calikid

Hello All,
My girlfriend was sent back to Germany from the airport upon her arrival here in America 3 days ago. 4 Previous passport overstays and it was found out that she worked here prior. They did not ban her from coming back, rather they told her to apply for a visa. She recieved a sheet of her statement of admission to the overstays, work, etc. She was refused a student visa prior when she was here on a tourist visa 2 years ago.
We would like to be together, so I don't think we want to take a chance waiting for a visa that will probably get refused due to the the above? So, marriage is our choice (Was going to be our choice anyway, but now there may not be a quicker solution). She lives in Germany and is a citizen there. I live in California and am a citizen here (born in USA). The DCF seems to be the fastest and perhaps most guaranteed way of marrying and bringing her back to America. I worry about filing for a K1 and waiting excessively, and possible being refused due to what just happened. Same with a K3.
I am unemployed by choice though looking for work, and probably will have a job soon. I do have very good income on my tax returns for the last 3 years.
1. Would marrying her in Germany and going through the Consulate (DCF) be the best and fastest method to Marry for us?
2. Can I use an affidavit of support from a family member or friend to get past the minimum income requirement with a DCF?
3. I have not worked at all this year, so would it be better to get started with the marriage proceedings so that I don't have to include this years $0 income, or is rather my current job enough (if I get one), should I wait till Jan of next year?
Please add any suggestions/question you may have. Incredible Forum!
Thanks,
Al

Rete

First and foremost, you have to ascertain whether as a non-resident of Germany will the US Consulate allow you to utilize direct consular filing. It is not available in all countries and I am not sure if the Consulate in Germany permits it.

Second, in addition to three years tax returns you have to show income sufficient to meet 125% of the poverty guidelines for a family your size (assuming two here, you and her) and/or 5 times that amount in assets. Tax returns are not enough.

Third, there is NO guarantee that the I-130 will be approved without a hitch even with direct consular filing. Her issues of overstay are probably neglible if they were less than 6 months at any one time but then there is the issue that if you have overstayed as much as one day any future visits required that you enter on a tourist visa as the VWP is no longer available to you.

Fourth, is the issue of the illegal work in the US. Whlie that tends to be forgiven for spouses of US citizens, if she worked with fraudulent documents or it can be proven that she lied on the I-9 when accepting employment, her situation will warrant, at best, a waiver which must be applied for after denial of the I-130.

Note that these issues will rear their ugly head regardless of what or where you file for entry into the US.

I would strongly suggest that you find yourself an experienced immigration attorney who is familiar with these issues and have him/her work with you on the best method of your marrying and obtaining a proper visa for your spouse to enter and reside in the US.

Rete

calikid

Folinskyinla

Hi:

There is no "consular" filing in Frankfurt. Howver, that is because there is an INS office located within the consulate. It is a suboffice of the Rome District of the INS.

For information on filing the I-130 in Frankfurt see:

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/overseasoffices/romedistrict/frankfurt/aboutus.htm#anchorlocal

It is only availabe to US citizens residing in Germany. Once the I-130 is approved by the INS office in the Consulate, they will forward the approved petition to the Consular section -- in the same building!

Rete

No you can only DCF in a country where at least one of you has residency and if it is the foreign spouse, then only if they allow the USC to file without residency. You can't pick and choose a country because it will save you time and aggravation. If so, do you think we all would be sitting here waiting for visa approvals from the INS?

You can have a co-sponsor who is a USC or permanent resident of the US for any phase of INS proceedings that require an affidavit of support.

One does not have to be formally banned from re-entry into the US to be denied. If upon investigation the Consulate deems her to have committed any fraud upon any of her entries into the US, they can deny her I-130, K-1, K-3, or B-2 tourist visa.

The most that would happen to an employer is a fine for hiring an unauthorized employee. If it is only one employee, it doesn't warrant INS involvement.

Rete

Matt&Denise

Hi,
My husband and I got married here in Germany in April and I have to tell you
it's not that easy to get married here.
It is only possible if you can imagine living with your girlfriend in
Germany for a while.

From the time you enter Germany and start working on the wedding process
until you can actually get married you'd have to plan at least eight weeks.
Then once married, you can obtain a residence permit for Germany (takes
about 4 to 8 weeks depending on where you live). Both of these processes
basically consist of filing forms and waiting for them to be approved.

