F2A journey - marrying a US LPR

[australianalien 0]

Hey guys, first thread here.

I am an Australian citizen who has recently married my beautiful Australian citizen wife who won her green card in the lottery last year. She is a LPR and im flying over at the end of the month to start my visa journey to the USA.

I guess i just wanted to start off by asking what to expect first in terms of paperwork, suggestions for any affordable and trustworthy migration agents/lawyers, and some feedback in regards to what sort of end to end timeline should i anticipate from the date i lodge to the happy day that i have my visa in hand if i lodge the application on the 30th of august 2015.

Look forward to hearing from all of you and hopefully i can one day contribute all the same.

[brits1998 3]

Hi Australianalien,

Is your wife domiciled in the USA now? If not then she needs to think about moving there and establishing domicile. Also, you really don't need a lawyer to do anything for you unless your case is special as my wife is a LPR and we did all the filing ourselves. You need to start with the i-130 form and necessary documents. Fill it out very carefully and send to USCIS along with all the necessary documents. This site is excellent with information and assist with questions you have. You can start with the links below:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/family.html

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

All the best.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You can't come and stay because your wife is an LPR not a citizen. It will take about 2 years to get your visa to join her in the US. During that time you can visit on VWP as long as you don't overstay.

[australianalien 0]

Hi Australianalien,

Is your wife domiciled in the USA now? If not then she needs to think about moving there and establishing domicile. Also, you really don't need a lawyer to do anything for you unless your case is special as my wife is a LPR and we did all the filing ourselves. You need to start with the i-130 form and necessary documents. Fill it out very carefully and send to USCIS along with all the necessary documents. This site is excellent with information and assist with questions you have. You can start with the links below:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/family.html

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

All the best.

Hey Brits,

Thanks for responding! Yes she is domiciled has lived there for just over a year now. So you would recommend just completing it myself? Do you know where I would find a rough estimate or wait from the day I lodge to the day I receive or does it kind of change on a case by case basis?

Thanks for the information!

You can't come and stay because your wife is an LPR not a citizen. It will take about 2 years to get your visa to join her in the US. During that time you can visit on VWP as long as you don't overstay.

Thanks NigeriaorBust,

Is that guaranteed that it will be 2 years from day of lodgement or does it vary depending on volume of applications?

Is there a visa that I can apply for which will give me temp work stay eg a 1 year working visa or something like that that I can apply to in the mean time?

Thanks for the response!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

It could vary. I have seen everything from no wait to waits of more than 5 years. Volume and distractions such as DACA filling up the pipeline can affect things. If the petitioner becomes a citizen they can upgrade and process almost immediately.

[brits1998 3]

Yes - I do recommend you fill out your documents yourself. Whatever you don't understand, you can ask here - I find that VJers here are more informed than even lawyers themselves. Just take your time when filling your forms out and remember to check out the links. Also, it's free of charge here and VJers are more than willing to help once we can.

All the best...

[hari29 24]

Hey guys, first thread here.

I am an Australian citizen who has recently married my beautiful Australian citizen wife who won her green card in the lottery last year. She is a LPR and im flying over at the end of the month to start my visa journey to the USA.

I guess i just wanted to start off by asking what to expect first in terms of paperwork, suggestions for any affordable and trustworthy migration agents/lawyers, and some feedback in regards to what sort of end to end timeline should i anticipate from the date i lodge to the happy day that i have my visa in hand if i lodge the application on the 30th of august 2015.

Look forward to hearing from all of you and hopefully i can one day contribute all the same.

Hi

First of all CONGRATS on your marriage and wish you two wonderful life ahead. Is your wife currently living and working in USA? She needs to be doing that in order to maintain her residency and also to apply for your F2A visa. Also please be aware that when you enter USA on a Visa Waiver Program (Australians are entitled for that), you are entering as a tourist (Non immigrant) for a max period of 6 months. If at the port of entry, the immigration officer finds out that you also applied for F2A visa (immigrant visa), he can refuse your entry into USA. Also your wife needs to be working in USA to provide you with an Affidavit of Support showing she makes enough money to support herself and you. Also immigration officials are picky about adjusting to status when you are on a tourist visa (it can be done...but can become tricky)

Please do lot of research on all these and ask us if you have any questions. ALL THE BEST

[australianalien 0]

Hey guys I arrived on VWP, with the intent to marry, but not stay. I'm from oz and I'm heading back home next week however we are about to lodge whilst I'm onshore in California. My query is regarding qu C-14 there is a field that appears to want an 11 digit number. I've retrieved my I-94 details electronically however I don't know what number to populate in this field. Do you think it is just safer to hold off from lodging the I-130 until I'm back in oz or does it not matter seeing as though I'm leaving in a week..

Hi

First of all CONGRATS on your marriage and wish you two wonderful life ahead. Is your wife currently living and working in USA? She needs to be doing that in order to maintain her residency and also to apply for your F2A visa. Also please be aware that when you enter USA on a Visa Waiver Program (Australians are entitled for that), you are entering as a tourist (Non immigrant) for a max period of 6 months. If at the port of entry, the immigration officer finds out that you also applied for F2A visa (immigrant visa), he can refuse your entry into USA. Also your wife needs to be working in USA to provide you with an Affidavit of Support showing she makes enough money to support herself and you. Also immigration officials are picky about adjusting to status when you are on a tourist visa (it can be done...but can become tricky)

Please do lot of research on all these and ask us if you have any questions. ALL THE BEST

I just wanted to ask you to elaborate more on the affidavit of support. She works at a juice bar here but is an actor, she doesn't earn much money hpwever her mum supports her financially. Will thatt suffice or ?

Edited September 21, 2015 by australianalien