Spouse Sponsorship Question

[ali.jr0 3]

Hello Everyone!

I am in a relationship with a lady who comes to the US every month or so......... All i know is that she has a visitor visa..........

i am planning to propose to her really soon in one of her visits and just go to the city hall since i can't afford travelling to her country and doing a marriage there! I just want to ask a bunch of questions and i hope you can help me:

- I am a LPR, have a 35K job, and a Bsc degree. If i apply to sponsor her, does that mean she can't leave , or in other words won't be re-admitted if she leaves the US until her application is over? and if that's the case, how long will she have to wait before she can travel freely? because i heard there is a processing time which is around a year and the whole thing takes almost 3-5 years!!

- If i apply to sponsor her, does that mean her visitor visa will get cancelled? and when will it get cancelled? after accepting the application or after the 3 years wait time?

- what if her visitor visa expires while waiting for the application processing while she is in the US, does that make her illegal?

- would getting a job here with a work visa make things easier?

Edited July 16, 2014 by ali.jr0

[apple21 953]

First, you have to get married. An LPR cannot file a fiancee visa.

The i130 will not cancel her tourist visa. She can visit while the i130 is in process. Rules apply that she must not overstay the limits of her visa.

If her tourist visa expires, she must renew it.

Applying for a work visa is more difficult and complicated depending on her education, skills and if an employer is willing to sponsor her.

An LPR filing for a spouse (F2A category) can take anywhere from 1-3 years, depending on the monthly Visa Bulletin. Now they are processing i130's filed 01MAY2012 due to retrogression. http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin.html

Edited July 16, 2014 by apple21

[apple21 953]

Okay, I read your other thread about Selective Service.

Once you get your Naturalization certificate, you can file i129f for the K1 visa.

[ali.jr0 3]

Okay, I read your other thread about Selective Service.

Once you get your Naturalization certificate, you can file i129f for the K1 visa.

Thanks for your great help.

But becoming a citizen will need almost 9 months to a year and the process of K1 will take long, i want sthn faster that would not keep her away from me outside usa.

if she visits her home country while i-130 is on file, can she re-enter at airport provided she has a valid visa? or will there be any problems???

and if her visa expires, will they renew it easily? or will that be hard?!

Edited July 16, 2014 by ali.jr0

[apple21 953]

She cannot stay permanently in the US using only a tourist visa. That's fraud. A B2 is only for visiting. Everyone has to wait as many others have filed before you. There's no "instant green card". Sorry.

As I have previously stated, as long as she has a valid tourist visa she can visit the US even with a pending i130. Renewing the visa is another story as she has to demonstrate strong ties to her home country (I don't know if she had a hard time proving that on her first application).

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello Everyone!

I am in a relationship with a lady who comes to the US every month or so......... All i know is that she has a visitor visa..........

i am planning to propose to her really soon in one of her visits and just go to the city hall since i can't afford travelling to her country and doing a marriage there! I just want to ask a bunch of questions and i hope you can help me:

- I am a LPR, have a 35K job, and a Bsc degree. If i apply to sponsor her, does that mean she can't leave , or in other words won't be re-admitted if she leaves the US until her application is over? and if that's the case, how long will she have to wait before she can travel freely? because i heard there is a processing time which is around a year and the whole thing takes almost 3-5 years!!

- If i apply to sponsor her, does that mean her visitor visa will get cancelled? and when will it get cancelled? after accepting the application or after the 3 years wait time?

- what if her visitor visa expires while waiting for the application processing while she is in the US, does that make her illegal?

- would getting a job here with a work visa make things easier?

Hi,

Time to clear up many of your misconceptions.

If you get married and apply for her while you are an LPR, it gets her nothing. It does not mean she gets to stay here. Without a current Priority Date (PD) which would allow her to file for an Adjustment of Status (AOS) , a petition by an LPR for a spouse does not allow that person to be in the US.

Filing the I-130 does not cancel her visitor visa.

She can use her visitor visa as long as its valid to visit the US. She can not use her visitor visa to live in the US. The petition you filed does not allow her to be here. She is here on her visitor visa.

A work visa is not easier. She would need a US employer who will pay for her immigration process. This will take longer than for you to petition for her.

--------------------------------

Here is the fastest way for you to petition for her to live in the US.

Get your US citizenship. While she is here visiting, you can get marry and file AOS for her. If she leaves the US before getting her AP or green card, then she will abandon the process. It will take about 90 days to get the AP.

[ali.jr0 3]

Hi,

Time to clear up many of your misconceptions.

If you get married and apply for her while you are an LPR, it gets her nothing. It does not mean she gets to stay here. Without a current Priority Date (PD) which would allow her to file for an Adjustment of Status (AOS) , a petition by an LPR for a spouse does not allow that person to be in the US.

Filing the I-130 does not cancel her visitor visa.

She can use her visitor visa as long as its valid to visit the US. She can not use her visitor visa to live in the US. The petition you filed does not allow her to be here. She is here on her visitor visa.

A work visa is not easier. She would need a US employer who will pay for her immigration process. This will take longer than for you to petition for her.

