I-485 eligible on a visa waiver program?

[Junny]

Hi All,

I am looking for anyone who can shed some light to my current situation. I am completely new and naïve to this entire process and any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

My fiancé (who is a US citizen) and I are planning to get married in May 2018 in Missouri.
I am an Australian citizen and currently live in Australia. We are hoping to relocate to Missouri after we are married to be closer to my finance's mother.
Whenever I have entered the US previously, I enter on the 90 day tourist visa through the Visa Waiver Program.

I wanted to know if I/we would be eligible to petition and file the I-130 and I-485 forms with my 90 tourist visa once we are married?
Given that my current research indicates the processing time for the I-485 can take up to 12months, my 90 day visa obviously will not be sufficient.
Therefore, is it recommended that I apply for a longer (12 months) tourist visa before coming to the US to get married? Or will acceptance/processing of the I-485 temporarily change the class of my 90 visa until my petition is process and a decision is made?

Additionally, a tourist visa does not allow me to find employment in the US, so while my application is processing, what is the best course of action for me to take if I would like to find some work?

I'm sorry if this sounds messy, but I am at a complete loss at where I should begin in all this.
Any information or advice would truly be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

*Junny*

[scientist2016]

Hi All,

I am looking for anyone who can shed some light to my current situation. I am completely new and naïve to this entire process and any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

My fiancé (who is a US citizen) and I are planning to get married in May 2018 in Missouri.
I am an Australian citizen and currently live in Australia. We are hoping to relocate to Missouri after we are married to be closer to my finance's mother.
Whenever I have entered the US previously, I enter on the 90 day tourist visa through the Visa Waiver Program.

I wanted to know if I/we would be eligible to petition and file the I-130 and I-485 forms with my 90 tourist visa once we are married?
Given that my current research indicates the processing time for the I-485 can take up to 12months, my 90 day visa obviously will not be sufficient.
Therefore, is it recommended that I apply for a longer (12 months) tourist visa before coming to the US to get married? Or will acceptance/processing of the I-485 temporarily change the class of my 90 visa until my petition is process and a decision is made?

Additionally, a tourist visa does not allow me to find employment in the US, so while my application is processing, what is the best course of action for me to take if I would like to find some work?

I'm sorry if this sounds messy, but I am at a complete loss at where I should begin in all this.
Any information or advice would truly be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

*Junny*

Yes you can. The watch out with any tourist visa is that it is strictly for non-immigrant purposes. So there will be questions about this during your GC interview. Your expired visa does not matter as far as AOS is concerned, since you are marrying a US citizen. Once you file your AOS, you can file for a EAD (work permit) at the same time, and you can start working after you get it. It typically takes 90-120 days from the day of filing I485 to get the EAD.