tokori

A minor clarification. If you're a US Citizen parent who has lived in the US for the required time (I think it's five years, at least two of which were after the age of 14), then your child IS a citizen automatically at the time of birth by the action of the law, and there's nothing you can do or fail to do which will change that. It's as though he was born inside the USA. See INA 301(g).

What your child lacks isn't US citizenship, it's documentation of his US citizenship. For that, file a CRBA, and/or apply for a passport.

Your US citizen child technically violated the law when he traveled to the US without a US passport. Don't worry, though, there's no punishment prescribed in the law, and I've never heard of it being an issue. Just get him a passport before his next trip.

I lived in the US till I was about 27, I still pay (quite a bit, might I add) taxes to the US even though my residency is in Europe.. so those requirements should not be a problem. I assumed because he had a passport from the EU going to the US before deciding if we wanted to get him US citizenship wouldn't be violating anything since we had no intentions of moving back (and we still may not be depedning on how messy DCF would be for my husband).. .. I guess that's where I got confused.

I am American, my husband is German. We have been living abroad over a year. I have maintained my US domicile

My son was born in the EU, has his EU citizenship but we have yet to file for his US citizenship.

I would like to DCF for them but since he has traveled to the US and back as an 'Austrian citizen' only, I am wonder what exactly we would need to do for him to DCF for US citizenship as well?

Since he is well under 18 I am having trouble finding much information online other then all US citizens must enter the US with a US passport..

does anyone know what is listed on the certificate of good conduct? and how it is listed?

e.g. does it list only arrest? or also misdemeanors?

I ask because we are being asked to present them and last year my sister and I were slightly drunk and thought it would be cute to share a metrocard swap (fare invasion i think its called) at about 3am the night of her birthday.. .. we were caught by a policeman, given a ticket of sorts for $60 but I have no idea the level of this crime and if it would appear on a criminal record as a misdemeanor or violation or what.. ..

does anyone know how this sort of thing would effect your record when you have no other 'marks'? or for that matter-- what sort of crimes are listed on the certificates? and how does this affect AOS for my husband.

Are you talking about New York City? (NYC) or National Visa Center (NVC).

If NVC that department has little to do with Direct Consulate Filing.

You need to get police certs from your country to provide to the consulate for the visa.

Look at police records info here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3505.html

NYC department. I was wondering what they list, is it only arrest or everything?

does anyone know what is listed on NYC's certificates of good conduct? is it only events which required jail time or any and all police activity?

I bet Austria will be great. I hope everything works out for you all.

I hope so. After reading about the whole process in the US I am already afraid and fearful of what is going to happen once I get off the plane in austria.

Hopefully I can find someone who has been through the Austrian process and can tell me what to expect

I guess it could be good to keep in mind that he is generally the only one able to possess dual citizenship in this. Austria does not allow dual citizenship to naturalized citizens. Germany is the same way, so I know how lame that is. If he got citizenship, then at least one problem is solved. The other one can only be solved I guess by eventually moving to another EU country that allows dual citizenship for naturalized citizens.

Anyway, I hope you are able to figure something out. Ideally, I would like to live half the year in Germany, 3 months in Denmark, and 3 in the US, but that ain't gonna happen right now.

interesting. i didnt realize Austria wouldn't do that.

i guess right now, we need to worry about me being able to get into austria, then go one step at a time from there

If your intention is to move permanently to Austria, then I wouldn't worry about US immigration period right now.

thats the whole issue. we don't know what our intentions are.

in the perfect world we would live in austria half the year and half the year in the US but it seems both countries assume you only want to be in their country and no where else (at least the US won't let us be gone for more then a year without my husband losing his green card according to our lawyer).

Our careers pretty much call for us to be jet setting on a regular basis and I know people who do do that- its just a question of how and for how often.

I assume once we have kids and they have to start school we will have to settle down a bit, but until then, we are sort of in this black hole of not knowing what is the best thing to do or how to do it.

Hm, I was just reading a little on the process in Austria. Seems a little bit more complicated than the one in Germany, but still easier than the one to the US. I am pretty sure that they are just looking to see that you have no criminal background, sufficent financial means, etc. Doesn't look like anything too difficult or strange.

Why is it that you want to move to Austria?

Do you speak any German?

I haven't found much online about the process of moving to austria, beside the embassy which basically says show up to the local office in the region and apply and go from there. it seems very locally done which stresses me out a bit because there isn't much structure.

