What type of Visa is best for me and my Brasilian fiancee?

[Journeyer 17]

I don't think there would be any fraud risk at all. The fact that she returned to Brazil after the wedding and you filed for a CR-1 visa would show authorities that you want to do things the right way.

You are correct, there is no need to do AOS with a CR-1 since it is an immigrant visa. Her passport would receive a green card stamp when she arrived and the actual card would arrive shortly thereafter. I too think the K1 process is more cumbersome and the wait times between K1 and CR-1 are similar these days.

You can go to Brazil and visit her while the CR-1 process is working itself out. You will need to get a tourist visa before going there.

Thanks for the answers, much appreciated. I think the CR-1 is for sure the way we are going to go. If I get my tourist visa, when I travel to Brazil to see her, is it ok when they ask why I am traveling to say to visit my wife while the CR-1 is in process?

[Ryan H 3,812]

when I travel to Brazil to see her, is it ok when they ask why I am traveling to say to visit my wife while the CR-1 is in process?

All you would really need to tell Brazilian consular and border control personnel is that you are visiting your wife. If they doubt that you will leave when your authorization to stay is up, you can show them ties to the US, which would include your receipt for having filed for a CR-1. Keep in mind foreign officials will likely not know the term "CR-1" so if they question whether or not you will leave Brazil at the end of your authorized stay, you would tell them, "I have filed an immigrant visa petition for my wife, here is my receipt."

Best wishes to you both!

Edited October 5, 2010 by Ryan H

[K and L 27]

Oh, Brazil won't care. They have never asked me the purpose of my visit, just welcomed me to Brazil. The PF that run immigration at the Salvador airport (where you're probably going to enter if you're going to Recife) is pretty straight forward, won't sit there and chit chat. Most don't speak much English.

Worst case scenario, you fall in love with Brazil and want to stay. Lucky for you, it's ok to apply for the permanent visa while in Brazil on a tourist visa (if you're married to a Brazilian).

Edited October 5, 2010 by K and L

[Journeyer 17]

Oh, Brazil won't care. They have never asked me the purpose of my visit, just welcomed me to Brazil. The PF that run immigration at the Salvador airport (where you're probably going to enter if you're going to Recife) is pretty straight forward, won't sit there and chit chat. Most don't speak much English.

Worst case scenario, you fall in love with Brazil and want to stay. Lucky for you, it's ok to apply for the permanent visa while in Brazil on a tourist visa (if you're married to a Brazilian).

Yep, you are right, Baltimore to Miami, then to Salvador and back to Recife. Could save several hundred miles by just going straight to Recife I think, but I know that is the way my fiancees return trip always goes. I'm not too worried about them speaking English, my Portuguese is good enough now that I won't have any problems.

Lol, my fiancee keeps telling me that they will have to probably tie me up and force me back on the plane to get me to leave! I am very excited about seeing the country, I know it is big and lots of wonderful places to see and things to do. If I really do wind up falling in love with Brazil, which I don't doubt could happen, we have already started talking about retiring there, or even keeping a second home there so we can spend at least part of the year(mostly our winter I think) there.

[Journeyer 17]

Ok, I think we have a real problem now. My fiancee just made it back from Brazil, after several things came up causing her to delay getting here. So, she is back, that is great. But unfortunately she ran into a really mean immigration officer in Miami. She was very shaken up by the incident, the guy was a real jerk. He insisted on saying she lives here. She tried politely telling him that she does not live here and tried talking about her ties in Brazil, which are very real, and that she was returning in April. So then he starts yelling at her and saying he is sending her back to Brazil immediately. I guess after arguing with this guy for a while, he finally told her she could enter, but only for a month or he will take away her tourist visa, and to not return here again quickly or he will deport her. I was really baffled by that last statement because how can you deport someone if you don't let them enter? Maybe he was talking about a ban. At that point she was so upset, she got a little confused I think. Anyways, she has never overstayed so I am not sure what the deal is. It only seems to be that she comes here so often. What is illegal about that?

At this point I just wish we would not have procrastinated so long. We had planned on getting married Nov. 17, but she was unable to return in time for that, so we just thought we would do it sometimes between now and April and start the CR-1 process. Well now, we only have a month, and we really cannot bear the thought of being away from each other for a long time.

