Marriage visa - Brazil

[Ereng 1]

Hi! I am a US citizen and am married to a Brazilian. We were married in Brazil 6 years ago and have been living here since. We are now considering relocating back to the United States. Would my spouse apply for an immigrant visa (I-R1) or a nonimmigrant visa (K-3). Should / Can we apply here in Brazil? Has anyone been in this situation or a similar one? Thanks in advance for any advice. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

You will file for the IR-1.

 

You can file in Brazil since Direct Consular Filing is allowed as long as you are a legal resident of Brazil.

 

Many have been in similar situations as yours.  You can find them using the search function on VJ.

[p-ana 933]

I don't think Brazil has dcf anymore though

[ashular 0]

Oi @Ereng!

 

Brazil definitely does NOT have DCF.  No field office here, you apply through the Chicago lockbox.

 

I am a USC living in Brazil for the past year with my Brazilian husband.  We were married in the US in Dec 2014 and then I applied for residency in Brazil, came here to work, and we submitted his I-130 petition this past December 2016.  We filed from Brazil and were hoping our case would be sent to Texas or California where there appears to be an unofficial policy of expediting petitions filed abroad, but we got sent to Nebraska, which is the slowest (about 6 months processing).  Once you get past that stage you need to wait for an appointment to become available at the embassy/consulate with jurisdiction over where you live. (I'm in Rio proper, so it's convenient for us.)  I think last I heard Rio was approx 3 months wait?  Don't quote me on that though.

 

Our cases may be slightly different since I was married in US first, but as far as I know you'll go through the normal filing process from the IR-1 spousal visa.  You'll just need to have your Brazilian certidão de casamento translated to English. (Note this does NOT need to be tradução juramentada, anyone fluent in both English and Portuguese [other than you two] can attest to its accuracy.)  I had a NY marriage cert but I translated and submitted my consular and Brazilian certs anyway for additional proof.

 

Feel free to PM me with questions, commiseration or just general chit chat about life as an American in Brasil!

[Ereng 1]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the info!

 

Just one other question: does anyone know if my husband would be allowed to relocate with me to the United States with a tourist visa and then once we are there file the I-130 petition? I am just trying to understand our options.

 

Thanks!

[p-ana 933]

6 minutes ago, Ereng said:

Hey everyone, thanks for all the info!

 

 

 

Just one other question: does anyone know if my husband would be allowed to relocate with me to the United States with a tourist visa and then once we are there file the I-130 petition? I am just trying to understand our options.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

He can visit if he has a tourist visa but he can't enter with it intending to stay and adjust status, that's fraud

 

its best to file the i130 right away, the more you wait to file, the longer it will take for him to get his visa nd be able to immigrate

Edited January 28, 2017 by p-ana

[Ereng 1]

Hi p-ana, thank you for your response. 

I have a few more questions:

1)      If I file from abroad (Brazil), can I then move to the US and then wait for him to immigrate?

2)      Once I file the I-130 petition, can he enter to visit and then leave the US on a tourist visa?

3)      At what stage would he be allowed to immigrate (after the interview from the I-130 petition)?

4)      Once he is granted a visa is there a time limit for him to immigrate to the US or does he need to immigrate right away?

I am just trying to understand how the logistics would work since we have a daughter, he has a job in Brazil, and I would need a job in the US.

Thanks again for any insight.

[p-ana 933]

8 minutes ago, Ereng said:

Hi p-ana, thank you for your response. 

 

I have a few more questions:

 

1)      If I file from abroad (Brazil), can I then move to the US and then wait for him to immigrate?

 

2)      Once I file the I-130 petition, can he enter to visit and then leave the US on a tourist visa?

 

3)      At what stage would he be allowed to immigrate (after the interview from the I-130 petition)?

 

4)      Once he is granted a visa is there a time limit for him to immigrate to the US or does he need to immigrate right away?

 

I am just trying to understand how the logistics would work since we have a daughter, he has a job in Brazil, and I would need a job in the US.

 

Thanks again for any insight.

 

1- it's best to move as soon as you can, so you can settle, get a job, and when it's time for the affidavit of support you won't need to have sponsors.

2- if he already had a tourist visa, he can visit as much as possible. Remember though that his entry is at cbps discretion, an immigrant petition on the way can makes things more difficult, but it is possible

3- the i130 must be approved first, then the case goes to nvc and by then you'll need to send a bunch of documents, when everything is sent and is reviewed, nvc sends the case to the embassy, he will do his medical, have interview and if approved, will get his visa to immigrate. Expect a wait of around a year from filing the i130 to visa in hand.

4- it should be within 6 months of the date of his medical, so he has some time to organize things and move

[Ereng 1]

P-ana,

 

Thank you so much for you response!