per 170

Hi everyone!

I have a Swedish passport and I'm married to an American. We both live and work in Switzerland, but we have considered moving to the USA in the future as an option. Since the waiting time for the paperwork to be processed for a green card is so long, we thought we may as well apply for it straight away, to keep our options open at all times. From what I've been reading, there is an initial green card valid for 2 years, that can then be extended to last for 10 years.

When I receive the initial green card, do I have to use it within a certain amount of time? (i.e. live in the USA) What happens if I do not? Does it expire after 2 years? Will reapplying for it after it expires be faster or cheaper than the initial application? I get the impression that I can't renew the initial 2-year green card without living in the USA.

Thanks!

civilservant

You will not receive an 'initial green card' - you will receive an immigrant visa. When that visa is used it becomes a green card until you receive the physical card in the mail. That initial card is valid for 2 years before you must remove conditions.

The immigrant visa itself is valid for 6 months from the date of the medical, NOT from the date of the interview or issuance. If you do not use it, it expires and you start from scratch. It is no faster when you apply again.

If you are not ready to live in the US, you should not seek to get an immigrant visa. It's a waste of a lot of time and money.

per 170

Thanks a lot Civilservant! Very useful information.

I found the following on uscis.gov. Must somehow have missed it first time I browsed the site: "If you are a U.S. citizen, once you file Form I-130, your spouse is eligible to apply for a nonimmigrant K-3 visa. This will entitle him or her to come to the United States to live and work while the visa petition is pending. " I guess this takes care of the problem with the long waiting time.
https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-...nent-residents

civilservant

per 170

What do you mean by it being obsolete? I assumed the information on the webpage is correct?

If the CRI1 takes 12-18 months, is it not an issue to have it be valid for entry for only for 6 months? Let's say you apply 18 months before you need it, just to be sure, and you receive it after 12 months. Then it may expire before you get a chance to use it (since it takes some time to buy flights, quit your job and move your stuff).

Noorah101

It's obsolete because the k-3 takes a year to obtain. And so does the cr1 Immigrant Visa. So the k-3 does not get into your hands any sooner than the Immigrant Visa. The k-3 was good back when it was taking like 3 years to get the Immigrant Visa. Then someone could come on a K-3 within a year. However that is not the case these days.

Yes, it does take some careful timing. The Immigrant Visa is only valid for 6 months from the date of the medical. Therefore, during the year that you are waiting, you need to wrap up your Affairs in Switzerland. Start thinking about what to do with your home, start thinking about giving notice at work, all of those things. So yes, at the end of the processing time, you need to be prepared to move to the USA within a few months.

Rene

Rete

It is still a valid option but not a good option for those who are resident in a first world country. It is used by residents of perhaps India, Africa who have a wait of 3 or more years before the visa process is complete.

Let's go back to your initial question .... an initial green card valid for 2 years.

Answer: If at the time you enter the US with your USC spouse and your marriage is less than 2 years in length, then the green card you receive will have an expiration date 2 years after your initial entry with the visa. This makes you a Conditional Permanent Resident. Your will need to apply to have the Conditions removed within the 90 days timeframe before its expiration date (noted on the card itself). You remain a CPR and will be issued paperwork that supports this until the I-151 petition for removal of conditions is adjudicated.

Wait times vary from year to year and from country to country. It could be as early as 6 to 9 months or as late as 10 to 18 months to get the visa interview at the US Consulate/Embassy.

There are multiple steps to the CR/IR visa you and your USC spouse are seeking for you. From filing in the US at a lockbox, to approval of the I-130 petition, to the transfer to the National Visa Center (NVC), to their collection of more applications, i.e. I-864 affidavit of support by your spouse and perhaps a joint sponsor if they cannot fulfill the financial obligation and paperwork, to their approval and passing it one to the US Embassy/Consulate, and then the foreign spouses application for a visa interview, medical by an approved panel physician, collection of police certificates from all countries you have lived in for more than 6 months since the age of 16, etc.

If you want to enter the US during the wait time, you come ONLY AS A VISITOR and cannot live here.

Rete

P.S. If you are granted the visa and are not ready to enter the US before its expiration date (6 months from the date of your medical not issuance of the visa), then you can enter the US with your USC spouse (you cannot enter until they are either already in the US or enter with you). You then can turn around after having the entry visa processed and giving the Officer an address in the US to send the manufactured green card to (you will get the I-155 stamp in your passport which is the same as the card) and return to Switzerland to tidy up your lives there and return to the US.

The green card allows you to live and work in the US. It has conditions attached to it and one of them is that you must make the US your principal place of residency and not be outside of the US living and working.

Unless there are appropriate reason(s) for you to be outside of the US for longer than 6 months, i.e. attending school, apply for a returning resident permit which will help in safeguarding your resident status.

per 170

Thanks a lot for the clarification!

Can you tell me at what stage the medical is done? After receiving conditional approval of the visa application, but before being handed the visa?

per 170

Thanks a lot for the information!

Our marriage has lasted for longer than 2 years. Does that change anything (will I still become a conditional permanent resident for the first 2 years?)?

per 170

That is really good to know! Thanks a lot for that piece of the puzzle. Being a teacher, my work is basically an endless series of full year contracts, making it really difficult to quit or start work at any other time of the year than summer. So having your suggestion as an option is very useful.

Noorah101

The medical is done after the I-130 approval. And yes, prior to the visa interview.

Rene

Noorah101

Since you've been married more than 2 years, you will receive an IR-1 immigrant visa, and once you use the visa to enter the USA, you will get a 10- year green card. You will skip the whole "2-year conditional" thing completely.

Rene

steph0scope

And your source for this is....?

For 2018 only 6 K-3s were issued in the entire world. 1 in Mali, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in The Bahamas, 3 in Mexico and 1 in Brazil. Not one in India. And the longer wait times - do you have a source for this? The regional wait times are based on workload at the embassy (and Juarez in Mexico is currently one of the record holders there at close to 1 year between being documentarily qualified and interview date) and post-interview AP. Those would be the same whatever category of visa was applied for. Petitions are all approved at pretty much the same speed, regardless of country of origin. There are some minor variations but to the point where people are waiting years longer than others.

In short, the things that cause long waits are not removed by switching to a K-3. The K-3 was implemented when I-130 petitions were taking 2 years to be approved before the embassy even got their hands on the files. It allowed the spouse to live in the US during the wait for the I-130 to be approved.

Rete

Looks like you don't understand the word "perhaps"