K1 visas and student visas. And Marrying an American.

[axeman9]

Seasons Greetings everybody, this looks like just the forum i was after.

Baically i have some questions/concerns about moving to marry my Fiance in the US.

She is a US citizen and i am a UK citizen. We are engaged and would like to tie the knot in September or October. We have been together for 8 years. I have never been to the States before, although she used to live in the UK for 5 years but went home 3 years ago.

I would like to get a K1 i think to go over and marry her in the 90 day limit. But I am also looking into going to college over there for a 9 month intensive Xray technician course in Florida too. Which my fiance said she will pay for.

I will have approx $10,000 capitol for when i get there too.

The problems arise when i admit that i have a criminal record. I went to court 9 years ago and was charged with causing affray, i recieved 200 hours community service and a £1000 fine. I have also had a police caution for possession of a small amount of cannabis (24grams) from 2 years ago. (for the record, i have given up the weed) I have never been to prison either.

Will this severley hamper my chances or does anybody know if i will be ok?

Its just that i am very worried about not being able to spend the rest of my liffe with the person i love.

She says that there are a lot of other immigrants over there with convictions from other countries, namely Mexico, Cuba and Haiti etc and she seems to think that i am being paranoid. But i think i have good reason to be.

Any advice/help is greatly appreciated.

Regards

Mark

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by axeman9

Any advice/help is greatly appreciated.

You have a problem, not an insurmountable one (provided you mean weed and not the resin for your drug offense) but a major problem nevertheless. The process will go something like this: apply for K1, certain denial, file 601 waiver, possible visa issuance. Expect it to take over a year. This is not a DIY case -- you need an experienced immigration attorney to evaluate your case and ALL the facts. Try Fong & Chun if you want a recommend.

[Burriana Babs]

You are right there, my Oh and I were in the same situation and he was refused we filed for a waiver and that was refused. His convictions were over 18 years old so we did some research and filed another appeal for which we were advised we were corect that convictions over 18 years should be waived but they still found a reason to deny entry, we marrried in the UK and now live in Spain. But give it a try it may just work for you. But be sure it is weed and not resin and make sure the court records reflect that and the amount. The US us very strict when it comes to Brits. Keepin mind that they will let you go through the entire process before they let you know anything. They even let my husband go to the medical exam. The total expenditure for the whole process was about 4,000 pounds.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by Burriana Babs

You are right there, my Oh and I were in the same situation and he was refused we filed for a waiver and that was refused. His convictions were over 18 years old so we did some research and filed another appeal for which we were advised we were corect that convictions over 18 years should be waived but they still found a reason to deny entry, we marrried in the UK and now live in Spain. But give it a try it may just work for you. But be sure it is weed and not resin and make sure the court records reflect that and the amount. The US us very strict when it comes to Brits. Keepin mind that they will let you go through the entire process before they let you know anything. They even let my husband go to the medical exam. The total expenditure for the whole process was about 4,000 pounds.

If it's any drug offense except possession of 30g or less of weed, you're out of luck for permanent residency since no waiver is available. I have heard of cases where people live in "permanent residence" with their US spouses on a non-immigrant visa.

[synthia]

If someone is living in the US on a non-immigrant visa, I assume they entered legally and have never left, making them illegal. I also assume the 'permanent' part means they never will either, because they may not get back in.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by synthia

If someone is living in the US on a non-immigrant visa, I assume they entered legally and have never left, making them illegal. I also assume the 'permanent' part means they never will either, because they may not get back in.

Nope!

Let's have a scenario of a USC and a UKC who are married and want to live in the US. The UKC was cautioned at the age of 18 for the possession of one ecstasy tablet. There is no chance the UKC could ever become a permanent resident (GC holder) of the US since no waiver is available for an immigrant visa with a drug offense save the exception discussed. However, a waiver is available for a non-immigrant visa, e.g. an E2. So they can buy a Subway and live here indefinitely since there is no rime limit on an E2. Would also work with any other non-immigrant visa the UKC qualified for provided there was no time limit attached to their stay.

Not a position you want to be in....but where needs must!

[Burriana Babs]

All I can say is good luck as nothing worked for us. Understand that when you arrive in the USA (even with a visa) the entry officer can refuse entry at their descretion. Which means they can refuse entry and send you back to where you arrived from. That is what they did to my OH. They could see on the computer that he had applied for entry as a spouse and was refused the visa. So I think the thought was that he would enter and not leave therefore they refused his entry. Believe me if they do not want you there you will not get in. But like I said Good Luck and I hope it works for you.