Hey everyone,

I have an interesting situation and need some advice on what to do. Liliana has been offered a chance to be interviewed with Johnson and Johnson this November, the interview is taking place in the US. So, should I continue with my plan to submit my I-129F packet before she comes to the US or should I wait until after she has visited and then send it in? I could send it in now, truthfully stating she has not been in the US before, but I am afraid it could mess things up for J&J when they apply for her to come. Or I could wait until she has been here, but then I assume I need certain numbers and things from her to properly fill out the application. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

Steven

The interview in the next 30 days would be the way to go. Where would this job be? In the US? If not, can she request that the interview be in another country?

The pending I-129F would likely cause issues enterring on a B-1.

It is J&J's policy to interview their entry level candidates in the US. I have no idea why exactly, it just is. She is trying to get a job in Russia temporarily while we wait for the K1 to be approved. My feeling is just to wait for her to have the interview, get the I-94 number from her and then submit my I-129F. I know it would delay the K1 process further, but this J&J interview is important, as even though she will work in Russia initially, but of course will need a job in the US. Thanks for the advice!

Does she already have a US B1 visa to come to the interview for Johnson and Johnson? If I was you here is what I would do if the answer is yes to the following:
1. Forget she is your fiancée and call her your girl friend instead.
2. Don't submit an I-129F.
3. When she gets here, you think it over and decide once again that she is your fiancée, get married and file for AOS!
And that is it. Process is over! Life is so simple. Once again this is only legal if she is not your fiancée at the time of entry. It's all subjective and you have not submit anything in the contrary as of yet.

I agree with Sat. If J&J is going to interview her did they have plans for her working in the US or is the job in Russia. If they offer her a job in the US then let them get her the visa and all the fun stuff, then all you have to do is file AOS once she is here.

Also wanted to add there really won't be an issue of pre-conceived intent, because she came to the US for a job interview and the hope of working and not to immigrate.

Although what strikes me as puzzling is that you say this job is entry level. Why would any company recruit abroad and go through the visa process for an entry level position? Because getting a any kind of visa for an entry level position will be both difficult, expensive, and time consuming mostly because one is not immediately available. Plus you must prove that no American is available to take that position locally and do a labor market test.

Wouldn't the fact they they had known each other prior to her coming to the US be some sort of a red flag?

It depends. For example, when you are applying for a work visa, they will ask if you have any relatives or fiancées in the US. If she is just a girl friend, the correct answer would be no. And this is probably not going to be asked because questioning about the work visa will be all about employment and not family relations. If she was to say apply for a tourist visa and say she is staying with him, different story. But just because you know someone doesn't always bring up a red flag.

If your girlfriend has already submitted an application for a B1 visa, you need to examine it carefully. If she says in that document that she has a fiance in the USA, then SAT's suggestion becomes problematic, it seems to me.

If not, then Sat may have an interesting suggestion. I'd run it by an immigration attorney. If worst came to worst, and you got married here in the States while she was doing her interview and you decide not to do AOS immediately, you'd then go for a K3 (or maybe a CR-1) which are better visas (since they either provide automatic multiple entry for two years or even permanent residency from the moment she next enters).

I appreciate all the advice, but the interview is for a position in Russia. J&J apparently interviews all entry-level MBA (sorry I left that out) candidates in the US for some reason. As of right now from our conversations J&J is only interested in her to work in Russia and not the US. We have said nothing about our relationship to anyone, and she has yet to even file the visa for the interview yet. In any case, she would have to return to Berlin after the interview to finish school. So, it comes back to just waiting until after the interview before filing the I-129F. Most of the companies she has interviewed with have been interested in her working in Russia or Europe.

Hold on the K-1.... go full-ahead with the business visa and job interview process.

Fly to see her when she comes here, but don't submit the K-1 until after she has the job lined up. Then, once she's working for a while, "hey, looky here. I'm moving to the U.S. to be with my fiance... oh, J&J is in the U.S. too? Swell. I'll go ahead and work for them there as well."

As they say in Russia, "shoot two rabbits with one shot."

You can have her already with a good job before she even comes over here. Then, if all goes well, she could transfer to a position in the U.S. with the same company.

Cons for all this is it could set her back several months on coming over and there's no guarantee she'll even secure a job that's transferable to the U.S. so you could be doing all the extra waiting strictly for the sake of having her work temporarily at a better job that she's going to have to leave anyway.

If she has an MBA, go ahead and submit the K-1 and don't worry about J&J. Shouldn't be too difficult for her to find a decent job here anyway.

Okay that clarifies a few issues. First of all if you file for an I-129F you might inadvertently deny her an opportunity to get a B1 to go for an interview in the US. But I take it she will be applying in Berlin for the B1, if so her odds are better, but still even our affluent and well off European friends run into troubles coming to the US when they have a pending I-129F.
Another suggestion might be to hold off the interview until she finishes school if that is even an option. Or do as Slim suggested, get the job and try to transfer. But that will only secure you a job not a quick visa. Because an L1 visa transfer requires you to work abroad for the company for one year, plus you probably have to be someone important and not entry level, unless J&J wants pay her average "Russian Wages" in the US! Then it might be worth their while.

Get the job first. Worst case, after she has the job, you do the I-129F. Then, take some vacation and come to the US. Make sure she gets the work permit at JFK, then try to convince J&J to hire her in the US. Big companies are often very flexible about stuff like this, particularly if they aren't on the hook for any of the immigration stuff. Even if that doesn't work out, getting paid for the 6 months to a year, and having a US multinational on her resume will not hurt. It will make finding a good job in the US much easier.

Expats tend to move a lot based on their spouses jobs. You wouldn't be the first people to be in this position. If she has a green card, it should be pretty easy to cut a deal for 6 months in the US, 6 months in Russia. The guy I am working for now splits his time between London and Texas.

Even in the US, there is pretty good demand for Russian speaking MBAs.