Which visa do I fill out?

[faith_W16]

Here is my situation:

This past July 2008 I entered America and married my American boyfriend in America. I entered on a tourist situation so now what visas do I have to fill out to make me legal here?

thanks!

[Steven]

It's not actually legal to stay in the US in this situation, you need to leave and apply for either a K-1 or K-3 visa at the local consulate, the general advice at the moment is to get a K-1 visa. You can still visit your husband while the application is pending, however USCIS might get snotty about it if you tell them you're married to an American - the key is that you are entering temporarily and intend to leave and re-enter on a visa. B-2 visitor status is usually six months in a calendar year max.

Once you get the visa (takes about ten months) you enter and apply for adjustment of status using I-485 to permanent resident. You can also apply for work authorization at the same time on Form I-765, which takes three to four months to get.

[faith_W16]

I can not get the fiancee visa as we are already married. I know about 5 canadian girls who married the same way who didnt have to leave while their visas were being processed, we all married US military so maybe that is the reason. I think they went directly for their 1-485 I am just waiting for them to get back to me with that info and thought I would post on here first.

[Steven]

You can get K-1 even if you are married is my understanding, it's not just for fiancees. K-3 was supposedly a faster route for people already married but it's not anymore (actually I just checked and the amount of time they take is very similar). He can file an I-130 but I think it's unlikely you'll get it before you're technically in violation of your B-2 status. There is a thing about "co-habiting partners" being able to stay in B-2 status, but you're not co-habiting, you're married.

If you file an I-485 I think there is a grace period while they sort out if you are eligible, so I assume that is how your friends did it.

Technically it's not legal though to enter as a visitor with the intention of getting married (and staying).

[Reba]

Nope, K1 is specifically for fiancees only. However, they use one of hte same petitions for both the K1 and K3, (I-129F) so it causes some confusion.

She can most definitely stay in the US and adjust status, depending on her intent when she entered the US as a visitor. If she had no intent of gettign married and staying in the US, And Can Prove It (which is key), then adjusting status is usually not a problem.

However, if she quit her job, sold all her stuff, and moved out of her home before she came to the US, then obviously her intent was to stay here, and won't look good at interview time.

For marriage based info on immigrating to the US check out http://www.visajourney.com and in your particular case, specifically check out the forum for Adjusting Status.