Advice needed!

[Rhythmlicious 75]

Hi all!

 

I really hope I'm posting this in the right group, and that anyone can help me with me current situation since it's getting kinda stressful (already!).

 

So I am from the Netherlands and in January 2016 I met my partner who is an American citizen. In March we'll be together for 2 years. 

 

In those 2 years we met a good amount of times, he visited me and I visited him too. In 2017 he moved to the Netherlands, since it was easier for him to get a temporarily visa in my country. We wanted a chance to live together to see if things would still work out between us. 

 

We are fine, but he couldn't settle in this country so recently he moved back to the USA. So now we want to see what our options are for a visa for me.

 

After reading a lot about it I feel like the K1 of CR1 would be the best for us. I feel like we would have to get married way earlier then we both wanted, but I can live with it. I've been in an almost 10 year relationship before and was already used to the idea of settling down anyway.

 

My partner on the other hand is having a hard time with this. He really would want me to apply for a different visa, one that doesn't require us to get married this soon. Something like a work visa. 

 

The only problem is I don't have anything 'special'. My job won't transfer me to America and apply for a visa for me. I don't have any kind of great bachelor's or master degrees. I was looking at student visas, but for what I found out I need to prove that I have enough savings for both the school and living costs. Unfortunately I don't have that either. I wonder what our options can be? And our relationship is everywhere, all over our Facebook, social media etc. Wouldn't that be a problem?

 

I really don't want to get married just for the visa. I just want to be with him, but I do want to do this in a legal way that doesn't cause any problems. Since I've read that applying for a work visa and later on a K1 or CR1 could be a problem? 

 

Does anyone have some good advise on this? Thanks in advance! 

 

[Boiler 45,514]

If he is prepared to fund your further education I would go with that.

 

I believe you can also apply for the DV Lottery.

[Californiansunset 336]

8 minutes ago, Rhythmlicious said:

Hi all!

 

I really hope I'm posting this in the right group, and that anyone can help me with me current situation since it's getting kinda stressful (already!).

 

So I am from the Netherlands and in January 2016 I met my partner who is an American citizen. In March we'll be together for 2 years. 

 

In those 2 years we met a good amount of times, he visited me and I visited him too. In 2017 he moved to the Netherlands, since it was easier for him to get a temporarily visa in my country. We wanted a chance to live together to see if things would still work out between us. 

 

We are fine, but he couldn't settle in this country so recently he moved back to the USA. So now we want to see what our options are for a visa for me.

 

After reading a lot about it I feel like the K1 of CR1 would be the best for us. I feel like we would have to get married way earlier then we both wanted, but I can live with it. I've been in an almost 10 year relationship before and was already used to the idea of settling down anyway.

 

My partner on the other hand is having a hard time with this. He really would want me to apply for a different visa, one that doesn't require us to get married this soon. Something like a work visa. 

 

The only problem is I don't have anything 'special'. My job won't transfer me to America and apply for a visa for me. I don't have any kind of great bachelor's or master degrees. I was looking at student visas, but for what I found out I need to prove that I have enough savings for both the school and living costs. Unfortunately I don't have that either. I wonder what our options can be? And our relationship is everywhere, all over our Facebook, social media etc. Wouldn't that be a problem?

 

I really don't want to get married just for the visa. I just want to be with him, but I do want to do this in a legal way that doesn't cause any problems. Since I've read that applying for a work visa and later on a K1 or CR1 could be a problem? 

 

Does anyone have some good advise on this? Thanks in advance! 

 

B1 visa to volunteer for a nonprofit for 6 months. Downside is that you wont be getting paid for it, some offer housing or transportation reimbursement. There are organizations that help you find the nonprofit and support you with getting the visa. In fact if you want to end up in Los Angeles (according to your profile your partner lives in Walnut) the organization I went with is perfect for you.

[Rhythmlicious 75]

11 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

B1 visa to volunteer for a nonprofit for 6 months. Downside is that you wont be getting paid for it, some offer housing or transportation reimbursement. There are organizations that help you find the nonprofit and support you with getting the visa. In fact if you want to end up in Los Angeles (according to your profile your partner lives in Walnut) the organization I went with is perfect for you.

