Friend hoping her husband can be in the country with her...

[nica 5]

Hey everyone,

I have a friend who is about to marry a Mexican citizen, and she's still in that hopelessly optimistic phase of thinking that they'll be able to find a way for him to live in the U.S. with her through the entire CR-1 process. In addition to finding this a little annoying (given how long all of us are waiting to live with our spouses! ), I also don't want her to get stuck in a horrific process of endless red tape and/or get her husband banned from the country.

Here are two of the options that were suggested to her by an immigration officer and a USCIS officer (get ready to roll your eyes):

1. He can apply concurrently for a K-3 visa, which allows him to live here while the I-130 is pending. I think this is an obsolete visa type, no?

2. He can apply concurrently for a work visa, which has a much faster processing time. When the work visa is processed, he can move to the U.S. and live here while the CR-1 visa is processing. Note that he knows he can get a work visa because already has a sponsor. I assume that USCIS and/or the consular officer at the interview will have all kinds of reasons to be suspicious about his already having a sponsor, given that all other times he's entered the U.S., he's been on a tourist visa. It's theoretically possible (not sure in this case) that he got the sponsor through email from Mexico (so wasn't abusing his tourist visa by looking for work while in the U.S.)... but will the consular officer believe that? Can he prove it either way?

She currently doesn't believe that there will be major problems/consequences with either of these courses of action. What types of problems is she likely to run into, in your experience?

Edited April 18, 2012 by nica

[Darnell 8,478]

Look into the TN-1 visa, as well - it's a special visa type for Mexicans and Canadiens.

Some K-3 fluff:

Comparison on K-3 vs CR-1 - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/204324-wondering-if-i-made-a-mistake-marrying-in-us/page__view__findpost__p__3060767

K-3 administratively closed - http://www.visajourney.com/news/2010/02/07/department-of-state-to-close-k-3-visas-if-i-129f-and-i-130-petitions-approved-and-received-together/

[Little_My 464]

H1-B work visa is dual intent, meaning people can use it to enter the US even if they have the intent to eventually immigrate here permanently. If he has an employer who is willing to hire him and sponsor him that visa, he can get the H1-B, use that to come to the US, and then once they are married, he can adjust to permanent resident within US. Perfectly legal, all by the book, and they won't have to be apart at all.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Little_My

[nica 5]

H1-B work visa is dual intent, meaning people can use it to enter the US even if they have the intent to eventually immigrate here permanently. If he has an employer who is willing to hire him and sponsor him that visa, he can get the H1-B, use that to come to the US, and then once they are married, he can adjust to permanent resident within US. Perfectly legal, all by the book, and they won't have to be apart at all.

Won't there be questions about how he got a sponsor?

[Inky 1,110]

1. He can apply concurrently for a K-3 visa, which allows him to live here while the I-130 is pending. I think this is an obsolete visa type, no?

The K-3 doesn't even allow this. Many people seem to think it does but hes not allowed to live in the USA while its processing. But yes the visa is obsolete anyways.

[Little_My 464]

Won't there be questions about how he got a sponsor?

I have no personal experience about the H1-B process, but my understanding is that if an employer is willing to sponsor a foreigner for a work visa, and can make the case of why they want to hire that particular foreigner over an American, USCIS doesn't really care how he found the sponsor. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken, but the H1-B process, according to my knowledge, is almost entirely handled by the sponsoring company's lawyer, and the sponsored foreign employee doesn't have to prove much of anything, besides being qualified for being sponsored (i.e. meeting the minimum requirements regarding education, and being suitable for the job).

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You don't apply for an H1B and get it tomorrow. You also have to wait. VIsas for this year are already spent. Spousal visa is probably faster.

[nica 5]

Hey everyone,

I have a friend who is about to marry a Mexican citizen, and she's still in that hopelessly optimistic phase of thinking that they'll be able to find a way for him to live in the U.S. with her through the entire CR-1 process. In addition to finding this a little annoying (given how long all of us in the CR-1 process are waiting to live with our spouses! ), I also don't want her to get stuck in a horrific process of endless red tape and/or get her husband banned from the country.

