Prospect

[CyrusLight]

I would like to preface this post with a humble statement - I am new to this website, and due to the(perceived) complexity of the questions I'm about to expose, I am unsure of whether this is the right thread to ask them in. I would also like to preemptively thank anyone kind enough to read through the whole thing and post, as well!

So, where do I start... for context, here's the information I believe to be important:
- 20-year old male from Portugal
- Completed high school, frequented a couple semesters in university but did not conclude it
- Have a C2-level Cambridge certificate, as far as skill with the English language goes(but even if that doesn't matter, I'm fairly sure a simple conversation would suffice for a test)
- Passable Spanish, but I could always learn with experience, which I believe would be made easier by my Portuguese background
- Work experience based mostly around customer service/call center
- Currently working at a big Portuguese airport
(If there's any other information you need to know about me, I'll gladly answer)

The reason behind my posting in this specific thread is because my prospect is to adjust my status from a visitor/tourist visa to a worker/spouse visa at a later point in time, but to do that, I need to know exactly what to do, what to expect and what to have, be it in terms of paperwork or requirements. It won't be happening for a while, but I want to gather all the information I need as soon as possible. Y'know, just to spare the workload I'll have finding it under more pressure, further down the line.

So, as I just mentioned, I'm looking to move to the US, particularly Austin, TX. I used to be adamant about getting a work visa right off the bat, but recently, my manager reminded me that I could always get a visitor visa, stay in the US for a while, and then make the adjustment of status from there. At first, this idea sounded great, and I was surprised I hadn't thought about it before. So, this is where my questions come from.

I've done some digging around already, staying as close to official sources as possible, about the whole process, but now I have three options:

- Get the tourist visa, stay in the US for a while and find a job where the employer is willing to help with the work visa
- Get the tourist visa, stay in the US for a while and work on getting the spouse visa
- Wait until the green card lottery later this year

From here, the most viable options seem to be the first and third ones. However, I am not 100% certain of what the entire process entails, for example, if I went with the first one. During my stay in the States, should I find a suitable job, will I be required to return to Portugal before making the definite move? What kind of documents would be necessary to keep at hand, what procedures would have to take place, associated costs, necessary travels, and everything else along with those. Furthermore, assuming I don't do anything stupid while in the States, is it possible to request an adjustment of status from a tourist visa to a spouse/work visa? Are there any complications to have in mind? What sorts and levels of preparation should I work on before making plans to travel?

From my understanding, getting a visitor visa is fairly easy, so my question lies on how to go from there on to(hopefully) lawful permanent residence. Again, any additional information required will be gladly provided. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and answer my queries.

[azblk]

There is very few routes to move to the US and get permanent residence and from what you have posted you do not qualify for any of them. I will attempt to give a summary of the process :

1. Family based: You need to be a relative ( parent, child, spouse or sibling) of a US citizen. You can also be a spouse or minor child of a permanent resident.
2. Employment based: you need sponsorship from a company or corporation for a specific job where there is a shortage of local candidates.
3. Investor based : You must be capable of starting a business and investing a certain sum of money and create a certain number of jobs to qualify.
4. Asylum / Refugee: Must have a credible fear of persecution if you were to return to you home land.
5. EB1-1 : You can self sponsor in this category if you have extra ordinary abilities like top sportsmen, scientists and actors.
6. Private bill : You need an act of congress for this one.

Those are basically the routes you need to take in summary. It might not be exhaustive but those are the most common. Coming to US with a tourist visa with intention of changing to a work visa is considered visa fraud.

[Tezza]

Coming to the US on a tourist visa with the intent on "possibly" staying and getting a job is not a valid option unfortunately. You need to have specific employment sponsorship prior to coming here so that you arrive using the employment route, but as was said above my comment, there must be a shortage of local candidates for a "skilled" job for this case. By simply coming as a tourist you are only authorized to be here as a tourist for a limited time, and then you must leave the United States, if you come to the US with intent on pursing a spouse visa, you'd be committing visa fraud as your visa is a nonimmigrant one as a tourist.

If you visit the country and meet a US Citizen and hit it off and that eventually turns into a marriage, that's probably the best route for you from the information you provided. If that happens you have a couple of choices. You can marry in the US on the tourist visa and once you go back home your USC spouse petitions for you to move to the US to adjust status based on your marriage, assuming it's bona fide of course. The other route is to return to your home country unmarried but having got engaged, then your USC fiance can petition for you to come to the US as his/her fiance and get married within 90 days of entry. But please, avoid using a B1/B2 tourist visa or visa waiver (VWP) as a means to come to the US in order to try and stay, this is fraud because when you gained the tourist visa or VWP you promised that you would only come for leisure/business. Then when you get to port of entry and the customs officer asks you for the reason for your visit and you tell them just to see the country, but you intend to stay permanently, you're lying then also.

