Tim Paton

This has probably been done to death here, so I apologise in advance for bringing
it up again.

My wife and I are Australian-born Australian citizens, living in Australia. My
employer will sponsor me for a greencard, so I can transfer to one of our engineering
research centres in the USA.

I only want to go if my wife can come with me, and she only wants to go if she's
allowed to work, earn money and develop her career.

The INS website (http://www.ins.gov) says that a legal permanent resident (ie me, a
greencard holder if/when it happens) can sponsor his spouse for a greencard,
provided we pass a few income tests and stuff which shouldn't be a problem. I like
the sound of this.

Other places I've looked suggest that this can take anywhere from a few months to a
few years. That's not good. We're only looking at going for a couple of years maximum
anyway, and she'd want to be allowed to work basically as soon as we get there.

Does anyone on this group have experience in this area? Any suggestions or advice?

Thanks,

tim paton [email protected]

lk

i am not sure about your exact situation but i have a friend who is here on a
employer sponsored work permit. the employer is filing for her greencard - her
husband is automatically be entitled to a greencard as well. however, in the interim
(until the greencard comes through) her husband is NOT allowed to work. the most he
can do is possibly transfer to a student visa which would allow him to work for i
think 20 hours a week.

again, i don't know if this pertains to you. good luck.

Tim Paton wrote:
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Rete

And yet again, I have a friend who married an H-1B who was being spoused for the green card and she was included in his greencard application and applied for the I765 work permit.

Best advice, ask this question at

alt.visa.us

They deal primarily with work visa, etc. and will have all the answers you require.

Andy Platt

The situation is pretty clear: If you are already married (obviously you are) your
wife is entitled to a greencard at the same time you get yours. Basically you would
both file for immigrant visas based on your approved I-140 at the consulate.
Alternatively if your employer gets you an H-1B visa first, your wife could get an
H-4 and then once the I-140 was approved you could both file I-485s. (Note in this
case your wife would not be eligible to work while in H-4 status).

If, however, you were not married by the time you became a greencard holder and then
got married, your spouse would have to wait for an immigrant visa to become available
which could take five years or more since they are rationed.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

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