Anyways, I need quick advice, please if anyone can help. I think I will consult a lawyer in the next couple of days but would really, really appreciate any advice from the knowledgeable here. We are going to get married within the next couple of weeks, since we only have a month. I am not sure what to do. I have been reading some posts here, but we are really scared. She is afraid to leave and afraid to stay both at the same time, and I share those sentiments. I don't know if it is best to just have her remain here after we are married and attempt status change, or let her go back and start the CR-1. I am not sure what effect today's incident has on all of this. She has never overstayed and yet this bully in Miami insists on telling her to stay only a month and not to come back for a long time.

[Fandango 1,439]

What is the date stamped in her pp?

[Journeyer 17]

What is the date stamped in her pp?

She's still sleeping, so I don't know where it is to look. The only thing I do know is that April 5 was the day she was to return, but she showed me some kind of card they gave her that has Jan. 14 on it. I guess that is synonymous with the one month deal.

[Journeyer 17]

What is the date stamped in her pp?

Just looked, the date stamped on the passport is Dec, 15 2010, the date of entry. But the form I was referring to, I think is an I-94, and they only gave her one month. Before they always gave her 6 months.

[K and L 27]

If you do not have her paperwork (birth certificate, vaccination record, paperwork concerning previous marriages/divorce, etc) here, then you have no choice: she has to return. Even if she had someone in Brazil who is able to go to her cartario and procure these things and mail it express (which costs R$30 and takes roughly two weeks), you cannot overnight it to USCIS and have it received and accepted in time. With overnight express shipment of your immigration package, it still takes roughly 10-14 days for them to fully process it, which means you've got about a week -- and a really crappy week (being the week between Christmas and New Years) -- to get everything done.

If you have her birth certificate/etc, she would have to get a medical exam by a registered civil surgeon, her paperwork translated, you would need to get your tax transcripts, etc AND you would need to get married and get a copy of your certified marriage certificate. All by Dec 31. With all the other holiday stuff going on.

Regarding the amount of time she's been spending here: is she going back to Brazil for MORE than the amount of time she's been spending here? If not, that is probably the root cause of your problem. 180 days in, 181 out before you can return.

Edited December 24, 2010 by K and L

[Journeyer 17]

If you do not have her paperwork (birth certificate, vaccination record, paperwork concerning previous marriages/divorce, etc) here, then you have no choice: she has to return. Even if she had someone in Brazil who is able to go to her cartario and procure these things and mail it express (which costs R$30 and takes roughly two weeks), you cannot overnight it to USCIS and have it received and accepted in time. With overnight express shipment of your immigration package, it still takes roughly 10-14 days for them to fully process it, which means you've got about a week -- and a really crappy week (being the week between Christmas and New Years) -- to get everything done.

If you have her birth certificate/etc, she would have to get a medical exam by a registered civil surgeon, her paperwork translated, you would need to get your tax transcripts, etc AND you would need to get married and get a copy of your certified marriage certificate. All by Dec 31. With all the other holiday stuff going on.

Regarding the amount of time she's been spending here: is she going back to Brazil for MORE than the amount of time she's been spending here? If not, that is probably the root cause of your problem. 180 days in, 181 out before you can return.

Well, we are married so that much is a moot point. I know she has to go back to Brazil if we file the CR-1, which is looking like our only choice.

Where did you get the information about the 180-181 days rule? I have never heard that before. They never gave her a problem before now about that. But it is pretty clear at this point that is the problem. That is what they are trying to say, is that she lives here. Even though it is not true in the sense that she still has a permanent residence in Brazil. This is all so crazy.

[Linha87 0]

Her tourist visa is valid through 2013 and was valid the first time she arrived. She has never overstayed and had no issues getting through immigration. However, the last time she came, they asked her some questions about if she lives here and works here now, obviously because of the amount of time she has spent here in the last 2 years. She told them truthfully, that she has never worked here, and that she is a resident of Brazil and has proof of residence(she owns her own home there), which is also true. But that is the part that has her all worried. I hope that she is just being overly worried and that is not a real issue. I guess we will find out.

I just told her she has to go to Rio for the K-1, and she is hoping you are wrong on that one, . But if that is what needs to be done, then I guess she is getting a surprise trip to Rio.

Hi there! Well...I am brazilian too and my fiance and I are going through the same process now... about your situation, your fiancee can still going to the US to visit you but the problem is, like you said that they made her a lot of questions on the immigration they may do that again, and I've seen cases where they let and cases where they didn't let the person into the US because of the visa process going on, they do have access to that information. The process time really depends on the embassy and the country it is being issued but it may take around 4 to 6 months if you get everything right. And about the embassy, I've seen other people asking the same thing and the one in Rio is the only one that handle the immigration process. I hope I helped you clarifying your doubts! Good luck!

