Missionary Friend's Wife from Venezuela

[NYCruiser 423]

2 hours ago, Roel said:

And apparently they were right.... 

 

Yep. The extension won't work. 

 

That's not how spouse visa works. They can apply but the wife would have to leave US and return to her country to wait out the process. Currently it takes from 12 to 14 months. 

 

There is no such thing as waiting 90 days to apply for spouse visa. 

Never heard and doubt it's real. Plus she cannot get a citizenship without a green card first anyway. 

 

 

 

You mean spouse visa or aos? Two completely different things. 

As soon as her tourist visa expires she will be out of status and deportable. 

Comparing it to Anne Frank is kind of disgusting  though. No offense. 

 

They already made a mistake of not applying for spouse visa prior to coming to the US and using the tourist visa to immigrate.  Basically they committed immigration fraud. 

This whole post of the OP is kind of disgusting. President Grump?? He is enforcing the Immigration Law just like Panama obviously did to OP....

[Dashinka 24,489]

2 hours ago, johnandmhel said:

For the record, they DID NOT come here to the USA to stay -- they want to go back to Panama to be missionaries there.  They came here to file paperwork and would happily go somewhere else if they afford to do so and had the proper visas to go there. 

 

However, Panama won't give her an extension on a tourist visa.  The US was the only place they could go due to him being a USC and her having a valid tourist visa to afford to go to another country. Returning to Venezuela is not an option given the situation there.    

 

They have submitted paperwork as soon as possible after arriving legally here. 

 

The ninety-day wait then is for AOS (which is what they're doing I guess) not spousal visa  -- https://citizenpath.com/90-day-rule-adjusting-status/   sorry, I'm no immigration expert -- all of you are. 

 

I wish people could be a little kinder in their remarks but it's my fault for posting anyway.  

 

I won't post anymore ever again here on VJ.   

 

1 hour ago, MyJourney said:

Don't confuse people. They are obviously are talking about adjusting status as a permanent resident not "naturalization". 

 

If they are not planning on residing in the US, why try to get a GC via an AOS?  The GC or LPR status is not a multi-entry tourist visa, it is meant to take up residence in the US.  If she does get it and stays out of the country for an extended period it will be considered abandoned and the process will have to start again.

[Sandra G. 5,047]

4 hours ago, johnandmhel said:

Here's the short of it (as short as I can make it): 

 

USC Missionary friend got married to Venezuelan wife five years ago but never applied an immigrant visa for her as they never planned to live in the USA and doing so was (and is) costly. 

 

Venezuela is a mess now and they got out and went to Panama a few months ago for him to continue working as a missionary but then Panama (not taking a liking to Venezuelans anymore) wasn't willing to extend her tourist visa there.  So, given that her current tourist visa was still good for the U.S., they came back here.  Evidently, because they stayed a relatively short time in Panama, immigration at the airport sent her into secondary and gave her a hard time (Why? Because it what's they're good at and I suppose they thought she was somehow trying to sneak into the USA and stay as her current tourist was set to expire in one month -- I know, I know, they probably wanted to see at least six months' left on her visa).  Anyway, they let her in and she had to drag both their heavy suitcases a long way to where she could meet up with her husband as he wasn't allowed to take the luggage after being told rudely that he could wait outside, downstairs, way far away and didn't know if he would see his wife again.

 

They have since consulted with an immigration attorney in his hometown and told they have three options:  1) file for an extension of a tourist visa that will be good for additional six months (but the lawyer says that by the time you get it, her current tourist visa will have already expired).  2) file for a spousal immigration visa but this will take probably over a year but because of President Grump's recent "I-hate-immigrants" stance, you have to wait 90 days after entering the USA (even as a bona fide spouse) before applying for an immigrant spousal visa.  3) apply for an expedited naturalization certificate that is special for those who are spouses of missionaries (something I hadn't heard of before but some of you may know more about it) but this would take longer than the spousal immigration visa.  They filed with the immigration attorney for the tourist visa extension right before her tourist visa expired and also for the spousal immigration visa but not the naturalization one as they only had so many hundreds of dollars. 

