IR-1 Suddenly Confused_ Help & Advice Please

[SuddenlyConfused 0]

Hi everyone. My wife's IR-1 appointment has been scheduled at the embassy in Seoul for June 18th. We have gotten this far without needing to post. However, things have quickly become very confusing. First, due to work, we are suddenly unable to travel to the US until Dec or Feb. As I recently learned, if my receives the IR-1 she has 6 months to enter the US. I am assuming I can push back the interview date by contacting the embassy in Seoul (I tried today, but they were closed for Memorial Day).

Second, seemingly the more important issue, we don't plan to live in the US for another 3 or 4 years. I recently learned it is important for my wife to stay in the US for more than six months of the year - is this correct? We want to use the visa to allow her to come and go freely for the time being.

We originally tried to get a tourist visa (about a year ago), but were denied. So, we went this route. We actually applied for a K3 visa, but, at some point, it was changed to the IR-1 (which was confusing to figure out).

I am an international school teacher and my wife is Thai. We have been married for about two and a half years and don't have any children yet.

If I get the interview date pushed back and we get the IR-1, will we have problems if we only visit the US for a few weeks a year? Thanks in advance.

Suddenly Confused

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

Pushing back the interview a few months should not be a major issue.

Your second point is. The greencard is more acurately called the Legal Permanent Resident Card- ie she needs to be resident in the USA and spend more time inside the country than outside. There is an option of getting a re-entry permit if she has a very good reason to stay outside, which allows her to be out of the US for two years, but that's it. You may well get away with visiting for a few weeks once, but not for four years.

What some people do is get the IR-1, go to the USA, get the greencard, then move back to the foreign country and formally give back the greencard at the local US embassy, then re-apply for a tourist visa. As you already showed you don;t want to live in the USA by handing back the greencard, it tends to be easy to get a tourist visa then.

[SuddenlyConfused 0]

Thanks for the quick reply Penguin_ie. Your info helps alot. If, during the interview, I mention our situation . . or the interviewer asks. Is it possible they would give my wife a tourist visa instead of the IR-1? I can't help but thinking how simple things would have been if my wife initially got a tourist visa.

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

I don;t know. I doubt they are allowed to give a different visa than what the appointment is for "rules are rules" and paperwork....

[Ryan H 3,856]

If, during the interview, I mention our situation . . or the interviewer asks. Is it possible they would give my wife a tourist visa instead of the IR-1?

No because the interview would be taking place in the immigrant visa unit. Tourist visa interviews are conducted by the non-immigrant visa unit. Two different units with totally different procedures that are not interchangeable.

[Darnell 8,479]

in the end, you must refactor the plan for maintaining the green card, after it is issued to her.

so, put major skull sweat into learning how to do that, and good luck with the refactoring.

[Ning 619]

Pushing back the interview a few months should not be a major issue.

Your second point is. The greencard is more acurately called the Legal Permanent Resident Card- ie she needs to be resident in the USA and spend more time inside the country than outside. There is an option of getting a re-entry permit if she has a very good reason to stay outside, which allows her to be out of the US for two years, but that's it. You may well get away with visiting for a few weeks once, but not for four years.

What some people do is get the IR-1, go to the USA, get the greencard, then move back to the foreign country and formally give back the greencard at the local US embassy, then re-apply for a tourist visa. As you already showed you don;t want to live in the USA by handing back the greencard, it tends to be easy to get a tourist visa then.

This is excellent advise.

[SuddenlyConfused 0]

I just spoke with the Seoul embassy, and they said it would not be a problem to push the interview date back to August or September. She did mention background checks do expire, but she couldn't give me a time frame. Does anyone know how long background checks are valid for? Getting a new Korean background check is easy, but a Thai one takes work; we got my wife's Thai background check at the end of Feb.

So, it seems we're going to push back the interview and hopefully enter the US in Feb. With the option of staying, or returning abroad and formally handing in my wife's green card and applying for a tourist visa. I did read there is a specific form for formally handing in a green card and applying for a tourist visa at the same time..

Anyway, thanks for the advice so far! It really is helping in many ways.

[clive7832 2]

I believe background checks are valid for 6months, but you might wanna check

[liberty23456 15]

I just spoke with the Seoul embassy, and they said it would not be a problem to push the interview date back to August or September. She did mention background checks do expire, but she couldn't give me a time frame. Does anyone know how long background checks are valid for? Getting a new Korean background check is easy, but a Thai one takes work; we got my wife's Thai background check at the end of Feb.

