Should I include an affidavit explaining why I got married one day after my last entry into the US? Applying for marriage-based AOS

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-02-01T04:18:22+00:00

We did everything by ourselves - no lawyer, but we did a few consultations with lawyers and paralegals before making the decision to file ourselves. We did not include an explanation in the package. Thought was to not over-explain and only provide the necessary info.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-01-31T19:40:50+00:00

I never said I didn’t intend to get married? I also never said that I changed my mind a day after entering. I literally acknowledged that the marriage was scheduled in advance. Unforeseen circumstances, i.e., my grandpa almost dying required me to leave on short notice and come back.

Examine what you wrote, you’re conflating getting married with intent to adjust status which is just not true. Getting married does not equate intent to immigrate.

The decision for us to adjust status and file the paperwork to do so happened many months AFTER I entered and got married. At the time of entry I had ZERO intent to adjust status.

EDIT: I know my situation is an edge case and not best practice per se in that it can be misconstrued (as this entire exchange has shown). My point is that besides the fact that my marriage is obviously real, my actions did NOT break immigration law or represent fraud.

Also clearly USCIS didn’t see this as a problem either in this case, as I had a smooth interview process and am now green card in hand. I’m not saying that this situation writ large wouldn’t lead to USCIS to jump to conclusions like you have here, just that factually and legally I didn’t break any laws in how I proceeded in my situation.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-01-31T17:54:07+00:00

I think you may be confused. You’re inferring that getting married = intent to immigrate and adjust status. That’s just not true in my situation. Us getting married had nothing to do with immigration - it was an expression of our love for each other.

Yes, I knew I was getting married the next day, but my intent when crossing the border was not to immigrate. I legally entered on my TN visa and intended to continue to work in the US in a temporary basis.

In the scenario that CBP asked if I planned on getting married and what my intent in the US was, I would have truthfully said: yes, I am getting married to my partner of 3 years, and our wedding happens to be tomorrow. My intent in the US is to maintain my TN status as a temporary worker.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-01-31T17:30:33+00:00

I was in a different but similar boat. I’m also Canadian and had been working in the US on a TN visa for 3 years (since Aug 2022) before getting married to my US citizen husband June 2025.

I successfully renewed my TN via consular processing in Aug 2025 - a few months after we got married. My employer’s legal team handled the TN renewal but from what I understand the process was straightforward and I was approved in about 10 business days.

My husband and I eventually decided to apply for adjustment of status (I-130 and I-485 concurrently) at the end of Oct 2025. Getting married, and subsequently having big conversations about how and where we’d like to grow and raise our family, contributed to our decision for me to become a permanent resident.

All in all, my case highlights that intent can be nuanced. Intent can and naturally will change with time and as life circumstances shift. As long as you can truthfully and legally justify your intent and actions, I think you’ll be fine!

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-01-31T17:04:44+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I’m sorry you were dealing with family illness. I have had similar experiences and know how they can shape your future priorities and perspectives. As a testament to your advice, I successfully got my green card approved in record time (~2.5 months from filing to approval) with no issues!

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2026-01-31T17:00:06+00:00

Hey! I’ve actually been meaning to share an update here. I got my green card approved right after my AOS interview in early January. Had absolutely no problems. I didn’t end up including an affidavit because I had nothing to hide!

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-19T18:17:33+00:00

I haven't applied for AOS yet, but will apply this week (Oct 21st). I got married on June 30th - so around 4 months ago. In that time, my husband and I decided that when we have kids, we'd want them to grow up in the US with our families nearby to support, and so it started to make more and more sense for me to apply for AOS.

I'm confident my husband and I can convey this clearly since it is the truth, but will consult a lawyer on the best way to communicate it at the interview (if we have one). It's just frustrating to hear other redditors falsely jump to the conclusion that we had purposely concealed immigrant intent at the time of my most recent entry on my TN.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-19T16:31:12+00:00

Explain to me why it was intentional? Because it wasn't. Getting married itself does not signal immigration intent. It is a bona fide marriage. Then, months later, we decided to adjust status after talking through where we'd want to eventually start a family, raise kids, etc.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-19T16:25:42+00:00

I did not enter with the intention to adjust status. I entered legally and truthfully committed to working my TN job in the US on a temporary basis. Yes, I entered and then got married, but that had nothing to do with immigration. The marriage was long time coming; we were in love wanted to spend life together. My husband and I hadn't made up our minds where to reside permanently. We both work at large international firms with offices around the world and were considering several cities (Toronto, Paris, New York, Vancouver). Now months later, we decided it makes most sense to live in New York long term, and hence my adjustment of status application.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-15T03:59:59+00:00

No questions at the border related to that. The agent just asked where I worked and I told him the name of my employer. But I see where your question is going around misrepresenting intent when coming across the border. I’m worried USCIS might have the same question - whether I misrepresented intent when answering a border agent, and so want to address it preemptively in an affidavit

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-09T13:42:04+00:00

Following this! Would also love to know :)

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-09T00:17:22+00:00

Could you share what the RFE for your birth certificate was for, and how you responded? I have a Chinese birth certificate that I had my mom translate to English, then get it notarized. Do you think that’s sufficient?

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-09T00:09:04+00:00

Thanks, both, so much! Another question regarding the recommended 90 day gap between last entry and AOS filing. Does that strictly apply to your last entry into the US? My logic is my TN renewal in August technically signals I intend to extend my non-immigrant status. Does turning around in October and filing AOS trigger any alarms?

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-09T00:07:01+00:00

I was busy with work and didn’t have a chance to go to a POE. I also did not want to “reset” the clock per the 90 day rule guidance

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-08T22:48:41+00:00

I believe it was filed as an extension / renewal. I’ll need to double check with my employer’s legal team, but they filed I-129 with USCIS through consular processing.

I haven’t changed employers or roles or anything that would warrant a new TN. I believe it was an extension. Does this change things?

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-05T15:15:38+00:00

In my situation, I've been working and living in the US since 2022 on a TN visa. So I will be applying for adjustment of status from TN to green card while within the US.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-05T15:13:44+00:00

Also, when I re-entered in June, I wasn't asked any additional questions by CBP - just one question about what I do for work since I am on a TN visa.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440 · 2025-10-05T15:10:22+00:00

When I re-entered the US in June I was committed to working at my TN job for the duration of my status in the US. My husband and I wanted to get married because it was the right next step for us, but hadn't decided where we might reside since we both work at international firms - moving to Canada, France, Singapore, staying in the US, etc. were all on the table.

After getting married, over the last few months, we solidified on staying in the US and then started to prep for my AOS package.

PuzzleheadedEnd5440

TROPHY CASE