Bringing a spouse of a green card holder to the US

[hkg99 0]

Hello,

I had some specific questions (highlighted in bold) regarding the F2A process. I also wrote about the process. Please correct me if I am wrong. I appreciate all the help.

Thanks for all the help and advice.

- I got my green card in Sept, 2013 and still have 3 more years to get the citizenship.

- Getting a green card for spouse, who lives in India is roughly a 2 year process.

- I130 document needs to be filed to start the process.

- Monitor the visa bulletin and wait for the priority date for F2A category to be current. In Dec 2015 visa bulletin, the date is June 2014. This means that people who filed the I130 petition before June 2014 are getting interview calls.

- The new "date of filing" table, that started coming out in the visa bulletin since Sept 2015 does not help if the spouse is in India. This table only expedites the process if the spouse is already in the US on a H1B visa.

- In the Dec 2015 visa bulletin, "date of filing" table, the priority date is Mar 2015. This means that if the spouse is already in the US on a H1B visa, she/he will get the EAD card if the green card process was started before Mar 2015.

- Can the "date of filing" rule help if the spouse is on visitor (B1 or B2) visa or lives outside the US without any visa?

- Before starting the green card process, if the spouse already has a visitor visa

- She/he may or may not be allowed to enter the US.

- She/he might be denied entry to the US if immigration officers see that she has been staying in the US for long periods (6months etc).

- In some cases, some people were lucky and were able to visit the US while waiting for the green card. Some people were unlucky and had to stay out of the country and wait for the green card to be approved.

- Can the green card process be started once the spouse is already living in the US on visitor's visa?

- If the spouse does not have any US visas, lives in India and the green card process starts

- Can she/he apply for a student, H1 or visitor's visa after the green card process has already started?

- The best option is to have the spouse enter the US on a visitor's visa, get admission in an university to convert to F1-visa and then start the green card process.

- Need to confirm if the green card process can be started if she is on F1 visa and if she would be allowed to travel outside the country!!!

- Need to confirm if the new "date of filing" table helps someone who is on a F1 visa!!!

- What are other options to get the spouse to stay with me in the US?

- Are there any predictions on the process getting worse/better in future?

- Are there any predictions on the priority date movement in the US visa bulletin for F2A category?

Edited November 17, 2015 by hkg99

[aleful 1,905]

hi

no you are incorrect, once the priority date is current, that means they can start the second part of the process, the i130 is only the first of many forms, documents and payments

so there are more documents, payments and documents to be processed before there is an interview, until the case has been completed, there is no interview

having a visitor visa does not change anything, no other type of visa changes things

the only difference is if the person is here on a work visa or student visa legally here during the 2 year process, and has never been illegal, he or she can adjust status in the US

your husband will go through consular processing in his country of origin

spouse will not be living in the US, but just visiting and will go through consular processing in his country, he cannot adjust status in the US

[Pitaya 2,577]

A visitor visa is for the sole purpose of visiting the US, and then return home to your country afterwards. A visitor's visa is NOT intended for immigration to the US. To use a visitor visa with immigration intent is immigration fraud.

Your line of questioning may be problematic for VJ members, as that they, and you, agreed to abide by the VJ Terms of Service (TOS) when they, and you, joined the forum. You are asking VJ members to possibly violate the TOS, specifically:

Condone or instruct, either directly or indirectly, others on how to commit fraudulent or illegal immigration activities in any way, shape, manner or method.

REF: http://www.visajourney.com/content/terms

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Pitaya

VJ Moderation

Edited November 17, 2015 by Pitaya

[Boiler 46,133]

H1b would be fine.

[hkg99 0]

A visitor visa is for the sole purpose of visiting the US, and then return home to your country afterwards. A visitor's visa is NOT intended for immigration to the US. To use a visitor visa with immigration intent is immigration fraud.

Your line of questioning may be problematic for VJ members, as that they, and you, agreed to abide by the VJ Terms of Service (TOS) when they, and you, joined the forum. You are asking VJ members to possibly violate the TOS, specifically:

REF: http://www.visajourney.com/content/terms

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Pitaya

VJ Moderation

Apologize for the wrong question. The intention is not to do anything illegal.

I am just trying to figure out a way to live with my spouse legally and spend as much time together while we wait for the green card. Is there a way to edit my original post and fix the questions?

I have a few more questions:

- Can I use the "date of filing" to adjust status for someone who is on F1/student visa?

- Once the green card process has started, can my spouse still apply for F1 or H1 visa? Can her visa be rejected based on the grounds that she/he is trying to immigrate to the US?

Thanks

Edited November 18, 2015 by hkg99

[Boiler 46,133]

F is a non immigrant visa, H allows dual intent.

[arax 1]

Wow, there is a lot of questions!

But I'll try to sort things out for you. The family immigration topic might be confusing, as well as a new visa bulletin.

First of all, I see you got the new 'date of filing' part of VB wrong. As you can see, there are actually two 'date of filing' tables in the builletin and both has visa categories in a first column. These are the same categories as in respective 'APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES' tables. So, basically, these 'date of filing' tables don't add any new immigration options for anyone. These dates are telling people that they can submit documentation for their existing immigration cases with one of listed categories, that's it.

If you will understand that the new visa bulletin doesn't introduce new immigration options with this 'date of filing' table, some of your questions might became resolved.

