virginc
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Posts posted by virginc
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Hi everyone,
I am in a peculiar situation. Please hear me out, I am very stressed and I need help.
I am a naturalized US citizen, currently living in Stockholm (Sweden) with my fiancee, who is of Russian nationality. A couple years ago we started a K1 process to go to the US together, but we had a change of plans and we let it expire just before the embassy interviews.
I am about to get a really great job offer in Northern California, one that is making us re-consider moving back to the US. The thing is, we don't want to break up (duh).
We have been cohabiting together in Sweden, registered at the right places (there is a paper trail of our relationship that goes back to 5~ years). However we are not married. I have been doing some research, and I am hoping one of you can help me with it and/or correct me if I am wrong.
Basically, it seems that because I am about to get a job offer that would make me relocate to the US, we might have the opportunity to get married in Sweden and apply for a I-130 in the Stockholm embassy (Direct Consular Filing) with exceptional circumstances:
QuoteShort notice of position relocation – A U.S. citizen petitioner, living and working abroad, has received a job offer in or reassignment to the United States with little notice for the required start date.
However, we are not married yet. The good news is that with the covid-19 situation and the 3 month notice I would have to hand in to resign from my current job, that gives us 90 days to get married. I am concerned as to what is considered "little notice" though; any idea?
So let's say that we file the I-130 through Direct Consular Filing, and they accept it. What exactly happens next? What we are interested in is a CR1. If I understand it correctly, a CR1 visa would allow my fiancee (husband at that point) to get a Green Card / Employment Authorization almost right away after getting to the US. Is this correct? This is where I get lost, and I am super stressed, because I am putting my fiancee's life on the line.
Could someone please help me through my timeline and challenge my assumptions?
- Get civilly married in Sweden within the next 90 days
- Apply for I-130 through Direct Consular Filing due to exceptional circumstances
- What's the result of an approved I-130? How do we get the CR1 with the Green Card awaiting upon US entry?
Would you guys recommend that we hire an immigration lawyer or is it a straight-forward process? I am well familiar with certain USCIS processes, as I have done plenty of them for myself (student Visa, change of status, naturalization, K1 visa...). But this time it feels different. Thanks a lot for the help.
US citizen with fiancee in Sweden and a new job in the US
in Direct Consular Filing (DCF) General Discussion
Posted · Edited by virginc
So if the I-130 is approved with exceptional circumstances, does that mean that my fiancee won't be able to join me in the US until the CR1 is done processing? It isn't entirely clear how long that process would take with DCF.
For the affidavit of support - we have roughly $100k saved up and we currently both have jobs. Does it still sound risky?
The job start is very flexible considering the covid-19 situation. Last time I spoke about it with HR, they said we would take it on a month by month basis. However, if I had to estimate it, I would say roughly 4 months from today, and roughly 1-2 months from the day we would file. Do you think that falls under the "little notice" required for DCF?
Do you have any experience you might be able to share on that?