We are considering moving to Austria for good, which is why we haven't applied for AOS here. We both just finished graduate school and I am done with my fellowship in September. I speak ok german and I have been to Europe more times then I can count-- so Im not worried about culture shock too much..

We are both in a field where we can work independently so its more a question of where we want to establish a career and family then it is about the process being DCF or AOS. It just seems that if we are going to be there anyways, we should apply for DCF and save ourselves trouble doing the AOS here instead...

My husband has been in the US since 2002 as a student, so he is well adjusted to living here and I would like to give Austria a try, since we know the US works for us already. We live in a very very expensive area of the US and the cost of living here is insane, being able to even have a family here is sort of even out of the question.. which is another reason why Austria appeals to me.

anyhow, if anyone has any personal experience immigrating to Austria, knows about the process or live there I would love to talk to you. Also, same goes for DCF into the US from Vienna.

Danke!

Too bad the same is not the same for the US. We are stuck here until my husband naturalizes.

I wish I could be of more help. Just doesn't seem to be that many Austro-American couples around now that I look at the Austria members pages. :/

yeah. I fear the DCF process and I fear even more the AOS process if we decide to do it from the US. I was told to expect the process to take 6-9 months assuming all is smooth and we can't leave the US during that time.

I just wish I could find someone who has recently immigrated to Austria from the US or as an Austrian to the US via DCF. Both processes look like they might be painless but I am fearing the worst and would love some first hand experiences..

I just don't want to move to Austria, only to be turned about 3 months later by their immigration offices.

I have no idea how different Austria is, but when I got married in Germany, all we had to do was go down to the Ausländeramt and register our marriage with them and fill out a short application for my aufenthaltserlaubnis. It took three days and then I just picked up my passport with my three year card stuck in it and a note allowing me go to the Arbeitsamt and apply for an arbeitserlaubnis. It was all free, fast, painless. Nothing compared to the Hell it is to do things the other way around and DCF IS the easy way.

My husband called the local offices in Austria; apparently its all done 'locally' within the region you live in.

They said I come into Austria as a tourist, and show up at the local office with some documents (an application, criminal record, marriage and birth cards + a passport photo) and I should have my Aufenhaltsgenehmigung andErwerbserlaubniss within the period of my tourist visa.

I guess I'm curious who/how they decide if I get to stay, if there is any interview process etc. It almost looks too easy compared to the US process which is maybe why I am skeptical.

I would maybe check in your portal for other people who may have filed DCF through Vienna for questions about Austrian bureaucracy.

thank you, I'll check. I just wasn't sure if the residency was defined during the DCF by Austria or the US.

Also, does anyone know where I could find people who have also had to migrate to Austria and were already married to the Austrian citizen? I can't find anything online with information as to what this process is like as a USC applying for residency in Austria

thanks

You have to check what the corresponding consulate considers proof of residency, and how long time is required.- check it here: http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/

I think you can travel as the USC. It should be perfectly fine I think.

I did check, but there was no information as to what qualifies as a resident. I would assume proof of time spent there, a lease, etc should work? I need to find a lawyer in Austria but haven't had any luck

Also, how does the US determine your residency in the country? From the date of my residency permit from Austria? a lease?

One issue is I will be travel back and forth to the US for work even though I will be living in Austria for the year. Is that even allowed? Or as the USC must I stay completely out of the US for the 6 months prior to applying for my husbands DCF?

thanks

The consular officer looks at the big picture, they look at marital evidence for bona fide relationship.

A big thing that hangs many doing DCF is the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

US Citizen spouse MUST provide an I-864. I-864 requires 2 things, First: the US Citizen must have maintaind US domicile (Maintained a US bank account, kept receiving mail to a US address, maintained their US Driver's license, etc..), AND Second: have been filing IRS returns while out of the country. (US Citizen may be exempt from paying tax on foreign income, but is not exempt from filing returns)

You can use a Joint sponsor, in the USA, but you must be primary sponsor.

thats good to know. I will be maintaining all of my investments and bank accounts while in austria and my mail will be forwarded back to my parents home address, Ill also be sure to renew my liscenes before leaving and make sure I keep filing taxes with the IRS.

As for the sponsor- how do they determine if I am worthy or not?

I am currently in the early stages of apply for my residency permit as a USC in Austria to live with my Austrian husband there for the next year.

