6 months residency -Brasil....

[Marina-Del 10]

Just a quick question!

I'm planning on getting married here in Brazil in a couple months. After the wedding, and filing of course, my residency in Brazil would begin (obviously)!

I have been in Brazil since January 2009 on a tourist visa. On another post it said that once you get your residency they will begin to start counting the 6 months from when you entered Brasil. If this is true, even if I got married next month, my 6 months of residency would be completed in July. This just doesn't sound right to me! I can't beleive that they would count my time on a tourist visa! If they do, great! But I am just trying to get the truth! So, for example, if I entered Brasil on a tourist visa in January and got married in April and residency at the end of April (just hypothetically) would my 6 months of required residency end in July or October?

Also, I am planning on going back to the states from June to September to get in order some things there. The plan is to get married here before I go home. Again, hypothetically, if we were to get married in April and get residency for myself at the end of April would they start counting my 6 months of residency from the end of April or from when I got back to Brasil in September. In other words, would my visit to the US make my residency time start over?

Thanks for any help!

[txladykat 1]

I would contact the American Embassy and ask them directly. Each embassy has different rules for meeting the requirement. I arrived in Denmark in October to live with my husband (we married in September). I didn't apply for residency until December. The embassy began counting my timeline from when I entered, not when I applied for residency or obtained (which I am still waiting for). Also, I would be careful, leaving for three months could be construed as abandoning your residency in the country. I was told by the embassy that brief trips back to the US were allowed while counting my timeline, but they wouldn't give me a specific length of time.

[Marina-Del 10]

I would contact the American Embassy and ask them directly. Each embassy has different rules for meeting the requirement. I arrived in Denmark in October to live with my husband (we married in September). I didn't apply for residency until December. The embassy began counting my timeline from when I entered, not when I applied for residency or obtained (which I am still waiting for). Also, I would be careful, leaving for three months could be construed as abandoning your residency in the country. I was told by the embassy that brief trips back to the US were allowed while counting my timeline, but they wouldn't give me a specific length of time.

Hmm..interesting. Thanks for the response. I suppose I will call and look into that!

Thanks again!

[MargotDarko 0]

I would contact the American Embassy and ask them directly. Each embassy has different rules for meeting the requirement. I arrived in Denmark in October to live with my husband (we married in September). I didn't apply for residency until December. The embassy began counting my timeline from when I entered, not when I applied for residency or obtained (which I am still waiting for). Also, I would be careful, leaving for three months could be construed as abandoning your residency in the country. I was told by the embassy that brief trips back to the US were allowed while counting my timeline, but they wouldn't give me a specific length of time.

Right. You''ll need to speak to the embassy/consulate about your specific situation to see when they would start counting the six months. I would also be careful about that long trip home. However, if they count your six months from the date of your entry, you'd be able to file the I-130 in late June/early July (depending on your arrival date in January) and then go to the US. You don't have to live in Brazil during the whole process.

[Marina-Del 10]

Oh, sorry! There is a bit of a misunderstanding there! I want to live in Brasil!!

I am only going home because I have only 2 classes left to take before I will graduate with my BA. I'm taking those 2 classes this summer in summer school and then I will have my BA! woooo!!

I really don't want to go home at all! I'd rather stay here the whole time! I'm not looking forward to more time apart! Throughout our relationship we have only been apart for 4 months (out of about 2.5 years) and I DIDN'T like it! I'm really only figuring out all of the details because we know that someday we do want to live in the US. But, I would like to stay in Brazil for a year or two before we move to the US. My fiancee is okay with staying here for a while, but sometimes Brazil gets on his nerves and he wants to try something new sooner rather than later! We haven't decided yet exactly when we'll be going to the US. We think that we will be ready to apply for DCF around January or March 2010 (in which case my going back to the US to finish school wont make any difference for my 6 months) but I wanted to have the information for our other options. Understand? I think it is best that we know all of our options before we make any decisions!

