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I am a uk citizen and entered the US on VWP to visit my then girlfriend, after 2 months we didn't want to leave each other so we asked the immigration office what we could do, they said to get married as soon as possible and file the I-485 with I-864. We got married and are ready to file the forms, but now the immigration have said I need to leave and a I-130 needs to be filled first. I can not leave my wife for 6months + while this happens. Can I just file the I-485, or send it with the I-130 while still here?
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hunh? you do not want to leave????
(husband) If you entered with a waiver that has a time limitation, you are best to leave and then come back after a pause. The reason for this is if you overstay the time limit you will then cause problems with any other applications for returning. Immigration does not take kindly to doing anything that is illegal.
My wife and I were married and we had to wait for almost a year for my wife's K-3 (spouse visa) to be approved. This meant several trips in the mean time in and out of the country with no overstays for her on a tourist visa to keep from causing the "friends" from immigration from getting nasty and rude.
When my wife and I went for our final interview for adjustment of status (getting green card) we had no problems and was a quick visit. The interviewing officer made the comment that we "were one of the very few" that did everything right. The fact we did everything right made it a much easier process. Remember, Immigration is suspicious of any action until you are completely approved.
(wife) First things first. What made you think it is ok to overstay the VWP just because you were married to a US citizen? it might sound great to you but makes no sense to the immigration people. Overstaying is ILLEGAL simply because YOU ARE NOT A LEGAL RESIDENT NOR AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, unlike your wife who she can do whatever because it is HER COUNTRY!!!! duh! Marrying a US citizen does not make you a citizen first of all and second of all whatever privilidges she has do not apply to you!!!
They do not care if you are British, Filipino or Chinese or whatever nationality! You are a FOREIGNER who came in the country as a tourist and abused the system by staying more.I may sound harsh but BELIEVE ME you have no idea how intimidating the immigration officers are during one on one interviews! They have a HUGE list of questions you will be subjected to so as to determine if your marriage was legit or was ****d for you to just get a green card.
It sounds like the primary reason you stayed was to be with your wife but please do not do irrational actions that may hurt your legal status in the future. It is very important to let the immigration know that your marriage is not ****d just to get a green card! Besides a marriage under 2 years is considered a fraud unless you can prove it otherwise. You need to play by the immigration rules and not do what ever makes you comfortable, because THAT is not necessarily LEGAL.
The right way to do this is to leave the country then have your wife apply for Alien Relative petition I-130 and follow instructions. Unfortunately, since you have overstayed your waived visa period there might be a difficulty for you to re-enter as a tourist...you need to ask a lawyer on this...BTW, hire a LAWYER! you will need him. The correct way is to also apply for a spouse visa K-3 and once you get this visa (takes 5-8 months to come through and you have to go through an interview at the US Embassy in the UK, to prove that your marriage is legit) you will be able to come to the USA and apply for adjustment of status. And then you will have another interview to prove one more time that your marriage is legit before they are convinced to give you a green card or in other words Permanent Resident Status. Thats how it works.
So sorry to hear you were mislead....hope everything turns out OK.
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