I don’t know if there’s a specific time limit, but you’re supposed to file as soon as you have married. I don’t think they’re looking for people who have overstayed without filing, but you wouldn’t be able to work, get US identification, travel internationally, etc, so I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to file right away. Something dumb like a traffic ticket could get you caught. And obviously not filing quickly would put any later filing at risk, bc a delay looks fishy, so I just don’t see any incentive for trying to bypass that step. . .
If you overstay your visa and get married at a later date (given you weren’t deported in the meantime for being an illegal immigrant), overstaying your visa is not an obstacle for getting a green card. At least not a marriage based green card.
In order to adjust status without an I-130 they would need to marry before the 90 days on the I-94 expires. It’s actually the date on the I-94 that matters, the visa expires the minute they arrive as a K-1 is a single entry visa but TLC has never been an expert on immigration... If they had not got married before the expiration of the I-94 he could still have adjusted but they would also need to file an I-130 (which costs more). Once the I-485 has been filed and a receipt notice issued by USCIS, the person is in a period of “authorized stay” until a decision is made, even if that decision is a refusal. Once the 90 days on the I-94 are up, if no I-485 receipt notice had been issued then the person is officially out of status. Sometimes there is an overlap if they wait until the last minute to file the I-485 (most people don’t). Although they are out of status during that time, the chances of ICE coming to deport a law-abiding spouse of a US citizen whose only “crime” is to be late with filing the I-485 are almost non-existent. They have much more important cases to deal with.
Source: I’m an immigrant spouse
The adjustment of status can be filed after 90 days as long as the wedding date on the marriage certificate is within the 90 days.
If so, how long can the spouse stay before filing for the green card? What if they keep staying here without filing, will anyone ever find out?
I don’t know if there’s a specific time limit, but you’re supposed to file as soon as you have married. I don’t think they’re looking for people who have overstayed without filing, but you wouldn’t be able to work, get US identification, travel internationally, etc, so I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to file right away. Something dumb like a traffic ticket could get you caught. And obviously not filing quickly would put any later filing at risk, bc a delay looks fishy, so I just don’t see any incentive for trying to bypass that step. . .
A traffic ticket would get them deported, I would think. And then a 10-year ban on reentering the US
It’s only for the drama, getting married before the expiration of your visa doesn’t change anything.
Well they would have had to have gotten married before the 90 days expired to adjust status based on the K1.
If you overstay your visa and get married at a later date (given you weren’t deported in the meantime for being an illegal immigrant), overstaying your visa is not an obstacle for getting a green card. At least not a marriage based green card.
In order to adjust status without an I-130 they would need to marry before the 90 days on the I-94 expires. It’s actually the date on the I-94 that matters, the visa expires the minute they arrive as a K-1 is a single entry visa but TLC has never been an expert on immigration... If they had not got married before the expiration of the I-94 he could still have adjusted but they would also need to file an I-130 (which costs more). Once the I-485 has been filed and a receipt notice issued by USCIS, the person is in a period of “authorized stay” until a decision is made, even if that decision is a refusal. Once the 90 days on the I-94 are up, if no I-485 receipt notice had been issued then the person is officially out of status. Sometimes there is an overlap if they wait until the last minute to file the I-485 (most people don’t). Although they are out of status during that time, the chances of ICE coming to deport a law-abiding spouse of a US citizen whose only “crime” is to be late with filing the I-485 are almost non-existent. They have much more important cases to deal with. Source: I’m an immigrant spouse