There are a number of routes but they're very restricted, and evading immigration laws is the worst way to go about it as this is the quickest way to get yourself banned from ever getting an immigration benefit in the future.

[CyrusLight]

I see. First of all, thank you both for your answers!

From what I saw, yes, sponsorship by a spouse sounds like the best idea. But in that case, there is another option I asked about - the green card lottery. Judging by the name, I'm assuming this is essentially skipping the visa step and going straight to lawful permanent residence, correct? In this case, I deduce it's all luck-dependent, and as for the procedures to be taken, I should have the instructions on the website itself, right?

I understand that I might be asking for more than I can have, but I am quite determined to get there.

[kaylip]

Why don't u come over on a student visa? Look for scholarships & apply at every University. The truth is, u won't be able to find any good work without a Bachelor's in Science degree. Over here, a high school diploma won't cut it to get a work visa. Work visas are issued to people with Master's and Doctorates. It's highly competitive and thousands of Indian Nationals get these visas because they are highly educated.
If u apply for a student visa obviously you will eventually find a girlfriend whom u may or may not marry, who knows! But the point is with the student visa u are developing & preparing yourself for future success & start a family (adjust status to permanent resident through marriage). It's a win, win

[Mellymoo]

You can marry in the US on the tourist visa and once you go back home your USC spouse petitions for you to move to the US to adjust status based on your marriage, assuming it's bona fide of course. The other route is to return to your home country unmarried but having got engaged, then your USC fiance can petition for you to come to the US as his/her fiance and get married within 90 days of entry. But please, avoid using a B1/B2 tourist visa or visa waiver (VWP) as a means to come to the US in order to try and stay, this is fraud because when you gained the tourist visa or VWP you promised that you would only come for leisure/business. Then when you get to port of entry and the customs officer asks you for the reason for your visit and you tell them just to see the country, but you intend to stay permanently, you're lying then also.

If you are in the country and get married to a USC you do not have to return to your home country amd have your spouse petition you. Once you are married you can adjust status from within the US by filing concurrently. However you wont be able to leave until you get permission to do so.

BUT I agree with the others. Coming over with the intention of committing visa fraud or finding someone to marry in order to circumvent immigration law is risky business.

Your best bet would be applying for a student visa and going from there.

[CyrusLight]

If you are in the country and get married to a USC you do not have to return to your home country amd have your spouse petition you. Once you are married you can adjust status from within the US by filing concurrently. However you wont be able to leave until you get permission to do so.

BUT I agree with the others. Coming over with the intention of committing visa fraud or finding someone to marry in order to circumvent immigration law is risky business.

Your best bet would be applying for a student visa and going from there.

Of course, of course, I would not want to go for fraudulent ways! So then, another idea - do trade schools provide scholarships? I was thinking of enrolling in one of those courses eventually, but not an actual university, since... as far as I see it, the matters I could see myself studying wouldn't demand a college degree. Something in hospitality perhaps, or tourism, or related.

Also... what of the green card lottery? Is that not a possible, even if unlikely option?

[Tezza]

If you are in the country and get married to a USC you do not have to return to your home country amd have your spouse petition you. Once you are married you can adjust status from within the US by filing concurrently. However you wont be able to leave until you get permission to do so.

BUT I agree with the others. Coming over with the intention of committing visa fraud or finding someone to marry in order to circumvent immigration law is risky business.

Your best bet would be applying for a student visa and going from there.

I know you do not have to return home if you get married to a USC while here, but you have to be careful in mentioning things like that on an open forum so it's not misconstrued. I've tried to make clear that if you are thinking of marrying someone in the US and not returning home, but do so on a tourist visa, you leave yourself open to possible questions on intent, i.e. did you plan to marry before you came and in this case, he is considering marriage. So I advised that if he's considering coming over to marry, he's running close to immigrant intent but to circumvent that, return home and have the USC apply for a spouse visa. I don't want to give advice that tells him he should come here on his tourist visa, get married and then adjust, because from what he's said it's very close to immigrant intent.

To avoid all possible issues, come over on a tourist visa to visit your girlfriend, get engaged and when you return home, apply for a fiance visa. It's safer in terms of it doesn't question anything in regards to immigrant intent and it's generally faster than a spouse visa.

If you do decide to follow the advice of someone else and come here as a tourist, marry and then adjust status, be careful, it's a risky area and I don't want to condone it.

[Cheburashka]

Green card "diversity" lottery is always an option but, as you said, it's a matter of luck.

[miiki]

Small schools and trade schools may not sponsor foreign students. Stick to universities for the most part. There are university degrees in tourism and hospitality or even business management.

And a green card or permanent residence is a type of immigrant visa. This is in contrast to nonimmigrant visas such as for tourism or students.