K-3 Visa for Married Partner of US Resident

[KayEss 4]

Hi,

I am living in UK on work permit with my wife. My wife is US Resident (Green card holder). Now If I want to move to US i think I should be able to able to get K-3 visa in short time and then move there but I am not clear about the process or whether this is right.

As I dont want to apply for Green card as its gonna take a lot longer than any thing.

So please advise me the best path and tell me what process it involves in if I apply for K-3 Visa.

thank you in advance.

Kamran

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Unless I'm mistaken, permanent residents cannot apply for K visas (either K1 or K3). Your wife will need to file an I-130 for you and this will result (eventually) in a green card. The process takes longer for PRs than for citizens, so you are in for a wait until a visa number is available -- this can be a wait of several years. The good news is that if your wife becomes a US citizen, the I-130 is "upgraded" and your wait times will be the same as for other USCs.

Moving to Bringing Family Members of Permanent Residents to America for more replies. No matter what, this is definitely not going to be a "short time". Best of luck!

[aleful 1,905]

ditto,

k1 and K3 are only for USC applying for spouses in their country of origin. Residents can't file for K3.

[KayEss 4]

so this means I can't move to usa even on any non-immigrant visa?

[aleful 1,905]

you are correct. at least until your wife becomes a USC. but she can file the i130 to start the process for the GC.

anyway the K3 is only a visa that lets you in the country, but you still have to file for the GC.

[Boiler 45,516]

If she is living in the UK how is she maintaining her PR status?

She can file now, assuming she has a US residency, you need to wait for a Visa number, 5 or 6 years.

[KayEss 4]

so this will be the faster approach if i choose it like this.

"we apply for my i-130 now ( i know its gonna take longer ) and when my will be USC ( by mid of next year) , we will ask them to update the status of application , and it will make the process faster for my GC?"

Is it right or shall i wait for her to be a USC?

regards,

[Boiler 45,516]

How is she going to be a USC is she is living in the UK?

[KayEss 4]

How is she going to be a USC is she is living in the UK?

she has almost completed her required time that she needed to spend in usa in last 5 years and she is visiting US every 5 or 6 months. she is living in UK but she has got PR (GC).

[Boiler 45,516]

she has almost completed her required time that she needed to spend in usa in last 5 years and she is visiting US every 5 or 6 months. she is living in UK but she has got PR (GC).

You need to investigate this further, sounds like you have abandonment issues.

[KayEss 4]

You need to investigate this further, sounds like you have abandonment issues.

i didn't get it. why do you think like that?

As far as I know, you have not to be out of US for more than 6 months in a row and you need to complete a total no of days (when you have GC). then after 5 years you should be able to apply for citizen ship.

Am i wrong? please correct me. I am bit ignorant of US laws...

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

They usually require that you be in the US for more than 6 months of the year unless you have gotten approval ahead to be out of the states for more than that. If your spouse only "visits" every few months there is a high risk that on some "visit" they will take her green card away.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

i didn't get it. why do you think like that?

As far as I know, you have not to be out of US for more than 6 months in a row and you need to complete a total no of days (when you have GC). then after 5 years you should be able to apply for citizen ship.

Am i wrong? please correct me. I am bit ignorant of US laws...

How long does she have for physical presence? She will need 30 months. ( 3 months of which are for living in the district/state she is applying in)

So she would have to subtract those months she wasn't in the US toward this count.

What is the difference between “physical presence” and “continuous residence”?

Physical presence concerns the total number of days you were in the United States during the period required for your naturalization. Continuous residence concerns the time you resided lawfully in the United States without

any single absence long enough to “break” that continuity for naturalization purposes

When counting the total number of days you have been out of the country, include all trips you have taken outside the United States. This includes short trips and visits to Canada and Mexico.

For example, if you go to Canada for a weekend, you must include that trip when you are counting how many days you have spent out of the country. Generally, partial days spent in the United States

count as whole days spent in the United States.

[lucyrich 20]

i didn't get it. why do you think like that?

As far as I know, you have not to be out of US for more than 6 months in a row and you need to complete a total no of days (when you have GC). then after 5 years you should be able to apply for citizen ship.

Am i wrong? please correct me. I am bit ignorant of US laws...

The primary requirement is that her residence be in the US. You said she is visiting the US every 5 - 6 months. If that's true, it would indicate she has already abandoned status. Any time spent outside the US would be time spent visiting. She needs to stop visiting the US and go home. And of course, her home needs to be inside the US.

From the USCIS "Maintaining your permanent residence" page:

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently

* Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year

* Remain outside of the United States for more than 2 years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year

• Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the United States for any period

• Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns

The underlining is my own.

Note that, as soon as she moves her residence to another country, she has abandoned her Green Card. That could happen in a very short time, but they'll generally assume she hasn't abandoned residence if her longest trip outside the US was less than six months. But that underlined language says that a person could abandon residence in a shorter time.

In addition to the requirements for maintaining LPR status, there are slightly more stringent requirements to maintain "continuous residence" for the purpose of gaining US citizenship. If she ever has spent more than six months outside the US, she must present "clear and convincing evidence" (that's a legal term meaning "a lot of proof") that she has maintained her residence inside the US during that time.

Also, there's a hard statuatory requirement (called the "physical presence requirement") to have spent more than one half of the days during her required continuous residence period physically inside the US. So for example a cruise ship employee who had a work schedule of three weeks on board a ship (in international waters) and one week at home in Miami, and had maintained that schedule every month for five years, would be ineligible for naturalization even if it was very clear that her one and only residence had always been inside the US.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Also, there's a hard statuatory requirement (called the "physical presence requirement") to have spent more than one half of the days during her required continuous residence period physically inside the US. So for example a cruise ship employee who had a work schedule of three weeks on board a ship (in international waters) and one week at home in Miami, and had maintained that schedule every month for five years, would be ineligible for naturalization even if it was very clear that her one and only residence had always been inside the US.

There is an exception about that cruise ship scenario:

If you are at least 18 years old and:

Served on a vessel operated by the United States

or

If you:

Served on a vessel registered in the United States and owned

by U.S. citizens or a U.S. corporation.

5 years as a Permanent Resident without leaving the United

States for trips of 6 months or longer.

NOTE: If you were out of the country while serving on a vessel,

this time out of the country does not break your continuous residence. It is treated just like time spent in the United States.

NOTE: Time served on the vessel counts as time “physically present” in the United States no matter where you were.

(taken from the M-476 A Guide to Naturalization)