Tourist Visa for my Wife

[Coco8 1,042]

Just now, AlexSouthAmerica said:

Yes, the job issue is pretty scary. I have a job that allows me to work down there, however, I definitely worry about the situation if something happens and I lose that job while we live down there.

Take into account that internet is slower than in the US; if you need a good connection, it can get tricky. I'm not taking rural areas. Whenever I go for holidays it drives me crazy that it is so slow... There are also electrical outages. 

 

You also need to check banks and how easy it is to get money from foreign banks account. Each country has its weird rules and some have more constrains than others. You could either loose a lot of money making transfers or you could not take any money from your U.S. bank account. It always gives me a headache. I sometimes hire people from Latin America to some work for me (as assistants in which they have to go to the archives and make copies for me) and it is hard to pay them if they do not have a US bank account. 

 

 

[AlexSouthAmerica 1]

4 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

Take into account that internet is slower than in the US; if you need a good connection, it can get tricky. I'm not taking rural areas. Whenever I go for holidays it drives me crazy that it is so slow... There are also electrical outages. 

 

You also need to check banks and how easy it is to get money from foreign banks account. Each country has its weird rules and some have more constrains than others. You could either loose a lot of money making transfers or you could not take any money from your U.S. bank account. It always gives me a headache. I sometimes hire people from Latin America to some work for me (as assistants in which they have to go to the archives and make copies for me) and it is hard to pay them if they do not have a US bank account. 

 

 

Lima, Peru is where we would be going. I've already invested in a backup power source and the internet connection will be tested speed-wise multiple times before we go. I definitely worry about that issue for sure, still.

 

Luckily, I can use my credit card and maintain my US bank account without having to get involved in the local banking system. No foreign fees apply on my credit card either, so that's a major plus.

Edited January 1, 2018 by AlexSouthAmerica

[Boiler 45,740]

Seem to rember the US fares badly for Internet in international comparisons.

 

Anyway the Lawyer was no doubt responding to your desire to be able to visit the US as she wants and the only way would be US Citizenship.

[AlexSouthAmerica 1]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Seem to rember the US fares badly for Internet in international comparisons.

 

Anyway the Lawyer was no doubt responding to your desire to be able to visit the US as she wants and the only way would be US Citizenship.

So getting a new non-immigrant visa after or during the ban is impossible at this point?

[Boiler 45,740]

4 minutes ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

So getting a new non-immigrant visa after or during the ban is impossible at this point?

No

 

It is an unknown and if you wanted to have certainty a US Passport would be the way to go.

[AlexSouthAmerica 1]

24 minutes ago, Boiler said:

No

 

It is an unknown and if you wanted to have certainty a US Passport would be the way to go.

Things like this should be so much simpler. Thanks for the input!

[Boiler 45,740]

16 minutes ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

Things like this should be so much simpler. Thanks for the input!

Well to be fair they were until she chose to overstay.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 hour ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

So getting a new non-immigrant visa after or during the ban is impossible at this point?

Certainly impossible during the ban - that's the point of having a ban, is to prevent entry.

15 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Well to be fair they were until she chose to overstay.

Unfortunately this is true. As above, you do have an "out" (even if it's one that doesn't seem to suit you) that is not available to many other people who overstay. They have to disincentivize overstays or even more people would do them...

[Boiler 45,740]

17 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Certainly impossible during the ban - that's the point of having a ban, is to prevent entry.

Unfortunately this is true. As above, you do have an "out" (even if it's one that doesn't seem to suit you) that is not available to many other people who overstay. They have to disincentivize overstays or even more people would do them...

There is a waiver for the ban.

[AlexSouthAmerica 1]

49 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Well to be fair they were until she chose to overstay.

Part of the problem is we were told by multiple lawyers that if she left, they may not have let her in since she stayed so long as well. She was permitted for 6 months and had stayed for 3 at that time. If they caught the fact we were married, they would have denied her entry as well. At least that is what we were told. So basically, everyone told her to stay so she did. Now she misses her family and neither of us really have any ties here, so she wants to go back and I'm willing to go. The only issue is if I have a death in the family or if I want to visit family, we are worried she may not be able to accompany me on such trips.

