i'll be on sabbatical, spousal visa best fit for husband? (merged threads)

[lunchboxthermos 1]

hi there, i'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information i'm reading on this website. hoping someone can give me some advice on what to do in my situation:

i work for an international non-profit organisation here in Asia (sent out by the US branch of the org), and met my husband here. we married last week, after dating for 3 years. in 6 more months, i'll be going on sabbatical back to the US for a year, so my husband will also move back with me. while on sabbatical, my husband and i will do part-time work for my organisation (light job, it won't be stressful) before he, too applies to join my organisation. we will, together, be sent back to asia to work for my NPO. we currently just started paperwork for the i-130 spouse visa (although having looked through this site, i'm realising there different spouse visas...help!...)

however, a family friend has said that applying for the spouse visa means my husband will need to stay in the US for 3 years if he comes in on the spouse visa. so his suggestion is that my hsuband just apply for the B1/B2 visa. but with that visa, he would not be allowed to work, is that correct? also, with the B1/B2, he would only be able to stay for 6 months. we're not exactly swimming in money, so having to fly out of the US every 6 months doesn't seem ideal, especially if during this sabbatical year, i become pregnant. if that happens, we would stay in the US for a bit longer (probably an additional 6 months longer). that would mean he would have to be flying out 3x...which adds up in flight costs.

working for my organisation, we would take a full-year sabbatical every 4 years (which means we'd return to the US every 4 years). this was also the reason why we were applying for the spouse visa. eventually we would like to retire back in the US, but that's a long way down the road. until then, we will likely be going back and forth between the US/Asia 4 years at a time.

hoping someone can give me some suggestions on what visa we should apply for that might fit our situation? desperate for help...

Edited March 10, 2016 by lunchboxthermos

[Kastrs 723]

hi there, i'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information i'm reading on this website. hoping someone can give me some advice on what to do in my situation:

i work for an international non-profit organisation here in Asia (sent out by the US branch of the org), and met my husband here. we married last week, after dating for 3 years. in 6 more months, i'll be going on sabbatical back to the US for a year, so my husband will also move back with me. while on sabbatical, my husband and i will do part-time work for my organisation (light job, it won't be stressful) before he, too applies to join my organisation. we will, together, be sent back to asia to work for my NPO. we currently just started paperwork for the i-130 spouse visa (although having looked through this site, i'm realising there different spouse visas...help!...)Really the only spousal visa you need to worry about is the CR1, read the guides on this website from a computer to get a better understanding of the process

however, a family friend has said that applying for the spouse visa means my husband will need to stay in the US for 3 years if he comes in on the spouse visa. He needs to maintain his residence in the US for 3 years in order to become a USC so his suggestion is that my hsuband just apply for the B1/B2 visa. Very unlikely he would be granted this, but if you have the money to spare then a denial would not hurt a spousal petition but with that visa, he would not be allowed to work, is that correct? YES not even a little work also, with the B1/B2, he would only be able to stay for 6 months. we're not exactly swimming in money, so having to fly out of the US every 6 months doesn't seem ideal, especially if during this sabbatical year If he had a B2 he would have to spend 6 months out of the US after he had spent 6 months inside the US, i become pregnant. if that happens, we would stay in the US for a bit longer (probably an additional 6 months longer). that would mean he would have to be flying out 3x...which adds up in flight costs.

working for my organisation, we would take a full-year sabbatical every 4 years (which means we'd return to the US every 4 years). this was also the reason why we were applying for the spouse visa. eventually we would like to retire back in the US, but that's a long way down the road. until then, we will likely be going back and forth between the US/Asia 4 years at a time.

hoping someone can give me some suggestions on what visa we should apply for that might fit our situation? desperate for help...

[Boiler 45,538]

A spouse visa is to live in the US, seems you do not want to do that.

And getting one in 6 months sounds iffy. Where are you?

[lunchboxthermos 1]

A spouse visa is to live in the US, seems you do not want to do that.

And getting one in 6 months sounds iffy. Where are you?

well, we will live in the US for at least a year, every few years. will eventually retire there, since that's where home is.

i'm in taiwan; i've read some previous posters and it seems they have direct consular filing...would that help speed up the process?

