Brit married to an American: Some Advice Needed

[jimy 0]

Hi,

I just joined this forum in a attempt to get some advice from others who may have been through my/our situation, to help my wife and I negotiate U.S immigration after months and months of struggling with this system, in simply trying to be together.

I am a British citizen and my wife is a U.S citizen. We were together for 3 years before we got engaged and in June 2009 successfully obtained a K1 visa. I then travelled to the U.S where we later married in California where she lives, within the 90 day threshold.

However, worsening financial problems meant I opted to not apply for my Adjustment of Status right away, as I understood that once this was lodged I could not leave the country without completely negating our case.

We increasingly struggled financially with my wife working so hard to support us until things reached breaking point and I could not take on any further debt and took the difficult decision to return to the UK to take up a work opportunity to help ease our immediate situation.

So as things stand, I am in the UK working, while my wife remains in California pursuing her career as a Nurse.

While we are getting back on our feet financially we would like to begin the process of my entering in to the U.S once more as her spouse, however crucially we want to ensure that I will be able to work upon entry or at least shortly thereafter, as I desperately want to avoid a long period of unemployment and the inevitable stress this causes.

We are desperate to overcome the visa obstacle and enjoy a normal relationship but have both resolved its best we work to reduce our debt and save some money for whatever we have to do next.

During this time we thought we could at least begin the process of applying for the appropriate visa, which would enable me to enter into the U.S once more, this time as her spouse and with the necessary permissions to enable me to work, at least in some capacity to hopefully avoid the disastrous situation we got ourselves into before.

As I understand it, this would entail the K3 visa? Has anyone been through this process that could outline the steps we have to go through?

Admittedly, my wife and I have not always researched the visa processes thoroughly enough, which has been much to our detriment, however we also feel we have often received conflicting, confusing and poor advice from the USCIS support services.

If someone could offer a firsthand account or advice of this process we are considering entering into, it would give us some guide as to what to expect which would help us better prepare this time.

Many thanks in advance for any help you might offer.

Jim & Monica

[Luke and Deanna 0]

I believe if your married you need to take the K3 route. Best place to start is the guides

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=guides

Here you will find all the help you need to get you started with links to if it's right for you and links to the forms you will need.

Get reading and i'm sure you will soon have a clear idea about what's needed.

How long did you stay in the US out of status?

Luke and Deanna

[john_and_marlene 162]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

[garfield529 47]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

Yeah, the IR-1 visa seems to be the most sense, but exactly how long did you stay after the initial 90 days? Because you are technically out of status and could be subject to penalty for overstay.

[SunDrop 59]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

It wouldn't be the IR1 unless you've been married for 2+ years at the time of issue. It would be a CR1. Same form, same outcome (GC issued shortly after entry in the US) but it is a conditional GC, meaning that 2 years -90 days after it's issue date, you have to file to remove conditions.

Definitely do not go the K3 route, as it works on the same basis as the K1, namely you have to file an adjustment of status.

I appreciate the AOS fees are hard, but a shame you couldn't have borrowed the $1010 for it, as you would have received your EAD within a couple of months, pending approval of your GC. Too late now, I appreciate.

Your only alternative is to petition for your wife to come here with you, she could most probably easily find work as a nurse and then go 'direct consular filing' (DCF) which is very quick and would give you a CR1. She would need to be resident in the UK for 6 months on a permanent basis (so you would have to petition the british consulate but it's a couple of weeks to process, not c. 9 months!) and far less hoops to jump through. The advantage to this is obviously you would be together until you had your visa but also the very quick processing time.

[SunDrop 59]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

Yeah, the IR-1 visa seems to be the most sense, but exactly how long did you stay after the initial 90 days? Because you are technically out of status and could be subject to penalty for overstay.

This overstay is 'excused' for immediate relatives, although filing outside of the US might require a waiver.

[garfield529 47]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

Yeah, the IR-1 visa seems to be the most sense, but exactly how long did you stay after the initial 90 days? Because you are technically out of status and could be subject to penalty for overstay.

This overstay is 'excused' for immediate relatives, although filing outside of the US might require a waiver.

Thanks for correcting my comment, I was also thinking the CR1 but then IR-1 popped in my mind. It is good that they excuse the overstay. I guess that makes sense because many VJers have mentioned not adjusting status for a while, usually due to the financial issues of the AOS fee.

[jimy 0]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

Yeah, the IR-1 visa seems to be the most sense, but exactly how long did you stay after the initial 90 days? Because you are technically out of status and could be subject to penalty for overstay.

Actually, was told by USCIS that once we were married, I was in their words 'Protected' and could stay in the coutry indefinately, though with out Adjusting Status I have no work rights etc. I remember feeling very unsure of this advice when they gave it to me, and I recall being rushed off the phone by the agent. At one point the agent said he would give me the chance to ask one more question before moving onto the next caller! It left me very confused and frustrated.

However, if my staying beyond 90 days without Adjusting Status means I was 'out of status', then I was out of status for 2 days before I flew home to work. Would I be penalized for this?

[jimy 0]

If you want to be able to work right away, do not file for the K-3. File the I-130 for the IR-1 visa and follow through with it to completion. You won't have to do the adjustment of status and will be work authorized on the day you arrive. All you will need is a SSN.

It wouldn't be the IR1 unless you've been married for 2+ years at the time of issue. It would be a CR1. Same form, same outcome (GC issued shortly after entry in the US) but it is a conditional GC, meaning that 2 years -90 days after it's issue date, you have to file to remove conditions.

Definitely do not go the K3 route, as it works on the same basis as the K1, namely you have to file an adjustment of status.

I appreciate the AOS fees are hard, but a shame you couldn't have borrowed the $1010 for it, as you would have received your EAD within a couple of months, pending approval of your GC. Too late now, I appreciate.

Your only alternative is to petition for your wife to come here with you, she could most probably easily find work as a nurse and then go 'direct consular filing' (DCF) which is very quick and would give you a CR1. She would need to be resident in the UK for 6 months on a permanent basis (so you would have to petition the british consulate but it's a couple of weeks to process, not c. 9 months!) and far less hoops to jump through. The advantage to this is obviously you would be together until you had your visa but also the very quick processing time.

thanks for your advice, can you clarify for me was the CR1 is exactly? understand about removing conditions etc.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Take a look at the guides

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

They explain the benefits and costs of each type of visa.

Removing conditions is required for any beneficiary married less than 2 years when the green card is issued. You apply for a 10 year green card and show that your marriage in bonafide, you're a good member of society, etc. Again, read the guides

Good luck