Need help with Visa

Old Jan 8th 2015, 9:37 pm
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Default Need help with Visa

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice on my current situation.

My fiancé and I are currently in the united states. He was transferred here through his company and is on an L1 visa. I'm on a B2 visa which allows me to stay for the year.

bit of background history for anyone reading. We have been together 11 years and were actually due to get married last year however my partner got the job in America and we cancelled our wedding arrangements.

His contract in America has no particular time frame and therefore he could be here for the next 2 months or the next 2 years or longer. I am however only permitted to stay for a year and then I will have to return home to Northern Ireland.

We would obviously prefer not to be apart long term and of course there is the issue of travel expenses of travelling back and forward and reapplying for visas providing that the embassy gives me permission to return in the future.

I'm not allowed to work or study on my current visa. Working would be advantageous however it is not a essential, however if I were to return I would like to at least be able to study and do something productive with my time.

I guess the question I am asking is, Can anyone provide any opinions/knowledge on what my fiancé and I could do in order for us to stay together in America (obviously no matter what I will be returning when my year is up) however I would like advice on what step to take next.

Thanks for reading, hope this makes sense.
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Old Jan 8th 2015, 9:45 pm
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Get married, then get an L2 visa. Then you can stay in the US as long as your now-husband, and can work or study as you please.

Doesn't have to be an elaborate wedding - you can do the ceremony/reception later at a time that is more convenient - just get the marriage certificate so you can get the visa and keep life simple.
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Old Jan 8th 2015, 9:47 pm
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

As a long term cohabiting partner of someone in valid nonimmigrant status, you can extend your stay beyond a year. You can either file I-539 (I think it can be filed online) or you can leave and return for another period of stay, provided your B-2 *visa* has not expired. If it expires, you can apply for another.

If you get married, you become eligible for L-2 status which has at least two advantages:
1. CBP are sometimes confused by the "cohabiting partner" use of a B-2, as it's somewhat rare. L-2 is more straightforward., and you don't have to keep filing to extend your stay or reentering.
2. In L-2 status you can study or accept employment for any US job (except certain government jobs). If either of your employers can be convinced to sponsor you for a green card, the other spouse can get included on that application.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 12:29 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Cancelling your wedding was, from a visa/immigration standpoint an odd decision, when going through with it, or accelerating the plan would have been more logical. If you wanted, and still want, a "big fancy wedding" then a quick trip to the courthouse here in the US is the way to go. No one except for you and your spouse need ever know, and you can go ahead with the big celebration "back home" at a convenient time in the future.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 12:32 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by Shaz_2304

His contract in America has no particular time frame and therefore he could be here for the next 2 months or the next 2 years or longer.
Seriously? What type of company is it that has such unpredictability?
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 12:37 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Most? Thanks to the Orwellian "right to work" statutes..
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 12:46 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by henryh
Most? Thanks to the Orwellian "right to work" statutes..
Wonder what guarantees him two months then
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 12:55 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by Shaz_2304
We have been together 11 years and were actually due to get married last year however my partner got the job in America and we cancelled our wedding arrangements.
With respect, this was a very stupid decision! It would have solved your issue... in advance!

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Old Jan 9th 2015, 4:22 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

thanks for the feedback everyone

obviously in hindsight we know that going ahead with the wedding would have been better however I can admit that neither of us anticipated how difficult it would be for me to join him and we thought the money for the wedding would be better used in his relocation.

Yes we should have researched better, looked in visa options etc but again hindsight is a wonderful thing.

His job does have stability, my remark was just a figure of speech, something would have to go seriously wrong with the company or he could get sacked i suppose for it to last 2 months. The point I was trying to make was he hasn't been given a contract term.

can anyone shed any light on how difficult it is to obtain an L1 visa and what the requirements are?

The B2 visa was difficult enough to obtain and was mainly dependent on us having a mortgage back in Northern Ireland and that I have some savings to support my stay in the US. They did not find it acceptable when I firstly stated that my fiance would be financially supportive of me.

The mortgage was to show evidence of our commitment to each other, there words not mine!

thanks again
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 4:31 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

L1 requires you to have worked for your Employer for a year in the last 3, your prior post did not suggest this was a possibility.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 4:34 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by Boiler
L1 requires you to have worked for your Employer for a year in the last 3, your prior post did not suggest this was a possibility.
I apologise I meant to say L2
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 4:47 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

It's extremely straightforward. You can do a change of status to L-2 without leaving the country, and then obtain the actual visa at an embassy when you next travel abroad.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 4:50 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by Shaz_2304
I apologise I meant to say L2
You have to marry the L1 holder and then "Adjust Status"(AOS).

Not very difficult, as far as I know.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 5:52 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by Shaz_2304

can anyone shed any light on how difficult it is to obtain an L1 visa and what the requirements are?
Go to the local county office tomorrow and get married. Then plan your proper wedding back in Norn Iron at leisure. Many of my friends did something similar to ensure their GFs and BFs could join them in the USA.
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Old Jan 9th 2015, 9:18 am
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Default Re: Need help with Visa

Originally Posted by RICH
You have to marry the L1 holder and then "Adjust Status"(AOS).

Not very difficult, as far as I know.
This is not correct. After marriage, she would apply for a Change of Status, which is different from Adjustment of Status.

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