 So if I understand correctly this is for a maximum of 6 months? Or is it possible to reapply? And would this not affect the process if after the 6 months we would apply for either k1 or cr1?

 

And may I ask you which organisation this was? 

[Boiler 45,514]

6 minutes ago, Rhythmlicious said:

 So if I understand correctly this is for a maximum of 6 months? Or is it possible to reapply? And would this not affect the process if after the 6 months we would apply for either k1 or cr1?

 

And may I ask you which organisation this was? 

B1 is for business, B2 for tourism.

 

Volunteering is limited to things like Soup Kitches etc, no payment allowed directly or in kind.

 

You can use the VWP to visit up to 90 days, B is high risk when you are VWP eligible.

[Californiansunset 336]

2 minutes ago, Rhythmlicious said:

 So if I understand correctly this is for a maximum of 6 months? Or is it possible to reapply? And would this not affect the process if after the 6 months we would apply for either k1 or cr1?

 

And may I ask you which organisation this was? 

You can always apply for an extension of the 6 months from within the country but don't count on it bc extensions are not that often granted. Also, you need to show proof to the CO that you have ties to your home country and that you will return after the 6 months for the initial application of the 6 months. Afterwards if everything with your partner works out and you still need more time (I would think after 6 months you would have it figured out whether you want to get more serious) you can apply in the 4th or 5th month of your stay for the extension.  I succeeded in getting an extension granted for my B1 visa. If you file K1 or CR1 while there's the extension of your B1 visa processing obviously they will deny that extension (it wouldn't jeopardize the K1 or CR1 though) because for a B1 visa extension you need to show that you don't have immigration intent which you contradict yourself with by applying for an immigrant visa at the same time. 

[Rhythmlicious 75]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

B1 is for business, B2 for tourism.

 

Volunteering is limited to things like Soup Kitches etc, no payment allowed directly or in kind.

 

You can use the VWP to visit up to 90 days, B is high risk when you are VWP eligible.

Thanks. I've been using my esta for visiting in 2016 and will reapply in 2018 to go visit again. So it's better to not apply for the B2? And only B1 for volunteering if that's what I wanted?

 

I Do feel like the b1 is kind of a risk too since it's still pretty short and at the moment I still own a house and a car that also need to be paid for.

[Californiansunset 336]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

B1 is for business, B2 for tourism.

 

Volunteering is limited to things like Soup Kitches etc, no payment allowed directly or in kind.

 

You can use the VWP to visit up to 90 days, B is high risk when you are VWP eligible.

There's B1 for non-profit volunteering. It's a common thing. The non-profit industry I was in had so many of us B1 visa people from Europe. At my non-profit there was one other German and a Dutch person also on B1. You present the documents from the non-profit to the CO and they just want to find out that you really won't get paid for it, what your tasks will be (you are not allowed to gather money for the non-profit), that you have enough funds available and that the non-profit is legit. 

[Californiansunset 336]

https://www.gaccca.com/visa-service/volunteer-program-usa.html 

If you end up using it let me know and drop my name as a referral please. 

[Boiler 45,514]

9 minutes ago, Rhythmlicious said:

Thanks. I've been using my esta for visiting in 2016 and will reapply in 2018 to go visit again. So it's better to not apply for the B2? And only B1 for volunteering if that's what I wanted?

 

I Do feel like the b1 is kind of a risk too since it's still pretty short and at the moment I still own a house and a car that also need to be paid for.

J1 would be better, how would you fund such a long visit?  You mentioned money issues and US is not cheap.

 

Often there is the practical issue of getting a visa and presumably wanting to do something somewhere near where you BF lives.

 

A refused B means you need to redo ESTA and state you have been refused a visa, often that results in a denial, well for 6 months or so.

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Boiler

[Californiansunset 336]

7 minutes ago, Rhythmlicious said:

Thanks. I've been using my esta for visiting in 2016 and will reapply in 2018 to go visit again. So it's better to not apply for the B2? And only B1 for volunteering if that's what I wanted?

 

I Do feel like the b1 is kind of a risk too since it's still pretty short and at the moment I still own a house and a car that also need to be paid for.

