How should I answer "How long do you intend to stay in US?" if we need to return to Brazil periodically?

[nynex 0]

Hi all,

I've got a question for my K1 interview for my Brazilian fiancee and her daughter about how long we should stay we're staying in the US.

In the DS-156 and a couple related forms, there are questions like "How long do you intend to stay in the US"? I understand it's necessary (or at least preferable) to express an intention to establish a permanent life in the US, and say something like "permanently".

We have permission from my fiance's ex-husband for their daughter to spend 7 months in the US. The Rio consulate has told us that this permission is just about Brazilian law and not something they care about. Then we plan to bring the daughter back to Brazil. On paper, our stay in the US could be as short as 6-7 months (leave after we get AOS) but I think it's fair to say in broad terms that we have an intention to establish a permanent residence in the US. My fiancee will probably get an American job when she's legal, she will keep that job and telecommute if she travels back to Brazil, we will have a house that we will keep, etc.

My gut instinct is to make all of this clear to the consulate in the interview and to say "Our plan is to establish a permanent residence in the United States, but we may have to make trips back to Brazil to fulfill our obligations to her child's father."

Then in the short answer on DS-156 I will say, "permanently" for my fiance and "permanently, within limits of custody arrangements" for her daughter.

Appropriate? Does anybody see any big dangers here, either in the immediate term or long term? Long term I've decided to consult a lawyer about this, so I'm mainly thinking about the interview.

[Otto 83]

If it were me - I'd stick with the suggested "Permanently" and leave it at that.

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

DS-156 is used at the consulate when applying for visa issuance - moving to US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

[pushbrk 13,896]

If it were me - I'd stick with the suggested "Permanently" and leave it at that.

That's what I'd do also. For your permanent resident concerns, just Google "maintaining permanent resident status".