Impact of US Citizen Girlfriend on J-1 Approval

[KP & FDC 0]

Greetings!

First I would like to apologize for the length of this message. I am very confused and I have many questions. We are about to consult an immigration lawyer about our situation, but from all that I have read on these forums, I see that a lot of you can provide first-hand expert advice on this matter.

In summary, my Belgian boyfriend and I have known each other for 2 years. He is enrolled as a full time student at a college in Belgium where part of his graduation requirements is to do an internship after which he is to return to his college to present his research to a committee of faculty and people from the industry. A professor where I live has the same research interests as he does (a certain disease in coral) and she would like to sponsor him for a 4.5 month internship as her exchange student (non-credit earning). His internship would start August of 2013. He would be exempt from the 2 year residency requirement. We want to be as honest as possible and disclose that he has girlfriend living in the city and that he will be living with her (but not financially supported by her).

I have been reading the options and I am confused. My questions are:

1. If he applies for the J-1 visa, would he be denied on the basis of having a US girlfriend he will be staying with? He can prove that he does not intend to immigrate with a letter from his school stating that he needs to return in order to obtain his degree. He also has bank accounts as evidence of ties to home. No utility bills or properties, since lives at home with his parents.
2. I've been looking at other visa options for him to be able to do the internship here and I found the B-1 visa, the K-1 visa, and the CR-1. Is there any alternative I have not thought of?
   - I don't think the B-1 would apply for his case or would be better than the J-1. Am I right?
   - The CR-1 is out of the question, even if it would happen in time for the internship, we are not ready for marriage at all at this point.
   - The last alternative is the K-1, but (a) we are not sure if we want to get married (b) it might not be processed in time for August 2013 © he needs to return to Belgium by January 2014 to defend his thesis and the AOS and AP process might make things more difficult since he has to remain in Belgium until March or April (at minimum) (d) we believe he needs to remain a resident of Belgium in order to remain in good status to graduate.
3. If after getting to know one another in non-vacation mode, we decide we want to get engaged and possibly married while his is completing his internship, would this make the CR-1 process harder?

I'm scared of affecting his chances to do his dream internship, but I am also scared of hurting future immigration possibilies if we ever decide to marry. Any help will be greatly appreciated! I look forward to your replies.

[Mithmeoi 29]

It sounds like he's got enough proof that shows he doesn't intend to immigrate so I don't see any reason why he'd be turned down. Belgium is not a high fraud country. I don't believe he'd fit under the B-1 visa, but I don't know a lot about that one.

If he comes in on the J-1 and you decide to marry while he's here you can apply to adjust status or he can return to Belgium and then you can file for the CR-1 from there. I've heard that a J-1 can have a 2 year home residency restriction, you should research that before AOS if you do decide to marry and have him stay.

Edited November 29, 2012 by Mithmeoi

[jaycali 415]

1. While he can be denied if the consul believes that you two plan to marry and for him to stay there, the likelihood of him being denied for that reason probably isn't very big. There are no guarantees in immigration - However, 1. Belgium is not a high fraud country, and 2. I'd say his studies back home after the internship makes a great case for non-immigrant intent.

2. Stick to the J-1. It is the appropriate visa for his situation.

3. No. If anything it would make your case for a CR-1 stronger. As long as the two year home residency requirement does not apply on his J-1, this is an absolute non-issue.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Jay Jay

[KP & FDC 0]

It sounds like he's got enough proof that shows he doesn't intend to immigrate so I don't see any reason why he'd be turned down. Belgium is not a high fraud country. I don't believe he'd fit under the B-1 visa, but I don't know a lot about that one.

If he comes in on the J-1 and you decide to marry while he's here you can apply to adjust status or he can return to Belgium and then you can file for the CR-1 from there. I've heard that a J-1 can have a 2 year home residency restriction, you should research that before AOS if you do decide to marry and have him stay.

Thank you very much for your reply. I hope it works out. He will definitely return to Belgium afterwards, but if we marry we would start the application process while he is still here to reduce the separation time.

Best regards!

[Mithmeoi 29]

Thank you very much for your reply. I hope it works out. He will definitely return to Belgium afterwards, but if we marry we would start the application process while he is still here to reduce the separation time.

Best regards!

Great, I wish you both the best!

[KP & FDC 0]

1. While he can be denied if the consul believes that you two plan to marry and for him to stay there, the likelihood of him being denied for that reason probably isn't very big. There are no guarantees in immigration - However, 1. Belgium is not a high fraud country, and 2. I'd say his studies back home after the internship makes a great case for non-immigrant intent.

2. Stick to the J-1. It is the appropriate visa for his situation.

3. No. If anything it would make your case for a CR-1 stronger. As long as the two year home residency requirement does not apply on his J-1, this is an absolute non-issue.

I appreciate your thorought reply. And yes, the two year resisdency requirement would not apply to him. I can't wait to find out if he will be able to do the internship after the interview. YAY!

Now to work on the forms.