Need help !!

[Jordandawg05 13]

Dear members:

I am a US citizen and I am looking for the best legal way to bring my future wife to the US. She currently lives in Jordan and already has a tourist visa. i know the tourist visa probably doesn't help much but i need to get some ideas of the best way for our situation to have her move here.

a brief background, i am planning to visit her in December to get engaged officially as traditionally done in Jordan then we are planning to have a wedding ceremony in July of 2012. Our main goal is to have all paperwork done before the July 2012 wedding so she is able to travel back with me to the US.

my questions are below if some could share their thoughts and/or experience that would be great:

1 - would it be faster/legal if she enters the US on her tourist visa then we marry in the US? i know she probably can't stay in USA thus can go back to Jordan and wait while i start petitioning I130? We will probably still do a ceremony/party in July for our families there as well.

2-IF we marry in July 2012, is she able to come visit on her tourist visa while i petition? i know the tourist visa has a 6 month time frame ( you can extend as well??). I know or read its probably not a good idea to do an adjustment of status if she enters on her tourist visa as our situation would not fit that criteria. can she 'wait' in the US while the petition is in process?

3- if we go through the fiance visa, i know processing times vary but how risky would it to go for fiance visa , get married in US, and go back to Jordan for the july 2012 ceremony/party?

any ideas thoughts of how to approach this?

I think this is it for now, i just wanted to get the thread going to get some opinions/ideas/experiences from others to help me get a better feel for our situation.

Thanks !

[Ryan H 3,932]

1 - would it be faster/legal if she enters the US on her tourist visa then we marry in the US? i know she probably can't stay in USA thus can go back to Jordan and wait while i start petitioning I130? We will probably still do a ceremony/party in July for our families there as well.

She can come to the US on a tourist visa and you two can get married. She will have to leave the US when her authorized stay expires.

2-IF we marry in July 2012, is she able to come visit on her tourist visa while i petition? i know the tourist visa has a 6 month time frame ( you can extend as well??). I know or read its probably not a good idea to do an adjustment of status if she enters on her tourist visa as our situation would not fit that criteria. can she 'wait' in the US while the petition is in process?

She can come on a tourist visa while your spousal visa petition is pending. However, there is no guarantee CBP will permit her entry, she should carry proof of ties to Jordan in case CBP asks to see them. Again, she must leave the US when her authorized stay expires.

3- if we go through the fiance visa, i know processing times vary but how risky would it to go for fiance visa , get married in US, and go back to Jordan for the july 2012 ceremony/party?

Your wife would need to obtain advanced parole or have her green card in hand before you two return to Jordan for the celebration. After you get married after her arrival on a fiancee visa, she would then apply for Adjustment of Status. At the same time she could apply for advanced parole that would allow her to travel outside the US while the AOS is pending. Keep in mind that AP may not be granted quickly. Think in terms of many weeks or months before an AP document (or the green card) would be issued.

[Jordandawg05 13]

Thanks Ryan for the response. If she comes here to get married and then leave,how long would she need to stay in the US to do any paperwork?

is 3 weeks enough for her to come over , marry and leave?

Thanks for your help!

[Ryan H 3,932]

Thanks Ryan for the response. If she comes here to get married and then leave,how long would she need to stay in the US to do any paperwork?

is 3 weeks enough for her to come over , marry and leave?

Thanks for your help!

As far as paperwork in the US goes, there is probably nothing your wife needs to do. Prior to getting married in the US, you must first obtain a marriage license from the local authority that issues them. After you marry, you submit that license back to that local authority and that authority will issue the marriage certificate which was you need in order to file the spousal visa petition (you would submit a copy to USCIS).

[Done--Really 331]

One nuance on point 3: you would not be using a fiance visa at all if she just came here on her B1/B2 visa. The steps are simple:

1) Get married here--soon.

2) File the I-130 with supporting materials--she has to sign just one document, so if pressed for time, she can sign it and leave.

3) If not pressed for time, she stays as long as she likes so long as she doesn't overstay.

4) She returns to Jordan

5) She can probably travel back and forth if that makes sense

6) At the end of the process, she will have to be in Jordan for the interview at the embassy.

7) If you got married here very, very soon, there is a good possibility that the interview would be next summer, so it is possible that the July celebration might be close to the timing of the interview--no guarantees of course, but it is actually possible--and you could have two celebrations !!

[Jordandawg05 13]

One nuance on point 3: you would not be using a fiance visa at all if she just came here on her B1/B2 visa. The steps are simple:

1) Get married here--soon.

2) File the I-130 with supporting materials--she has to sign just one document, so if pressed for time, she can sign it and leave.

3) If not pressed for time, she stays as long as she likes so long as she doesn't overstay.

4) She returns to Jordan

5) She can probably travel back and forth if that makes sense

6) At the end of the process, she will have to be in Jordan for the interview at the embassy.

7) If you got married here very, very soon, there is a good possibility that the interview would be next summer, so it is possible that the July celebration might be close to the timing of the interview--no guarantees of course, but it is actually possible--and you could have two celebrations !!

