My GF Needs Some Visa Help

[Oneal777 0]

Hello everyone,

 

My girlfriend is a resident of Brazil and is currently living in Australia on a J1 Visa. Before living in Australia, she was living in Virginia on a F1 visa, but it was denied for renewal forcing her to leave the United States.

 

Now we need to figure out how to get her back in the states so that we can marry. Any ideas? I'm completely lost here and she did not receive a clear explanation on why her F1 visa was denied.

 

 

[Boiler 45,445]

She would have been told why her F1 was denied.

 

Australia has a J1, that is a coincidence.

 

Most here would suggest you marry and file an I 130. Marry in Australia or Brazil. Well anywhere it is legal and you can meet, or go Utah online.

Edited February 3 by Boiler

[Oneal777 0]

29 minutes ago, Boiler said:

She would have been told why her F1 was denied.

 

Australia has a J1, that is a coincidence.

 

Most here would suggest you marry and file an I 130. Marry in Australia or Brazil. Well anywhere it is legal and you can meet, or go Utah online.

 

So we are meeting in Brazil this December...so we should marry then...and then file an I-30 once I get back to the United States.

 

Is there anything I should do before I visit Brazil in December? And how long should I plan to stay?

[carmel34 3,620]

3 hours ago, Oneal777 said:

 

So we are meeting in Brazil this December...so we should marry then...and then file an I-30 once I get back to the United States.

 

Is there anything I should do before I visit Brazil in December? And how long should I plan to stay?

An American marrying a Brazilian in Brazil is not a simple process.  I did it, and it takes a lot of time, documents, and effort.  I had to get all of my civil documents certified by the secretary of state in each state that issued the US documents (a big hassle), translated to Portuguese (can only be done by expensive government-approved translators in Brazil), and sent to the local cartorio in Brazil where you intend to get married.  All of this has to be done well in advance, just to file an application for marriage, which is required a few weeks before the intended marriage date.  The documents can be sent via FedEx from the US to the translator who then sends the translation to the chosen cartorio.  The marriage application required my signature, but my work schedule did not allow me to make a special trip to Brazil just to sign the marriage application and then fly down there again a few weeks later for the marriage, so I had to prepare a limited power-of-attorney for my husband's friend so that someone could sign the application on my behalf, and that document had to be certified by the secretary of state in the state where it was issued, and go through the same official translation process in Brazil, then to the local cartorio.  After all required documents are accepted and the marriage application signed, there is a waiting period of about a month during which they post public notices of the intended marriage.  We chose to get married in Brazil, but it took about three months and considerable expense.  If you get all of the documents and translations to the cartorio before your trip to Brazil in December, you will still need to both sign the marriage application at the cartorio and wait a month before the actual marriage.  If you can't stay in Brazil for a month, I recommend that you get married via the Utah County Zoom option when you are together in Brazil, keep evidence of being together in person for the online ceremony, then file the I-130 petition online as soon as you get the marriage certificate which is only a week or so later.  The spousal visa process will take 1-2 years from filing the I-130 petition to the visa interview.  Your wife will need to interview at the US consulate in Rio or she can choose Australia if she will still have legal status there in 1-2 years.  Good luck!

Edited February 3 by carmel34

[Ontarkie 14,215]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I Need, from K1 P&P- the OP has not started any process yet.~~

[Crazy Cat 41,810]

20 hours ago, Oneal777 said:

 

So we are meeting in Brazil this December...so we should marry then...and then file an I-30 once I get back to the United States.

 

Is there anything I should do before I visit Brazil in December? And how long should I plan to stay?

Another vote for a Utah online marriage, a quick meeting anywhere, then filing the I-130.  The immigration process is quite lengthy.  The sooner you start, the sooner your spouse can then enter the US and become a legal resident.  Why wait until December? 

[Redro 4,611]

21 hours ago, Oneal777 said:

Hello everyone,

 

My girlfriend is a resident of Brazil and is currently living in Australia on a J1 Visa. Before living in Australia, she was living in Virginia on a F1 visa, but it was denied for renewal forcing her to leave the United States.

 

Now we need to figure out how to get her back in the states so that we can marry. Any ideas? I'm completely lost here and she did not receive a clear explanation on why her F1 visa was denied.

 

 

Where was the visa denied? 
Did she travel to Brazil for a new visa or did she extend her stay in the US, where she was denied? Maybe we can help you figure out the reason. 
As your girlfriend is Brazilian living in Australia, I recommend you go the spousal route for 2 reasons. 

1. While you can file the K1 now. If your gf moves back to Brazil or moves to another country before she interviews for a visa. Moving the visa from the Australian consulate to the second consulate might not be smooth or easy and could add several months to your process. Or you might not be able to change the location at all and your fiancé might have issues staying in Australia with no visa… 
2. The same is not true for spousal visa. Changing the interview from one consulate to another is time consuming but not as difficult. 

