Got married on a visit, advice
 

I am a Canadian citizen who came down for a one month visit. My boyfriend proposed and we got married. It was easy to throw together a wedding because his father and grandfather are pastors. Anyway, once we decided we wanted to live in the U.S. we consulted some immigration help and the lawyer told us we might have a glitch with the INS because we didn't notify the INS before I came down to visit; but he said we should go ahead and apply I-130 and AOS and we should be okay because I still have my return plane ticket. Has anyone else had this kind of experience? Had I known we were going to get married we would have looked into immigration before hand.

Thank you :)

Re: Got married on a visit, advice
 

I doubt that you will have any type of problem with INS and with adjusting status. Go to the following site and click on tourist visa; adjustment and you will find the guidelines of what you need to do. Come back with the myriad of questions you will have.

I married my Canadian through the Fiancee Visa but know many people who just crossed the border and did the deed and adjusted status without problem. One such couple was told by INS to do just that.

I-130/I-485 Helpsite at:
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm

Do yourself a big favor though. Do not leave to return to Canada for your belongings until you have filed for AOS and have applied for and received advance parole. To do so would be putting you in the line of fire and if you attempted to return to the US as a married woman you would be stopped and told to wait in Canada for the required approved visa(s). This would mean a wait of up to one year or longer apart.

Rete

Re: Got married on a visit, advice
 

Thank you for your encouraging words. I was a little concerned when we went to fill out forms and I there was no applicable check marks for our situation! With our 'open borders' between Canada and the United States, I didn't give much thought to our visit and subsequent happy marriage. We're on the up and up so I guess it will all be fine :)

Thank you sooo much again, eh! hee hee

Re: Got married on a visit, advice
 

All the sites talk about marrying and then having to leave the country and come back
on a spousal visa. But what about the people you mention who came in on other visas,
or crossed the border apparently illegally? What if the person is on a visa here
already, will they have to go back??? In this case, they would have to go halfway
around the world.

Fred

Re: Got married on a visit, advice
 

Not sure what sites you have been viewing but that is not necessarily true. If you entered the US legally, meaning you were inspected at a POE, and have not committed fraud in anyway, you can marry and stay in the US and adjust status.

Illegally immigrants cannot marry and adjust status. It is only if Congress reinstitutes the section 245(i) that they can do that.

Rete