Is there any way?

[Newlifer 0]

Hello all, I am. USC and residing in Europe with my fiance, who is a citizen in this country. Long story...end result is that we decided to get married and then go to the USA and then I would start this wonderful process.

I Have received numerous different opinions and information. I am very confused.

This is definitely a real relationship. I dont want immigration to think there is any fraud....so, that is why we wanted to get married first and not get married in the USA. I dont want anything stopping this process. And, I of course want to be with him.

So, my question is....if he comes back with me to the USA and we then both leave to go on our destination wedding (lets say Jamaica, because that is what I have been looking at), we come back and i file the I 130 and I 485 (i think that is what i would do)...would this be possible?

And, if possible, does he stay in the USA at this time while paperwork is processed? Must he leave after the 90 days on the VWP is up?

I heard this was a good place to go to for answers. Hopefully, i am making sense with my questions. Please help!

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Hi - now you are married and the foreign spouse is currently outside the USA (and he already has immigrant intent), the only option available to you is to apply for the spouse visa (CR1) by filing the I130.

Filing the I130 and the I485 is for a process called Adjustment of Status when the non-US spouse is already inside the US and had no immigrant intent when they entered the country.

Your husband will have to wait out most of the process in his own country but he will be able to visit you for short periods during the process.

The whole process may take around 9-12 months. Shorter if you are lucky.

As you are already married you should file the I130 as soon as possible to get the ball rolling and minimise your time apart - as you have not moved back yet.

You could both fly to Jamaica for your destination wedding while you are waiting for the process to complete (he could fly directly there and not through the US) Or if your hope is to live together permanently after the destination wedding then you could wait until he has his visa, have him emigrate to the US and then do your destination wedding.

Also if you are living in a country which has Direct Consular Filing (DCF) and you are a legal resident of that country and qualify to apply you might be able to speed up the process of the CR1

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

It would be visa fraud to use his via waiver program to enter the USA with the intent of straying, don't risk it. Get married then file for the CR-1 spousal visa. You cna stay with him in Denmark through the process, or if you prefer (or need to for a job), you move to the USA now and he can visit with the visa waiver but not live/ work in the USA until he gets his CR-1 visa and immigrates.

[bigdog 376]

Hi - now you are married and the foreign spouse is currently outside the USA (and he already has immigrant intent), the only option available to you is to apply for the spouse visa (CR1) by filing the I130.

Filing the I130 and the I485 is for a process called Adjustment of Status when the non-US spouse is already inside the US and had no immigrant intent when they entered the country.

Your husband will have to wait out most of the process in his own country but he will be able to visit you for short periods during the process.

The whole process may take around 9-12 months. Shorter if you are lucky.

As you are already married you should file the I130 as soon as possible to get the ball rolling and minimise your time apart - as you have not moved back yet.

You could both fly to Jamaica for your destination wedding while you are waiting for the process to complete (he could fly directly there and not through the US) Or if your hope is to live together permanently after the destination wedding then you could wait until he has his visa, have him emigrate to the US and then do your destination wedding.

Also if you are living in a country which has Direct Consular Filing (DCF) and you are a legal resident of that country and qualify to apply you might be able to speed up the process of the CR1

:thumbs:See the guides on VJ and USCIS. If both of you understand the process will make it easier. Remember keep copies of everything you send to the government.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

*** Moving from Tourist forum to General Immigration as OP is planning immigrating eventually. ****

[Newlifer 0]

Thank you for all your replies.

I guess I was confused because the form asks if your spouse is in the country already. In what situation would that be then? Unless, you fill it out when they are there.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

That is one situation- another would be if they arrived on an F1 student visa not knowing the spouse-to-be, you met, and decided to get married, or if you got married, came for a visit and suddenly your mom got very sick and you needed to stay to take care of her (no need to go home then).

[jaycali 415]

This is a slightly tricky area of immigration law, and it all comes down to intent on entry.

It is very illegal to lie to a CBP officer or a consular officer. So illegal in fact that most people who blatantly lie to them end up with a lifetime ban from ever entering the US.

If for instance, you enter on the visa waiver program with intent to adjust status, you have two options at the airport when CBP asks for the purpose of your visit:

1. Tell the truth, be denied entry, and told to come back with an immigrant visa.

2. Lie, be denied entry, and told not to ever come back.

Now. If your circumstances change after you enter the country, then you didn't lie to the CBP. You told the truth as it was then, circumstances changed - no fraud committed.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

You say you are currently residing in Norway? You can get legally married in Norway with a civil ceremony and then file the I-130 and CR-1 from there. You can wait out the whole process with him if you so wish. That is what we've done.

It is very unlikely that USCIS or the Stockholm embassy (where he will interview at) will think the marriage is based on fraud, Scandinavians don't really have much, if anything at all, to gain from moving to America.

[jaycali 415]

You say you are currently residing in Norway? You can get legally married in Norway with a civil ceremony and then file the I-130 and CR-1 from there. You can wait out the whole process with him if you so wish. That is what we've done.It is very unlikely that USCIS or the Stockholm embassy (where he will interview at) will think the marriage is based on fraud, Scandinavians don't really have much, if anything at all, to gain from moving to America.

Agreed - I spent so much time worrying about the interview in Stockholm I almost went insane. That's half a year of my life I'll never get back. In the end I was asked 8 - 10 questions by an extremely nice lady who seemed to be more interested in our wedding pictures than trying to look for fraud. She even asked me "why do you guys want to live in the US?"

If you have a legitimate marriage, and no severe criminal or negative immigration history, Stockholm will not deny a visa.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Jay Jay

[jaycali 415]

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Edited December 15, 2012 by Jay Jay

[jaycali 415]

Btw, if you are currently legally residing in Norway (oppholdstillatelse, not tourist), add proof of that in your I-130 package, and use your Norwegian address on the forms. Chances are USCIS will auto-expedite your petition, and your wait will be more like 4 months rather than 8 - 9.

Your husband can visit on the VWP during the process for up to 90 days, though he may or may not face some extra scrutiny at the airport.

On a side note - you do know that there is a fiancé visa available also? Instead of an I-130, you would file an I-129f for a K-1 visa. The process is similar, but you'd be required to get married in the US within 90 days of his entry, and then adjust status. K-1 is one of the few "non-immigrant" visas that allow for immigrant intent on entry.

[Newlifer 0]

Thank you, this is all very helpful. Many things to think about

I really appreciate your time with all of this. I guess we have some thinking to do.

Thanks again!

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Btw, if you are currently legally residing in Norway (oppholdstillatelse, not tourist), add proof of that in your I-130 package, and use your Norwegian address on the forms. Chances are USCIS will auto-expedite your petition, and your wait will be more like 4 months rather than 8 - 9.

Just a quick point in that no one on VJ in the last 3½ or 4 months has been expedited for living abroad. Trust me - I've tracked them all down and stalked their timelines.

Actually in quite a few cases, the USCs living in America appear to be going through more quickly.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Another thing to consider is that the K-1 route is considerably more expensive, since you have the initial application expenses, then visa expenses, then you have to pay $1,000 to adjust status once you arrive in the US.

The IR-1 / CR-1 visa is cheaper and automatically grants a green card upon entry to the US.