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marrying a foreign national in the u.s. on vacation

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Pat 123

Guest
If I marry my fiance' in the u.s. while she is here on a tourist visa from South Africa, is she in any danger of being deported upon the expiration of her visa?
 


CaliIan

Junior Member
Doing the same thing!

Pat 123 said:
If I marry my fiance' in the u.s. while she is here on a tourist visa from South Africa, is she in any danger of being deported upon the expiration of her visa?
I am thinking of doing the same thing....and funny- she is from SA too. Have filed an I129 but seems this will take way too long. Please help me with what you know....asking for help from anyone here. CaliIan from California
 
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Just Blue

Senior Member
CaliIan said:
I am thinking of doing the same thing....and funny- she is from SA too. Have filed an I129 but seems this will take way too long. Please help me with what you know....asking for help from anyone here. CaliIan from California

CaliIan...You need to start your own thread..Just click on "post a message" on the main page of the Immigration forum...
 

AHA

Senior Member
CaliIan said:
I am thinking of doing the same thing....and funny- she is from SA too. Have filed an I129 but seems this will take way too long. Please help me with what you know....asking for help from anyone here. CaliIan from California
Not to mention that entering the US as a tourist with intentions of marrying and remaining in the US is ILLEGAL! Sorry if you feel that the visa process is taking too long, but that does not validate breaking the law.
 

FLMommy

Member
It is illegal, but once married they won't be able to deport her. It just looks mighty bad on her Permanent Residence application... Pat 123, get a K-1 fiance visa. Then get her to the US on that visa, marry her, then apply for permanent residence. That's the way to go about it.
 

AHA

Senior Member
FLMommy said:
It is illegal, but once married they won't be able to deport her. It just looks mighty bad on her Permanent Residence application... Pat 123, get a K-1 fiance visa. Then get her to the US on that visa, marry her, then apply for permanent residence. That's the way to go about it.
They can deport any Green Card holder if they have grounds for it. A Green Card doesn't buy you total security to stay in the US.
 

FLMommy

Member
AHA said:
They can deport any Green Card holder if they have grounds for it. A Green Card doesn't buy you total security to stay in the US.
I know and I agree ;) What I meant is that they can't deport her once married to a US citizen on the ONLY premise that she entered the country on a tourist visa with the intent to marry a US citizen. (Right?)
 

CaliIan

Junior Member
Marrying a foreign national on a tourist visa

Hi, Thanks for every ones help.....it's very much appreciated. Must say that I have had every intent in staying within the laws. Was just speculating a 'what if' scenario because; the I129F was just filed and is expected to clear 3 to 4 months from now.....and we are both willing to wait. But in the meantime- she has was planning a quick visit here in about a month, cause we do miss each other.....but she has every intent on returning home (has round trip tickets and is expected back at her job once home).

So my question was brought up in a 'what if' the romance gets the better part of me....and just wondered what the repercussions would be. And it sounds like every single one of you are saying to just wait.....
 

AHA

Senior Member
CaliIan said:
Hi, Thanks for every ones help.....it's very much appreciated. Must say that I have had every intent in staying within the laws. Was just speculating a 'what if' scenario because; the I129F was just filed and is expected to clear 3 to 4 months from now.....and we are both willing to wait. But in the meantime- she has was planning a quick visit here in about a month, cause we do miss each other.....but she has every intent on returning home (has round trip tickets and is expected back at her job once home).

So my question was brought up in a 'what if' the romance gets the better part of me....and just wondered what the repercussions would be. And it sounds like every single one of you are saying to just wait.....
She'll have a fair chance of being let into the US for a short visit as long as she can prove that she is returning home after. A return ticket isn't going to prove much, since return tickets are usually cheaper to buy than a one-way, so most people buy returns even when they have no intention of using it.

The "what if" scenario can cause you trouble because neither of you can prove that she didn't have intent (filing the I-129f blew that out of the water), and if you do get married while she visits and she then returns home, the I-129f will be invalid since she will no longer be a fiancee but instead a wife. You would then have to start the process from the beginning, for a spouse visa and that might take even longer than the fiancee visa.

All in all, wait for the process to complete (what is 3-4 months out of a lifetime together?), and if she HAS to come visit, she needs to bring substantial evidence of returning.
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
FLMommy said:
I know and I agree ;) What I meant is that they can't deport her once married to a US citizen on the ONLY premise that she entered the country on a tourist visa with the intent to marry a US citizen. (Right?)
They might have other reasons to deport her. People adjusting status from a VWP are on shaky ground without normal appeals processes in place. There were 2 interesting cases in Oregon that, oddly enough, involved South African women.
I would not be a South African woman playing with the rules at this particular time.

Marriage to a US citizen does not, in itself, confer any immigration benefit. Until she actually gets a Green Card, she can be removable.
As AHA notes, even after a Green Card is awarded, she can be deported for certain acts.



CaliIan: Keep the romance under control ;)
 

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