Marrying on a Tourist Visa

[Jordan Hildreth]

Hi, I have been with my girlfriend for 2 years, she lives in Guyana and I am a U.S citizen. I would just like to know if there are any faults in my plan for our marriage. She has a tourist visa for the U.S, valid till 2019 that allows her to visit for up to 6 months. I am planning to have her come here as a visitor to see her family and then while she is here we say that she met me and we started talking and fell in love and decided to get married. I would have her stay here without marrying her for 3 months to bypass the illegitimate marriage flag that would raise if I married her immediately and then legally marry her here and apply for a AOS. From what I have researched this should go fine and she should get her green card since we would be able to prove it is legitimate and we did not raise a flag by waiting 3 months. Please let me know if I am missing something. Thanks.

[inadmissible]

Admission to the United States is granted at the discretion of CBP officers stationed at the port of entry

The burden is on the arriving alien to overcome the presumption that she is not a bona fide non-immigrant

They will ask her about what her plans are for her visit, review her return ticket, and and ensure that the totality of her plans/documents/demeanor are consistent with that of a tourist. Some arriving aliens these days are having their electronic devices and social media history checked, which sounds insane I know. There is the risk that her text messages and ******** history will reveal her true plans. In addition, if she is not a good liar, her narrative may lack the credibility needed to persuade the officer to grant her admission.

What are you missing? You are missing the narrative she needs to provide CBP to grant her admission. The narrative should both be truthful and consistent with the intent of a tourist visa. That said, plenty of aliens succeed in sweet talking their way through the immigration counter with the intent to overstay, work illegally, etc; so it isn't unreasonable to think that she can pull it off. However you need to be cognizant of the risk that she will be denied admission, or worse be slapped with a finding of material misrepresentation, making her ultimate immigration to the United States a much more difficult process.

One alternative is to use the fiancee visa process that is specifically designed for this situation. The second alternative is to have her come for an actual tourist visit - and then you can ruin that plan with a surprise proposal. She can then decide if she wants to stay and adjust her status while she is here instead of returning home.

At no point (entry or adjustment) should either of you state something that is false. They have a pretty good record of figuring out what is what, and any finding of material misrepresentation will cause you a great deal of hardship. Fraud is an element in an aliens toolbox that should only be considered as a means of last resort, not as tool of convenience or expedience. In your case you have two or three avenues of achieving your ultimate goal without having to resort to fraud

PS the three month thing is a bit of a myth. If your narratives are credible she will be granted adjustment even if you get married as soon as she arrives