Tamon Yanagimoto

Hello …. here is my situation that I need advice with … ( please bare with me … I
have a lot of thoughts/ideas)

I live in Seattle and am a permanent resident (with Canadian citizenship). I lived in
Illinois for 8 years as a student and then received my residency during my last 2
years of college. After college I went to Japan for a 2 years working as an English
teacher. There I met a woman whom I would like to marry here in the United States.
She is a schoolteacher whom I worked with during my stay there.

I have researched and thought of many different ways to handle this but this one
makes the most sense:

Because I am not a US citizen I cannot apply for a fiancé visa for her. I will be
eligible to apply for citizenship on may 2, 2002, which I am planning to do.
Unfortunately I have no idea how long that will take. Anyone know for the Seattle
area?? Then the next logical step would be to apply for a fiancé visa for my fiancé.
Knowing the current state of immigration practices (after sept 11) I know that this
whole process may be delayed somewhat. So …what I am trying to piece together is
rough outline of how long this will all take. Also would it make a difference if I
hired an immigration lawyer? Could it speed up my citizenship application at all or
would it make little or no difference at all??

Other ideas/thoughts:

I am thinking of having her come over to go to school here. However, it is very
expensive for foreign students and we can only afford a 1-year stay. Initially we had
thought of getting married while she was here and filing an I-130 to petition for a
change of status. However, I was advised against that because of what might happen at
our interview at INS. I was told that when INS hears that we knew each other before
she came to the United States to study that we could get into a lot of trouble
because she entered into the country under false pretenses. Then again I was told
that it ultimately would depend on the person doing the interviewing and what kinds
of questions were asked. So it’s pretty much a roll of the dice. Can a lawyer be
hired to accompany us during the interview to help with the process? To my
understanding the interview at INS can be pretty rigorous and the presence of a
lawyer could help.

There was the option of her coming over on a work visa of some kind so that at least
she could live and work here for sometime. That would also involve the interview
process at and the details of our previous relationship coming out. However, we have
not investigated that route very much yet. Don't know of any good ways to go about
that in seattle.

I am seeking the most efficient way to handle this. If I had met her here while she
was a student here (for example) then we would have no prior history of knowing each
other thus she would not be here under false pretenses. So I guess it all comes down
to the interview at INS. If having representation would help then I would be willing
to go for it but the price of failure (fines, deportation, etc …) is so high!!

So I guess what worries me is that damn marriage interview. I down to 2
essential options.

1. Get my citizenship then the fiance visa --- which could take who knows how long??
2. Get married while she is here as a student and take our chances at the interview
--- I COULD REALLY USE SOME ADVICE ON THIS OPTION or anyone else's
experiences!!!!!!!!!!

Tamon Yanagimoto [email protected]


--
Tamon Yanagimoto [email protected] www.yanagimotophoto.com

Sylvia Ottemoeller

Tamon Yanagimoto wrote:

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http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/instimes.htm says 304 days. This may or may not be
accurate. You may consider calling an immigration attorney in the area to get a more
reliable estimate.

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It will not speed up the process, but it will give you insurance against those
littler mistakes which can sometimes cost you dearly in terms of time.

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Who gave you this advice? A reputable, experienced immigration attorney? If not, how
do you know it is sound advice?

I was told that
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As a practical matter, she will not be accused of preconceived immigrant intent if
you wait long enough after her entry in F-1 status before marrying. To be safe, you
should wait 90 days.

It really does not matter that you knew her before. What matters is that at the time
she enters the U.S., it's plausible that she did not have definite plans to marry.

She may have trouble getting an F-1 visa. I've heard of a lot of young single
Japanese women having F-1 visa applications denied because of suspicion of
immigrant intent.

Then again I was told that it ultimately
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Yes. In Los Angeles, the attorney's fees for preparing and filing Forms
I-130/I-485/I-765/I-131, and appearing at the interview with the couple, could be
about $1500.

To
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She could visit the U.S. using visa waiver (WB status, which cannot be extended or
changed), and look around for jobs (just incidentally, not as the primary purpose of
her visit).

Then, if an employer is interested, it could get her an approved H-1B petition. She
could go to Japan, or to Vancouver, Canada, get an H-1B stamp, and enter the U.S. in
H-1B status. Permanent intent is irrelevant with respect to H-1B status. A person is
allowed to have permanent intent, and use H-1B status.

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