Hello All,

What a lovely site. I am sure that I am about to ask some extremely stupid questions but at this point I am stressed out and I truly do know nothing about this entire process.

Some background info:

I am an American married to an Egyptian and we currently (and very happily) live outside of the States.

My husband is planning on getting his PhD in America and we would like it if during these years he can also get U.S. citizenship since it seems like a waste to live in the States for 3-5 years and not work toward that goal. I have already applied for Egyptian citizenship and we own a home in Egypt so it's not a matter of him wanting to move to America, it's just a matter of both of us trying to merge the lives of our spouse into our own lives to make it easier for our future children (God willing) and for seeing parents and taking advantage of any future opportunities, etc...

Ok so, the point of all of this rambling is that I really want my husband to start his PhD studies as soon as possible while ALSO working toward a green card and ultimately citizenship. However, I am not sure how to go about this. Does he come on a student visa and then transfer the status of his visa once in the States? Or do we wait the one year and whatever until his immigration visa goes through (God willing) and THEN apply to schools, then wait one more year until the school year starts...THEN come to the country. Or, do we have to come to the States as soon as his immigration visa is accepted?

I feel like pulling my hair out...

We were planning to just get his student visa and then transfer it but a friend said that doing that is illegal and will seem like we just used the student visa as a way to get him into the country, although that is not true...

Please help...

If he applies for an F-1, he may or may not get it, since the form asks if he has a US citizen/permanent resident spouse. He also has to establish significant ties to Egypt. If he successfully gets an F-1, it may be possible to adjust status after you arrive in the US but you'd probably want to wait a significant amount of time before doing so. It would also be absolutely necessary that all of the evidence and testimony he provides to the consulate is completely truthful. Note that he can only get an F-1 visa 4 months or less before school starts.

Has he taken the GRE and applied for admission to schools? Many schools seem to have deadlines in December-March. So if you are looking at Fall 07 it may be a bit late now. It might just work out, timing-wise, to apply for IR-1/K-3 visa now, take the GREs, and apply to schools later this year/early next year, for starting in Fall 08. There should be enough time for the IR-1 to process, but you can try the K-3 also to be sure.

The advantage to entering the US as a permanent resident (IR-1) is that he can work off campus and for more than 20 hours a week, and qualify for some fellowships for citizens/PRs only. He will also save the cost and time for adjustment of status.

The only thing is, you need to have a domicile in the US to be a sponsor on the affidavit of support, which may be difficult if you have been in Egypt a long time. You can re-establish domicile by doing a number of things, like find a place to live in the US, sell your place in Egypt, find a job in the US, etc. For more information about domicile, see page 4-5 of this document: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/I-864GenInfo-FAQ-Final.pdf or page 5-6 of the affidavit of support form http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864.pdf.

You might want to consult with an immigration lawyer.

Using the student visa as a means to immigrate into the US is illegal. Lots of F1 students go marry and adjust status once here, but in your situation, showing no intent to immigrate may prove a little more difficult.

The green card approval is moving very quickly for most people these days, but the US consulate in Cairo is notoriously slow. There were some rules changing Direct Consulate Filing recently too, so I do ot know what your options are there either.

Can you do a online/phone consulation with an American immigration lawyer (maybe some one who specializes in Egypt or married couples?) and get some sdvice on how to proceed?

A Student Visa is non immigrant and in your circumstances may be difficult to achieve.

I did read a day or so ago that Egypt does not do DCF, so you would be looking at a K3/CR1. Probably a year or so. No harm in checking.

So that would give plenty of time to sort out the Uni application.

Once he is in the US he can apply for Citizenship 2 years and 9 months after he becomes a Permanent Residence, time lines vary, but allow 6 months or so.

Thank you all for the very thoughtful replies...now I just have to decode all the numbers and letters and figure out what exactly everyone is talking about, lol

I have not been out of the U.S. for a long time and my perm. address is still in America, so hopefully proving dom. will not be a huge struggle...

So, I guess we'll apply for immigration before making any definite plans for his PhD...*sigh*...

As for the Cairo thing, I believe it..however we are not living in Egypt at the present time and the embassy in Cairo told us that we could file our immigration papers at the local embassy...although it seems that some on this site are saying that is not true...

I am so utterly confused by all of this and the more I try to understand it seems the more I get more screwed up.

Also, if one receives their immigration visa do they have to go to America immediately or is their a window of time (6 months, 1 year, etc) that they have before they must go to America?

Where are you living?

6 months to activate.