Hello - New member

[Ben S. 0]

Hello everyone!

Found this website and I think it is very good and am glad we found it.

In the last year, I fell madly in love with a young lady from Costa Rica who is here as an Au Pair.

We got married on December 10th, and we have a meeting with an immigration lawyer on Friday.

Just wondering if anyone else here knows anything about this or has gone through the same process of getting a green card for an Au Pair after marriage.

She is here legally on a 2 year visa.

We need to know how long it can take to get the green card, or when she can leave the country to visit her sick grandmother. The lady at the immigration office in Newark told us that once we sent in the forms she could come and go until the green card was approved, but now we have some doubts about that.

Also, does getting married count as a violation?

We are lost as many people are and any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[payxibka 10,047]

if you are trying for greencard for your wife, you do not need a K-1 visa which is for unmarried alien's not resident in the US

Moving from K-1 to AOS forum

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Congratulations. Indeed, you should need only to Adjust Status.

Most people do not bother with a lawyer and go at it by themselves. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

We need to know how long it can take to get the green card,

Mine took 6 months, but many people have waited for even 2 years, depends on the case, country of origin, immigration officer etc.

or when she can leave the country to visit her sick grandmother.

Her visa if I recall correctly is a J-1, I'm not familiar with that visa since I adjusted status out of a student visa (F-1) and the rules differ sometimes. I couldn't leave the country until after 3 months of filing for AOS (adjust of status=green card). I've heard about some work visas that let you leave the country even if you have filed for AOS through marriage to a US citizen but I'm not 100% sure if hers (J-1) applies to this category. Use the search feature to look for similar cases concerning J-1 visas.

The lady at the immigration office in Newark told us that once we sent in the forms she could come and go until the green card was approved, but now we have some doubts about that.

Doesn't hurt to double check by contacting USCIS or by searching this forum.

Also, does getting married count as a violation?

NOPE

[KIMCORENE 0]

Is she here on a J-1 visa? Knowing that would make it easier to advise you.

[LeaAndBen 0]

I am going through the same process. I was on a 2year au pair visa too. Except that our change of status file and I-130 isn't sent yet.

To be able to visit her grandmother she needs to file an advance parole document to be able to come back in the USA and wait for the paper to come to be able to do anything.

Edited January 9, 2009 by LeaAndBen