Once you have your residence permit you are eligible to file the I-130 with
INS Frankfurt. That's the requirement for DCF in Germany.
I was told by the Frankfurt office that the DCF process takes about two to
three months from filing I-130 to the interview at the consulate.
And yes, you can present a joint sponsor, you'll pretty much have to, since
you won't be able to prove current employment in the U.S.
BUT: From other posts here I read that you should only do DCF if your case
is rather simple.

If you decide to get married in Germany you're welcome to contact me. I
could give you some information on what documents you need to bring to
Germany.

Good luck to you and your girlfriend.

Denise



"calikid" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hello All,
    > My girlfriend was sent back to Germany from the airport upon her
    > arrival here in America 3 days ago. 4 Previous passport overstays and
    > it was found out that she worked here prior. They did not ban her
    > from coming back, rather they told her to apply for a visa. She
    > recieved a sheet of her statement of admission to the overstays,
    > work, etc. She was refused a student visa prior when she was here on
    > a tourist visa 2 years ago.
    > We would like to be together, so I don't think we want to take a
    > chance waiting for a visa that will probably get refused due to the
    > the above? So, marriage is our choice (Was going to be our choice
    > anyway, but now there may not be a quicker solution). She lives in
    > Germany and is a citizen there. I live in California and am a citizen
    > here (born in USA). The DCF seems to be the fastest and perhaps most
    > guaranteed way of marrying and bringing her back to America. I worry
    > about filing for a K1 and waiting excessively, and possible being
    > refused due to what just happened. Same with a K3.
    > I am unemployed by choice though looking for work, and probably will
    > have a job soon. I do have very good income on my tax returns for the
    > last 3 years.
    > 1. Would marrying her in Germany and going through the Consulate (DCF)
    > be the best and fastest method to Marry for us?
    > 2. Can I use an affidavit of support from a family member or friend to
    > get past the minimum income requirement with a DCF?
    > 3. I have not worked at all this year, so would it be better to get
    > started with the marriage proceedings so that I don't have to include
    > this years $0 income, or is rather my current job enough (if I get
    > one), should I wait till Jan of next year?
    > Please add any suggestions/question you may have. Incredible Forum!
    > Thanks,
    > Al
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

calikid

Mrtravel

You seem to be quoting your own remarks, this is confusing.

calikid wrote:
    >
    > Originally posted by Rete
    > > { First and foremost, you have to ascertain whether as a
    > > non-resident of
    > > Germany will the US Consulate allow you to utilize direct consular
    > > filing. It is not available in all countries and I am not sure if the
    > > Consulate in Germany permits it.}
    > >
    > > I see that Germany, according to a website does not allow DCF by
    > > non german citizens. Can we then marry in a place nearby that
    > > allows this?
    > >

I thought she was a German citizen?
The American doesn't have to be a german citizen.

    > > Fourth, is the issue of the illegal work in the US. Whlie that tends
    > > to be forgiven for spouses of US citizens, if she worked with
    > > fraudulent documents or it can be proven that she lied on the I-9 when
    > > accepting employment, her situation will warrant, at best, a waiver
    > > which must be applied for after denial of the I-130.}
    > >
    > > She did not get banned from coming back because of working here, but
    > > she admitted to it. She did not lie or use fraudulent docs to work
    > > here, the employer was aware of it, actually her employer seems to
    > > have taken advantage of her by saying everything would be ok. I wonder
    > > if INS will now investigate the former employer?

One other issue.
You mentioned 2 years ago she was rejected for a student visa.
Since then, has she tried to enter on Visa Waiver?
This is important, because a rejection disqualifies you from using the
waiver program.

calikid

Mrtravel,
I am a US Citizen. She is a German Citizen. She was rejected to apply for a student visa, because she was here on a tourist visa.
Last few times she was here on a passport only. (Is this the visa waiver program, since Germany is one of the countries in the program?)
She was turned back at the airport, is this what you mean by rejection? The guards told her she needed to apply for a visa to come back, so I guess we know that she can't use the passport alone next time. Is it worth applying for a K1, K3, tourist visa knowing there is a good chance you will be rejected? I have to find our options. Thanks for your help.
Al