Immigrate to the US

[wtomatoo1030 0]

I want to know, does a incarcerated spouse need to be out of prison in order for the immigrant spouse to immigrate to the US? my husband is currently in the prison and he's a lifer. I don't know who or where I can get the answer....????

[nurse1967 287]

I am pretty sure that makes your spouse ineligible to petition ANYONE!!

[marjus's girl 6]

I am pretty sure that makes your spouse ineligible to petition ANYONE!!

yeah i think so too from my understanding..

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

It depends what he is in prison for. He may be able to petition you, but there are two problems:

- the affidavit of support

- proving a bonafide marriage when you cannot see eachother more than an hour a month, or whatever he is allowed.

[wtomatoo1030 0]

It depends what he is in prison for. He may be able to petition you, but there are two problems:

- the affidavit of support

- proving a bonafide marriage when you cannot see eachother more than an hour a month, or whatever he is allowed.

Not many people understand our situation and our marriage, but it's OK . Yes, he found sponsors, I think we still will try. Thanks Penguin_ie!!

[rodceasar 34]

Penguin_ie is accurate and those things will be considered. I don't know if the petitioner needs to be released or not. However, the circumstance of being a "lifer" is going to be a challenging one to overcome. An attorney advise might be necessary ...

[Rushton50 10]

Penguin_ie is accurate and those things will be considered. I don't know if the petitioner needs to be released or not. However, the circumstance of being a "lifer" is going to be a challenging one to overcome. An attorney advise might be necessary ...

Agreed as the initial petiotion is the one that does the major background checks on the petioner.

I am guessing that the prison will allow a conjucal right as any marriage to be valid according to the petition instructions must be consumated.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Tomato,

Immigration to the United States is a privilege, not a right, and the people who say "nay" or "yay" have a lot of discretion.

Your husband will file an I-130 with USCIS for you, and it will be approved as you are eligible to immigrate as the spouse of a US citizen. The will will go to NVC who then will ask your husband for an Affidavit of Support, the I-485, which you apparently have covered thanks to a co-sponsor. Then the file goes to the US Embassy/Consulate in your home country and those people you will have to convince that you have a real, loving relationship with your husband. You'll have to convince them that you need to immigrate to the USA in order to be with him, even if you can't be with him as he's locked up for life.

Can you accomplish this? I don't know, but if I were a Consular Officer, you'd have to be very convincing when making your case, so better prepare yourself for a seriously difficult interview.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

It will make a huge difference what country you are from. Sadly some countries are prone to fraudulent petitions so all petitions from those countries are assumed to be fraudlent. If you are some one of those I suspect you don't have ANY chance. If you are from one of the countries where such petitions are mearly a matter of submitting the forms then you have a very small chance of success.