IR-1 - Married and Living Outside USA

[Curtis234 0]

First time post. I have looked around and cannot seem to find specific information about what seems to be my unique situation. 

 

Married in Taiwan in 2013

Wife is Indian citizen on PhD visa in Ireland 

She also has a 10 year USA tourist visa

I am American, living in USA.

 

Trying to plan for IR-1 filing to coincide with her finalizing PhD, so my question is, since she is in Ireland and not India, could she go through her portion of the medical exam and interview in Ireland or will she have to go back to India? 

 

Or or can she come her on her tourist visa and we file and go through the process in the USA? 

 

There is also a chance I may be confirmed for Polish citizenship and will join her in Ireland. How would that work if we live together in Ireland for a bit, but I am there on my Polish passport? Can we file from Ireland for the IR-1?

 

Thank you in advance for the help. Much appreciated. 

 

 

 

[aaa2zzz 27]

The I-130 has a space for the address of your spouse abroad. Normally they set the interview for the consulate over that location. Bear in mind that if you are living in Ireland at the time of interview, there may be a question about whether you are domiciled in the USA. That is required for her to get the IR-1. She will have to prove her legal presence in Ireland.

Will not matter on what basis you are in Ireland, unless you qualify for direct consular filing because you have legal residence there for the required period. But then the US domicile becomes an issue. 

[JFH 12,191]

20 minutes ago, aaa2zzz said:

 

Will not matter on what basis you are in Ireland, unless you qualify for direct consular filing because you have legal residence there for the required period. But then the US domicile becomes an issue. 

No DCF possibility in Ireland anymore so that won't be an issue.

 

OP, if your wife is legally present in Ireland and not on some form of tourist or visitor visa there, she can have her medical and interview there. No need for her to go to India. 

 

She absolutely cannot go to the USA as a visitor or any other non-immigrant with the intention to complete her immigration procedures there. She can visit you in the USA during this process but must return to Ireland to complete the procedure. 

 

If you move to Ireland to be with her then you must prove your attempts to re-establish domicile in the USA before her visa can be approved. You must also love back to the USA either with her or before her but not after her. 

Edited February 19, 2017 by JFH

[Curtis234 0]

Thank you both for your responses. This helps out a lot in deciding how to proceed. If we go begin the IR-1 process now and it is approved in August as an example, am I correct that she will have 90 days to enter the USA on the IR-1? Or is it longer? 

 

A couple of other questions, what are the restrictions once she is here on the IR-1, meaning, if she came here in the IR-1 and was then offered a 1 year post-doc position back in Ireland, can she accept it without any issues with the government? Could I go with her or would I have to remain domiciled in the US? 

 

What about just normal vacation travel outside of the US? Are there any restrictions there for any period of time after entering on an IR-1?

 

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

[Ryan H 3,834]

The visa would be valid for up to 6 months, visa validity is tied to the validity of the medical exam and the medical exam is valid for 6 months from the day it is conducted.  For example, if a medical is conducted in February and a visa is issued after an interview that happens in March, the expiration date on the visa would have an August date.

 

Green Card holders can remain out of the country for up to 6 months without needing a reentry permit.  Anything longer will require such a permit and it would have to be obtained prior to departure.