I am wondering if its possible to marry my girlfriend on a tourist visa?

[coreoglo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New York..

My concern is about the likelihood of me being able to marry my girlfriend. She is a Japanese citizen and I am a US citizen by birth. We were wondering if she came here on a tourist visa. Is it possible for her and I to get married. Then file for her change of residence here. Just don't want to do something that would jeopardize our being together. We love each other a lot, but are weighting our options.

Thank You for reading this.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New York..

My concern is about the likelihood of me being able to marry my girlfriend. She is a Japanese citizen and I am a US citizen by birth. We were wondering if she came here on a tourist visa. Is it possible for her and I to get married. Then file for her change of residence here. Just don't want to do something that would jeopardize our being together. We love each other a lot, but are weighting our options.

Thank You for reading this.

If she enters the country as a tourist with the INTENT of marrying and then adjusting status, this will be frowned upon greatly. It could result in her AOJ being denied.

Why not just do the K1 fiance/e visa route?

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New York..

My concern is about the likelihood of me being able to marry my girlfriend. She is a Japanese citizen and I am a US citizen by birth. We were wondering if she came here on a tourist visa. Is it possible for her and I to get married. Then file for her change of residence here. Just don't want to do something that would jeopardize our being together. We love each other a lot, but are weighting our options.

Thank You for reading this.

Possible? Sure. But legal? Probably not.

Why not? Because it's clear that she would be encouraging her to commit immigration fraud.

As a tourist, she would only be planning to come here for a short visit. However, your intent would be instead to lie about why she wants to come, and then take actions that would allow her to stay permanently. Immigration officials are pretty smart about all the different ways people try to put one over on them to get around legal immigration procedures. In your case, they'd be suspect about how quickly you two got married, or they would come to the realization that she committed perjury on her visa application about the real reason behind her visit.

The smartest move would to instead apply for a fiancee visa, since that is the true motive behind your plans.

 

[coreoglo]

Thank You all for the wise consul..

I am very appreciative of the wise advice and I thank you.. So I think a lawyer would be needed. Just a concern.. Have been told to be leery while looking for representation. Because there tend to be scammers out there. How much does something like this generally cost?

Possible? Sure. But legal? Probably not.

Why not? Because it's clear that she would be encouraging her to commit immigration fraud.

As a tourist, she would only be planning to come here for a short visit. However, your intent would be instead to lie about why she wants to come, and then take actions that would allow her to stay permanently. Immigration officials are pretty smart about all the different ways people try to put one over on them to get around legal immigration procedures. In your case, they'd be suspect about how quickly you two got married, or they would come to the realization that she committed perjury on her visa application about the real reason behind her visit.

The smartest move would to instead apply for a fiancee visa, since that is the true motive behind your plans.

 

[Proserpina]

I am very appreciative of the wise advice and I thank you.. So I think a lawyer would be needed. Just a concern.. Have been told to be leery while looking for representation. Because there tend to be scammers out there. How much does something like this generally cost?

Call some immigration attorneys and ask.