Here is one of the options that were suggested to her by an immigration officer and a USCIS officer:

1. He can apply concurrently for a work visa, which has a much faster processing time. When the work visa is processed, he can move to the U.S. and live here while the CR-1 visa is processing. Note that he knows he can get a work visa because already has a sponsor. I assume that USCIS and/or the consular officer at the interview will have all kinds of reasons to be suspicious about his already having a sponsor, given that all other times he's entered the U.S., he's been on a tourist visa. It's theoretically possible (not sure in this case) that he got the sponsor through email from Mexico (so wasn't abusing his tourist visa by looking for work while in the U.S.)... but will the consular officer believe that? Can he prove it either way?

She currently doesn't believe that there will be major problems/consequences with either of these courses of action. What types of problems is she likely to run into, in your experience?

Edited April 18, 2012 by nica

[Little_My 464]

You will be getting the same responses here as you are in the other thread.. If you look at your first post, Harpa just noted that the H1-B cap is already full for this year, so unless the field he would be working for is cap exempt, he is too late to apply for an H1-B in 2012.

[nica 5]

You will be getting the same responses here as you are in the other thread.. If you look at your first post, Harpa just noted that the H1-B cap is already full for this year, so unless the field he would be working for is cap exempt, he is too late to apply for an H1-B in 2012.

Oh... I assumed most people in the CR-1 thread wouldn't know as much about the work visa stuff, so I thought I'd ask here as well!

[nica 5]

You don't apply for an H1B and get it tomorrow. You also have to wait. VIsas for this year are already spent. Spousal visa is probably faster.

I believe the job in question would be at a college (he has a Master's in engineering). Is that one of the cap exempt fields?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[grrrrreat 109]

I have no personal experience about the H1-B process, but my understanding is that if an employer is willing to sponsor a foreigner for a work visa, and can make the case of why they want to hire that particular foreigner over an American, USCIS doesn't really care how he found the sponsor. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken, but the H1-B process, according to my knowledge, is almost entirely handled by the sponsoring company's lawyer, and the sponsored foreign employee doesn't have to prove much of anything, besides being qualified for being sponsored (i.e. meeting the minimum requirements regarding education, and being suitable for the job).

Sort of, there are numerical limits depending on the field. The employer has to show that the job pays prevailing wages, etc. H1-Bs can be advantageous compared with CR-1s mainly because the company and its lawyer are handling the process and paying the fees, but the bigger roadblock is finding an employer that's willing to go through the expense. Nice work if you can get it, basically.

But yes, H1-B visas are dual-intent, and are eligible to adjust status in the US once married. Dual-intent means you can get a H1-B whether you intend to immigrate are not. H1-Bs are allowed, under certain circumstances, to adjust to LPR by themselves once they have been in the US for the required time period.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hey everyone,

I have a friend who is about to marry a Mexican citizen, and she's still in that hopelessly optimistic phase of thinking that they'll be able to find a way for him to live in the U.S. with her through the entire CR-1 process. In addition to finding this a little annoying (given how long all of us are waiting to live with our spouses! ), I also don't want her to get stuck in a horrific process of endless red tape and/or get her husband banned from the country.

Here are two of the options that were suggested to her by an immigration officer and a USCIS officer (get ready to roll your eyes):

1. He can apply concurrently for a K-3 visa, which allows him to live here while the I-130 is pending. I think this is an obsolete visa type, no?

2. He can apply concurrently for a work visa, which has a much faster processing time. When the work visa is processed, he can move to the U.S. and live here while the CR-1 visa is processing. Note that he knows he can get a work visa because already has a sponsor. I assume that USCIS and/or the consular officer at the interview will have all kinds of reasons to be suspicious about his already having a sponsor, given that all other times he's entered the U.S., he's been on a tourist visa. It's theoretically possible (not sure in this case) that he got the sponsor through email from Mexico (so wasn't abusing his tourist visa by looking for work while in the U.S.)... but will the consular officer believe that? Can he prove it either way?

She currently doesn't believe that there will be major problems/consequences with either of these courses of action. What types of problems is she likely to run into, in your experience?

Neither of those paths are possible. Nothing allows him to wait in the US.

Your friend is setting herself up for a lot of heartache. She is risking getting her husband ban from the US.

If she is so sure of her position, then ask her to show you something to back up her position. Tell her that people with lots of immigration experience are telling her that it will not work and will end very badly for her and her husband.

[nica 5]

So IF he is able to get a cap-exempt work visa, will there be a process that requires either him or the sponsor to explain the circumstances of how he was hired? In other words, if it turns out he sought an interview with the employer while in the U.S. on a tourist visa, would USCIS find out?

I don't know for certain that this was the case, but I want to be able to warn them of the potential dangers of their plan.