So, it seems we're going to push back the interview and hopefully enter the US in Feb. With the option of staying, or returning abroad and formally handing in my wife's green card and applying for a tourist visa. I did read there is a specific form for formally handing in a green card and applying for a tourist visa at the same time..

Anyway, thanks for the advice so far! It really is helping in many ways.

I would try one more thing. Apply for a tourist visa again. Show them you already have an appointment for IR-1 visa, but you don't really want to live in US at this moment. That should be more convincing to them that you don't try to circumvent the immigration laws with the B1/B2 visa. And it would save you a lot of headache with establishing a US residency and subsequently returning the green card. Anyway you seem to go through a lot of effort to just get a tourist visa. That was really not meant to be that difficult especially for a spouse of US citizen.

[Ning 619]

I would try one more thing. Apply for a tourist visa again. Show them you already have an appointment for IR-1 visa, but you don't really want to live in US at this moment. That should be more convincing to them that you don't try to circumvent the immigration laws with the B1/B2 visa. And it would save you a lot of headache with establishing a US residency and subsequently returning the green card. Anyway you seem to go through a lot of effort to just get a tourist visa. That was really not meant to be that difficult especially for a spouse of US citizen.

The spouse of a U S citizen being granted a tourist visa is not likely. This was explained to my husband by officers at a U S embassy. They explained this as a catch 22.

The problem is they feel the strongest ties are to the USC husband. This means ties are cut to the country of origin upon entry into the USA when the USC is in the USA.

I had a petition pending which they said would make it impossible to allow them to issue a tourist visa. They went on to say that even if I had a tourist visa I would probably turned away at the POE when they discovered the pending petition.

[SuddenlyConfused 0]

Thanks for the replies. Apparently, when issued in Korea, the validity of the visa (entering the US) is six months after the medical check - not six months after the appointment as in most countries. Just wanted to pass this on. Also, my father said he spoke with the immigration Bureau in Philadelphia and the women he spoke with said if I present my school contract to the immigration officer he/she would extend the validity of the visa (entering US) to February when my contract expires. I spoke with the Seoul embassy today and they could not confirm or deny this.

I have a feeling the lady my father spoke with is incorrect. Does anyone else have experience with this? I am under the impression it is a strict six months after the medical check in Korea. Thanks again.

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

A visa can be re-issued under certain circumstances, but it is up to the consular officer, and usually you need special reasons, such as after the visa is issued, a close relative gets sick and the beneficiary needs to stay in the home country longer to take care of that person until they pass on. I don;t think your case would count, as you already know the job situation and so their argument would be you should not have taken a visa interview/ filed until you were ready to use the visa.

Yes, it is common in all countries that the medical governs the expiration date of the visa; in almost all cases, the medical is done within a couple of weeks of the visa interview so people do not notice. If you *can* get a visa re-issued, you would need to pay for the medical again and possibly also pay the visa fee again.

[Darnell 8,479]

I have a feeling the lady my father spoke with is incorrect. Does anyone else have experience with this? I am under the impression it is a strict six months after the medical check in Korea. Thanks again.

In general terms, worldwide, it's 6 months from the medical exam date.

However -

she can trip into GUAM, the US side, and activate her visa, getting another stamp in the passport. With the passport, the VISA, and the POE stamp - SHAZAAM! She has a temporary green card, with 1 year duration - she can turn around and leave the same day, if needed, even 25 minutes after exiting the International Arrivals Terminal.

So, bear that in mind - she still has a year o stuff after hitting a POE, but even then, SHE must maintain the validity of her green card, travelling back into the USA before 6 more months transpire.

All n all - I think it easier to get an interview for January 2014 for her, and getting all the stuff you need redone (I-864, medical, PCCs, etc) than plane-hopping to maintain status .. IMO, it's about the same amount of money, as well.

[SuddenlyConfused 0]

Thanks for the info Queen Penguin and Wuhan Rocks! The Guam activation option had crossed my mind, but it is good to have it confirmed by a knowledgeable poster. I'm not sure if I will need it, but it is good to know the option is there (it is only a $500 RT flight from Korea). Thanks again everyone!