Can I still get a Visa

[OZJENNAUSA 0]

New to the forums, so apologies if this isn't where I post this question.

 

My ex is a USA citizen, and so are our 3 kids. We live in Australia and we were married for 15yrs. My ex wants to move back to the USA, and we have discussed all of us moving back with him. Considering it hasn't worked out that well in OZ for us, and the kids want to experience life in the USA, I am more then happy to make the move. I have some friends and his family and I are still on good terms.

 

My worry now is how do I go about a visa to move over? WE are no longer married  (divorced this year).so, that visa is out. IS there another way?

 

 

Edited April 22, 2018 by OZJENNAUSA
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[JFH 12,191]

You have a couple of options.

 

wait until the eldest child is 21 and he/she comes to the USA to live and then petitions for you as the parent of a USC. 

 

take a senior level position with a company in Australia that has a presence in the US and apply for an intra-company transfer

 

invest $500,000 in a business here

 

There is no direct route based on previous marriage to a USC or having minor USC children. 

Edited April 22, 2018 by JFH

[geowrian 22,338]

You cannot move to the US without an appropriate visa. You can visit on an ESTA for up to 90 days, assuming you qualify for an ESTA.

 

To get a visa to live in the US, you would either need a qualifying relative to petition for you (an ex won't count), or to look at investment, work, etc. visas. The non-family based ones are not easy to obtain.

If you work for a company with a US branch and in certain roles, you may be able to do an L-1 visa to transfer to the US.

 

If the children are 21 or older, they can petition for you for an IR-5 visa. ETA: ~a year or so.

[OZJENNAUSA 0]

Yeah a figured that was the case JFH what do you mean by invest $500 in a business there? How will that help with a visa?

 

 

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

1 minute ago, OZJENNAUSA said:

Yeah a figured that was the case JFH what do you mean by invest $500 in a business there? How will that help with a visa?

For an E-2 investment visa.

And it's $500k, not $500.

Edited April 22, 2018 by geowrian

[OZJENNAUSA 0]

I thought it was to cheap ha ha... Ok thanks, so looks like I may need to wait until the eldest is 21 to sponsor me?  What about relatives? Does the ex's family count or no?

 

[geowrian 22,338]

4 minutes ago, OZJENNAUSA said:

I thought it was to cheap ha ha... Ok thanks, so looks like I may need to wait until the eldest is 21 to sponsor me?  What about relatives? Does the ex's family count or no?

Yup...definitely not cheap but is an option.

Your ex's family has no current legal relation to you (and in-laws can't petition anyway).

 

A qualifying relative to petition would either be:

• Current USC or LPR spouse
• 21+ USC child
• USC Sibling (~15-20+ years)
• USC or LPR parent (~7-10 years)

Edited April 22, 2018 by geowrian

[OZJENNAUSA 0]

Well bummer, so I'm stuck here .. I'm grateful for where I live, but would love the move.. So even though my kids are their grandkids we have no legal relation? What are my chances in wining in the DV Lottery..

 

Thanks for the help..:)

 

 

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

4 minutes ago, OZJENNAUSA said:

Well bummer, so I'm stuck here .. I'm grateful for where I live, but would love the move.. So even though my kids are their grandkids we have no legal relation? What are my chances in wining in the DV Lottery..

Well, I think that would make you in-laws, right? My family relation knowledge is not the greatest (sorry)...but the idea is there no biological relation between them and you, and no relation that qualifies for anything with immigration. The list of qualifying relatives is in an edit in my previous post.

 

Last fiscal year, 398 DVs went to Australians out of 49,976 total DVs actually issued (https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2017AnnualReport/FY17AnnualReport-TableVII.pdf). The latest info I can find for DV entrants is from 2015, which had 14,233 entrants. That said, the 398 visas issued includes derivatives, whereas the 14,233 number does not (there were 6,346 derivatives combined across the 14,233 Australian entrants). After adjusting for this, it's around a 2% chance of being selected and obtaining a DV in FY2015 for an Australian.

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DVStatistics/DVApplicantEntrantsbyCountry 2013-2015.pdf

[Sukie 1,465]

We applied for a Diversity slot for 5 years in a row and didn't come close.  It's a VERY low probability.  VERY low.

 

Sukie in NY

[OZJENNAUSA 0]

OK thanks, you've been very helpful..  Sukie how did you get to the USA?  Didn't realise the low probability of winning. But hey gotta be in it to win it right?

 

[Going through 5,671]

How old is your eldest child?

 

Easiest/quickest way in your situation is for the child to petition you once he/she reaches 21 years of age.

Coming from Australia, your chances of being selected for DV is extremely low.

[Going through 5,671]

10 minutes ago, Hattivatti said:

Oh good grief, I was trying to make a joke. Didn't realize someone would take that seriously! 

On an immigration board where people ask for advice on legal ways to immigrate/factual information....doesn't leave much room for jokes since there's always a chance the joke can be taken very seriously....with serious consequences to the person following it as advice.

 

On an aside, your comment didn't read like a "joke" at all---it reads as though you are suggesting they get remarried for immigration benefits.

[Hattivatti 35]

6 minutes ago, Going through said:

On an immigration board where people ask for advice on legal ways to immigrate/factual information....doesn't leave much room for jokes since there's always a chance the joke can be taken very seriously....with serious consequences to the person following it as advice.

 

On an aside, your comment didn't read like a "joke" at all---it reads as though you are suggesting they get remarried for immigration benefits.

I would never in my life recommend anyone to do anything that stupid. I made a bad joke and by time I realized people were not seeing it as such, I could not edit nor remove the post.

 

[Springrain22 427]

8 hours ago, OZJENNAUSA said:

Yeah a figured that was the case JFH what do you mean by invest $500 in a business there? How will that help with a visa?

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone could invest $500 in American economy just to get their visa, we would have millions of people here with $500 that will last a few days. Don't you seriously think that you can invest less than a ticket price to be here? Sometimes I don't understand how people think. At all.