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Please help. Am a GC holder, planning to sponsor GC for spouse in India. Complicated.
Thanks for reading this thread. I am a green card holder. I will not qualify for citizenship until 2016 (and even after that, it may take time for the Naturalization process itself). However, I would like to marry someone from my own country, India who is in India. I know that I can apply for her Green Card after our wedding. And until her GC is approved (AP issued?), she has to keep waiting in India – which can be two and half years from the time of application (as per current rates of processing). Therefore, I am exploring options that can help us stay together for as long as possible. In that regard, can you help answer the following questions?
1) Can she apply for a tourist visa (or other independent visa) and come here? While in US, can we get married and apply for her GC here? When her GC is pending, will she then have to go back to India when the date on her I-94 is due? Or can she stay on based on the current status of being married to me?
2) If she has to go back to India, can she come back to visit US while her GC is pending here OR, as soon as her GC is applied here, is her tourist visa automatically revoked?
3) Does she need someone to sponsor her tourist (B1) visa from US? Or can she apply for a tourist visa independently and then come here (with of course additional risk of being denied since she is young).
4) What is the difference between F2A and FX1 visa categories? Are all applicants from India (and China, Mexico, Philippines) automatically slotted into the F2A category?
5) If the immigration bill becomes law and her visa number is current, at what stage might she be able to come to US?
I know that if the immigration bill is passed a lot of this heartburn will not occur. But since it looks like the House may not pass anything soon , I am thinking of alternatives within the existing system.
Best wishes and thanks a lot for your help in advance.
1) Can she apply for a tourist visa (or other independent visa) and come here? While in US, can we get married and apply for her GC here? When her GC is pending, will she then have to go back to India when the date on her I-94 is due? Or can she stay on based on the current status of being married to me?
2) If she has to go back to India, can she come back to visit US while her GC is pending here OR, as soon as her GC is applied here, is her tourist visa automatically revoked?
3) Does she need someone to sponsor her tourist (B1) visa from US? Or can she apply for a tourist visa independently and then come here (with of course additional risk of being denied since she is young).
4) What is the difference between F2A and FX1 visa categories? Are all applicants from India (and China, Mexico, Philippines) automatically slotted into the F2A category?
5) If the immigration bill becomes law and her visa number is current, at what stage might she be able to come to US?
I know that if the immigration bill is passed a lot of this heartburn will not occur. But since it looks like the House may not pass anything soon , I am thinking of alternatives within the existing system.
Best wishes and thanks a lot for your help in advance.