 

So, where it stands now is that the extension for the tourist visa has been filed but they need to wait another two months before they can apply for the spousal immigration visa  so, I fear, she's technically an "illegal alien" at this time and could be deported if the police happen to make a traffic stop, for example.  So it's almost an Anne Frank situation where she has to stay out of sight until they get the NOA at least proving she's "in process" I think or gets the extension to her tourist visa.   

 

Is this true or not?

 

Anyone with experiences like this one?

 

Granted, this is my friend's fault for not going after the immigration visa years earlier but, as said, they thought they would never really need it.  As it stands now, they need to stay here in the U.S. until this all resolves itself.  The worst thing would be if she got deported back to Venezuela as, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for her to ever legally get out of there as Venezuela is making it nearly impossible for citizens to "escape" the country legally.  

 

 

 

The attorney gave him a lot of wrong information and made a stupid mistake because the Immigrant Visa as the name says clearly shows  that the person has the intent to become an immigrant but the tourist visa is to visit the U.S, he has to decide what he wants if  his wife will just visit the U.S. and leave then the tourist visa extension is enough, if he wants to live here with his wife then she has to file for adjustment of status and  the  tourist visa extension is not needed.

 

She can file for AOS now, she doesn't need to wait 90 days. The "90 days rule" is for those who decided to get married right after entering in the U.S then it's advised to wait 90 days".  Regarding the expeditiuous processing is if the person has a green card and it's time to file for naturalization, after 3 years, but the person was  living abroad  then  the naturalization applicant  may be elegible for expeditiou  processing if the U.S spouse is employed outside te U.S as a missionary.The applicant has to demonstrate that mission have a bona fide organization in the United States. She doesn't even have a green card then this rule doesn't apply to her either.

Edited May 2, 2018 by sandranj

[pauli 49]

You all need to step back and consider the situation without taking into account the OP's tone and political commentary.

 

To me, the OP's story makes perfect sense.  The couple are missionaries and presumably want to continue their work abroad.  If they really wanted to immigrate to U.S., why didn't they just go straight to U.S. instead of going to Panama?  When they couldn't stay in Panama and couldn't go back to Venezuela, then they decided to regroup in U.S. until they find their next spot.  Makes sense to me.

 

MyJourney's immigration advice is correct.  Since she was allowed in, she can apply to adjust status whether we like it or not.   

[pauli 49]

But question for OP - I assume they gave the wife 6 months to stay in U.S. on tourist visa.  Is that not enough time for them to sort out their situation, whether they go back to Panama or a different country?  You said that's what they want to do.  If they don't plan on staying in US, then Adjustment of Status doesn't make sense.

[Boiler 45,468]

2 minutes ago, pauli said:

You all need to step back and consider the situation without taking into account the OP's tone and political commentary.

 

To me, the OP's story makes perfect sense.  The couple are missionaries and presumably want to continue their work abroad.  If they really wanted to immigrate to U.S., why didn't they just go straight to U.S. instead of going to Panama?  When they couldn't stay in Panama and couldn't go back to Venezuela, then they decided to regroup in U.S. until they find their next spot.  Makes sense to me.

 

MyJourney's immigration advice is correct.  Since she was allowed in, she can apply to adjust status whether we like it or not.   

Certainly the OP's attitude has not helped out and when 'Posting for a Friend' much of the detail and sometimes basic facts can be doubted.

 

If they do not wish to immigrate, an expensive and time consuming process then we are left with just the visit.

 

Nobody is suggesting she can not adjust.

[Ontarkie 14,218]

~~This thread has run it's course. Multiple posts removed for bickering. The OP is not to start another thread on this topic. The OP's friend is welcomed to join VJ and post his own questions.~~