed to you, which is marrying and adjusting her status without her leaving the USA.

Rene

Hawkibinkler

Thanks for the input, I had a few typos in my post; we want to file
for her AOS without leaving the US.

We saw one attorney who said we should attempt to AOS and wasn't too
concerned about what the officer wrote on the I-94. She asked for
$2500 as a package to do our AOS (not including INS Fees of course).
She said that after we filed, my then-to-be wife would need to stay
until the interview or until they rejected it or granted her a travel
permit. She said worse case if it were rejected then at that time my
wife would have to go back to her home country and apply there.
Because of this screwy I-94 I am thinking we should pay the attorney.
If it weren't for that we would just file ourselves. Does anyone know
if this fee is unusually high or about normal? If I pay it and then my
wife is rejected I will be bummed! Of course if that happens I would
be bummed anyway...

It seems crazy to me that she had a ligitimate visa and then we get
all this hassle. They threatened to send her home when we came in this
last time. Part of the problem was she came in with a one-way ticket
which was a red flag to INS. We did that because we wanted to start
buying our roundtrips together originating in the US.... life is
complicated.
Thanks again.

ian-mstm

The attorney can say whatever she wants... she's not the one who has to deal with the consequences if things go wrong.

There are a bunch of red flags here... and I know that you don't want your girlfriend to leave the US, but things will be *so* much easier for you if she went home and you applied for a proper visa for her.

Don't marry her on this trip... any subsequent visit she attempts to make to the US will likely end up with her being refused admission... because all those red flags are going to come back to haunt her.

Ian

Just Jenney

Your girlfriend last flew to the US on a one-way ticket?? No wonder they think she's a risk for immigration fraud! If that isn't a huge red flag, I don't know what is.

So now she has an I-94 card that clearly states "NO AOS" -- how much clearer can it be? And yet your lawyer says, "Well, why don't you fork over $2500 to me in addition to hundreds of dollars in application fees, wait on pins and needles for months and months, and worst case scenario she'll just have to go home and start the process all over again, only you won't get any of the time or money you wasted back -- including the $2500 you gave me -- and she'll also have a mark on her immigration file which will follow her around forever. Oh, and if her AOS is denied, then she has absolutely no grounds for appeal. But hey, let's not worry about that -- let's worry about getting your $2500 into my bank account!"

Ok, that's probably not what your lawyer said, but that's what she SHOULD have said, in my opinion.

Yes, life is complicated, but the immigration process, by and large, is fairly simple. You're complicating the process by putting your wants above your needs. If you stop trying to play chicken with US immigration, you'll get to where you want to be with A LOT less hassle and stress than you would if you insist on doing things your way, despite the very clear message for you NOT to go down that path.

~ Jenney

Noorah101

You may want that, but all the signs so far point to that NOT happening for you. The attorney can file your paperwork, but she can't make the immigration officer overlook the clear "NO AOS" on your girlfriend's I-94. And you must provide a copy of the I-94 along with the AOS package, so USCIS will know right up front that no AOS is allowed in her case. However, they will process all your paperwork, keep your fees, the lawyer will keep your fees, and then at the end they say Sorry, it says here your wife cannot AOS in the USA. She must return home and get an immigrant visa. That's a lot of time and money to waste when the chances are VERY slim to have this case approved, in my opinion.

It's not crazy. It's the POE officer's job to keep out people who come here on a non-immigrant visa (or VWP), who have intent to immigrate. So the officer, seeing she only had a 1-way ticket, took that as a red flag and wrote NO AOS, so it would be clear that she cannot stay and immigrate on this trip. He was doing his job.

Let us know what you decide to do.
Best Wishes,
Rene

Rete

She did not use the VWP to enter the US, but a B tourist visa. I wonder if there is a restriction re adjusting from that visa.

Yes, that is just it. It is your opinion (and mine) but immigration attorneys are suppose to know what is and what is not accepted by the USCIS so perhaps she knows something we don't.


~ Jenney[/quote]

Just Jenney

The lawyer told them that the "worse case if it were rejected then at that time [his]wife would have to go back to her home country and apply there." If their worse case becomes a reality:

1) They will have wasted 6-12 months or more on AOS when they could have spent it on the visa process;
2) They will have wasted hundreds of dollars in AOS application fees, just to have to turn around and spend hundreds more on visa application fees, and then hundreds MORE on the second AOS application fees; and
3) They will have wasted $2500 on the lawyer, who I can guarantee you will NOT be refunding any of it.

If they want to take that gamble, that’s up to them. But I’m not feeling very optimistic about their chances, given what the OP has told us.

~ Jenney

snowbunny

Out of pure curiosity has anyone heard of another case where "no AOS" was written on an I-94?!

meauxna

I've seen other people post about it before, yes.
The officer gave her a 'pass' this time, but with a clear note that he thought she was gonna do what's she is now trying to do.

The instruction seems clear to me: don't AOS on this entry--it's specifically not allowed for this individual.