Tourist Visa for a boyfriend

[lhoising 0]

Hi, my boyfriend is from Colombia and I am from the USA. I was laid off in June and until recently got no good job offers. I traveled in South America for a couple months and met my boyfriend. I stayed in Colombia for 4+ months (2 separate entrances we dated while I left for a month too) and after the beginning of the year came back and that is where i currently am at. Only I cannot stay because I have student loans to pay. I have been getting serious inquiries to my resume and I am hoping to have a job within 2 months, even if I do not I need to return and do something to pay for my student loans because my savings are drying up. The problem is, I would like my boyfriend to visit. We have been living with him for about 4 months. We are NOT ready to get married but do have long term plans to be together IF he likes and understands American culture better. He would like to visit me for a few months when I have my job and then we decide if we get married. I would like us to be together for a year before we decide that. My perfect scenario would be he comes learns better English so he can pass a TESOL test and take a program or certification course (that he can get another visa for) and get certified in his field (physical fitness, he has two degrees here for this and a certificate for dance from Cuba). He would really like to take Zumba and yoga training and other physical fitness training while he is here (not necessarily kind you can get a student visa for). While he is here he can visit his family members and my favorite cities (which happen to coincide with where his family is) and my family. At the moment there is no plan to get married. There is the possibility though and I do not want to do something wrong NOW that causes that to be a problem in the future.

His current situation is that we live together in an apartment and share rent/utilities. His entire family is here except a few cousins in the USA. He loves Cali and does not see himself living in the USA long term unless he could open a gym of his own someday. I like Cali too and have no problems returning here after I make some money and get his status taken care of so we can return to the USA when we want to visit. He is general director of a physical fitness company that teaches different classes on contract basis to other companies (gyms, the City, sports clubs). He can get the letter easy from his job for the time off and probably keep up his job while he is gone (minus classes obviously) by computer (scheduling, organizing, taking calls (thanks VOIP). We can also prepay for our rent here for a certain amount of time to get a letter from a landlord. He has been out of the country to Ecuador and Cuba. Is there anything else that he would need? I would probably have to leave before he gets his visa. He has a little more than 1,000 dollars in savings right now and will have more soon. Is that a disadvantage? I want to help pay for some of the programs when he either changes his visa to student/exchange/whatever is best or applies for his new visa. Is that a problem.

Also, would it be better for us to get married on his either tourist or student visa (depending on how things go) and he comes back to Colombia and we apply for a spousal visa (is it a spousal visa or a visa to get a family member to the USA)? If he is on a student visa can he just get the status changed easy enough? Right now we do not have any plans to get married but both know we want to get married at some point. I would like to be able to do it with the least amount of time spent apart but with the least amount of risk of him never being able to enter the USA again. Or would him leaving and applying for a fiance visa be better?

What is the best way to go about this? We can read the procedure on the internet, we don't need which forms to fill out or about the PIN, but could use advice on what to do to better his chances and what to do or not do to get him disqualified in the future.

Also, what are the now 10-year multiple entry visas used for and what do you need to apply for them? I know nothing about these.

Thanks!

Laura

[aaron2020 11,651]

Base in your story, the US Embassy is not likely to approve the visa.

The problem is as you stated - he could use the visa to marry you in the US and try to stay.

Because you don't have a job to meet the I-864 requirement, the US Embassy will probably suspect the visitor visa is an end run around you petitioning him as a fiancée or spouse.

Good luck.

[aws&ndd 103]

I think in your situation, since you are not willing to get married right now, that he file for a tourist visa. Unfortunately you can't do anything to help him, he has to do this all himself. The embassy will want to see strong ties to Colombia so that they will believe he will return.

If in the future he is here on a tourist (or other non-immigrant) visa and you decide to marry, that is OK--AS LONG AS he leaves the country when his time is up. You can file a spousal petition (form I-130)after the wedding while he is still here so you can be together while it is being processed, but he cannot stay after the date in his I-94.

[Darnell 8,479]

I think the title 'general director of a fitness company'

should be 'big enough' for the NIV Unit at the Embassy to grant him a visa,

as

he'll be able to prove up the big ties to Cali and Columbia.

Good Luck !