Seeking work on Visiting Visa?

[mignaci0 1]

I read your other thread as well as this one. I'm wondering why her divorce will take so long, if they've been separated for some time, as you state. Back in Canada, I was separated from my Canadian ex for a few years before we filed for divorce, but once we filed, it was final in 3 months.

She and her ex technically did not have a separation agreement in place until this past May but they hadn't been cordial for about a year and a half. It took time for her to make the decision to finally go through the process of legally breaking it off.

[mignaci0 1]

I would be careful in applying for jobs until she's authorized to work. The companies she apply with will take time and resources into reviewing her application, potential interview etc only to find out that they can't hire her because she doesn't have work authorization. She could be burning a lot of bridges by applying for jobs when she's not allowed to work. If you want to go down this road, I would make her US status, or rather lack of status, very clear in the application/letter.

Wouldn't a work visa make her authorized to work? How will she get one without applying for jobs in order to get employed by an employer who will sponsor?

[JFH 12,189]

She and her ex technically did not have a separation agreement in place until this past May but they hadn't been cordial for about a year and a half. It took time for her to make the decision to finally go through the process of legally breaking it off.

It took her over a year to decide to divorce her previous husband but she met and decided to marry you within 4 months? If you do decide to go down the marriage visa route, that may raise some eyebrows.

[afortunada 182]

Wouldn't a work visa make her authorized to work? How will she get one without applying for jobs in order to get employed by an employer who will sponsor?

What that person is saying is that once she is here and authorized to work, she can apply away!

But, until then, if she DOES try to apply before being authorized to work, she needs to be certain that she lets the employer know she needs to be sponsored, because otherwise she could potentially be wasting the employer's time. Remember, it is a long and expensive process for an employer to sponsor someone, and the next opportunity for her isn't until October of 2017.

[mignaci0 1]

It took her over a year to decide to divorce her previous husband but she met and decided to marry you within 4 months? If you do decide to go down the marriage visa route, that may raise some eyebrows.

I don't believe it's uncommon for individuals to ultimately decide to legally end a marriage.She didn't meet me within 4 months and marry, to be clear. We've known each other for 6 years.

What that person is saying is that once she is here and authorized to work, she can apply away!

But, until then, if she DOES try to apply before being authorized to work, she needs to be certain that she lets the employer know she needs to be sponsored, because otherwise she could potentially be wasting the employer's time. Remember, it is a long and expensive process for an employer to sponsor someone, and the next opportunity for her isn't until October of 2017.

Understood. My confusion was with the concept of "here and authorized to work" because I thought the visa is what authorizes her to actually work. If she would be here visiting and looking for jobs she would certainly be divulging that she will need sponsorship.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Yeah, she would need to be authorized to work at the same moment she applied for the jobs, versus BECOMING authorized BECAUSE she applied to jobs.


And while some do get divorced real fast, just be careful. Yes, people get divorced, the divorce rate in this country is super high, but MOST people do not remarry ASAP to someone else. It's frowned upon in general, and it's highly suspicious in immigration eyes.

My divorce to remarriage timeline looks a bit like this.

Met my current husband in 2010.
Seperated from my ex March 2013
Started dating my current husband March 2013
Divorce finalized June 2014
Husband proposed Nov 2014
Applied for K-1 April 2015

Now, it was open to USCIS that I started dating my husband the same month I separated from my Ex as they had a copy of my divorce decree that showed the seperation day, and I believe I included somewhere when we started dating.

I think the fact that we didn't immediately get married helped us, as we still had a "dating period" between the divorce finalization and the I-129F petition.

I do think though that if she divorces say on May 25th 2017 and then marries you June 29th 2017, it could raise some red flags because USCIS will be seeing these dates.

I'm going to assume, since you wouldn't answer how long you've been dating in the last post, that you have been dating her prior to the divorce, which is okay, but you need to make sure you see things how USCIS sees it.

They're going to assume you're doing something wrong even if you believe it's normal or innocent. While a lot of people have problems with the idea of "doing certain things specific ways SOLELY to satisfy USCIS" if you don't think like a Consulate Officer or an Immigration Officer and scrutinize your own relationship and how things could look, you may be in for a bad time.


Like I had said in our PM's together, take it slow, date, and do what you can when you can but be smart about it. =]

Edited September 9, 2016 by Ash.1101

[ricnally 258]

She and her ex technically did not have a separation agreement in place until this past May but they hadn't been cordial for about a year and a half. It took time for her to make the decision to finally go through the process of legally breaking it off.

still seems like a really long time. My ex and I did the separation agreement and divorce papers within the same week, and divorce was final in 3 months.

[mignaci0 1]

still seems like a really long time. My ex and I did the separation agreement and divorce papers within the same week, and divorce was final in 3 months.

Well that's reassuring! Hopefully it'll be the same case with her situation. She just served him with the papers today.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

To clear up some misinformation in the thread.

You can apply for work/go to interviews while on B1/B2 visa. I've done it,, I've told the immigration officer at the POE that I was going to a conference and I was conducting job interviews. His only concern was that I wasn't attempting to immigrate on that trip, I had proof I was currently employed and that I had a return ticket.

It is ok to apply for US jobs if you are not authorized to work in the US, that's the first step in getting a job offer with a work visa

While applying for jobs online, if you do not have an existing work visa, I551 or a US citizen then you remark that you are not authorized to work in the US during the job application process. This will tell the recruiters/HR department of the company you are applying to that you will need a work visa.

If you find a company willing to sponsor you then you can move to the next step, but it's unlikely unless the applicant is highly skilled...

You will usually have to return home to finish the work visa process. For Canadian's the only really fast option is NAFTA TN-1 which you get issued at the airport with the proper paperwork and supporting documentation [and job offer].

Aside from the NAFTA program, you'll have to go through the usual hoops at the local US consulate in Canada for H1B/O1/etc visa.

Edited September 13, 2016 by HollywoodNorth

[mignaci0 1]

still seems like a really long time. My ex and I did the separation agreement and divorce papers within the same week, and divorce was final in 3 months.

Just to re-visit this. How were you able to do separation agreement and divorce papers in the same week? Don't you have to be separated for at least a year in order to divorce or is that only in certain provinces?

[ricnally 258]

Just to re-visit this. How were you able to do separation agreement and divorce papers in the same week? Don't you have to be separated for at least a year in order to divorce or is that only in certain provinces?

We had been living separately, but not legally separated, for a few years. (this was in Ontario)