US sponsor/husband in prison

[Ryan H 3,812]

**Post contributing nothing to the conversation removed along with post quoting; either answer the OP's questions or do not post.**

[Golden Me 2]

4 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

**Post contributing nothing to the conversation removed along with post quoting; either answer the OP's questions or do not post.**

Thank you for removing it. 

[Boiler 45,538]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

I’ll PM you. There is another European member who completed the entire process whilst her husband was incarcerated and she has been living in the US for 4 years now. No issues whatsoever. She doesn’t post anymore but I’ll PM you her details so you can contact her. 

 

My husband has served time in prison in the USA and has little contact with his family. Not an issue at all for us. 

Maybe that was the one I was thinking of, it has I recollect been a few years. I seem to remember a few similar ish cases but not recently. I think at that time there were several people in a similar situation.

[African Zealot 1,455]

My concern is how long is he going to be in prison? Because ultimately you’re being issued an immigrant spousal visa to come and be with your USC spouse. You cannot technically be with him if he’s in prison so starting the process before he’s released in my opinion will lead to a very high probability of failure. It may slide through if you start the application close to his release date.

 

You already have answers to your specific questions. Good luck.

[JFH 12,190]

3 hours ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

My concern is how long is he going to be in prison? Because ultimately you’re being issued an immigrant spousal visa to come and be with your USC spouse. You cannot technically be with him if he’s in prison so starting the process before he’s released in my opinion will lead to a very high probability of failure. It may slide through if you start the application close to his release date.

 

You already have answers to your specific questions. Good luck.

The case I am referring to proves that your opinion on the matter (that you cannot have a spousal visa if your spouse is locked up) is wrong. I know personally of one case. I have read of several others on here. 

[Boiler 45,538]

Others have succeeded, why not the OP?

[Ontarkie 14,228]

~~Another post removed for not following moderation's warning and one for quoting. Stick to helping the OP with her questions.~~

[mallafri76 1,012]

Golden Me, I replied to your PM but I wanted to share my experience on the forum too,for others in a similar situation. JFH, thank you for putting Golden Me and I in contact.

 

Four years ago, I successfully immigrated to the US with my husband still in prison. He’s due to be released in a few months. 😃

No doubt, you have more to “prove” and you’ll most likely get a few more questions with the US spouse in prison but as long as you can show that you’re in a bonafide relationship, they have no excuse to deny you.
 

They will look for visits, pictures and correspondence. Know your spouse’s criminal history, they will ask you. And don’t be surprised if they’ll ask specific information from emails or visitations you’ve had. My husband’s in federal, so it might be different with your spouse in state prison, but at my interview, the consular officer had copies of our emails and visitation logs from his prison. 

 

I can’t stress enough how important the visits are in our circumstances, to prove a bonafide relationship. And remember to take pictures. I brought a photo album to my interview and the consular officer had me flip through it for him while he asked me questions.
 

To answer your question about ESTA. No, if your immigration visa is denied, you’ll most likely not be allowed to travel under ESTA. 

Good luck with your visa journey.