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My 18 year old niece, who was born and raised in Louisiana has decided to marry an 18 year old English boy who is currently staying with our family on a 2 month tourist visa. They've been e-dating for years so this isn't a spur of the moment decision and I'm not getting involved with the 'should you be doing this' debate the family is having, I'm only looking for advice about the immigration/citizenship aspect of it since all I "know" is stuff from movies/TV and I'd like to be able to give her real advice. They are contacting a lawyer as well but she lives in a Louisiana town with a population of less than 4,000 people so I'm not optimistic about what, if any, experience their lawyer has in the immigration field. (Sorry if this is lawyer-phobic)
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Jul 10, 2018 05:37
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1. get married. 2. apply for spouse visa. This might not allow the foreign partner to work. 2. live together for x years in either country. 3. apply for citizenship in 7-10 years (having kids will strengthen their argument.)
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Jul 10, 2018 06:39
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Can you loving google this simple loving question https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/naturalization-spouses-us-citizens
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Jul 10, 2018 08:32
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Tbh it will be easier if one of them gets a college degree and gets a job teaching English in a non-USA non-UK country, with the partner on a spouse visa. Citizenship isn't even an option for newlyweds.
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Jul 10, 2018 08:53
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peanut posted:1. get married. Orrrr (having done this myself albeit a decade ago) (assuming he's moving to the US) 1. He goes back home. 2. Apply for K1 fiancée visa. This takes months, a big chunk of money, and I doubt she has much of an income so someone in the US is going to have to sign up to guarantee to support his rear end via an Affidavit of Support. 3. He moves to the US on receiving it, they then have to marry within 3 months. He cannot work at this point. 4. He gets a green card, conditional on staying married. At this point he can work. If they break up, he has to leave the US. 5. Two years later, they file for adjustment to a non-conditional green card. This costs more money. He is now a normal permanent resident and if they break up after this point he's good to go. 6. a year later, he can become a citizen (citizenship via marriage gets a special break, it's only 3 years total).
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Jul 10, 2018 11:54
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KaiserSchnitzel posted:Can you loving google this simple loving question Or I can loving post this and loving piss you off while still getting good loving advice  peanut posted:Tbh it will be easier if one of them gets a college degree and gets a job teaching English in a non-USA non-UK country, with the partner on a spouse visa. Citizenship isn't even an option for newlyweds. feedmegin posted:Orrrr (having done this myself albeit a decade ago) Thanks for this. Their lawyer didn't know anything about k1 fiancee visa, only green card naturalization, so you two might have saved them a lot of time. If you have any other random advice from going through it feel free to share, she's reading the thread as well.
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Jul 10, 2018 16:42
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TBH you're better off going somewhere like here and reading/asking questions - https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/ There are whole forums devoted to British and American people marrying and moving to each others' countries. My current (American) wife was in https://www.uk-yankee.com/ when she was figuring out how it'd work for us, but that's going in the other direction (i.e. if she wants to move to the UK).
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Jul 10, 2018 16:56
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Hold The Ashes posted:Or I can loving post this and loving piss you off while still getting good loving advice Definitely 100% speak with a lawyer who specializes in family and immigration law . There's a few different ways to go about the process; especially with the current focus on all forms of immigration you want to go about it the most above board way understanding your particular situation. The lawyer doesn't need to be local to you as phone and email consults take care of anything unless you request their presence at an in person interview which is not always possible. It's a significant amount of time from the paperwork being received and processed and interviews are conducted. One path open to them would leave the door open to up to and over a year of unemployment living with his new wife's family before he qualified for a green card to get a job. Psychobabble fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 13, 2018 01:54
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I'm an American, my wife is not, and we met in Taiwan. We got married in Taiwan, which lucky for us the US is pretty open about recognizing marriages from pretty much all countries, even diplomatically unofficial ones. My British and Canadian friends had to fly out to Hong Kong or Macau to get married in a country that their countries 'recognized'. Afterwards, we started the greencard paperwork while in Taiwan. It took about 8 months to go from initial documents being turned in to finally getting the page in her visa that let her enter the US on a temporary green card visa or whatever it's called. The placeholder for the actual card arriving in the mail. 8 months was seen as relatively fast, as it can go on for up to a year+. As I worked in Taiwan and had no job in America, we had to have my parents sign the affidavit of support. That in itself was a huge pain because my parents had to send me multiple years worth of tax info across the world to me as proof that their income was great enough to also support her and myself. We didn't use any immigration lawyers or outside help. I just googled what paperwork was needed and started filling it out. The local US not-Embassy in Taiwan was very helpful in this regard.
