Living situation? Afraid to be separated... [Long Post]

[clarkthegiraffe 10]

Hello everyone, thank you for making this site what it is - extremely helpful! This process is so confusing and reading others' questions answers questions I never knew I had! However I would love some answers or advice.

I met my SO online in August of 2013, I'm American, he's Brazilian. I met him in person on April 30, we were just friends, and within a few days we were in love. May 6 I went back to the United States and May 30 I moved to Brazil on a tourist visa with intent to marry, which is legal here. Fun fact: Brazilian immigration is millions of times easier than moving to the United States.

In December we became a "união estavel", which I believe is common-law marriage in the US. This works for immigration purposes here. At the moment of signing, I become "irregular" in the country, meaning I don't have full rights until we get my visa switched, but even though my tourist visa is expired, I legally cannot be forced out of the county because Brazil is awesome about keeping families together.

Now we're looking at moving to the US in search of a more financially stable life, and it's overwhelming. We aren't going to be marrying here as I am irregular and don't need to marry, the process seems to be simpler using the K-1 visa. I am curious about where to file, do I need to be in the United States from the getgo? It seems like such a long time (~5 months in Vermont) to be separated when we've lived together everyday. We planned to be separated for filing however I read on another thread that I may only have to do this after a certain time in the process.

I would love some clarity on this, as it's causing a lot of lost sleep and anxiety.

Bonus questions:

-Is this going to be made harder by the fact that we're only 20 years old despite having a legitimate relationship?

-What's the difference between the Boston USCIS and Vermont SVC(?)?

[TabeaK 517]

If you have a permanent address in MA from which you file you will get processed at Texas for K1. Vermont no longer processes these petitions. Current wait times from filing to visa in hand run above 10 months. I appreciate you do not wanna be apart from your SO, but that is the realities fir most of the people in here. I have not seen my significant other in months...

You noted you were common law married in Brazil. I am not familiar with that process but chances are the US will consider you to be officially married anyway, hence the K1 visa is not an option for you.

My advice: Get an official marriage certificate and file for the CR-1 while waiting together in Brazil. Processing times run around 16 months+, but you can be together.

Also check if Brazil does direct consular filing, which is quicker for married couples but no longer offered by a lot of countries.

[clarkthegiraffe 10]

Texas? Darnit. I'm looking at California's processing times and feeling a little jealous.. January 18th if I recall correctly.

I am eligible for the K-1, as this document is more of proof of a relationship than it is marriage.

Unfortunately Brazil does not have DCF. This is all so complicated compared to Brazil, my guess is because of the huge number of immigrants the US has, and how few Brazil does in comparison.

[TabeaK 517]

I am eligible for the K-1, as this document is more of proof of a relationship than it is marriage.

I would be very careful with that. There are pretty much constant reports of cases on here where people decide to have traditional ceremonies that they consider to be not legally binding and get denied by USCIS because the adjudicator or the consul conducting the interview does infact consider them married.

[Tim/Mav 305]

If I'm reading what you wrote OP correctly. Your relationship at this point is not even recognizable is the US. You went there on a Tourist Visa. Overstayed but that don't matter. Your Not Married but according to their Laws you are but that don't matter here. You Filed NO PAPERS with USCIS at all because you have nothing to File for. USCIS will Not Accept your Terms. I agree with some of the later post. Get Married Legally and File for a CR1 or return and do the K-1. Am I correct or did I read your Post wrong.

[clarkthegiraffe 10]

I'll see if I can get some official word from the consulate regarding our status and what they think... But as for the original question, since there is no DCF I'll need to do the whole process in the United States, correct?

[sma1488 155]

It appears as though the US does NOT recognize the união estável for the purposes of visas, which means should you choose to pursue the K-1 visa to get married in the US, there should be no complications. See here (in Portuguese -- let me know if you need help translating it):

http://portuguese.brazil.usembassy.gov/pt/commonlaw.html

You can continue living in Brazil until your case is processed, and in fact, the foreign beneficiary MUST do the medical exam and interview in Brazil. You'll likely need a co-sponsor though, since you won't be able to prove a steady income in the US (since you're not living there).

[j&ana 380]

It is possible to file either K-1 or the IR-1/Cr-1 visa from there. You will have to mail the documents to the USCIS lockbox, depends on which visa you decide as far as to where to mail your petition to. You will also have to prove domicile and Income to meet the requirements,

Edited February 17, 2015 by j&ana