88lance

4 hours ago, Mollie09 said:

Just a quick note that it's 3 years for spouses of USC as long as:

- immigrant has been an LPR for 3 years (minus 90 days)

- immigrant has been married to USC spouse for 3 years

- spouse has been a USC for 3 years

Wow, did not know that.  My project will run almost that long, it will probably be worth just sticking around and completing the USC process then.

Great, thanks again for all the information.  Yes, living in the US for a couple years first is correct, just need to finish my project here, so it would be nice to be together for the next couple years in Texas until the project is complete, and then we would be off to other lands and adventures.  😁 Since my family is here, it would be nice to be able to return occasionally or maybe even finish out her process all the way to USC at some point, but unsure really.  The main plan at the moment is both be in Tx, finish the project, and then both leave and decide from there.  

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

REP does "pause" the GC process.  It is a new visa that allows you to avoid doing the petition again.  

 

Single entry visa.

Great, I think this will probably be the route to take.  We are unsure if/when we return, but it is great knowing that the option is there.  Thanks for the replies and help!

30 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well if she abandons it and you want to apply again and the family conditions still exist they’ll let you get another. Bear in mind the process can take around a year or more to get a green card in the first place so factor that into your “cost” of getting each green card too. Also note if she doesn’t officially relinquish it when she leaves she is still liable to file taxes with the IRS so if you just abandon through leaving rather than formally she might need to be up to date with tax filings (though if you do married filing jointly that will take care of that anyway). The other and better alternative if you will only be out 2-3 years before returning is to go the re-entry permit route, a REP allows her to be out the US without losing her GC for 2 years.  You can renew twice to a maximum of 5 years.

Great, thank you for your reply.  I did not know about the REP,  that does sound like a great option.  I assume it basically pauses the GC process while we are away?  Can we enter for a couple of months and exit again while still on the REP?  Or is it a one-time exit permit?

Hello everyone, me (USC) and my fiancé will be getting married in her country before beginning the process of moving us both to the US.  The catch is, we do not plan to be here for 5 years (around the amount of time it takes to acquire USC).  But I have work that needs to be completed which could take 2-3 years.  We may decide to stay and complete the USC process, but if we do not, and we move back to her country to reside instead, how bad does that affect future visas being granted? 

If we wanted to return several years later, or wanted to visit, will they allow a visa process again, kind of like "well, it's your money, you can pay for it to restart as much as you want, but you have to pay the fees every time", or do they actually reject it, like "well you left halfway through you process last time, so you are not getting another one, or better have a dang good reason for what happened last time".  ? Just weighing options here because I have a couple years of this project left, but would prefer to not be apart for 2-3 years either. And after the project is complete, I really really would like to be somewhere besides here...like on a beach in her country.  haha  Thanks in advance for any insight into this and how it is viewed by the immigration officials

Wow, great information.  It is somewhat confusing searching online, there seems to be a lot of blurry information and even some contradicting.  But this covered a lot for me, and I really appreciate it.  I think coming to the US for 5 years and the two of us just staying here and her getting citizenship is the way to go.  I would really rather be in her country, but if that opens the doors up for coming and going from then on, it is probably the move to make.  Get USC, then go back to her country and resume our original plans.  Thank you all for your help!

23 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

You'd lose nothing but $160 when applying for a tourist visa.

That is ideal for your situation, so it is worth a try. 

Definitely worth the try for that small amount of money. I will look into that 👍

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

Only USCs can come and go at whim.  It would take >5 years for her to become a USC, but there are residency requirements for that, and what you are suggesting would never qualify.

 

Green card holders are LPRs.  Lawful Permanent Residents.  It makes sense that 'permanent residents' are expected to reside in the US.

Geez, the US is tight compared to other places I been.  lol   I would hate to stay here 5 years, but that may be what it takes, or I can just tell her bye for 2 months at a time, might be the way to go . haha  thanks for your help.  

2 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

There is no K3 any longer.

 

If you are married, you can file a petition (I-130) which would lead to a CR-1 spousal visa.  There is no way she would have it by the end of the year though.

 

Green cards are for living in the United States, not for visiting for two months.  Sounds like a tourist (B) visa would be the way to go.

Thank you for the reply. A tourist visa is very hard to acquire from her country unfortunately.  Is there a difference in the green card and PR?  If we used the CR-1 visa, how long would it take for her to reach a status before she could come and go on my schedule?  Which status would that be?  Thanks again for the information

Hello everyone, I'll try to make this short.  I am getting married overseas, and living there most of the time.  However, I need to come back to the US for a couple months per year to do work and check on my rental properties.  I know she probably cannot come with me for this short of a time span because tourist visas are hard to get from there.  However I do need to build one more rental building, which would take around 1 year.  If we filed a K3 and she came along, by the end of that year would she have acquired PR?  

Secondly, if she has PR, but we go back overseas, is she required to spend any certain amount of time back here to maintain her PR?  She would probably just be coming with me for the 2 months trips each year if that would work.  

Would this plan work for us?  If not, what other routes would you suggest?  Thanks

Quick question, I am a US citizen, and am marrying a foreigner. We will probably spend a lot of time in her home country, and maybe live in the US off and on. But we would like to travel to several countries, so it would be great if she had a US passport as well.  Does she have to move here for the 5 years or so to become a US citizen to acquire the US passport?  Or is it available to other levels such as permanent residency or something? What stage of the immigration process would she need to reach, and whats the average time frame to get to that stage?

Great information, thank yall for the responses 😊

Just out of curiosity, what stage WOULD her process have to be in for her to be able to leave if she came here first?  I guess she is not allowed to leave on green card without special permission (and probably not for 3 years).  Just wanting to weigh all options, in case I waited a bit before starting the NZ project, what stage would she have to get to, and how long would it take to get to that stage?

1 hour ago, sherydenise said:

I'm from NZ, you do have to show you have lived, or at least stayed a couple of months in an airbnb or hotel or anything together. I couldn't get my husband a partner visa just so he could visit me because we've only ever spent 2-3 weeks together each time we meet up. She could always visit you in the USA for 2-3 months and get mail or something sent to your address and that is proof.

Thats a good idea. If mail is all the proof that is needed, that could be done pretty easily.

1 hour ago, Going through said:

Or, you travelling to her home country to be with her for a few months...easier (and cheaper) than filing an immigrant petition when not really needed at this point.

This may be the best option, I agree

Thanks for the replies. Great information, I did also look up some partnership options for NZ, but most require to show that you have been living together for several months. I'm not sure if being married means that you dont have to meet that requirement, or if its still necessary to show proof of living together.  If so, we are back to square one, her having to come to the US first so that we can show that we have been together.  Otherwise, straight to NZ sounds like the best option.

New to the site, have an interesting situation.  I'm a US born citizen, and have been dating a girl from another country for awhile now.  Finally going to file the K1 and get her started on coming over here.  BUT, now I have a great job offer in New Zealand. NZ allows me to bring a wife, but we are obviously not married yet. If I leave now, she won't be eligible to join me there for a long time.  So the best option appears for her to come here, we get married, and then we both go. But I dont want to mess up her process of moving to the US.  So, after she arrives, we get married, how long do we have to wait before it is ok for her to leave the US with me for this 3 year project in NZ?  What stage does her process need to be in that it can be "frozen", or sit idle for awhile?   And how long will it take to get to whatever stage that is? There is no huge rush, I have a few years window that I can start this project, i guess basically need to know how long before we can take off to NZ for a few years without messing up her process, because we are coming back afterwards.  Thanks