hi there, i'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information i'm reading on this website. hoping someone can give me some advice on what to do in my situation:

i work for an international non-profit organisation here in Asia (sent out by the US branch of the org), and met my husband here. we married last week, after dating for 3 years. in 6 more months, i'll be going on sabbatical back to the US for a year, so my husband will also move back with me. while on sabbatical, my husband and i will do part-time work for my organisation (light job, it won't be stressful) before he, too applies to join my organisation. we will, together, be sent back to asia to work for my NPO. we currently just started paperwork for the i-130 spouse visa (although having looked through this site, i'm realising there different spouse visas...help!...)Really the only spousal visa you need to worry about is the CR1, read the guides on this website from a computer to get a better understanding of the process

however, a family friend has said that applying for the spouse visa means my husband will need to stay in the US for 3 years if he comes in on the spouse visa. He needs to maintain his residence in the US for 3 years in order to become a USC so his suggestion is that my hsuband just apply for the B1/B2 visa. Very unlikely he would be granted this, but if you have the money to spare then a denial would not hurt a spousal petition but with that visa, he would not be allowed to work, is that correct? YES not even a little work also, with the B1/B2, he would only be able to stay for 6 months. we're not exactly swimming in money, so having to fly out of the US every 6 months doesn't seem ideal, especially if during this sabbatical year If he had a B2 he would have to spend 6 months out of the US after he had spent 6 months inside the US, i become pregnant. if that happens, we would stay in the US for a bit longer (probably an additional 6 months longer). that would mean he would have to be flying out 3x...which adds up in flight costs.

working for my organisation, we would take a full-year sabbatical every 4 years (which means we'd return to the US every 4 years). this was also the reason why we were applying for the spouse visa. eventually we would like to retire back in the US, but that's a long way down the road. until then, we will likely be going back and forth between the US/Asia 4 years at a time.

hoping someone can give me some suggestions on what visa we should apply for that might fit our situation? desperate for help...

so i take from your suggestion not to go with the B1/B2 visa, is that correct? as mentioned above to the other reply, i'm in taiwan where we don't have an embassy, but we do have the American Institute in Taiwan...i'm reading that they have direct consular filing, so that means i would be applying for the CR-1 automatically if i do DCF, if i've read correctly... (thank you for your reply, btw!)

[traveler100 20]

i-130 is your best option. after he gets his cr-1 visa, he can stay for upto 1 year outside of the USA. the only thing to keep in mind is that q year won't count towards the 3 year residency req for citizenship.

[Cathi 5,755]

a cr-1 doesn't make sense if he only plans to stay a year. After the sabbatical how long until you come back to the US for good?

[lunchboxthermos 1]

a cr-1 doesn't make sense if he only plans to stay a year. After the sabbatical how long until you come back to the US for good?

for this initial sabbatical, it will be at least a year. hoping to have a baby while i'm back home in US (haven't had good experiences with hospitals here in taiwan so far), so if that's the case, then we'd stay a bit longer (probably an additional 6 months minimum?)

so after this upcoming sabbatical, we plan on being back in taiwan with our NPO. every few years, we're required to take a sabbatical (a year each time). as of now, we're planning on staying with this NPO for awhile, as we love the work we do here. so, coming back to the US for good probably won't be until retirement or if there are emergencies in my family that require us to move back to the US.

[Boiler 45,538]

Sounds like you have some thinking to do, US Immigration is not like Burger King, you can not have it your way.

I did not think you could do DCF, but check. So you would be half way through your sabbatical before the visa is likely.

[Cathi 5,755]

yeah, a cr1 isn't an option as residency is required for your husband. You cannot use a green card in place of a visitor visa, which in essence is what you are planning to do.

[Boiler 45,538]

yeah, a cr1 isn't an option as residency is required for your husband. You cannot use a green card in place of a visitor visa, which in essence is what you are planning to do.

Well people do....

But for how long before they catch on.

there is also the tax issue, health insurance etc etc.

[lunchboxthermos 1]

yep, that's fair, and while i know our situation is complicated, i'm not expecting the US to do things my way. hence, my post asking for suggestions.

so what i gather, then, are 2 options:

1) apply for CR-1, stay in US for minimum 3 years. (during this time, husband is allowed to work, and can leave the country for short periods of time). what happens after 3 years then? is that when he would be required to apply for citizenship? and would we, then, still not be able to come back to work overseas?

2) apply for B1/B2 visa. he'll just have to fly out every 6 months. regarding this visa, though, can he reapply for it every 6 months? and does it have to be from outside?

i am guessing there are no tourist visas that last for a year...

[Boiler 45,538]

He is not required to apply for Citizenship but that would solve your problem, 3 year ish.

B2 assuming he can get one usually allows visits up to 6 months. Rule of thumb is to spend as long out as you were in.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Boiler

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Once he has his citizenship, he can come & go whenever he pleases.

[lunchboxthermos 1]

Once he has his citizenship, he can come & go whenever he pleases.

i'm a bit confused. so if he goes in with the CR-1 visa, he'll have a green card automatically, but then he has to stay for a full 3 years. after, which, he can start applying for citizenship? doesn't that take an additional many years...?

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

i'm a bit confused. so if he goes in with the CR-1 visa, he'll have a green card automatically, but then he has to stay for a full 3 years. after, which, he can start applying for citizenship? doesn't that take an additional many years...?

No, it does not take "many years", once he's eligible and he applies, it takes definitely less than a year, depending on how busy your local USCIS office is, maybe 6 months.