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[ireland35 1]

Hello, just now joined to get some answers. Thanks in advance. Great forum. I went to an immigration attorney about a year ago and got some answers but now, a year later, I need to be sure about this. Plus not sure what she told me was right. Here's the situation: I am an American citizen, legally divorced. My fiance is in Ireland. She has been separated from her husband for about 2 years. In Ireland you must be separated for 4 years before you can file for divorce. I explained this to my attorney. I told her we wanted to be together here as soon as possible. Her advice was for my fiance to get a 6 month visa. She said after 6 months in America my fiance would fall under American laws and the 4 year separation rule in Ireland would not matter. We could file for divorce from her husband by publication. Then I could marry her and she could apply for permanent status. Of course she would have to overstay her visa while the divorce was going on but my attorney said no one would come looking for her and when we went to court to finalize her divorce the judge would not be aware she was overstaying her visa. Is this a plausible scenario?

Now we have run into another obstacle. My fiance called to inquire about a visa to America. According to her she was asked if she had sufficient funds to cover her time in America which she doesn't. Doing some research on the internet it seems that the question about funds is some kind of standard question and is never checked. Who has information about this? Also, I read about the tourist waiver program which allows a person to be in America for up to 3 months without a visa. Is that a good way to circumvent the visa problem if proof of funds are required? Is there a better route? What would be the best visa for our situation? This of course could be another problem because my attorney said she needed to be here 6 months before she could divorce her husband. What if she got a 3 month visa and overstayed it by 3 or 4 months? Scares the both of us but we just want to get married.

Is there some way we could get around that 4 year Irish separation rule so I could marry her before she comes to America? Does anyone have experience with this?

I should mention here that my fiance has 3 children...6,13 and 15 years of age who would be living with us in America and they would need visas too I assume. Another obstacle I'm sure.

Sorry for all the questions but trying to explore every possible option. Any advice is appreciated.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

An attorney that advises you to do things illegally? Not Good

[Boiler 46,094]

Don't the children need to go to school?

I would look for a better lawyer.

[Mollie09 1,543]

K1 (fiance visa) requires you both to be free to marry, she isn't.

CR1 (spouse visa) requires you to be married, she can't marry.

Everything your lawyer is suggesting is fraud or shady grey area. Find a better lawyer, maybe one in Ireland who can help with the divorce? Without that, not sure how you're going to get this done.

[B&Z 201]

She would have to be a state/county resident in order to file for divorce in the U.S. and file for divorce under the grounds allowable by the place of residency. I really don't think she'd be able to qualify for residency on a tourist visa, but that depends on the state/county. Also, in this case, the intent is to enter the US on a tourist visa with an end goal of marrying, which is illegal. I really don't think you want to start off on a note such as overstaying a visitor visa, which results in a ban and a very large headache of an immigration process.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Tons of fraud. Get the divorce then worry about the visa.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Does your fiancee's husband agrees to allowing their children to travel and live in US permanently?

What should the fiancee tell the CBP at the point to entry?

That she is here with her kids to stay, file for divorce inside USA and get married to a US Citizen.

[ireland35 1]

Don't the children need to go to school?

I would look for a better lawyer.

According to my attorney I could register the kids in school and no one would ask questions because there are so many illegal kids registered and it's not a problem.

[UnaMexicana 153]

Your fiancee has a full house, so that complicates things to make this "as fast as possible". I suggest you post about the divorce issue on the Ireland forum for better answers.

Regarding visa shopping, overstays, AOS through visas other than K1... nobody here will advice on the best way to commit fraud.

Mods should close or lock this thread.

[ireland35 1]

Does your fiancee's husband agrees to allowing their children to travel and live in US permanently?

What should the fiancee tell the CBP at the point to entry?

That she is here with her kids to stay, file for divorce inside USA and get married to a US Citizen.

Really don't know. That's why I'm asking questions. The kids have passports. She was going to tell them she was visiting a relative for a few months.

[Mollie09 1,543]

JFC, where did you find this lawyer? Was he chasing an ambulance at the time?

Really don't know. That's why I'm asking questions. The kids have passports. She was going to tell them she was visiting a relative for a few months.

So... she was going to lie to an officer?

[ryna 132]

According to my attorney I could register the kids in school and no one would ask questions because there are so many illegal kids registered and it's not a problem.

This attorney of yours is shady to say the least.

[ireland35 1]

This attorney of yours is shady to say the least.

This is why I was asking. Didnt sound right.

I'm not interested in doing anything illegal. Just wanted answers. These are the things my attorney told me.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Really don't know. That's why I'm asking questions. The kids have passports. She was going to tell them she was visiting a relative for a few months.

Sound like International child abduction.

Not even sure how OP could have the conscience to deny his fiancee's soon to be ex parental's rights.

[B&Z 201]

This is why I was asking. Didnt sound right.

I'm not interested in doing anything illegal. Just wanted answers. These are the things my attorney told me.

Your attorney is advising you to break like a minimum of 5 laws, dude.

And some of those have serious consequences.

Edited May 9, 2016 by B&Z