Advice need on marriage green card

[gregoryagu 31]

I sitting with a friend helping him deal with his current visa situation.  The following are his words (not mine, so you don't get confused with my own personal timeline).

 

I have been living in the United State for the last 20 years.  The first 7 years I was here on a L1A visa, 1998 to 2005 .  then two years later married an American which is how I got my green card.  However, I have been a resident since 2008 when I got my Green card.   From 1999 - 2001, I was coming back and forth from Canada.    I got married in 2007.  We got divorced in 2013.  We were together about 5 years.  No kids.

 

I met a lady on a religious website (my religion) Nov 15, 2021.  We corresponded by text for 2-3 hours per day and fell in love.  

 

We made arrangements for her to arrive in Tampa Florida where I live on Dec 27, 2021.  She was allowed entry for 6 months (until June 27) as she had been to the US before earlier in the year in Sept for 6 weeks and her existing Visa was valid until May 7, 2022.  She came in telling immigration that she was visiting friends and doing spiritual courses at her church.  She arrived on a tourist Visa from Russia to Tampa Florida.

 

She gave my address as her residence for the following three months.  She also entered with a return ticket for March 15, 2022.

 

We have fallen in love and I would very much like to marry her and spend my life with her.  I would like her to stay with me here in the US permanently and I am looking at the various options towards that purpose.

 

Below is a list of possible options that I would like opinions and consultation to make my goal a reality.

 

1) A refugee status since Russia is currently at war. Also, her Church has been banned in Russia, so her religious freedom has been violated.   Her Church was banned in Russia in October of 2021. 

 

2) My religion here in Florida said that they know how they can extend her visa for another 6 months if she is doing spiritual consoling. 

 

3) I am a Canadian citizen, and I could marry her in both the US and Canada if there is some option in that area.  As a Russian, she could not enter Canada, but if we had married her in the US, I think that might change the situation.

 

4) I have talked to a lawyer who said he could navigate through the situation.  

 

5) Both of us go to a Country where both Russians and Canadians are allowed and get a second citizenship there.

 

6) We get married here and now, and then go through the paperwork to get her Greencard.

 

Any advice you can give me ono my situation would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

 

 

[Timona 4,208]

Is your friend a USC? I don't recall reading anywhere 

[gregoryagu 31]

2 hours ago, Timona said:

Is your friend a USC?

No, he is not a US Citizen.  He has a green card, and has been married to an American, but never completed the naturalization process.

[Lil bear 4,283]

T

Edited March 5, 2022 by Lil bear

[carmel34 3,650]

If the lady from Russia cannot find a way to extend her legal status in the US, she needs to return to Russia with the return ticket on March 15, assuming that the flight has not been cancelled because of the sanctions.  Even if the return flight has been cancelled, she needs to find another way back to Russia or some other country.  If she overstays the terms of her tourist visa, even if married to an LPR, it could lead to a ban from entering the US.  What is the date on the I-94 stamp in her passport?  Make sure she leaves before that date.  There is no refugee status in the US for Russian citizens.  What visa would be "extended" according to her church friends?  She is here on a tourist visa.  She can apply to extend her stay, but the process to apply for the extension takes many months, so if she overstays the I-94 while waiting for the extension decision, and it is denied, she could cause problems for herself down the road.  There may be no viable, legal way for her to stay.  The best way forward is to marry in the US now, then she returns to Russia prior to the I-94 date, the LPR husband files an I-130 for a spousal visa, which takes 1-2 years, and she waits in Russia until the visa interview, which will likely be in Warsaw.  She can return to the US with a spousal visa/green card at that point.  Good luck!

Edited March 5, 2022 by carmel34

[Timona 4,208]

Since she's in the country:

 

F2A is current. They can marry and file concurrently. However, she needs to be having legal status by the time I-485 is filed. 

 

I stand corrected 

[JeanneAdil 6,606]

 

according to several law offices :

 

https://www.shusterman.com/green-cards-for-spouse-and-children/#:~:text=Adjustment%20of%20Status%20in%20the,residents%20without%20leaving%20the%20US.

 

Adjustment of Status in the US – Spouse and Children of Green Card Holder

If you spouse and children are lawfully present in the US on a temporary visa, they may be eligible to adjust their status to permanent residents without leaving the US. This is only possible if their temporary status is not due to expire before they can apply for adjustment of status.

[gregoryagu 31]

Ok, thank you very much for the responses:

 

So, just to make sure I understand the answers correctly:

 

1) He needs to get his citizenship as soon as possible.

 

2) As a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) he IS eligible to sponsor her.

 

3) This needs to be done before her legal status here expires.

 

So they need to:

 

1) Get legally married.

 

2) He starts his Citizenship process.

 

3) They then file form I 485 at the same time as Form I-130.

 

4) All of the above needs to be done before her current Visitors Visa Expires.

 

Is this correct?