My wife and I just got married in September. We were married in Malaysia. She has a L1 VISA and will begin working in US February 11th. Before she leaves Malaysia she is trying to help her family receive tourist VISA's so they can visit. So far the 2 familys have not met.

Her L1 expires in 2009 but we are working on the green card now and have the I-130 in process.

The question is, should she let the embassy know during the VISA interview that she will be in the US on a L1 and husband has submitted I-130 for green card process?

I worry that may tip off immigration that this temporary VISA holder intends to stay permanent and receive a green card. I was under impression if they flagged her at entry she may not be allowed in even though she holds a valid temporary VISA.

Any input. She was considering sending a letter with her non englsih speaking family members explaining her situation and I have said not too. She wants them to get the longest VISA possible so they won't need to apply each time they visit. Quite expensive. With her L1 expiring in 2009 she is concerned they will only give VISA until then.

Thanks,

Hope I'm not rambling.

I take it you are a USC.

L1 is dual intent so she should have no issue.

B2, well that is mainly down to the applicants. Nothing you can add.

I'm a USC and she is arriving with L1. Can someone help me understand dual intent. I've heard that a few times and don't really know what that means.

Which visa interview? For her L-1? For her family's tourist (I'm guessing B-1)? visas? For her marriage-based visa (K-3 or CR-1)?

A principal rule is to NEVER lie to the officials. They'll issue a lifetime ban for that. Never conceal a material fact from them, either, because that can result in a lifetime ban, too. A lifetime ban is much worse than any temporary denied entry or denied visa. When in doubt, be up front and disclose everything to them in advance. If they find out about the I-130 or such on their own, and it looks like she was trying to hide it from them, they won't be happy.


Regarding tourist visas for family members, the fact that SHE intends to immigrate to the US isn't strong evidence that the rest of her family has the same intent. It's up to them to demonstrate their own ties to their home country to show nonimmigrant intent. She can't get visas for them. About the most she can do to help is to issue a letter of invitation that shows they have a place to stay and a way to cover their expenses. And such a letter of invitation would ONLY help answer the question about how they'll pay for the trip -- if that's not an issue, the letter of invitation would be useless. In any case, any letter from her doesn't help much with the most common difficulty: proving they'll return home at the end of their authorized stay.

Oh, and the tourist visa application will ask her family members to list any relatives they may have in the United States, and what the status of those relatives is. They should answer those questions truthfully, and disclose that your wife is in the US.

She has a L1 already. The VISA interview would be for her family to get a tourist visa to visit.

I did issue a letter of invitation as a US Citizen to my new family to visit.

Thanks for the advice.

Dual intent includes immigrant and non immigrant intent.

Will your wife be travelling with the family member?

If your wife is already in US with you when her family is applying for the visa, they can tell the officer that they are visiting their daughter who is residing in the US and to meet her in-laws. Under normal circumstances, they will issue a B1/B2 with 10 years validity.

Don't think your wife's L1 visa has anything got to do with their B1/B2 visa application. What is more important is the intent of the family visit.

Hope this helps.