Also I think you need to check this cool workflow diagram for family-based immigration process. There are a lot of hyperlinks to pages with explanations for each step you and your spouse have to take.

- Getting a green card for spouse, who lives in India is roughly a 2 year process.

- I130 document needs to be filed to start the process.

- Monitor the visa bulletin and wait for the priority date for F2A category to be current. In Dec 2015 visa bulletin, the date is June 2014. This means that people who filed the I130 petition before June 2014 are getting interview calls.

- The new "date of filing" table, that started coming out in the visa bulletin since Sept 2015 does not help if the spouse is in India. This table only expedites the process if the spouse is already in the US on a H1B visa.

- In the Dec 2015 visa bulletin, "date of filing" table, the priority date is Mar 2015. This means that if the spouse is already in the US on a H1B visa, she/he will get the EAD card if the green card process was started before Mar 2015.

- Can the "date of filing" rule help if the spouse is on visitor (B1 or B2) visa or lives outside the US without any visa?

When you read the info from the workflow diagram and related pages, you'll understand that there are some major steps you didn't mentioned here. It's not simply waiting for an interview. You must file additional documents after your I-130 petition will be approved and pay some bucks.

And forget about date of filing, it shouldn't matter for now.

- Before starting the green card process, if the spouse already has a visitor visa

- She/he may or may not be allowed to enter the US.

- She/he might be denied entry to the US if immigration officers see that she has been staying in the US for long periods (6months etc).

- In some cases, some people were lucky and were able to visit the US while waiting for the green card. Some people were unlucky and had to stay out of the country and wait for the green card to be approved.

- Can the green card process be started once the spouse is already living in the US on visitor's visa?

This is mostly true.

I would add that there is a relatively long period after you filed I-130 petition, but it still pending approval. In this period chances that your spouse will be denied entry to US are slightly lower. I have visited my wife (she is a petitioner for me) in this period with no problems on the border. I just told officer that I'm going to visit my wife, plain and simple.

People say that after your petition is approved, the applicant may be denied to enter. Also the applicant probably will not get a new tourist visa, because immigration intentions are clear.

But I think there is no public document with prohibition to issue tourist visa or deny entrance to US for people waiting for family-based immigration. Actually, I believe that visiting your spouse is very natural and is not violating the law by itself. So I guess it is a matter of luck and a depends on personality and mood of a person who decide to let your spouse in or not.

However, your spouse may be suspected in violating the non-immigration visa rules. So I wouldn't reccomend you to start the process when your spouse is actually in US.

- If the spouse does not have any US visas, lives in India and the green card process starts

- Can she/he apply for a student, H1 or visitor's visa after the green card process has already started?

Your spouse can apply to whatever he or she desires. But will this application be fulfilled? I don't know.

I think that H1 visa may be approved, because it is for dual intent. But I'm not sure.

- What are other options to get the spouse to stay with me in the US?

- Are there any predictions on the process getting worse/better in future?

- Are there any predictions on the priority date movement in the US visa bulletin for F2A category?

Your spouse cannot stay with you and wait for green card. Your spouse may visit you if he/she has legal means for that (i.e. open tourist visa) and if immigration officer on the border will be kind.

Your spouse may try to apply for H1 visa, but it is not instantly issued too, even if approved. And I've heard it's not easy to get an employer who will bother himself to sponsor H1 visa.

I've heard rumors regarding new laws to let illegal immigrants stay in US, but I wouldn't go that way. Do anything wrong and your spouse will be denied from entrance for a very long time or even forever. No, this is not a good option.

Speaking of prediction on PD movement, I've been waiting for my immigration visa for a year, and it was moving aproximately for a month per month. In the lower part of each visa bulletin you may find a prediction for next month. Currently it says "three to six weeks". I don't think you'll find more accurate prediction.

I am just trying to figure out a way to live with my spouse legally and spend as much time together while we wait for the green card. Is there a way to edit my original post and fix the questions?

I have a few more questions:

- Can I use the "date of filing" to adjust status for someone who is on F1/student visa?

- Once the green card process has started, can my spouse still apply for F1 or H1 visa? Can her visa be rejected based on the grounds that she/he is trying to immigrate to the US?

No, you can't use 'date of filing' for anything except filing documents for your existing immigration case.

Yes, she can apply and yes, the application may be (and probably will be) rejected. I think I have answered this already.

As I said, I'm waiting for immigration visa for more than a year. I know it is hard to live separated from your loved one. We visit each other 2-3 times per year and thanks to modern technologies we are able to talk with each other every day.

If your spouse already have open tourist visa, she may visit you. And you may visit her too! Just remember that you have to 1) maintain your permanent residency and 2) earn enough money (and pay taxes in US) to file Affidavit of Support or have a joint sponsor who will help you with that.

Anyway, I recommend you to file I-130 petition for your spouse as soon as possible! You can think about visiting options later when you have priority date.

And good luck!

[HFM181818 750]

she could apply for any type of visa she wishes....qualifying for it, however, may be problematic....like the F1 (student) visa...what realistic answer could she give as to why she would depart the US after completing her studies, with an LPR soon-to-be USC spouse living in the US? Many people have tried the 'I hafta take care of my elderly parents' excuse, but there is a certain lack of logic with that one....namely, who has (or will) take care of them while she is going to college for 4 years, and who will take care of them once her PD is current and she moves to the US..?? so that one won't work, nor will her promise mean anything....