golazio

You do not want to move, he does not want to move so time to back away until one of those situations change.

We talked about it last night and he has decided to compromise by finishing his Bachelor's degree in Italy and then apply to U.S. grad schools so he can start his MBA during the fall of 2017. We are considering the K-1 visa route instead of a student visa since his college will be more expensive under an F-1 and he won't be eligible for loans or full-time work (unless it's during a school break). If the K-1 process works out, he would immigrate here and move here so we can be closer together and so he can still finish his degree.

When would be a good time to start the K-1 process if he graduates from his Italian college in May of 2017 and he wants to start grad school here during the fall of 2017 or the spring or summer of 2018? I think he needs the green card before he can apply to grad schools due to residency requirements.

Why didn't I think of that. He doesn't need a visa to visit you. He can come and you can go. I see my hubby every 2-3 months for a few days because he can't come here. Yes it will be expensive and you'll be spending ALOT of time in airports but it's worth it.

Since you're going to have a real job, you'll get real benefits after 90 days. Just stack your vacation and try to extend any holidays. Not sure what field you're in but try to work for the government, lots of vacation days. It's alot of planning and can expensive but it's better than getting the K1 and losing it because he has to be back in Italy.

He had two student visa denials about 1.5 years ago, his ESTA application was declined after pending approval for a few days about 5 months after the last student visa denial and his ESTA application was denied right away a few days ago (about 1.5 years after the last student visa denial), so ESTA won't work and the government knows he has a girlfriend here.

Work on strengthening the ties to his home country and maybe he will get a 10 year visa. Use that until he finishes school and then apply for K1 during his last semester.

Since youre almost done with school, have you thought about moving to here for a few years until he is done? Then you can just get married and bring him back with you. DO some research and explore all options.

I can't move to Italy because I don't speak Italian, I'll have $80,000 in student loans to pay back (so I'll need a high-paying job right out of college) and I have an internship at a Fortune 500 company this summer and their full-time job offer rate is high. They don't have any offices in Italy, though. I am looking into expatriate opportunities but I might have to switch companies to do that. The closest I could get to Italy with this company is the UK, but that's only if they allow me to transfer if I get a job offer.

I looked at the salary differences between Italy and the U.S. for my career field and I would need to be an expat to qualify for U.S. salaries in Italy (which would be high enough to afford my monthly loan payments). I wish I went to college in Europe. -.-

K1 visa is for foreigner to come to US and to marry within 90 days.

Getting married through K1 visa alone doesn't automatically get him US residency (green card).

That's a whole separate processing...that typically take 6 to 12 months

with some travel restrictions until he can receive AP (advance parole)

to be able to travel outside of US...but even then, he could be called in

for physical interview at some point.

And this GC is only good for 2 years, and prior to that expiration,

he will have to apply for 10 year GC and go through yet another processing.

And even with the GC, there are restrictions on how long you can live abroad.

Also, if you are married and living apart...that can cause problems for GC processing.

Even if he gets the GC and you guys find a way to live abroad for years together,

he will be questioned again for his desire to live in US.

I see all sorts of problems with what you are planning...others with better loophole (?)

around this can chime in.

We talked about it tonight and he has decided to compromise by finishing his Bachelor's degree in Italy and then apply to U.S. grad schools so he can start his MBA during the fall of 2017. We aren't sure if we should go the K-1 visa route or if he should go the student visa route again so he can go to school here. He is open to pursuing an MBA in the U.S. if he can do it legally and if we can live together or at least live closer than 4,000 miles to each other.

He has completely ruled out the B-2 for this summer as the trade off since he doesn't want to risk his chances of being eligible for a potential student visa. I'm going to get him prepped for the GRE and the GMAT in the mean time.

Since he wants to go to grad school in the U.S. now, should we apply for the K-1 visa so we can marry before then since he would be immigrating here by that point (at what point would he be eligible to attend a U.S. Grad school without a student visa if we went this route?) or should he shoot for a student visa again? Third time's the charm?