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Jul 13, 2018 03:41
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Why would he want to move here? I guess at 18 your don't realize you need health care.
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Jul 13, 2018 15:59
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do literally everything within your power to prevent them from getting married since this is one of the most retarded possible things your niece and this dude could be doing other than getting pregnant
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Jul 13, 2018 16:11
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:do literally everything within your power to prevent them from getting married since this is one of the most retarded possible things your niece and this dude could be doing It's Louisiana in the boonies. She's been pregnant since the evening he arrived.
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Jul 13, 2018 16:17
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I don't have advice about a spouse visa first, but for him to get a green card, she'll have to prove she can finacially support him, which I believe is earning 20% above poverty level (look this up updated to whenever they decide to do this - the US government provides an exact amount). So if she's all set at 18 for that, great, but if not it will cause problems, and if the family is not on board with the marriage, they probably won't be willing to co-support on a financial level (plus they will have to supply all the extra paperwork having to show their income and past tax returns.) There was an old thread that I found very helpful when going through this process, though I can't look up the link. It's quite a complicated process when you're the one in it, with each situation being a little different and requiring different options, and also stressful so it's nice you're trying to help out your niece with personal input rather than telling her to 'Google it'.
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Jul 13, 2018 16:54
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1. Get rich 2. Get married 3. ??? 4. Citizenship
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Jul 13, 2018 23:31
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Before we can make a determination of the best advice to give here, you best post some tasteful photos of the people involved.
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Jul 15, 2018 03:34
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are they divorced yet
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Sep 19, 2018 06:22
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Usually it’s the K1 vetting process hell. I know a good good couple who got married but at the end separated because the visa application and separation went on forever. I know someone else who managed everything in a much faster way. 1. Apply for school in some master’s / undergrad 2. Get married in the US 3. Apply for adjustment in status before student visa is expired I’m the mean time before the green card gets approved don’t leave the country because immigration wouldn’t be happy to have you back! caberham fucked around with this message at 09:33 on Sep 19, 2018 |
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Sep 19, 2018 09:28
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feedmegin posted:Orrrr (having done this myself albeit a decade ago) I'm going through this now with my wife. We're on #5. Everything listed above is still true.
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Sep 19, 2018 13:35
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Hold The Ashes posted:Thanks for this. Their lawyer didn't know anything about k1 fiancee visa, only green card naturalization, so you two might have saved them a lot of time. If you have any other random advice from going through it feel free to share, she's reading the thread as well. While I'd be very wary of a lawyer that didn't know anything about the K1, if getting this whole thing done ASAP isn't an issue then do that. Going the K1 route takes ages, getting a proper immigration lawyer and sorted this out in the next few weeks means he'll be on the path already. He can get the ability to work relatively quickly (I called it my 'red card' because it look essentially like a green card but with less cool tech), his social, and then finally get a green card after going through the still fairly lengthy process. But the difference is they can at least be together while going through it all rather than waiting months for him to return. My friend went through K1 and it was a slog. The only issue with this route is, except for emergencies that will still have to be signed off he wouldn't be able to leave the US while going through the process. They can always do a very basic legal wedding now, and do a proper friends and family thing further down the line if that matters. If he can't pass a medical, and it's up to the doctors discretion as to whether he requires drug testing or even asked about it, then just send him home until he can. He absolutely does not want to be telling anyone he smoked a joint once or pissing hot during this.
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Sep 26, 2018 20:49
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Marrying your pen pal at 18 is dumb as heck. Assuming they are both planning do university they could see about moving to the UK to study. Then they could be together as boyfriend and girlfriend for a while. Unless they are religious I guess, in which case, the fiancé visa is made for them.
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Sep 27, 2018 18:48
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lmao if this guy moves from the UK to Louisiana
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Sep 27, 2018 19:21
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The US doesn't need more eurotrash and could stand to lose some southern trash so have her go off to live in the UK instead.
