CKnight

6 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

That doesn't sound right to me, if she is currently in legal status.  Anyway, what is her first choice?  A non-immigrant status or does she want to apply for residency after marriage? 

At the moment, her first choice is a non-immigrant status. She wants to marry me, but not yet. 

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

Didn't she also say that she is afraid that she would not be allowed to re-enter the US if she left?  

She said that if she left (e.g. family emergency or any reason) she would not be able to come back to the United States without re-applying for a Visa to re-enter the U.S. Again,  I didn't explain it very well in my last question hence the confusion. The point is, leaving the U.S. in her current situation would mean not being able to come back in without re-applying for entry. 

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

Since we really don't know what her legal status is (based on a previous thread), it is impossible to answer.

The problem with the last question I asked, was that it produced a lot of confusion surrounding her current status and thoughts that I was being scammed. I myself had a misunderstanding of the situation, but I have since found out more information. She says she is here legally. Just as I mentioned in this thread, she applied for both visas BEFORE her J1 expired. Knowing she is here legally and waiting for an answer, all I want to know is the likelihood of a denial or approval. 

2 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

I thought this was explained pretty well on your last thread.  The term "visa shopping" comes to my mind. " If the visa is denied she will have to return home unless we get married"  Good luck.

 

 

Lucky Cat: That didn't quite answer my question on this thread. My question is, what are the chances of a denial concerning her visa applications? 

My girlfriend came into the United States as an Au-pair under the J1 work visa. She said that she applied for the student and tourist visa about three months before her J1 visa was set to expire. It has been just about a year since she applied, and she has not heard anything  regarding whether or not she will receive the student and tourist visa. Apparently, she wanted to changed her status by applying before the J1 visa expired. She was also recently finger-printed in the process, but has not heard a definitive answer yet. If the visa is denied she will have to return home unless we get married. I am not sure that we will get married in the U.S., but what are the chances of receiving a denial on either of those visas? What would cause an application to be denied?

10 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

When did you meet this young lady, if I may ask?

We met in June of last year. To all of the comments suggesting she is lying or using me to get a green card: She didn't come to the United States with intent to marry. Also, she isn't pressuring me to marry her. I recognize that there are many scams and bad intentions with marrying a foreigner, but in my case, I think this has do her perhaps not knowing all of the details. 

23 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

You did mention that she did not use her J-1 after arrival. So, technically, she failed to maintain it. She is, therefore, demeaned illegal. Because of that, I think her F-1 visa will be denied. Immigration is going to find out about her J-1 abuse and subsequently deny her F-1. So she is technically gonna remain illegal. The only solution is to marry her. She may know this already and is telling you indirectly that you guys should get married. Have you found out if the "emergency" back home is real or made up to twist your arm into marriage?

 

Out of curiosity, ask her why she did not use her J-1 visa as she was supposed to. I hope she did not just land and go to Miami or Hollywood.

 

She is not telling you the truth. If I were you, I would:

1. Sit down with her (while acting as if I am dumb about the process - of course you are not as we here on VJ have already educated you) and ask her about this Brazilian Visa. Then educate her and see if she still keeps pushing the same story (basically, upon education, she should be relieved that she does not have to apply for it. However, if she appears agitated, then you know your answer).
2. Then ask to see her PP and check when visa was issued.
3. Then you can tell her that she is fine going to Brazil and that you will come visit her. If she dumps you by end of day, you know you outsmarted her and dodged a bullet.

 

So, I just talked to her briefly. She came under the J-1 visa which was a work visa. She said it came with an "extension" but she said she is also applying for the tourist visa to cover the gap that she is waiting for the answer on getting her F-1 visa. But she said if she leaves now, she may or may not be able to come back into the U.S. I misunderstood the part about going to Brazil. She can go to Brazil, but may not be able to get back to the U.S. and has to reapply to get a visa. 

Just now, Timona said:

 

To break this down, she came on J-1 (AU-PAIR) and is now attempting to convert to Student Visa (F-1)...Now, if we go with this notion, then I see why she may have trouble re-entering the US.

 

Anyway, do your own due diligence and get all facts straight. You do not want to be played

This makes more sense to me now. So, then why would she have trouble reentering the U.S. if she is converting from J-1 to F-1? Just asking for clarification, because I am not sure exactly of what is happening here, other than what she is telling me. 

Just now, Lucky Cat said:

Is she still a student?  Has her F-1 visa expired?

So, she never started studying, but came over on the F-1. She came through the Au-Pair program as I mentioned but didn't go to school. She says it isn't expired, but that she ended up having to file paper work again, leaving her answer in limbo. So, once she gets an answer back, she will be under the F-1 visa as she was when she first came here. 

2 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

Thought about this BUT the OP said she may not be able to enter Brazil, not US. So my guess is, it is US that he may be referring to

She is here legally as I said to another poster. 

1 minute ago, Timona said:

 

There was no status that was changed when she applied for her AU-PAIR. She just got a visa to come to the US....It is the same thing that will happen when you go to Brazil. You may have to apply for Brazilian visa (I have not googled to see if USC need one). Will you apply for US Visa when coming back? The answer is NO. The same applies to her

Thanks. So, then she can move freely between the United States and Brazil without a risk of being told she can't come back to the U.S. Just as long as she has legal documents to enter the U.S. I wasn't sure if this was the case, but it is what she told me that she has to apply for a visa to get into Brazil. 

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

A change of status in the US would no impact on her ability to enter her own country.  Are you sure she is in legal status here in the US?  If she is not in legal status, that could be why she said she might not be able to re-enter the US.

She is here legally in terms of being on the student visa. However, she is waiting for an answer on the visa, because she had to reapply for it, which means she is in limbo. I am going off of what she told me. But as I said in another post, I don't know that it makes sense to apply for a visa to enter your own country if you are already a citizen. 

13 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

You can marry her in Brazil (if you qualify per Brazilian law).  She can the enter the US with a spousal visa in about 2 years.  That is how long the process takes currently.  In the mean time, she can legally visit during the spousal visa process if she has a legal entry document.

Thank you for your reply. So, it sounds like this is doable then, should we have to go this route. 

5 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Why would a Brazilian citizen need to apply for a visa to enter het own country?

I could be wrong about this, but I am thinking it is because she had to change status in order to be in the United States under the student visa. Otherwise, if she is a Brazilian citizen she wouldn't need to apply for a visa. I am just wondering if she has to apply because of a change of status when she came to the United States. 

My girlfriend is from Brazil, and she came to the United States through the Au-Pair program. She is still here legally, but she of course has family back in Brazil. She has been in the United States for about 3 years now, and is waiting for an answer on her current student visa. She said that if she had to go back to Brazil in the event of a family emergency, she might not be able to come back to the United States right away. My girlfriend has to file for a Brazilian visa which may or may not be denied. If it is denied, then she won't be able to come back to the United States. If that happens, is it possible for me to go to Brazil and marry her there, then bring us back to the United States to live? Also, does she even need to file for a Brazilian visa? My thought is that she may not need to, because of her citizenship as a Brazilian. 

My girlfriend is an in the Au pair exchange program and she has been in the United States for over 2 years. She was under the J1 student visa, and she is now waiting for what she says is an extension of that. She is still here legally and has filed for an extension (which see is still waiting on), but with the way our relationship is going, we are likely to be married. I read that there are those under the J1 visa who would be required to return back to their country for a two year residency requirement. How does one know if that applies to them? Can we do the K1 visa under the J1 visa? How does that work exactly?