I got you. Unfortunately the government isn't fair... welcome to our world! :/ My fiance had to put off schooling to get married (among other reasons), which cost us a lot of money, too... and his family's judgment. After 3 years of long distance, we knew this was a good option for us. Our difference is- once he's authorized to work, my fiance will probably make better money here than he would in Ecuador.

But you have to be real and not too stubborn about this. :/ He can go back at some point to go back to school. It's not like he could never return. if you're willing to move over there even just temporarily.. He can marry you on k-1, wait until he has the green card/travel permission, and then move to Italy to pursue schooling. He could even work here after he gets authorization and possibly make decent money to help pay for those loans. (Depending on where you live, he could still get a decent job!) Or you both can move to Italy (not sure how set you are on living here, hahaha), marry, and do the CR-1 visa to come back. It may mean either these options or you see each other once a year.

Thanks for your help!

We talked about it tonight and he has decided to compromise by finishing his Bachelor's degree in Italy and then apply to U.S. grad schools so he can start his MBA during the fall of 2017. We aren't sure if we should go the K-1 visa route or if he should go the student visa route again so he can go to school here. He is open to pursuing an MBA in the U.S. if he can do it legally and if we can live together or at least live closer than 4,000 miles to each other.

He has completely ruled out the B-2 for this summer as the trade off since he doesn't want to risk his chances of being eligible for a potential student visa. I'm going to get him prepped for the GRE and the GMAT in the mean time.

Since he wants to go to grad school now, should we apply for the K-1 visa so we can marry before then (at what point would he be eligible to attend a U.S. Grad school without a student visa if we went this route?) or should he shoot for a student visa again? Third time's the charm?

I can't offer much advice on this in general, since I'm not familiar with other visas, but seeing all of your ':/' makes me feel for you! I'm usually one to say wait for the k-1 until you're really sure, and in this case, I wouldn't just jump on the chance to marry him, but... waiting for years to do the k-1 and trying to travel back and forth during that time is going to be really difficult. He's shown intent to stay in the future. If he was already denied not once, but twice for a visa.. I mean, is it really going to work out to wait until 2019 to finally get married?

Is this guy really not willing to consider the k-1 option so that you'll be able to actually SEE each other? A relationship where you see each other for 1-2 weeks a year would be very difficult, I'd imagine. I can't even fathom having that with my fiance. He's leaving me tomorrow for a month, and I'm a mess! It's doable, but is that really what you BOTH want? Even then, you said it would be hard to take off the vacation days, so you're looking at maybe being able to see him once a year for a very short period of time, as it's possible that yes, the money he'll be spending on another visa could be wasted. No one on here can tell you for sure that he'll be denied, but if you're asking if it's a risk, then yes. He's been denied before, they know he has a USC girlfriend, and he still doesn't have sufficient ties. If you want to keep trying, by all means, but he should really be more open to other options that don't leave you seeing him only once a year!

I don't know... It just gets me a bit that you say he's so adamant about waiting until 2019 to get married. If you two really want to be together, then he may need to put off his schooling. I get that maybe that isn't convenient, but love isn't always about convenience!

Good luck to you guys!!

He's adamant about finishing his education because he's delayed college already due to the student visa denials, so he's lost about three years of college when you factor in how far along he was with his law degree. He's a very intelligent person who had the equivalent of a 4.0 GPA in law school and in his current university and it ticks me off that the U.S. government denied the application of a person who is a very hard worker with a strong academic history in a country that has an insanely difficult college curricula just because of his socio-economic status. Even if he has a girlfriend here, he most likely would've been accepted if he was from a rich family.

And he wants to finish college so that he "doesn't graduate when he's 50", as he says. He has a good head on his shoulders even though I really want to be with him more often. He also wouldn't have a degree if he married me right now, so he'd have to pay for college in the U.S. without the guarantee of having a job versus only paying about $600/year for business degree in Italy (I don't blame him knowing how much I'm paying for college right now).

