# Marrying in the US on the VWP?



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

What's the deal on marrying a loved one with the Visa Waiver Program in the USA?

This url here:

I-94 Form I-94 Card, Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record USA I94

States that:

_""If you are applying for an extension of stay or change of status, you will also need to be issued an I-94 Form (or I-95) if you were not issued one of these documents when you entered the country. Note that Visa Waiver Program visitors (who are issued a Form I-94W) may not file an application to change their immigration status or extend their stay beyond the 90-day timeframe.""_

Is this the case in reality or not??

Or is it you marry, leave and apply for a K3 visa for returning and then adjustment of status???


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If you marry while in the US on a VWP it's assumed you were not intending to stay in the US after the marriage, i.e. you got married in the US, but you're planning on settling elsewhere.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Wayfarer said:


> What's the deal on marrying a loved one with the Visa Waiver Program in the USA?
> 
> This url here:
> 
> ...



You cannot rely on anything the government tells you -- the Supreme Curt has so ruled. See: OPM V. RICHMOND, 496 U. S. 414 (1990)

In certain cases you can change immigration status.

The K3 visa is obsolete. Use IR1/CR1 IV instead.


----------



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

Thanks, so the jist of it is, marry, leave and apply from there.

Has anyone on this forum actually applied and rec'd residence while actually living in the USA? 
Or is it set in stone you HAVE to be out of the country?


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Wayfarer said:


> Thanks, so the jist of it is, marry, leave and apply from there.
> 
> Has anyone on this forum actually applied and rec'd residence while actually living in the USA?
> Or is it set in stone you HAVE to be out of the country?


Set in stone or in the rules and reulations?
Did you and your respectiv half have a case od hormones (noting inappropriate intended) and want to get married during an ESTA stay? If you are on a train of theory this, theory that - yoyo.


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Wayfarer said:


> Thanks, so the jist of it is, marry, leave and apply from there.
> 
> Has anyone on this forum actually applied and rec'd residence while actually living in the USA?
> Or is it set in stone you HAVE to be out of the country?


Many adjust status from an NIV status to permenant resident in country.

There are, however, pitfalls when doing this in I-94W (VWP) status:

1/ It's limited to the no-wait immediate relative category. Basically parents spouse or child under 21 of USC.

2/ Recent court rulings have made it very risky outside the period of validity of the I-94W. See Momeni from 9th Circuit. Also Google for goings-on at USCIS San Diego Office.

3/ You signed away all right to judicial review of your case when you entered on an I-94W -- if USCIS just fancy removing you and slapping you with a lifetime ban instead of giving you a green card, that is their prerogative.


----------



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

twostep said:


> Set in stone or in the rules and reulations?
> Did you and your respectiv half have a case od hormones (noting inappropriate intended) and want to get married during an ESTA stay? If you are on a train of theory this, theory that - yoyo.


yoyo?

Sorry but you lost me at reulations...

Fat Brit, thanks for your response.
It was more revealing than the quoted one


----------



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

Fatbrit said:


> Many adjust status from an NIV status to permenant resident in country.
> 
> There are, however, pitfalls when doing this in I-94W (VWP) status:
> 
> ...


The lifetime ban seem's ludicrious, ten years is the current max blacklist.
I'd of thought lifetime ban was for Osama Bin Laden's cronies personally...


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Wayfarer said:


> The lifetime ban seem's ludicrious, ten years is the current max blacklist.
> I'd of thought lifetime ban was for Osama Bin Laden's cronies personally...


Fraud gets you a lifetime ban. Never say never and all that, but get one of those slapped on you and you're most probably never coming back.


----------



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

Fatbrit said:


> Fraud gets you a lifetime ban. Never say never and all that, but get one of those slapped on you and you're most probably never coming back.


Would marrying on a Work Permit (H2A) and applying for an adjustment in status be practical then?


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Wayfarer said:


> Would marrying on a Work Permit (H2A) and applying for an adjustment in status be practical then?


Decidedly better bet than doing it off of a VWP I'd think.


----------



## sp1j (Jun 7, 2011)

I have heard stories of a couple of people who managed to gain a visa in the USA, but that was a long time ago. I got married in America, moved back to Europe and got a visa there.


----------



## Wayfarer (Apr 4, 2009)

Is common-law marriage in the USA acceptable assuming I've come into the country on a H1A visa?

I know it's legal (common law marriage) in a few states, I was just wondering if it was ok for a UK national to do it then start jumping through the hoops for change of status???


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Wayfarer said:


> Is common-law marriage in the USA acceptable assuming I've come into the country on a H1A visa?
> 
> I know it's legal (common law marriage) in a few states, I was just wondering if it was ok for a UK national to do it then start jumping through the hoops for change of status???


While it may be accepted in a few states, it doesn't get you anywhere for Federal purposes - and that includes immigration.
Cheers,
Bev


----------