[Journeyer 17]

Hi there! Well...I am brazilian too and my fiance and I are going through the same process now... about your situation, your fiancee can still going to the US to visit you but the problem is, like you said that they made her a lot of questions on the immigration they may do that again, and I've seen cases where they let and cases where they didn't let the person into the US because of the visa process going on, they do have access to that information. The process time really depends on the embassy and the country it is being issued but it may take around 4 to 6 months if you get everything right. And about the embassy, I've seen other people asking the same thing and the one in Rio is the only one that handle the immigration process. I hope I helped you clarifying your doubts! Good luck!

Hi,

Sorry, I did not mean to confuse you, I am not Brazilian, my wife is. She is for sure I think going to have to go back to Recife and wait for the CR-1 to go through. I will go there to visit her while we are waiting, but we are hoping maybe she can visit here again also as we hate being apart. I am also hoping to go to her interview in Rio and come back here with her after the interview. Thanks for your reply!

[K and L 27]

Where did you get the information about the 180-181 days rule? I have never heard that before.

It's a typical rule for tourist visas -- you are supposed to go home for one more day than you were there before returning to the country. It's used to prevent people from taking short trips abroad to re-set the re-entry date, to allow them to essentially live in the US without procuring a green card. If your new wife has been staying with you for 6 months, going home for a month or two, and returning to the US for 6 months on a regular basis, I am surprised that she didn't get in trouble for this earlier. (BTW, as far as I know, this is one of those things that is sort-of-but-not-really policy and left to the discretion of the CBP officer. Some may not notice the frequency of visits and time between them, some may not care. But the rule of thumb I see quoted constantly on the internet is just what I said - return home as long as you were here before coming back to the US, unless it's an emergency.)

Regarding your plan to come back immediately after the interview, it will take some time (about a week, but it varies by TNT, the courier the consulate in Rio uses) before her visa is ready, and she will need to surrender her passport for them to add the visa. Attending her interview IS looked highly upon by the consulate, but is not required.

[Linha87 0]

It's a typical rule for tourist visas -- you are supposed to go home for one more day than you were there before returning to the country. It's used to prevent people from taking short trips abroad to re-set the re-entry date, to allow them to essentially live in the US without procuring a green card. If your new wife has been staying with you for 6 months, going home for a month or two, and returning to the US for 6 months on a regular basis, I am surprised that she didn't get in trouble for this earlier. (BTW, as far as I know, this is one of those things that is sort-of-but-not-really policy and left to the discretion of the CBP officer. Some may not notice the frequency of visits and time between them, some may not care. But the rule of thumb I see quoted constantly on the internet is just what I said - return home as long as you were here before coming back to the US, unless it's an emergency.)

Regarding your plan to come back immediately after the interview, it will take some time (about a week, but it varies by TNT, the courier the consulate in Rio uses) before her visa is ready, and she will need to surrender her passport for them to add the visa. Attending her interview IS looked highly upon by the consulate, but is not required.

Don't worry, you didn't confuse me at all, I got that your fiancee is brazilian, I'm from Rio and my fiance is american and like i said we are going through the same process and believe me, been apart is the hardest part because I miss him like crazy! But like the last reply from K and L, it is really hard for her to visit you once the visa process is started, at the immigration before getting into the US they do have access to that information once the USCIS is part of it and they may not let her into the US before the process is finished. Also yeah, I'm from Rio and I already had an interview regarding another visa and they hold your passport and then send your visa through express mail, in my case as I'm from Rio it took like 4 days for me to get it, so I would say that if you want it asap I would wait in Rio and give them the hotel address because I'm pretty sure it would take longer to get to Recife.

[Journeyer 17]

Regarding your plan to come back immediately after the interview, it will take some time (about a week, but it varies by TNT, the courier the consulate in Rio uses) before her visa is ready, and she will need to surrender her passport for them to add the visa. Attending her interview IS looked highly upon by the consulate, but is not required.

Right, I knew about that, so I would plan to take a couple of weeks and hope that will be enough time. If not, I guess she will have to come back separately. I just would prefer that she not have to go through US immigration alone again after the bad treatment she got last time.