General questions, need help.

[Xtek]

Ok, here's my situation...

My spouse is currently living in England, UK. We have recently decided that it'd be best for him to immigrate to the United States. I am currently and always have been a U.S. Citizen. He currently has a I-94 Visa that expires in November of 2006 and plans on coming to the US within the next month or so. He would like to obtain permanent residance to the US. I've been reading up on immigration into the US for about a week now and it's so confusing to me so I'm asking the community for help. So here are my quetsions...

1) Which type of immigration would be the best route? (Greencard, Naturalization, Employment)
2) Should he come to the US and stay whilst we go through the immigration process?
3) If he enters the US on a Visa and he files for papers for Green Card/Citzenship and the Visa expires can he stay in the US?

Thought I would have more questions, guess not. I thank everyone in advance for at least taking the time to read this becuase this person means so much to me and I've been spending every ounce of free time I've had lately on researching this and trying to find a community to discuss and ask questions about this with.

EDIT: Sorry if my questions are a little unclear, I'm still trying to grasp my brain around all these form numbers and processes it takes.

Thank you,
Chad

[niranjandeo]

1) Which type of immigration would be the best route? (Greencard, Naturalization, Employment)

A) If he is your spouse, it should be easy for him to apply for a green card (maybe even citizenship?). Check out this website: https://www.immihelp.com/family-base...ard/index.html

2) Should he come to the US and stay whilst we go through the immigration process?

A) I don't know if that would matter. He's a British citizen so he doesn't need a visa to travel (provided he has a biometric passport I think).

3) If he enters the US on a Visa and he files for papers for Green Card/Citzenship and the Visa expires can he stay in the US?

A) As far as I understand, visa is permission to enter the country. Your stay is limited by the date on the I-94 card. You have to leave the country by the date on the I-94. (BTW I-94 is not a visa).


Do check out the travel.state.gov website. They literally have all the information on it.

[Xtek]

Thank you very much for the reply, I used the wrong word when I referred to him as my spouse. Him getting into the country via marrige is currently not an option. So is an employment visa the only option?

Thanks,
-Chad

[niranjandeo]

I don't know if it is the only option, but it is definitely one of the easier options if he wants to migrate since a work visa is a dual intent visa. He will need to find an employer who is willing to file an H-1B petition for him, which is easier if he is well qualified (at minimum has a bachelor's degree).

What I've written above is all speculative. You could look into the travel.state.gov website and research various ways of getting residency in the US. Then ascertain which one is relevant/easier for his case, and then look up which forms you need to fill out.

Remember that he is a British citizen so he can always visit you for short periods without having to get a visa. Immigration is a very long process (my guess - at least 6 years for Indians, maybe less for British citizens), so you have a few years to look through the documentation and figure out the optimal way for him to immigrate.

-Niranjan

[Xtek]

Yeah, a work visa looks like the best option to go for him. I know some people who run different companies and that would sponsor him for me. He could just keep renewing his visa I guess until he could obtain full citezenship/permanent residance.

Thanks a lot for your feedback and replies.

-Chad