Dave Paget

Hi all,

Basically I am writing to ask about my circumstances.
I am English, a British Citizen. I am intending to marry a US Citizen in
the US.
I am intending to travel to the US on a Visa Waiver, marry my fiance and
then
leave the country that same week. She is then planning to visit me on
February
and then move here a couple of month later, maybe for a year. We may
then
consider living in the US.

I am PhD research student and also conduct some lectures for the
university,
by the time it comes for me to consider a longer stay in the US I will
have my
doctorate and be married to an American Citizen. I know that Visa wise I
am
on a better Visa (it's something like an OB1, but I know that's just me
muddling
it up with Star Wars, sorry!).

Travelling to the US is no worry for me at this moment in time. I've
checked into
that with the US Embassy, but obviously she needs to get Visa's and
stuff to come
out here, and then when I return to the US semi-permanently (if that
becomes our
intention) i'd have to run into another whole thing.

What should I be applying for, and when? I don't intend to apply for
anything until
after i'm married, and would be applying for a general visa type thing
as I may walk
into a decent job when I finish my research that covers me for a year or
so. So I
won't have a specific timescale for it.

Any tips are appreciated.
Dave

Ingo Pakleppa

You have two options. One option is the O-1 (you were close!) The O-1 visa
is suitable for people with exceptional ability. It is a non-immigrant
visa, meaning that it is good only for a limited time. The O-1 can be
renewed indefinitely, though. The O-1 will not lead you to citizenship.

The other option is a Green Card. Your wife can sponsor you for one. The
Green Card is officially called "permanent residency" which is a very apt
description. You are expected (although not required) to treat this as a
stepping stone to US citizenship.

Alternatively, you can get a Green Card through an employer. Since you say
you would qualify for an O-1, you probably also qualify for a Green Card
through a very rapid process, bypassing some steps.

Also, you can combine the O-1 and Green Card approaches: get an O-1 first
because it is quick to get, and apply for a Green Card for the longer term
- but the red tape will take a while.

On Mon, 16 Dec 2002 14:51:07 +0000, dave paget wrote:

    > Hi all,
    >
    > Basically I am writing to ask about my circumstances. I am English, a
    > British Citizen. I am intending to marry a US Citizen in the US.
    > I am intending to travel to the US on a Visa Waiver, marry my fiance and
    > then
    > leave the country that same week. She is then planning to visit me on
    > February
    > and then move here a couple of month later, maybe for a year. We may
    > then
    > consider living in the US.
    >
    > I am PhD research student and also conduct some lectures for the
    > university,
    > by the time it comes for me to consider a longer stay in the US I will
    > have my
    > doctorate and be married to an American Citizen. I know that Visa wise I
    > am
    > on a better Visa (it's something like an OB1, but I know that's just me
    > muddling
    > it up with Star Wars, sorry!).
    >
    > Travelling to the US is no worry for me at this moment in time. I've
    > checked into
    > that with the US Embassy, but obviously she needs to get Visa's and
    > stuff to come
    > out here, and then when I return to the US semi-permanently (if that
    > becomes our
    > intention) i'd have to run into another whole thing.
    >
    > What should I be applying for, and when? I don't intend to apply for
    > anything until
    > after i'm married, and would be applying for a general visa type thing
    > as I may walk
    > into a decent job when I finish my research that covers me for a year or
    > so. So I
    > won't have a specific timescale for it.
    >
    > Any tips are appreciated.
    > Dave