J1 to Fiance visa and then what?
 

My sister lives in the US with her boyfriend. She is on a J1 visa which runs out in a few months time. He is a U.S.C. and they do plan on getting married some day.

What are the options open to her so that she can stay in the US? I heard of a fiance visa but don't know much about it, can she get this and then get married all the time staying in the US???

Does her J1 visa have the '2 Year Rule' which states that she must leave the US for 2 years after the J1 expires? If NOT, her only option to stay is to get married and file for Adjustment of Status. The fiance visa is for petitioners outside the US. That visa is good for only 90 days anyway, before you must get married. You cannot get a fiance visa to be engaged for a year or two.

Why doesn't you sister post her anyway?

Thanks for the reply.

She didn't post here herself as she doesn't have internet access, I didn't think that it was a problem to post for some else anyway?

I don't know about the 2 year rule in her case.

If she does get married will AOS allow her to stay in the country even if the 2 year rule applies?

If the visa runs out before she gets married will she have to leave the country????

it was exactly why dcmark did ask about it. because the simple and easy answer is that there is no way to make the 2 year home residency requierement out of effect only because you (or your sister) marry.

No, AOS will not work if you have the two year rule. Describe her J1 and I can guess if it has the two year rule. What is she doing here?

I do not know how long she has once the visa runs out. But if she marries and applies for AOS within a few months, she should be ok. ONce the visa runs out do not leave the US without filing for AOS and receiving a travel permit, called Advanced Parole (AP). She must apply for AP seperately from AOS. Otherwise, if she leaves the US, even after applying for AOS, she will not get back in, without the AP.

She is a hairdresser, I think she is on a training visa for hairdressing management or maybe it is just hairdressing training.

Thanks again.

Did the US government or her home government pay for it?

I doubt hairdressing applies, but I am in no way sure. She needs to look at her visa, is should state it.

Her employer in the US payed for it as she knew her from home.

I'll get her to check the visa. Thanks for your replies!

You can apply for a waiver of the 2yr HRR I thought?

There are 5 grounds of which I am aware based on which someone may apply:

No objection statement
Interested Government Agency Request
Persecution
Exceptional Hardship
State Health Agency Request (only for physicians)

Yep, we got a waiver based on No Objection for my wife before we got married. It was a very long and frustrating process, but it is possible.