From what I can tell the process is relatively 'easy' for me. The application for Austrian residency is filed by district not nationally, I bring my birth, marriage and criminal records to the local offices and then things are processed. The process seems to be very personal and we work with one person for the entire process until I am approved. Within 2-3 months I was told I would received my work and residency permits and rarely does it take longer? I am curious how they decide to approve or not approve a person?

There wasn't any more information I could find on the process, it seems rather simple

Has any USC migrated to Austria and can share their experience about it?

At some point late this year or early next year we will file for my Austrians husbands green card via DCF. So again, any personal experiences (or lawyer recommendations!) are appreciated.

I am curious and very nervous to know what the process for me as well as him will be like.

I've been reading over the forums and it looks like some people are interviewed during the AOS process while others are just granted AOS without interviews. Is this correct? and is there any reason or logic as to why some people get interviewed and others do not?

You have this in AOS forum. Have you filed for a visa for him (K-3) to adjust from? Are you adjusting from the F-1? Did you apply for AP with the AOS in order to travel out of country while waiting for AOS.

US YOU http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=38375

no, we haven't begun any AOS process because we are unsure still of where we are going to live and dont want to apply for immigration until we decide what country to move to.

right now he is and has been here on his F-1 until we decide where we want to settle

My husband graduated in December 2007 and hasn't received his OPT yet because some of the application was missing when sent in (a photo). He is due to return to the US next week but doesn't have the OPT card yet. Just the F-1 which is missing the 'stamp' from the school as he is no longer a student but he has the 1-20 form and I-797.

has anyone managed to come back into the US while the OPT is being processed and not have it void completely? We can't find anything online about it that is black and white.

The lawyer I talked to in NYC yesterday said my husband could get an green card and be in the US and still maintain his Austrian status as well, however I don't know enough about immigration yet to know how a green card and citizenship is different exactly.

Whats important to us is that we can travel multiple times across the Atlantic in a year and not have it effect our status in either country

So, long story long.

My husband and I got married Dec 1, 2007. He's EU, I'm US.

We graduated with our Master's Dec 12, 2007 and applied for his OPT in October of 2007. He is still awaiting his OPT card and thought he could leave the country without the OPT no problem (this however I found out is not the case after he left and failed to research).

So he is currently in Austria (his home country) awaiting his OPT- which, in theory, assuming they grant it, he should be getting any day now to our address in the USA- they said 2-3 months and he received the verification they received his application a while ago.

My questions are the following:

a) As he has graduated and then left to go abroad without the OPT. If he does not receive the OPT, what options does he have to come back to the US as quickly as possible?

B) If he does receive the OPT, what is our best option at that point once he is back in the US?

c) Has anyone managed to be able to get dual-citizenship from the EU/US? We are both artist so we travel between the two often and would most likely be going such for the remainder of our careers.

I would not risk traveling afterwards, if you want to travel, travel before you get married, then come back and get married.

hmmm thats kind of what I was thinking of also but my partner was more excited about doing it in December. It sounds smart to wait ..

thing is, we aren't sure if we will stay in the US after school or not- honestly we might both move to canada....

soooooo anyone recommend a good immigration lawyer- online or who works in the state of NY and.//or is willing to help a poor graduate student with a simple question!?

Ok so heres the deal.

My fiance is here on his F1 visa, since 2002, we met in 2006. He is in the process of applying for OPT to start in December 2007 for one year full time or two years part time.

He (as do I) also graduates from our graduate program in December and we are currently planning on eloping when we finish our thesis dissertations in mid-December.

here's where it gets gray for me:

We are going to Europe a week after graduation and marrying here in the US, (he is EU, I am US) to travel for two months before coming back to start work in late Feb or early March of next year in the states....

Is this technically legal for us to marry then leave and not file AOS until we return, since he is/will be here on an OPT/F1 legally? Or once we are married must we stay in the US regardless of if/when we apply for AOS?

Has anyone been in this sort of situation or can advise me on what the guidelines are in this circumstance?

Thanks Visa-Gurus!

Qualifications aren't really taken into account when applying for marriage-based permanent residency. The wait will depend in part on how long it takes the FBI to complete his name check. That could be quickly, or it could take years. If he has a very common name, he's likely to get caught up in it for a while.

awesome- its very uncommon so that helps

also for the proof of financial support, it says I need 125x the poverty line (which is 13,690) so I need something like 1.7 million dollars for my fiance to immigrate?