If either of us were rich, this scenario wouldn't exist and that's what ticks me off the most.

We've been through a lot more together than most people I know who've been together for 20 years and I don't want to give up. He means a lot to me and he's done a lot already to try to help us be closer together.

At this point, I'm a combination of sad and angry because of how much we've had to go through already and how much he's had to go through. In an ideal world where he could easily attend a college in the U.S. while not paying an arm and a leg (since he doesn't qualify for loans like I do), we'd apply for the K-1 tomorrow.

OP has a confusing post but it the other way around, he has refused F1 and VWP and has 4 more years of Uni and will not move until finished, so she it looking for another route as she has a job with little holiday allowance.

That's correct. He just wants to visit me and I would visit him more often if I had the vacation time. I'm in college now too and I don't know how much vacation time I'll get after I graduate next May.

We want to know if there are any other options at all in case his B-2 is denied this month. I don't know what else to do now aside from helping him get as much "strong Italian ties" support for the B-2 interview.

I know we have odd circumstances, but it shouldn't be this difficult to allow someone to visit the U.S. -.- At this rate, we'll see each other 2 weeks a year for four years.

A k1 is a non immigrant visa WITH immigrant intent.

Although it is intended for those that want to move to America to be with their loved ones, you can leave within the 90 days of arrival, or afterwards after marriage.

Bare in mind because it has immigrant intent, obtaining future tourist visas may be questioned as you had previous applied for the k1 and left.

So this could be questioned and strong ties to the home country will definitely be needed.

Also he would not be able to "visit when he wants to" with a k1.

A k1 is a one time entry visa, it expires the moment the beneficiary enters. And then it gives you 90 days to get married.

If you don't get married within those 90 days he will have to leave once they are up.

If you do get married and stay after the 90 days without having applied for AOS, he will be out of status and therefore illegal.

Thanks!

Knowing the basics of our circumstances, would it be best to apply for an AOS then after we marry and would he need to be in the U.S. to apply for the AOS or would he have to leave the U.S. and then apply for it in Italy?

Then perhaps bingo?

How would he be able to get a B-2 if he has to say he's visiting his girlfriend (which would confirm the bingo on their end)? Other people on here said the "G" word is an automatic deal breaker and if they already know he has a girlfriend in the states, then wouldn't he just be donating money to the government by applying for a B-2? :/

The word "girlfriend" came up from him during his first student visa interview.

At this point, I really want to try for a K-1, but he is very adamant about wanting to wait to get married to me until after he graduates college and has a job even if it means we might only be able to see each other 1-2 weeks each year for four years (if my employer is that generous with vacation time). -.-

Right now, the B-2 is our only chance.

This could be a stupid question or it could just be an odd question.

If the K-1 is approved and you get married, does your foreign partner have to live in the U.S.?

We want to try to go the K-1 route earlier than we had planned if the bureaucratic B-2 tourist visa stuff does not work.

My foreign boyfriend would not be able to live in the U.S. until 2019, however. He can visit once a year every August during his college breaks and we want to go the K-1 route if it means he can visit when he wants to if the application gets approved and we get married while he's here on the K-1. Would he need a B-2 after we get married on a K-1 to visit me?

Does the government frown upon foreigners marrying their SO and then living in their home country for a few years to finish school before immigrating to the U.S.? If he still has to finish college, wouldn't that help our application since he's not trying to move to the U.S. right away and we'd still have to be married for about three years before he can actually move here?

The norm is that after 6 months or so ESTA is approved, some do not get refused initially, some get refused later.

In this case he applies a year or so later so he is in the unusual category.

What refused him ESTA is likely to also apply to a B2, however there is only one way to find out, apply.

As the reason is blindingly obvious, to visit his GF, why complicate matters?