[Oneal777 0]

Okay so I talked to my girlfriend and here's the full story...

 

She was living in Virginia with a host family (who also happen to be Brazilian) from April 2019 to December 2021. She was in an exchange program working as an Au Pair and taking English classes that entire time. She had planned to start pursuing her degree in January of 2022, but her but her F1 Visa was denied because of the letter below...

 

Quote

 

We inform you that you were considered ineligible for a nonimmigrant visa, according to Section 214(b) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. A refusal based on Section 214(b) means that you could not demonstrate that your activities in the United States would be consistent with the classification of the requested non-immigrant visa. 

 

While each non-immigrant visa classification has its own and unique requirements, one of the common requirements among the various categories of non-immigrant visas is that each applicant demonstrates that he has a fixed residence outside the United States and that there is no intention of abandoning it. Applicants usually meet this requirement demonstrating that they have strong links in the country of origin which indicate that they will return from the United States at the end of the authorized temporary stay. Such links can be: professionals, a fixed job, school, family, social ties with the country of origin. You have not shown that you have sufficient links to force your return to your country of origin after your trip to the United States. 

 

Today's decision cannot be reconsidered. However, you can make a new request at any time. If you decide to apply for the visa again, you must fill out a new DS-160 form and photo, pay a new visa application fee and make a new appointment to be interviewed by a consular officer. If you decide to apply for the visa again, you must be prepared to provide information that was not presented in your original application, or demonstrate that your circumstances have changed since the previous application.

 

 

She assumes it was denied because they couldn't understand why she had to take English classes for 3 years? But she had to learn English fluently before she could pursue a degree.

[Crazy Cat 41,810]

6 minutes ago, Oneal777 said:

Okay so I talked to my girlfriend and here's the full story...

 

She was living in Virginia with a host family (who also happen to be Brazilian) from April 2019 to December 2021. She was in an exchange program working as an Au Pair and taking English classes that entire time. She had planned to start pursuing her degree in January of 2022, but her but her F1 Visa was denied because of the letter below...

 

 

She assumes it was denied because they couldn't understand why she had to take English classes for 3 years? But she had to learn English fluently before she could pursue a degree.

She was denied because the consulate officer didn't think she would return to home country after her studies.  That will have no effect on either a K-1 or CR-1. 

[Boiler 45,445]

The J-1 visa permits Au Pair in America participants to reside legally in the United States for 12 months while caring for children in a program-approved host family. Au pairs and companions in good standing may apply for an extension of stay to continue participation in the program for an additional 6, 9 or 12 months.

 

The timeline you mentioned does not match the normal J1 situation, did she apply for an extension and for how long.

 

When she applied for an F1 what was she looking to study?

[Redro 4,611]

38 minutes ago, Oneal777 said:

Okay so I talked to my girlfriend and here's the full story...

 

She was living in Virginia with a host family (who also happen to be Brazilian) from April 2019 to December 2021. She was in an exchange program working as an Au Pair and taking English classes that entire time. She had planned to start pursuing her degree in January of 2022, but her but her F1 Visa was denied because of the letter below...

 

 

She assumes it was denied because they couldn't understand why she had to take English classes for 3 years? But she had to learn English fluently before she could pursue a degree.

Many au pairs are denied student visas especially when they are sponsored by their au pair host family. The CO believed your girlfriend was looking to stay working for her au pair family while “studying” English. 
This won’t have any impact on her immigrant visa. 
 

 

[Oneal777 0]

So what would she need if she simply wanted to visit me in the USA for a few weeks? Just a B1 Visa?

 

I also own a small business in the wedding industry. Would I be able to use my LLC to my advantage? I'm a wedding DJ, but I do have assistants that help me occassionally.

 

 

[Boiler 45,445]

Just now, Oneal777 said:

So what would she need if she simply wanted to visit me in the USA for a few weeks? Just a B1 Visa?

 

I also own a small business in the wedding industry. Would I be able to use my LLC to my advantage? I'm a wedding DJ, but I do have assistants that help me occasionally.

You have not answered the questions, a B1 is for her to attend business meetings etc, a B2 is for visiting. Seems unlikely but no harm trying.

 

If they think she may be intending to work illegally on a B then that would be a major negative.

[Oneal777 0]

She was planning to study business admin when she applied for her F1 Visa.

 

And yeah, I'm sure a B2 might look suspicious if she was previously denied an F1.

[Boiler 45,445]

I tend to think of Business Admin as a Community College thing, makes me also wonder how a US Business Admin would be beneficial in Brazil?

 

Then there is the issue of who was paying for it and where, certainly would raise eyebrows if in the area of her previous Au Pair.