There really should be an option for people in our position to get waivers and be able to at least come back and forth as long as we can prove the marriage is authentic. I guess the only option if we go is to hope we can get a waiver for a visit should the need arise, but it seems pretty risky.

Edited January 2, 2018 by AlexSouthAmerica

[Boiler 45,740]

There is always a risk of a visitor not being allowed entry, for most it is so small as to be not worth bothering about,  like most things in life.

 

Plenty of spouses of USC's living overseas visit.

 

Usually the difficult bit is getting the Visa, but she had that.

 

There is an option for a waiver, assuming she is currently between 6 and 12 months then she will have a 3 year bar on exit, hopefully no deaths etc are expected anytime soon. After that she will not need the waiver but will need a visa, and obviously has a credibility issue to overcome.

[AlexSouthAmerica 1]

Hopefully whoever we deal with in regards to getting a new visa will have common sense and just let her get another visa. She has been here 4 previous times and only overstayed to be with me this time. She has no intent of immigrating here and I have no intent of staying if we do indeed leave. We still have a few more people to meet with before making a decision, but it seems it's a matter of circumstances and who we end up dealing with when the time comes to apply for a new visa.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it! If anyone has any similar experiences, stories, or other information, please add to the discussion. I will definitely be checking back here often.

Edited January 2, 2018 by AlexSouthAmerica

[NikLR 13,228]

Acquiring a new visa will be much harder for her thr next time. She has a USC spouse and has overstayed and attempted an AOS.   She would need extraordinarily strong ties to be granted another visa.  

 

As stated the ban stays in place if she abandons the AOS but is forgiven with being granted a green card by the USCIS.  Acquiring the green card and then giving it up actually may help in future applications of tourist visas but it may not be enough to overcome presumption of immigrant intent.  

 

If visiting the USA in the future is that important then waiting until citizenship is obtained would be your best bet.  

[caliliving 606]

2 hours ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

Hopefully whoever we deal with in regards to getting a new visa will have common sense and just let her get another visa. She has been here 4 previous times and only overstayed to be with me this time. She has no intent of immigrating here and I have no intent of staying if we do indeed leave. We still have a few more people to meet with before making a decision, but it seems it's a matter of circumstances and who we end up dealing with when the time comes to apply for a new visa.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it! If anyone has any similar experiences, stories, or other information, please add to the discussion. I will definitely be checking back here often.

visiting the USA after an overstay and with a USC spouse is very very doubtful!  I would go throuh the AOS process and get her greencard.

then if she gives it up IMO she would have an easier time 'convincing' them that she wont overstay again as she already had a greencard and gave it up!

IMO these are things you need to think about before you overstay! 

[geowrian 22,337]

15 minutes ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

There really should be an option for people in our position to get waivers and be able to at least come back and forth as long as we can prove the marriage is authentic. I guess the only option if we go is to hope we can get a waiver for a visit should the need arise, but it seems pretty risky.

There is a waiver possible, so you're already have what you are asking for there.

The marriage being authentic doesn't impact a tourist visa (and I'm not sure why it should...? Let alone the time needed by a CO to review evidence to determine this). The 2 largest factors for a tourist visa are 1) intent to go home, and 2) not violating status (working, overstaying, etc.).

 

2 hours ago, AlexSouthAmerica said:

Hopefully whoever we deal with in regards to getting a new visa will have common sense and just let her get another visa. She has been here 4 previous times and only overstayed to be with me this time. She has no intent of immigrating here and I have no intent of staying if we do indeed leave.

One out of five times is not a good track record, and is once more time than what a CO expects it to be. She may say she has no intent of immigrating, but a CO won't know her personally and can only go based on the evidence presented to them (and having a USC husband and a past overstay presents a high risk).

 

I concur that completing AOS and then abandoning the green card would be the best way to show that she does not intend to immigrate in the future given her circumstances. It's definitely no guarantee, but has probably the best likelihood of returning as a visitor in the future.