6 months is too short??? I mean it's not ideal but better than 90 days on ESTA or paying thousands to study in the US. Plus you can always extend that visa. You're option are a little limited giving your background that you wouldn't qualify for a H1B visa (not that that would be easy either). 

 

I agree with Boiler though that there's of course always the risk of getting denied the B1 visa but the denial rate for that visa when you partner with GACCA is low. They give you all papers too saying that they are your "sponsor" and the organization behind you making sure that everything goes the correct way. They are already known at the consulates in Berlin and Frankfurt. And it's not like you work at a soup kitchen. I was helping a non-profit that partners with the US Dept of State in hosting programs for emerging leaders from around the world. It was the most interesting "job" I ever had and I loved it. 

[Rhythmlicious 75]

10 minutes ago, Boiler said:

J1 would be better, how would you fund such a long visit?  You mentioned money issues and US is not cheap.

 

Often there is the practical issue of getting a visa and presumably wanting to do something somewhere near where you BF lives.

 

A refused B means you need to redo ESTA and state you have been refused a visa, often that results in a denial, well for 6 months or so.

 

Well I could always talk to my partner abo ut sponsoring me while I live there. That's wouldn't be the biggest problem. But I really don't feel comfortable with selling my house and the risk of having nothing to come back to if the b1 would be denied the 2nd time. Nor do I want my partner to pay for my mortgage and everything.

 

Ooh that last part is true too. I would never have thought of that. 

 

I'll go look into the J1, I didn't read too much about that one yet.

 

 

[Californiansunset 336]

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

J1 would be better, how would you fund such a long visit?  You mentioned money issues and US is not cheap.

 

Often there is the practical issue of getting a visa and presumably wanting to do something somewhere near where you BF lives.

 

A refused B means you need to redo ESTA and state you have been refused a visa, often that results in a denial, well for 6 months.

 

Good point with the J1 visa. I had a J1 and was living in Los Angeles.... I wasn't getting paid for it though.. most of those internships are unpaid, especially if you don't have a good educational background.

[Rhythmlicious 75]

4 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

6 months is too short??? I mean it's not ideal but better than 90 days on ESTA or paying thousands to study in the US. Plus you can always extend that visa. You're option are a little limited giving your background that you wouldn't qualify for a H1B visa (not that that would be easy either). 

 

I agree with Boiler though that there's of course always the risk of getting denied the B1 visa but the denial rate for that visa when you partner with GACCA is low. They give you all papers too saying that they are your "sponsor" and the organization behind you making sure that everything goes the correct way. They are already known at the consulates in Berlin and Frankfurt. And it's not like you work at a soup kitchen. I was helping a non-profit that partners with the US Dept of State in hosting programs for emerging leaders from around the world. It was the most interesting "job" I ever had and I loved it. 

That 'job' does sound interesting!

 

I'm not saying it's too short. I mean I already know that I want to be with this guy. To me it's way easier to just deal with it and choose between k1 or cr1. It's mainly my partner.

 

My main problem with the 6 months is that I wouldn't have an income that will pay for my house in NL. And it's too short to me to actually sell the place already since I'll need a place to live when I come back. And renting is not easy here.

 

 

[Californiansunset 336]

1 minute ago, Rhythmlicious said:

Well I could always talk to my partner abo ut sponsoring me while I live there. That's wouldn't be the biggest problem. But I really don't feel comfortable with selling my house and the risk of having nothing to come back to if the b1 would be denied the 2nd time. Nor do I want my partner to pay for my mortgage and everything.

 

Ooh that last part is true too. I would never have thought of that. 

 

I'll go look into the J1, I didn't read too much about that one yet.

 

 

He can provide the housing on any visa you are on but I would never use the word "sponsor" in front of a CO talking about your partner. For both B and J1 you need to show ties to your home country so selling your house wouldn't be ideal at all for either of those visas.

B visa extensions are taking around 7 or 8 months to process, so even if it gets denied you can stay in the U.S. until a decision is made... that just as a side note....

I agree with Boiler though that J1 could be a better option for you. You will have to find a company in Los Angeles that is willing to go through the hassle of doing the J1 paperwork for you though.