What are the chances of a visa application being denied?

[CKnight 1]

My girlfriend is from Brazil, and she came to the United States through the Au-Pair program. She is still here legally, but she of course has family back in Brazil. She has been in the United States for about 3 years now, and is waiting for an answer on her current student visa. She said that if she had to go back to Brazil in the event of a family emergency, she might not be able to come back to the United States right away. My girlfriend has to file for a Brazilian visa which may or may not be denied. If it is denied, then she won't be able to come back to the United States. If that happens, is it possible for me to go to Brazil and marry her there, then bring us back to the United States to live? Also, does she even need to file for a Brazilian visa? My thought is that she may not need to, because of her citizenship as a Brazilian. 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

You can marry her in Brazil (if you qualify per Brazilian law).  She can the enter the US with a spousal visa in about 2 years.  That is how long the process takes currently.  In the mean time, she can legally visit during the spousal visa process if she has a legal entry document.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

Be advised that marriage to a US citizen, in itself, confers no immigration or entry benefits (except as an exemption to Covid entry requirements)..

Edited April 21, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[payxibka 10,045]

16 minutes ago, CKnight said:

My girlfriend is from Brazil, and she came to the United States through the Au-Pair program. She is still here legally, but she of course has family back in Brazil. She has been in the United States for about 3 years now, and is waiting for an answer on her current student visa. She said that if she had to go back to Brazil in the event of a family emergency, she might not be able to come back to the United States right away. My girlfriend has to file for a Brazilian visa which may or may not be denied. If it is denied, then she won't be able to come back to the United States. If that happens, is it possible for me to go to Brazil and marry her there, then bring us back to the United States to live? Also, does she even need to file for a Brazilian visa? My thought is that she may not need to, because of her citizenship as a Brazilian. 

Why would a Brazilian citizen need to apply for a visa to enter het own country?

[CKnight 1]

5 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Why would a Brazilian citizen need to apply for a visa to enter het own country?

I could be wrong about this, but I am thinking it is because she had to change status in order to be in the United States under the student visa. Otherwise, if she is a Brazilian citizen she wouldn't need to apply for a visa. I am just wondering if she has to apply because of a change of status when she came to the United States. 

[Timona 4,207]

Why would she apply for a visa for her own country? Make sure you are not getting played and she actually is a citizen of another country close to Brazil.

 

Anyway, not sure if AU-PAIR works the same way as normal AOS, but if it does, then you can marry her now and AOS for her. Just make sure to apply for advanced parole so that she can leave and come back freely during the immigration process. 

[payxibka 10,045]

Just now, CKnight said:

I could be wrong about this, but I am thinking it is because she had to change status in order to be in the United States under the student visa. Otherwise, if she is a Brazilian citizen she wouldn't need to apply for a visa. I am just wondering if she has to apply because of a change of status when she came to the United States. 

Change her status to what?  Are you thinking she had to give up her citizenship to come to the US to study?  Do you give up your citizenship to go to temporarily visit another country?

[CKnight 1]

13 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

You can marry her in Brazil (if you qualify per Brazilian law).  She can the enter the US with a spousal visa in about 2 years.  That is how long the process takes currently.  In the mean time, she can legally visit during the spousal visa process if she has a legal entry document.

Thank you for your reply. So, it sounds like this is doable then, should we have to go this route. 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

4 minutes ago, CKnight said:

I could be wrong about this, but I am thinking it is because she had to change status in order to be in the United States under the student visa. Otherwise, if she is a Brazilian citizen she wouldn't need to apply for a visa. I am just wondering if she has to apply because of a change of status when she came to the United States. 

A change of status in the US would not impact on her ability to enter her own country.  Are you sure she is in legal status here in the US?  If she is not in legal status, that could be why she said she might not be able to re-enter the US.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[Timona 4,207]

3 minutes ago, CKnight said:

I could be wrong about this, but I am thinking it is because she had to change status in order to be in the United States under the student visa. Otherwise, if she is a Brazilian citizen she wouldn't need to apply for a visa. I am just wondering if she has to apply because of a change of status when she came to the United States. 

 

There was no status that was changed when she applied for her AU-PAIR. She just got a visa to come to the US....It is the same thing that will happen when you go to Brazil. You may have to apply for Brazilian visa (I have not googled to see if USC need one). Will you apply for US Visa when coming back? The answer is NO. The same applies to her

[CKnight 1]

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

A change of status in the US would no impact on her ability to enter her own country.  Are you sure she is in legal status here in the US?  If she is not in legal status, that could be why she said she might not be able to re-enter the US.

She is here legally in terms of being on the student visa. However, she is waiting for an answer on the visa, because she had to reapply for it, which means she is in limbo. I am going off of what she told me. But as I said in another post, I don't know that it makes sense to apply for a visa to enter your own country if you are already a citizen. 

[Timona 4,207]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

A change of status in the US would not impact on her ability to enter her own country.  Are you sure she is in legal status here in the US?  If she is not in legal status, that could be why she said she might not be able to re-enter the US.

 

Thought about this BUT the OP said she may not be able to enter Brazil, not US. So my guess is, it is US that he may be referring to

[CKnight 1]

1 minute ago, Timona said:

 

There was no status that was changed when she applied for her AU-PAIR. She just got a visa to come to the US....It is the same thing that will happen when you go to Brazil. You may have to apply for Brazilian visa (I have not googled to see if USC need one). Will you apply for US Visa when coming back? The answer is NO. The same applies to her

Thanks. So, then she can move freely between the United States and Brazil without a risk of being told she can't come back to the U.S. Just as long as she has legal documents to enter the U.S. I wasn't sure if this was the case, but it is what she told me that she has to apply for a visa to get into Brazil. 

[CKnight 1]

2 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

Thought about this BUT the OP said she may not be able to enter Brazil, not US. So my guess is, it is US that he may be referring to

She is here legally as I said to another poster. 

[Timona 4,207]

7 minutes ago, CKnight said:

She is here legally in terms of being on the student visa. However, she is waiting for an answer on the visa, because she had to reapply for it, which means she is in limbo. I am going off of what she told me. But as I said in another post, I don't know that it makes sense to apply for a visa to enter your own country if you are already a citizen. 

1. Student visas do expire
2. An international student can fall out of status, hence illegal if they do not maintain student visa requirements e.g course hours etc
3. You cannot reapply for student visa while in the US. You can go to the closest US embassy outside US or go back to your own country to re-apply. I was F-1.

 

Now that you know this, ask her "what exactly did she apply for or does she mean that she cannot re-enter." It may be that:

1. She is a little confused about the process
2. Is not telling you the truth (ask her for her visa and check status to make sure it did not expire and therefore, she is here illegally)
3. Indirectly instilling fear and desperation in you so that you marry her NOW and do AOS for her

 

The above are my opinions. I am just making you aware of multiple scenarios that you need to look into

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Timona