kknb3398

Hello!!

Would anyone be able of offer me some advice?

I will shortly visit the US embassy in London to get my J1 visa as I have been given a year's contract to work in the US. I'd like my girlfriend to come with me. We intend to go to the embassy together, and for her to apply for a B2 visa so that she can stay with me for the duration of my employment.

Can anyone suggest what documentation she should bring to give us the best chance of her getting a visa? She has plenty of savings, and I can support her with my salary if necessary. She has been offered a job in a year's time when she returns with her current employers. We do not intend to marry to facilitate this and we are not currently 'cohabiting partners'.

Will the fact that she is going out only to accompany me count for us or against us?

With many thanks and best wishes

Ray

Is she you currently cohabitating partner ...

kknb3398

No, she's not unfortunately. I saw this in a previous post on the forum. http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/te...rams_1414.html

I think we wil still try it even though, even though we don't yet live together. I'm wondering how best to persuade them...

Ray

Just ask I suppose no other way around it ...

Folinskyinla

Hi:

You have to bring a lot of evidence that you are cohabiting and have been doing so for a while. People do it all the time. Good luck.

christmasoompa

But he said in his first post that they're not cohabiting! So what else would you advise they can do to increase chances?

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Mea culpa -- I missed that one.

kknb3398

Thanks. Well, we're going to have a go anyway. I'll let you know how we get on. I'll make sure I post back, because there's a lot of speculation and no real stories of people's experiences written on this website about this probably common problem.

Cheers all!

ian-mstm

Whatever else you do, don't lie! Lying usually initiates an unfortunate series of events.

Ian

digbydog

Please do post how you get on as I cannot recall seeing any successful b1/b2co-habitating visa stories posted.

Plenty of questions posted asking if it is possible but no successful answers ever seem to get posted - all very strange....

meauxna

And all this didn't add up to give you a hint?

JCraigFong

I work with quite a number of gay men and lesbians who receive long-term visas and wish to have their spouses or domestic partners accompany them to the USA. I think it's fair to say that I do LOTS and LOTS of such work.

Stuart Folinsky is quite right. If you can demonstrate that the couple is cohabiting -- and if they have done so for a reasonable amount of time -- the US Consulate is likely to grant the spouse/partner a B-1/B-2 with an annotation that say that the visaholder is a long-term partner. The border guard should then grant that B-2 visaholder a one year I-94 -- assuming that the principal visa applicant will be staying at least that long. The B-2 is renewable for additional one-year increments.

Although there are some homophobic ConOffs and border guards, it is now fairly well established that these visas are out there and that the I-94 should be given with little argument. Most consuls and Port Directors would overrule the border guard's denial, absent an independent reason to deny admission.

--J Craig Fong
Los Angeles, CA

Noorah101

I'm just wondering what the OP is going to present as evidence of a reasonable amount of time cohabitating, when they have not yet done so at all. He's only got a short time before he goes in to get his J-1 visa, so not enough time to actually cohabitate for any length of time, or so it seems.

Rene

JCraigFong

I read this part of the thread, and I absolutely agree with you. However, I wanted to post the information just for completeness' sake.

One additional, interesting note: a marriage certificate from a registrar is a bright line in the sand, as it were. Today, the couple has no relationship; tomorrow, after the registry office, they are married, and she is qualified for the dependent's visa. No questions asked. So: as I understand it, the UK has some sort of domestic partner registry now. If true: (a) is it available to opposite sex couples? (b) If so, are the original poster and her boyfriend willing to do such a registration? (c) If so, will this registration be a similar bright-line for the AmEmb?

Any thoughts?

--J Craig Fong
Los Angeles, CA

kknb3398

Hi all,

I said i'd post back and so here you go.

On visiting the US embassy in London we were both successfully granted our visas (J1 and B2). I very recently recently moved in with my partner, and so we were able to use the same address on the D158 (although we don't have anything proving this yet). We paid for separate appointments on the advice of the telephone operator, but we were interviewed together after presentation of our documentation. The 'interview' lasted about two minutes. We were asked how long we had been in a relationship, but the officer did not ask for any evidence to support our case (even though we had opened up a joint bank account - an easy thing to do) and had brought loads of evidence documenting ties to UK/bank accounts etc. Actually, they were all very pleasant at the embassy and despite the long wait (about 2.5 hours) it was a pretty painless experience!

Good luck to anyone who plans to do this!