90 Days Rule – US Immigration

I have been getting a lot of questions from people about the 90-days rule when filing for adjustment of status. Basically, the 90-days rule has been designed by the USCIS to stop people from using temporary visas for unintended purposes.

Visas in the United States can be broadly categorized into two types:

1. Dual Intent
2. Single Intent

Dual Intent are generally work visas like H-1B or L-1 visa, wherein the person requests the USCIS that they would come to the United States to work temporarily, but also with a permanent intent of relocating to the United States.

On the other hand, Single intent visas like a tourist visa only shows an intent of visiting The United States for a temporary period with no intent of relocating permanently. 

However, if the circumstances change and the person marries the love of their life, it should be genuine and should not be only for the sake of obtaining immigration benefits. This means they should have come to the United States only with the intent of returning back, but with the changed circumstances the person plans on permanently relocating.

This is a hard thing to prove. So, the USCIS has come with the 90-day rule which states that the temporary visa holders who marries or applies for a green card within the 90 days of arriving in the United States are presumed to have misrepresented their intentions while obtaining the temporary visa.

These are the list of things that raise a high level of suspicion when done within 90 days of entering the United States (Only for single intent visas like B, TN, J, M, Q):

1. Engaging in unauthorized employment
2. Enrolling in an unauthorized course of study 
3. Entering into a marriage with a U.S. Citizen
4. Filing for an adjustment of Status