scatman999

Hello,

Im a British Citizen and have recently got my green card for the USA through family sponsorship. I have got a job and am actively working in the USA. I have a Fiance in the UK and would like to bring her to the states with me, im looking for the best way of doing this? Any advise?

I am happy to get married, only if i do, i dont want her sent back to the UK to wait while her visa is processed (anyone know waiting times?). I was thinking of sponsoring her for a student Visa, but do not know if she can keep a student visa and be processed as the wife of a resident at the same time.

I'd rather not give up my job as i have waited 7years to get my green card, and the job market anywhere is poor right now. Plus i believe i would have to travel back and forwards every 6 months to keep my green card valid.

Really am lost as a solution, there just doesnt seem to be a way i can marry my fiance and actually be with her easily. I dont mind if we get married and she can still come out on the visa waiver program for 3 months at a time, visiting the UK for 2 weeks the back out to USA,is that possible? Is it legal?

As i said, real confused and pretty much out of my depth!!

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks

Sam

Noorah101

Hi Sam.

You are right, there is no easy way to be together immediately. The only way you can bring her to the USA as your spouse is by filing an I-130 and then waiting for a visa number to become available to her so that she can get an immigrant visa. The current backlog is about 4 years.

While waiting, yes, she can visit on the VWP, but not as often as you mentioned. Back to back trips like that make it seem she's trying to live in the USA as a visitor (which is what she'd be trying to do, anyway). She should stay outside the USA longer than she was inside.

You can't sponsor her to be a student, she has to get accepted at a school and do an F-1 visa. The problem there, is that she has to have non-immigrant intent. She needs enough money to show she can support herself for the duration of her studies, and also show that she must return to the UK at the end of her studies. So having an LPR spouse will work against her. But of course she can try.

When you become a USC, the I-130 can be upgraded and a visa number becomes immediately available....but it takes 5 years for you to become a USC.

Rene

crg

You could cough up the green card, get an H or an L, marry her, bring her over as your dependent, and then seek green cards for the family.

scatman999

Noorah101,

Thanks for your quick reply,

Really not the news i was hoping for, its not the life any newly married couple should have, being apart for so long is not good.

I suppose my only real option is to go back to the UK and work for 4 years, flying back to USA every 6 months to keep the green card valid, while waiting on her petition to complete. Not great as i have had my life on hold for 7 years as i couldnt risk changing my immigration status!

Thanks again,
Sam

Rete

That will not necessarily keep the greencard valid. There is more to it than just coming for a brief visit.

If you are going to be outside of the US for six months or more, up to 2 years actually, you need to apply for a reentry permit by filing form I-131 with the USCIS. Once your biometrics for this have been done, you are okay to leave the US for up to 2 years. Someone can mail the adjudicated card to you in the UK.

You also need to have proof that you never intended to abandon your residency in the US, i.e. housing, bank accounts, paying taxes, etc.

scatman999

So it would appear there is no way around not seeing her for months at a time? Even though i would still be financially supporting her as no Job in the UK would allow her to take amonth off work every 3 months.

What if i put money in her bank account to her get a student visa and she studies in the USA for 5 years while i wait for my citizenship, then marry - then that would work, right? or is there a limit to how long the student visa lasts?

Thanks
Sam

Eric S

Too bad you didn't get married before getting your green card.

- Eric S.

scatman999

I was told by both my attorney and immigration to not get married! Wish i had known it would have been easier overall! Think they must have been looking at my situation as me only.

Eric S

Oh sorry. I was thinking you got your green card through work. Then, I think you could have both gotten green cards together if you were married.

But since you got your green card via family sponsorship, then you may not have been eligible unless you were single.

- Eric S.

Noorah101

How were you seeing each other so far? Just continue doing that. The only difference is that you'll be married instead of engaged. I know you're anxious to live your married life together, but there is no way to do that right now. So just continue seeing each other the way you have been, as a married couple.

As long as she continues being a full time student, she can stay and study in the USA. However, as I mentioned, she will need to prove she has NON-immigrant intent. Having a US LPR spouse sort of goes against that. Especially since by what you say, it is clear that her intent is to remain in the USA and NOT return to the UK when her studies are done. She can certainly try for a student visa, but she must be honest on the applications and at the interview, and once they realize her fiance or spouse is a US LPR, they might not approve the student visa.

