American marrying a Taiwanese

[bradc20 0]

Okay, I'll tell you my plan. My Taiwanese fiancée and I plan to get married next week in Taiwan. We are travelling to the US next month where she'll be using a travel visa. While there, we plan to apply for her green card. Then we'll be coming back to Taiwan to wait out the green card process. After everything's set and done, we'll be moving back to the US where we'll be residing and working.

Am I doing this right? Should I get married in the US instead? Should I apply my fiancee for an immigrant visa instead of a green card? Does my fiancée need any kind of visa before applying for a green card? Can we apply from Taiwan before even going to the US next month? Is there anything other than a green card my future wife could use to reside in the states if she's not working?

I'm lost about all of this. Any ideas on what best steps should be taken would be greatly appreciated!

[LBeachey 46]

Are you the US citizen resident in Taiwan? Unfortunately since there is no USCIS office in Taiwan you can not DCF but at one point, applications form overseas even when sent back to the US were being processed quicker than the applications originating from the US. No idea if this is still the case. Either way, there is no reason you need to be in the US to apply as the process is all by mail until you reach the consulate (except in rare circumstances). However, having applied could cause an issue on your now wife's entry in the US so you probably don't want to apply until after she enters the US.

[Lainie B 465]

You'll need to follow this guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

She'll need an immigrant visa. You can't plan to travel to the US and then apply for a green card while there.

What is the "travel visa"? Do you mean tourist visa? Or is you to-be wife going to use the VWP?

[jrp 4]

The process for applying for a green card in the United States on a visitor visa is reserved for aliens who enter the United States with intent to visit, then after entering, decide to marry a US permanent resident or citizen and reside with them in the USA indefinitely.

The non-fraudulent option for you is to just do it all from Taiwan and get the immigrant visa. In my case (not in Taiwan), this is shaping up to take 6+ months. A temporary US visit to start the procedure is pointless, though my wife and I got married during a US visit partly to avoid heavy marriage paperwork/wait times in Ukraine.

Edited September 30, 2015 by jrp

[jrp 4]

Oh yeah, and post #2 is absolutely right, if your wife tries to enter the United States after filing, they could turn her away and tell her to wait for the visa. The advice in http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/479894-yes-you-can-visit-ir1-cr1-version/ might work, but I have no experience in this.

And it is also correct that petitions "filed from abroad" seem to be processed faster. The best option is to file with your and your wife's address abroad on the form. If you mail it in while you and your wife are visiting the US, you have to put on your I-130 that your wife is now in the United States as a visitor, etc., while at the same time putting a Taiwanese address for you and your wife. I'm not sure if they will still count this as "filed from abroad" or not. I myself sent the paperwork from abroad.

Edited October 1, 2015 by jrp

[LBeachey 46]

The process for applying for a green card in the United States on a visitor visa is reserved for aliens who enter the United States with intent to visit, then after entering, decide to marry a US permanent resident or citizen and reside with them in the USA indefinitely.

The non-fraudulent option for you is to just do it all from Taiwan and get the immigrant visa. In my case (not in Taiwan), this is shaping up to take 6+ months. A temporary US visit to start the procedure is pointless, though my wife and I got married during a US visit partly to avoid heavy marriage paperwork/wait times in Ukraine.

I see no indication the OP is planning on doing anything that is even arguably fraudulent. It is perfectly legal for his wife to enter.on a visitor's visa, apply for an immigrant visa in the US as long as she leaves the country before her admitted length of stay (typically six months) expires. What you are referring to is entering on a visitor's visa and attempting to adjust status without leaving when her approved stay expires. That is not always fraudulent but is dependent on your ability to argue what your intent was and is in some cases fraud.

[jrp 4]

I did word it pretty poorly. What he said was, "Should I apply my fiancee for an immigrant visa instead of a green card?"

Green card (without immigrant visa) can only be taken to mean adjustment of status, which I thought was not possible.

Edited October 2, 2015 by jrp

[scubagrl 0]

Are you going to the US next month specifically to start the visa process? If so, it's not necessary. I (US citizen) married a Taiwanese in Taiwan and applied for the visa here. After you get married you will apply for the immigrant visa which will give her a green card (eventually). The first step after getting married is to file I-130. I filed my I-130 in January 2015 and it was approved in July. I am still working on the next step now, so it's a long process.