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Sep 29, 2018 07:52
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I went through this 10 or so years ago. Some key things to be prepared for: Pay several thousand dollars when the paperwork is filed. US citizenship is not cheap. Proof that the current US citizen is able to financially support the foreign person. Photos/video/whatever showing proof that both people have had adventures/activities together. Pictures showing that both side's family have meet the daughter in law/son in law. A checking account and maybe car loan in both people's name. When going for the government interview, be drat sure you know all important dates; birthdays, marriage anniversary, etc. Be prepared to have a government employee show up to your house 8 or 9am on a random Saturday or Sunday. They will be looking for mail delivered to the address in both people's names, proof that they both sleep in the same bed. Clothing from both people mixed in the closets.
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Oct 21, 2018 21:12
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banned from Starbucks posted:The US doesn't need more eurotrash and could stand to lose some southern trash so have her go off to live in the UK instead. Having done/currently doing precisely this, lol if you think it's any easier.
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Oct 21, 2018 21:26
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SA Forums Poster posted:Be prepared to have a government employee show up to your house 8 or 9am on a random Saturday or Sunday. They will be looking for mail delivered to the address in both people's names, proof that they both sleep in the same bed. Clothing from both people mixed in the closets. Um I did this ten years+ ago and having surprise visits by government goons definitely wasn't a thing. Did this actually happen to you?
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Oct 21, 2018 21:28
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feedmegin posted:Um I did this ten years+ ago and having surprise visits by government goons definitely wasn't a thing. Did this actually happen to you? Yeah, some dude knocked on our door 9am on a Saturday. We ignored him for 15 minutes thinking he was Jehovah's Witness. I finally answered the door, and he had a camera, notepad, government ID. I was thinking "oh poo poo" I told my wife, who was still in bed in her pj's, to get dressed in case he was here to take her away. She had been in the USA for 6 years illegally before we got married. I was scared.  e: In hindsight, I think our interviewer didn't believe us. It doesn't help that I'm a fat, pasty-white nerd and she is a tall, model looking African. SA Forums Poster fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 21:33
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SA Forums Poster posted:Yeah, some dude knocked on our door 9am on a Saturday. We ignored him for 15 minutes thinking he was Jehovah's Witness. I suspect this might have more to do with it! Glad you got through it.
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Oct 21, 2018 21:38
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Currently going through the K1 process and just an update that the current processing time for the petition is 5.5-7.5 months. That doesn't include the time after it's approved for the State Department to schedule an interview and decide to issue the Visa. If you get married first and go for the K3 visa instead, at least double that, which seems pretty silly.
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Oct 22, 2018 18:18
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My general understanding about spouse visas is that you can't really get one quickly or have to apply for it before coming to the USA. But I could be totally wrong, my spouse never got one. I don't know how much lawyers charge but probably a lot. These are the forms I did in 2013 with no lawyer. It sorta requires the spouse not to leave the USA till you get a green card in hand but I guess it depends on your situation and if DHS feels like stopping them at customs or not. I'm really slow with paperwork and snail-mail but 8 months sounds about right. i-130 i-485 i-687 i-693 i-751 i-765 (even if they don't intend to work I guess?) i-864a (one for each person involved) I don't remember the order, but its basically done in two batches. Should be able to figure it out if you check out the instructions for each form about who is eligible. Chunjee fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Oct 23, 2018 |
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Oct 23, 2018 15:08
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The kid of a local aquaintance married his Russian fiance while she was here on a tourist visa. The non-immigration lawyer they consulted said, don't worry, it's ok. They went on a cruise, got back, and ICE wouldn't let her back in the US. She had to go back to Russia, and they spent IDK how much money and it took 2 years for her to get back to the US. If they're serious, do it the right way. Yeah, it's gonna suck, but that's the law.
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Oct 27, 2018 03:05
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The Locator posted:Currently going through the K1 process and just an update that the current processing time for the petition is 5.5-7.5 months. That doesn't include the time after it's approved for the State Department to schedule an interview and decide to issue the Visa. Yep, I was going to say the waiting time isn’t very long right now. However, processing times depend on which processing office you need send the petition to. The USCIS website has current processing times available. Anyways, I filed my paperwork almost a couple of months ago and I did it all myself. I hope I don’t eat my words after posting this, but I didn’t think it was necessary to hire a lawyer. The form isn’t very complicated, just follow the instructions to the letter. Application fee is only $535 versus the $4500 avg quote I got talking to various immigration lawyers The general advice I got from irl contacts was that a lawyer was really only necessary if the beneficiary (immigrating person) had some kind of legal issue that may hold the petition up. For instance, one of my old bosses’ wife was a Dreamer and basically only found out she was undocumented whenever they tried to marry. He told me he paid almost $30k to get everything straightened out. However, in this case they don’t have much of a chance of approval. Part of the i129f form (fiancée visa) is the evidence section - you have to provide photographic proof of a relationship (having met irl). If they are literally only pen pals then don’t waste the money.