I think it would be nice for us to stay here for a year or two though. I'm enjoying being here and I want to improve my Portuguese as much as possible before we move back to the US. Plus I want him to have as much time with his family as possible because once we go to the US he wont ever see them THIS WAY again. Of course he will visit, but it's not the same!

[Tricia599 2]

If you are planning on getting married in Brasil and want to stay here, then you are going to be applying for permanent residency in Brasil, and the US Consulate will not enter into the picture at all. The only reason you would do anything through the US Consulate is if you are planning on moving back to the US with your fiance/spouse.

From your post, you want to marry here in Brasil and then in a few years, move back to the US. If that is the case, probably the easiest thing to do is get married here in Brasil and then you will apply for permanent residency here (Brasil) at your local Policia Federal. Once you decide you are ready to go back to the US, you will go the K3 spouse visa route. Also, it looks like you want to get married fast, and if so, hopefully you have all the required documentation - which can be a bit daunting with authentications and translations and such. You'll want to check with the cartorio in the city where you are going to be married, as each one is different.

I can give you more details if you'd like, as I got married here in Minas Gerias last May and applied for residency in June. Send me a message if I can help.

Good luck.

[Marina-Del 10]

If you are planning on getting married in Brasil and want to stay here, then you are going to be applying for permanent residency in Brasil, and the US Consulate will not enter into the picture at all. The only reason you would do anything through the US Consulate is if you are planning on moving back to the US with your fiance/spouse.

From your post, you want to marry here in Brasil and then in a few years, move back to the US. If that is the case, probably the easiest thing to do is get married here in Brasil and then you will apply for permanent residency here (Brasil) at your local Policia Federal. Once you decide you are ready to go back to the US, you will go the K3 spouse visa route. Also, it looks like you want to get married fast, and if so, hopefully you have all the required documentation - which can be a bit daunting with authentications and translations and such. You'll want to check with the cartorio in the city where you are going to be married, as each one is different.

I can give you more details if you'd like, as I got married here in Minas Gerias last May and applied for residency in June. Send me a message if I can help.

Good luck.

I'm a bit confused now!! Why would we apply for the K-3 visa, which takes such a long time, when we could apply for DCF if I have been living in Brazil?? Am I missing something? I will PM you about the documentation that we need for marriage! Thanks! The reason I am concerned about the time is because we are not sure how long we want to stay in Brazil. I would not mind staying for a year or two, but my fiance is quite frustrated with his countries and the opportunities (or lack thereof) that they offer. I am trying at the moment to convince him to wait until next April-ish to apply for the DCF, but at the moment he is a bit inclined to apply as soon as we meet the requirments. It's a ver confusing situation. Since I want to stay here, it does not make sense for us to apply K-1 since I would have to go back to the US AND we would be apart for that time. Plus, applying for the K-1 would only be a month or two faster -it seems- then getting married now and applying DCF. Again, we haven't decided exactly how long we want to be in Brazil. When he's in a good mood, he doesn't mind staying here for a year or so...but when things are really messed up here (as they so often are in Brazil, a couple of examples: traffic, we live in SP so the streets get flooded all the time, etc) he cannot wait to leave!

I know it's confusing! I'm confused too...

[txladykat 1]

filing DCF you are filing for the CR1 visa, not the K-3. BUT, once your spouse's visa is issued it is only good for 6 months. They must enter the US within 6 months of receiving the visa. Therefore, you should NOT file for the visa now. I would wait until its closer to the time you want to come to the

US permanently. Maybe about 6 months before you plan on coming to the US to live, then look into filing DCF.

[Marina-Del 10]

Just as an update!

I just got this email from the immigration department at the Rio American Consulate:

The 6 months residency begins when you enter Brazil.

---just for the record, I specifically told them I was on a tourist visa in the email.

So, I'm keeping this email and if I get a different response later, hopefully I can use it as leverage! hehe. I have heard from some other people going through Rio and they gave me very different answers. So, I think that again, it is a case of whatever answer you happen to get that day.