She can still visit for up to 90 days at a time on the VWP. You can still go back to the UK for visits (not the way you described, though, you risk losing your PR status that way). For the next few years, make a plan of scheduled visits a couple of times a year.

Who knows, maybe the visa bulletin will speed up and her wait will be less than 4 years. You never know.

Rene

scatman999

Noorah101,

I have only just moved to the USA so she is here under the VWP at the minute, but will have to go home in 1 months time. Say we marry in the USA and get the paperwork started, she goes home to the UK, what is the waiting time you would suggest she stays in the UK, before returning to the USA for a vacation under either the I-130 or VWP? 2months USA - 1 month UK? Could we do that?

Should I fly back to the UK and we Marry there, then i fly back to the USA alone? I want to make sure we do this with as little opposition to the petition as possible.

Are the waiting time particular to state? or are they overall waiting times?

Thanks for your time again,

Sam

Noorah101

She can only come to the USA as a visitor (VWP). There is no such category as coming to the USA under the I-130. The only thing I can tell you is that she should be spending more time outside the USA than inside. She should not try to live in the USA as a visitor. There are no guarantees...each individual trip to the USA will be a new POE officer and a new entry. Best bet is to space the trips out as far as possible. Your example of 2 months in the USA, 1 month in the UK isn't the greatest. It should be more like 2 months in the USA, 3 or 4 months in the UK. But you should realize a pattern of doing this for 4 years could still be looked at as too many trips, especially if she doesn't have strong ties to the UK (job, home, etc).

You can do either one. It's OK to get married in the USA while she's here on the VWP, if you want.

Waiting time for what, her Immigrant Visa? Immigration is Federal, so that her waiting time for the Immigrant Visa doesn't change from state to state, no.

Rene

scatman999

Noorah101,

Thanks for all your help,

I think im just going to move back to the UK, it clearly is not going to work with her being a student, even if she didnt declare me, she would still need to show where she is living and getting the money from. Neither of us are willing to be apart for such long periods. As much as we want to be in America, i simply cannot see it working.
I will speak with my attorney and see what is required to keep my Green Card while working and living in the UK, hopefully i can hold onto it until her immigration status allows her to stay with me in the USA,

Many Thanks

Sam

Noorah101

Wow, that's too bad.

So here's Plan B for you to discuss with your lawyer. File the I-130 now, in the USA. Apply via form I-131 for a Re-Entry permit. This allows you to be overseas temporarily for up to 2 years. You have to stick around in the USA long enough to get the biometrics done, but you can have the Re-Entry permit sent to the US Embassy in London and pick it up there, if you don't want to wait in the USA for it (not sure how long it takes to get it in hand). Make sure you maintain ties to the USA while you're away. Property (if possible), banking, file US tax return each year, whatever you and your lawyer can think of to show that you do NOT intend to abandon your PR status. Also helpful is gathering information to show that your stay in the UK is temporary (a temp work assignment, temp contract, etc).

You need a stable mailing address in the USA where someone can check the mail, because you will be receiving correspondence from USCIS regarding your wife's I-130 process. If you manage to get all the way through, when it comes time to submit the I-864 Affidavit of Support to NVC, you will have to show US-based income, or assets of a certain level, or use a Joint Sponsor.

Your task is not impossible (i.e. going back to the UK to wait out the time until your wife gets her Immigrant Visa), but it's good you have a lawyer to discuss things with. As long as you realize you MIGHT end up abandoning your PR status, and you're OK with that...which it sounds like you are.

Rene

Edit to add: How long have you been living in the USA right now? It just occurred to me that it might not have been very long. Probably not long enough to establish many ties to the USA, right? If you've only been in the USA a short time, and then spend 4 years outside the USA again, that probably won't fare well with maintaining your PR status.

ian-mstm

You are a US permanent resident... emphasis on both "permanent" and "resident". It's difficult to maintain PR status if you're not actually living in the US. Coming to the US every few months isn't sufficient to maintain your status. At the very least, you must file an I-131 re-entry permit... but you must realize, at the end of the day, that even with a re-entry permit, your status as a US PR could be deemed abandoned. There is no guarantee whatsoever!


Wow... that's a harsh decision to make in the space of about 12 hours! I suggest you marry your girlfriend in the US and begin the process for her immigrant visa. If perspective helps, there are lots of people here who are doing exactly what you're trying to avoid. No, it's not ideal, but you've held on to this idea for many years now... it shouldn't be tossed away lightly or for, forgive me, transient circumstances.

Ian