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Oct 28, 2018 23:27
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nthing "didn't need a lawyer". Process for a CR-1 was quite straightforward and took a grand total of like six-eight months from petition to crossing the border. I found the resources on visajourney.com very helpful, just ignore their forums.
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Oct 29, 2018 12:44
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I didn't use a lawyer either, although I did meet with one to answer questions (which was free, which was cool). Once we get married though I may choose to hire him for the I-130 + I-485 part of the deal because her son is too old to be my beneficiary even though he is considered a child on the I-129f. For the I-130, a 'child' is under 18, but for the I-129f a 'child' is under 21. I need to investigate more, but I think I can file her I-130 & I-485 together, and include his I-485 as her beneficiary, and no I-130 needed for him. The instructions on some of the forms contradict each other though, which is why I might bite the bullet and hire an immigration lawyer for that step just to make sure I file the correct forms, not because the forms themselves are that difficult to figure out if you have the ability to read the instructions. That step is gonna be expensive though when I have to pay for both of them at once! $1225 each including the required biometric fee plus another $535 for the I-130. A lawyer for that piece would add another $2500~$3500 or so. Poor people need not fall in love with a foreigner (especially one with kids), as they can't afford it. Edit: On the CR-1 Visa the processing time at most centers right now looks like about the same as the K-1, 5-9 months. However, if they assigned your case to the California office, well then you are screwed: 18 Months to 23.5 Months Permanent resident filing for a spouse or child under 21. I'm sort of curious if the different processing centers have specific global areas they are responsible for, or if they assign them by load, because it's strange for the California office to be one of the quickest locations for a K-1, but taking 3-4x as long for an CR-1 unless it's based on locality rather than workload/wait times. If you want to sponsor a brother or sister? Hope you both live a long rear end time: 88 Months to 114 Months U.S. citizen filing for a brother or sister What the hell... The Locator fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Oct 30, 2018 |
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Oct 30, 2018 06:55
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You really may want to get a lawyer. If your niece is truly in love and if you don't want her to essentially turn into an exile from the land of her ancestors to raise a family, you need to walk a changing line to make sure you comply with the brutal laws. Now 'a days, common sense behavior and the law (both written and unwritten) do not always coincide. For example, my wife and I used to travel all the time. Before we were married, we returned home from seeing her folks in China, and decided our next trip should be to fly out to Iceland for culture night. This was totally legal. It was also a reasonable thing to do from the perspective of any layman. But if we went it would have made our lives very difficult, and our lawyer was able to warn us to stop it from happening before we took the vacation (because the vacation would have been too close to our wedding date.). You see, there may be actions that fall in the line of common sense to you or I, but once it's exploited by some rear end in a top hat trying to game the system, there is some sort of reactionary law that hurts honest people, while the scammers just go and exploit the next loophole. It sucks, but that's how the world works. Getting a lawyer is expensive, and the process is probably going to cost 10x more than you think, but it's worth it. My friends gave their lives for this country. My family fought for it, with decorated war heroes going back for generations in every branch of my family tree. I dedicated my life to improving the lives of its citizens. My wife is personally responsible for saving hundreds of civilian lives. I'll be damned if we are kicked out of the country of my ancestors, unable to raise a family here, because of a simple paperwork violation, such as forgetting to include a "this page left intentionally blank" part of a document. Unfortunately, that's the world we live in. I'm spending the money on a good lawyer because we are living in difficult times to and I want to ensure we continue to be legally allowed to raise children here. It's the lawyer that serves as the shield to protect us and keep us here legally, making sure we comply with every part of the law and process. I suggest you do the research to find a good lawyer too, then have your family find the money to do the pay for it. It sucks, but it's life. Your want niece wants her poo poo in order to avoid legal problems, because it'll be hell if she waits for one to find her before she lawyers up. diadem fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Nov 1, 2018 |
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Nov 1, 2018 14:42
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diadem posted:It's the lawyer that serves as the shield to protect us and keep us here legally, making sure we comply with every part of the law and process.
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Nov 11, 2018 07:23
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