What Happens If You Get Married While on a Tourist Visa in the U.S.?

Marrying a U.S. Citizen on a Tourist Visa Is Not Illegal

There is no rule against getting married while in the United States on a B-1/B-2 visitor visa. Marriage itself isn't an unauthorized activity, and it doesn't violate the terms of a tourist visa on its own. Once married to a U.S. citizen, the noncitizen spouse becomes what immigration law calls an immediate relative, and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens get an important benefit that most other categories don't: under INA § 245(c), they can generally still adjust status to a green card even if they've overstayed their authorized period or otherwise fallen out of status, something that would disqualify applicants in most other categories.

That benefit is part of why this path has long been viable for people who married after arriving as visitors. It's also part of why the government has paid closer attention to it.

The 90-Day Rule, Explained Correctly

The 90-day rule is a presumption, not a law that bans marrying quickly after arrival. If someone does something inconsistent with their visitor status within 90 days of entering the U.S., such as marrying a U.S. citizen and filing for adjustment of status, working without authorization, or enrolling in school without the right visa, USCIS presumes that person misrepresented their intentions to the border officer when they entered. Once that presumption applies, the burden shifts to the applicant to prove they did not intend to immigrate at the time they were admitted as a visitor.

Wait past 90 days, and that specific presumption goes away. It doesn't disappear entirely as an issue, since USCIS can still examine intent at entry under a broader totality-of-circumstances review, but there's no longer an automatic assumption against you. The actual legal question, at 60 days or at 6 months, is always the same: what did you intend when you were admitted. A plan that genuinely changed after a lawful entry isn't misrepresentation.

It's worth keeping this separate from marriage fraud, which is a different legal issue entirely. The 90-day rule concerns whether you were honest about your intentions when you entered as a visitor. Marriage fraud concerns whether the marriage itself is genuine. A case can raise one issue, both, or neither, and they get evaluated differently.

The New Policy Making This Harder for Tourist-Visa Entrants

In May 2026, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, titled to describe adjustment of status as a matter of discretion and administrative grace, an extraordinary form of relief that lets an applicant skip the ordinary process of applying for an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. The memo doesn't change the statutory eligibility requirements for marriage-based adjustment, and it doesn't eliminate the option. What it does is instruct officers to weigh the totality of the circumstances in every case, requiring applicants to show meaningful positive factors to outweigh anything working against them, and to consider whether granting adjustment actually serves the government's interest, rather than treating eligibility alone as enough.

The memo specifically names B-1/B-2 visitors among the groups facing the most scrutiny under this approach, and USCIS has signaled that it expects more people in that position to return home and go through consular processing rather than adjust status from inside the United States. This doesn't mean every pending case involving a tourist-visa entry gets denied. It means the discretionary analysis now carries more real weight on top of meeting the basic requirements, particularly for anyone whose most recent entry was a short-term visitor visa.

Why the Choice Between Adjusting Here and Processing Abroad Matters More Now

For someone who married after entering on a tourist visa, there have generally been two paths to a green card: adjusting status without leaving the country, or leaving to complete an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate. That choice now carries more weight than it used to.

Leaving the country is not risk-free if unlawful presence has built up, meaning time spent in the U.S. past the date on your I-94 without another lawful basis to stay. Departing after accruing enough unlawful presence can trigger a three-year or ten-year bar to reentry under INA § 212(a)(9)(B), and in that situation, a provisional unlawful presence waiver may need to be secured before anyone leaves the country. Adjusting status from within the U.S. as an immediate relative spouse generally avoids triggering that bar in the first place, which is a major reason adjustment has traditionally been the safer route for someone who overstayed a tourist visa and later married a citizen. PM-602-0199 doesn't remove that safety, but it does mean the discretionary review at the end of that process is tougher than it used to be.

What Actually Happens, Step by Step

For someone pursuing adjustment, the process generally involves filing Form I-130, the immigrant petition, together with Form I-485, the adjustment application, completing a biometrics appointment, and attending an interview, typically with both spouses present. That interview now carries the added weight of the discretionary review under the new memo, along with the usual questions about the marriage itself and, if within the relevant window, the original intent behind the visitor visa. If approved, and the marriage is less than two years old at the time of approval, the green card issued is conditional and valid for two years, requiring a separate filing, Form I-751, to remove those conditions before it expires.

What This Means If You're in This Situation Right Now

Don't treat the 90-day mark as a finish line that clears everything once you're past it. Under the current discretionary review, the timing of the marriage is one factor among many, not a switch that turns off scrutiny. Get a clear picture of your actual I-94 dates and whether unlawful presence has accrued before deciding between adjusting in place and consular processing, since that decision now has more riding on it than it once did. If unlawful presence is a factor, that needs to be assessed against a provisional waiver before anyone leaves the country. And build a genuine record of the relationship from early on, regardless of when you file, since a thin file gives both the misrepresentation analysis and the new discretionary review more room to work against you.

If you married while on a tourist visa and want a clear read on where you actually stand, contact Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat at (818) 382-3333.

This article discusses general legal principles and does not describe any specific client or matter. Nothing here constitutes legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship. Policies referenced here, including USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, are recent and subject to further change; confirm current guidance before relying on this article.

Shawn S. Sedaghat is an immigration attorney at Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat focused on deportation defense, immigration appeals, asylum, family-based immigration, and employment-based immigration. He is the firm’s founder and principal attorney and has more than 30 years of experience handling U.S. immigration matters.