Thank you for the notes !

this is what i am trying to figure out, if we can marry here in the US as soon as possible we may hit the July celebration date to have all paperwork done.

i have couple more questions:

1- if she does come over to marry here , is it going to be a problem that she will be in Jordan instead of the states? is someone going to raise a flag to say well you brought here here to marry and for the purpose of immigration/paper works? or is this 'normal'...the way i think of it she has the right to marry where she wants too as long as we do the proper process on paper work, IE not over stay to change status vs going back to Jordan and wait for the spouse visa. Do we need to 'prove' that we are married? other than the marriage certificate? once she enters on tourist visa and marry we won't have much pictures and all that stuff, i plan to visit in December to have an 'engagement' party and do traditions as it pertain to Jordan so i will have plenty of pics with family and such. Once we marry in the States though i do plan to switch bills and property to be joint ( i heard thats good).

2- once she enters the US on her tourist visa, is she going to have any issues ? does she have to declare that she's entering to marry to immigration? she will have her return ticket purchased and all and a letter form her work showing that she is employed..etc

3- lets say i marry in Jordan next July, can she enter the US on her tourist visa and stay for 6 months while i start I130? i know once the 6 months are over she has to go back home ( do you recommend asking for an extension?)

In your second point, what supporting documents are you referring too?

Thanks all for your help so far !

[Jordandawg05 13]

She can come on a tourist visa while your spousal visa petition is pending. However, there is no guarantee CBP will permit her entry, she should carry proof of ties to Jordan in case CBP asks to see them. Again, she must leave the US when her authorized stay expires.

Actually once we Marry in Jordan i won't have even filed yet, so she should be able to come on a tourist visa? what would she tell them at point of entry? what kind of proof of ties to Jordan if CBP asks?

thanks.

[Done--Really 331]

1) No problem at all !!

2) Ditto !! She doesn't have to declare anything. Why are you here...vacation. Where will you stay...with friends. That is normally about it. If asked DIRECTLY about getting married, then the answer is yes, and I am returning home in three weeks--here is my return ticket and a letter from my employer--and we are starting the CR-1 visa process before I leave. I am so excited !! We have a big celebration planned with my family next summer in Jordan. REALLY !!!

3) If you wait until then to get married in July, then the process will start in July--nothing to do in the meantime, and she can still travel on her tourist visa--maybe an extension will be granted and maybe not--probably though.

As to supporting documents, MENA countries scrutinize the relationship more than most other areas of the world, so while all that is legally required is the marriage certificate, it is recommended that you include pictures taken over time, joint bank account if you have it, passport stamps to show how often you visited, emails, phone logs, affidavits from friends and family that validate your relationship, etc, etc.

[Done--Really 331]

OK--now I understand. You might wait to get married, and then bring her back with you on the B1/B2 visa to wait it out here until the very end...that's not as clear cut for a person from a MENA country. It could take a ton of evidence to prove ties if asked--job, return tickets, bank accounts, lease on house/apartment, etc, etc. If you were from almost anyplace else, the odds would be in your favor, but MENA countries lower the odds substantially It's more of a ####### shoot.

[Jordandawg05 13]

It seems we are leaning towards the option where she comes to the US to marry - but it will only happen mid January ( when she's off teaching between semesters). There's additional expenses for that but we can still take out about 6 months off the wait that way and she may have to wait for 2-3 months until she gets her interview..but can hope for the best i guess. I am waiting from her dad to giev me his decisions and proceed. In the mean time i get to visit and make everything official in a month !! then see her again in two weeks hahah then wait 6 months...boo

I think thats the best option for us thus far, i am not going to do any backdoor AOS or some stuff like that ..i am going to play it safe and to what i can the legal and fastest way.

Thanks !

[Jordandawg05 13]

OK--now I understand. You might wait to get married, and then bring her back with you on the B1/B2 visa to wait it out here until the very end...that's not as clear cut for a person from a MENA country. It could take a ton of evidence to prove ties if asked--job, return tickets, bank accounts, lease on house/apartment, etc, etc. If you were from almost anyplace else, the odds would be in your favor, but MENA countries lower the odds substantially It's more of a ####### shoot.

She has a brother in California, would it be better if she visits there initially then come visit me while the petition is being processed? at least this way she can say she's visiting 'family' and if asked she can mention brother/husband. The only issue with this option is POE, there isn't that much tie other than return ticket, bank accounts, car registration...is this kind of stuff enough? she won't have her job at that time.

Thanks !

[Jordandawg05 13]

She has a brother in California, would it be better if she visits there initially then come visit me while the petition is being processed? at least this way she can say she's visiting 'family' and if asked she can mention brother/husband. The only issue with this option is POE, there isn't that much tie other than return ticket, bank accounts, car registration...is this kind of stuff enough? she won't have her job at that time.

Thanks !

Any takers on my question? i just want to know best option to answer at POE...should she mention she's visiting her brother ( which she is visiting) or should she even mention anything about a husband? that may raise a flag but at that time the petition wouldn't be filed yet.

thanks in advance !

[Jordandawg05 13]

hmmm really ? ! no one replied to my question

any help is appreciated.

Thanks !

[Jordandawg05 13]

She has a brother in California, would it be better if she visits there initially then come visit me while the petition is being processed? at least this way she can say she's visiting 'family' and if asked she can mention brother/husband. The only issue with this option is POE, there isn't that much tie other than return ticket, bank accounts, car registration...is this kind of stuff enough? she won't have her job at that time.

Thanks !

Any takers on the above question pls? !

Thanks.