Just remembered that when he received his first ESTA denial in May of 2013, he received the Pending Approval message and it was denied a few days later. This time, he was denied right away. Nothing has changed since last summer, though, aside from his student status, so I don't know what would've caused that. :/

To be honest educationally none of that makes much sense, drops out of a prestigious Uni in Rome and 3 months later applies for a student visa to study a different subject at a US Community College funded by his US girlfriend/parents.

Anyway now in the past, usually ESTA seems to clear after 6 months or so of a refused visa, this is an observation, nothing is published, but in this case over a year later he is still refused so suggest something more substantial is on his record.

He dropped out because he found out there weren't a lot of jobs available for law graduates. He switched to finance because there are more jobs available in that field and he wanted to start at a community college so he could transfer the credits to the University of Minnesota to save money since he wasn't eligible for loans and he was going to pay for college out of pocket. He had enough money to pay for his education, but the school and the consulate said he needed to show that he could afford about $25,000 per year for living expenses (that was an unrealistic amount, but my parents and his parents were willing to show that they could support him even though he wouldn't need nearly that much money to live here and go to the community college).

When we tried using the ESTA form yesterday, I checked off that he had been denied a visa before and that the denial had happened in January of 2014 in Naples, Italy. I filled the form out for him as a third-party and had him double-check everything to make sure it was accurate. He doesn't have a criminal record of any kind and that visa denial should've been the only thing he had against him on the ESTA form.

I looked online and found out that if you get a visa denial, you most likely are not going to receive ESTA authorization for a visa waiver, so I'm not sure what to do or why his record might be flagged. :/

I'm sorry, he was a law student until September of 2013 when he froze his exams to start the student visa process. I told him that December that he should've remained enrolled to help his chances and in hindsight he probably should've done that. :/

His first visa interview was in December 2013 and his second chance was in January 2014. He wasn't very prepared for the first interview so he registered for another interview and obtained a letter from my senator, financial documentation and an affidavit of support from my family to support his application. Still didn't work. He was denied twice due to not showing strong enough ties to Italy.

Aside from being a full-time college student (which he wasn't at the time), I'm not sure how else a 21-year-old can show strong ties to a country.

Important to note: he was a full-time college student when he went to the U.S. for the first time in 2013 (his Visa Waiver was approved in June of 2013), but I don't think he was asked about his student status when he reached Customs in the U.S.

He has been a full-time college student at a top university in Naples since September of 2014. He is set to graduate from that university in May of 2017 and then he has to go to grad school in Milan or in the U.S.

Ultimately, he's hoping to get a job with an international consulting firm in Italy so he can be an expatriate in the U.S. He won't be eligible for jobs in his major until 2019 (takes two years to get the specialization degree in Ital and two years to get an MBA in the U.S. - depending on the route he takes).

So if he applies for a tourist visa this month (regardless of whether he talks about the grad school tours or not), he'd basically be donating his money to the government? :/

Would his current status as a full-time student possibly change the outcome of his visa application since his situation has changed? He wasn't enrolled in college when he applied for a student visa last winter.

And since he's only staying for one month (I saw some threads on here about 4-6 month stays)?

Thank you!

Why is he not eligible to use the VWP, you did not say.

He's not eligible because he has had a prior visa denial. He tried applying for the ESTA yesterday and it came up as "Travel not authorized" due to the visa denials.

1. There is no way to know until he applies. What exactly was the reason for his student visa denial?

2. Why did he mention his girlfriend when applying for the student visa? Sounds like they thought he was using the visa to spend time with you, rather than because he actually wanted to study. I didnt mention my girlfriend when I applied for my B2 and got approved, but for you with the past history I would say be honest. Off course he can just say visiting friends and if they specifically ask what friends etc then say girlfriend.

3. No, they will not care for this information. Better bring documents showing his ties to Italy.

4. Yes, normally they will ask what other countries he has visited. It is unlikely they will look at the documents but no harm in bringing them.

5. Apply as soon as possible.

Thanks for your response!