--------------------------------

Here is the fastest way for you to petition for her to live in the US.

Get your US citizenship. While she is here visiting, you can get marry and file AOS for her. If she leaves the US before getting her AP or green card, then she will abandon the process. It will take about 90 days to get the AP.

Thank you for the informative reply!!

I just found out that her visa ends June 2015. So i think my best bet would be to come here as a visitor and stay less than 6 months every visit , and then leave and re-enter later, this technically makes her not "living" with me, she's going to leave every 6 months and come back later for another visit and so on. I'll just do that until she renews her visa then we'll get married (so that i make sure she can enter the US in her visits until she gets the Priority date)

- How long does it take to get a priority date usually?

- Can you tell me more about the order of things from application to actually getting a green card for her? so i believe i apply, then Priority date, then what?

- After she gets the priority date, will she have to stay here and have her visa cancelled? because the last thing i want is for her to stay away from me or her family for 3 years or so.

[ali.jr0 3]

She cannot stay permanently in the US using only a tourist visa. That's fraud. A B2 is only for visiting. Everyone has to wait as many others have filed before you. There's no "instant green card". Sorry.

As I have previously stated, as long as she has a valid tourist visa she can visit the US even with a pending i130. Renewing the visa is another story as she has to demonstrate strong ties to her home country (I don't know if she had a hard time proving that on her first application).

Of course she's not gonna stay, she has work relations in her country and shell come whenever she can leave her buisness for a month or two. The question is after I-130 starts processing, will she have any trouble at airport??? i don't want her getting into trouble everytime she visits and having to explain everytime.

[TBoneTX 46,173]

Thread moved from "Bringing Family Members of U.S. Citizens to America" thread to the "Bringing Family Members of LPRs to America" thread -- OP isn't yet a USC.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Of course she's not gonna stay, she has work relations in her country and shell come whenever she can leave her buisness for a month or two. The question is after I-130 starts processing, will she have any trouble at airport??? i don't want her getting into trouble everytime she visits and having to explain everytime.

You state that she has work relations in her country and she can leave for a month or two, so of course she's not gonna stay.

Then in the post before that, you state that she will leave every 6 months not "living" with you and return for another visit.

How do you reconcile those two statements? How can she not "live" with you for 6 months if she can only leave her business for 1 or 2 months?

[kzielu 1,149]

I just found out that her visa ends June 2015. So i think my best bet would be to come here as a visitor and stay less than 6 months every visit , and then leave and re-enter later, this technically makes her not "living" with me, she's going to leave every 6 months and come back later for another visit and so on. I'll just do that until she renews her visa then we'll get married (so that i make sure she can enter the US in her visits until she gets the Priority date)

- How long does it take to get a priority date usually?

- Can you tell me more about the order of things from application to actually getting a green card for her? so i believe i apply, then Priority date, then what?

- After she gets the priority date, will she have to stay here and have her visa cancelled? because the last thing i want is for her to stay away from me or her family for 3 years or so.

She is going to get denied entry if she stays here for 6 months, leaves and try to re-enter - at which time - she is going to loose her B2 visa. Rule of thumb for a tourists is to stay outside US more than in US. 6 months in then US, then at least 6 months outside.

Nobody can really answer your question about priority date - right now it is ~2 years behind. Depending how quickly it moves to your filing date, it can be 2-3 years, it may be less or more than that.

[ali.jr0 3]

She is going to get denied entry if she stays here for 6 months, leaves and try to re-enter - at which time - she is going to loose her B2 visa. Rule of thumb for a tourists is to stay outside US more than in US. 6 months in then US, then at least 6 months outside.

Nobody can really answer your question about priority date - right now it is ~2 years behind. Depending how quickly it moves to your filing date, it can be 2-3 years, it may be less or more than that.

Can you please provide me with a link to the law that states that people visiting the united states and stay for less than 6 months (legal) cannot come back until they spend 6 months OUTSIDE USA?

[ali.jr0 3]

You state that she has work relations in her country and she can leave for a month or two, so of course she's not gonna stay.

Then in the post before that, you state that she will leave every 6 months not "living" with you and return for another visit.

How do you reconcile those two statements? How can she not "live" with you for 6 months if she can only leave her business for 1 or 2 months?

Yes, she will be spending less than 6 months every time she comes back here since she has buisness to run back home which she can't leave for more than one or two months every time she comes here...... I don't see anything in either sentences contradicting to the other.

Edited July 17, 2014 by ali.jr0

[kzielu 1,149]

Can you please provide me with a link to the law that states that people visiting the united states and stay for less than 6 months (legal) cannot come back until they spend 6 months OUTSIDE USA?

Look up "Rule of thumb" in the dictionary. Good luck with living in US on tourist visa.

[ali.jr0 3]

Look up "Rule of thumb" in the dictionary. Good luck with living in US on tourist visa.

I know the meaning of rule of thumb very well , thanks for your suggestion! But i usually like to back "rules of thumb" with solid evidence.She is practically going to be visiting the USA for a couple of months every visit whenever she can, not living in the USA.