1. He was denied for not showing strong enough ties to Italy. He was unemployed at the time (still is) due to the 50% unemployment in Naples, yet his family and my family agreed to sponsor him financially. He told the officer he was a law student in Rome who wanted to come to the U.S. to pursue a finance degree since there was no school in Italy that provided the type of degree he wanted and he said the U.S. colleges are more world-renowned, so it would've benefitted his career path more to get a degree in the U.S. rather than in Italy. The consular officer didn't like the fact that he wanted to transfer from one of the top law schools in Europe to a two-year community college in Minnesota (to get his AA so he could transfer it to the University of MN to save money on generals classes). The consular officer was either not aware of or didn't care about the fact that the job outlook for law students right now is pretty dim and that international students don't qualify for student loans in the U.S. (a lot of international students pay for their education out of pocket or from loans from their home country's government or banks; Italian banks are not giving out loans to unemployed 21-year-olds...). He told the officer he wanted to switch to finance because of the demand for finance majors in the Italian job market.

2. He mentioned his girlfriend because my family would be sponsoring his visa. My parents had to send financial information to the consulate for this reason.

Also, he's thinking of visiting some grad schools while he's here since he hasn't decided whether he wants to get his MBA in Italy or in the U.S. yet (he has about two years to decide). If he decides to get his MBA in the U.S., we would go for the K-1 visa so he doesn't have to go through the student visa process again.

Would it benefit his case to tell the consular officer that he is going to the U.S. this August to go on vacation and to tour grad schools since he is interested in potentially pursuing an MBA in the U.S.? His current enrollment in college for a business degree would also support this argument (and he has documentation to prove his enrollment).

Hello,

This is my first post (woo-hoo!). I am a U.S. citizen and I am also a full-time college student. My boyfriend is an Italian citizen and he is also a full-time college student. We met each other two years ago while I was studying abroad. We plan on getting married through the K-1 process when we are both finished with college (he switched degree paths and schools, so it'll probably be around 2019).

Our experiences with the U.S. government (the good, the bad, and the irritating):

1. Since we met, he visited the US through the ESTA/Visa Waiver in August of 2013.
2. He was denied twice for a U.S. student visa in January of 2014.
3. Because of the two student visa denials, we spent 1.5 months together in Canada in the summer of 2014 (since he wasn't eligible for the ESTA/Visa Waiver).
4. I spent two weeks with his family in Italy after I studied abroad again in January of 2015.
5. We want to spend August of 2015 (approx. 30 days) together since he has a month off from college.
6. I can't travel to Italy this summer due to a full-time internship, so if we spend time together, he has to travel to the U.S. and I can't travel to Canada again.
7. He filled out the ESTA and his travel was not authorized due to the prior visa denials, so he has to get a B-2 Visa for travel this August.

We were both very unhappy and depressed when his student visa was denied in 2014 and we don't want this to happen again. He wants to get a B-2 so that he doesn't have to go through this every time he wants to visit me during the summer months.

Specific Questions:

1. Does he have a good chance of getting his visa approved since he will only be staying for one month and since he is a full-time college student (he is unemployed due to the employment conditions in Italy, but he is getting a degree in finance and business management from one of the top colleges in Italy)?

2. Should he say he's visiting his girlfriend and his girlfriend's family or should he say he's visiting friends of the family (my parents are very good friends with his parents and they have met each other before, so either statement would be valid)? I am nervous about him saying the "G" word since that is why we think he was denied a visa in the past. We do intend on getting married in the future, but not right now.

3. Should I buy tickets to the events we plan on attending together in August before his interview so he can use them in the interview as proof of his intent to be a tourist?

4. Would it help for him to bring documentation of his past trips to the U.S., Canada, France, the UK, etc. so the consular officer can see that he has specifically spent 1.5 months in Canada and about 1 month in the U.S. before (and he has always come back to Italy)? Would this information help support his case for "strong ties to Italy"?

5. Any other tips or advice?