Green Card for European Spouse - Process in Spain or US

[sommerfugl]

Hi,
I would like to hear about people familiar with my type of situation:
-US citizen by birth
-Spouse European citizen (Spain) can travel to US on Visas Waiver (tourist visa 3 months)
-Married for 5 years (living together in Spain for the same)
-1 child (dual nationality US/Spain)

We would like to move back to the states ASAP and lots of questions are unanswered by the Embassy and UCIS website. We are trying to find the best way that we can move ASAP and stay together.

Option 1:
We apply here, in Spain, for the I-130 and G325A, they haven´t mentioned anything about the I-435.
Questions:
1. Would the I-435 still need to be filed?
2. How can I find out processing times? (here every time you call the information number you have to pay over 1.40€/minute they give me 2 local numbers in Madrid that no one answers.)
3. If the I-130 is in process, can my husband come to the US and enter legally with his visa waiver?
a. Would he be able to stay longer than 3 months?
b. Would he be able to work?

Option 2:
1. If we just go to the US, husband enters legally with the Visa Waiver, would we be able to immediately do the Concurrent filing of 130 & I-485 without him having any issues in regards to been married to me before getting to the US? (Note: I read something about "intentions" if the alien knew the US citizen before filing, but not sure if this applies to us since we have been married and living together for over 5 years and have a child together).
2. Any risk of having him deported?
3. Can he work?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide me. These are the sort of questions that after so much reading have gone unclear.

[rajban1918]

same situation

Hi,

I'm in the same situation as you (even in Spain!) except that we have been making all our plans on leaving thinking that my wife could enter on a tourist waiver visa and then we could send in the I-130 and I-435 . Two days ago I found out that it would be considered visa fraud due to the actual intentions of her entering the country not being the same as her visa.

Basically what I've found out for us is that we can risk it...big risk/big reward, or play it safe and do the waiting game (7-10 months, maybe more). I agree the ability to get information in all of this has been impossible from Madrid, which makes it very frustrating.

In your situation, if you need to go ASAP, from what I have gathered you can either risk it or have your husband stay behind for the duration of the process.

Up until now that is all the information that I've found. I noticed you asked your question three weeks ago, have you found any other information? What is/will be your decision? We are in the process of gathering all the info for the I-130, and we need to get stuff translated, so we are still a few days away from making an official decision ourselves.

Hopefully you guys have figured something out and please let us know if you have had some luck in this process!

[sommerfugl]

Re: Same situation


Hello,

Well I send the I-130 and the paperwork around 2 weeks ago via courier. I had plane tickets to go to Madrid the Wed after they stopped accepting the applications, so we didn´t go, lost the money. I got a receipt letter from the USCIS a few days ago. It contains a the receipt number and with this you can check the status of the case online. Right now our case is being reviewed. The processing time is estimated to be 5 months (same as in the states), according to the website.

Yes, I also understood that it would be considered fraud to enter with the visa waiver and then apply for residency. Since we have been married over 5 yrs and have a child I didn´t want to risk it. We will stay put until he gets the approval then take it from there. The I-145 can be requested over there which has a processing time of around 4 months right now...just waiting.

Hope that helps.

[mtouch]

The best option for the 2 of you is the K-3 visa. Good luck & update us on your case.

[sommerfugl]

work

good to know about the visa. I guess I can actually wait the 5 months.

Once they grant the I-130 we go to the states and apply for an I-145? At what point will my husband be able to work? what is the process?

[rajban1918]

Hey there,

Thanks for your quick responses guys. As I understand that to start the process for both the CR-1 and the K-3 is to send the I-130. After the NOA-1 is received, mail the I-129F, which starts the K-3 process.

Now, whichever one gets processed first will determine your route. If it's the I-130 then you have to go the CR-1 route, wait it out, have the medical, interview, etc and then when your spouse enters he will be able to work right away. If the I-129F gets processed first I think you have the medical and interview, and get the K-3 visa which allows your husband to legally enter, but then he has to do the I-485 route (I think that is what you mean when you say I-145), which is the adjustment of status from a K-3 to a legal resident.

In the past I think the K-3 was used to get the spouse over quicker, but from what I've been reading they both take about the same time now, and with the CR-1 your spouse enters as a legal resident and can work, but on the K-3 there is still lots to do in the states to solidify those two conditions.

I do have a question for you sommerfugl, were you ever able to get in touch with somebody at the madrid embassy regarding all of this stuff? It's quite sad how difficult/expensive it is to get good advice from them.

Keep me informed of your progress and I'll do the same. At the moment we are waiting for some paperwork and then we have to get it translated (wedding certificate, empadronamiento of both us, etc to provide extra evidence as we are recently married without children or bank accounts together yet).

Good luck!

[sommerfugl]

Madrid..

Note that you can request, for most of the certificates, what they call here "plurilingual", after all we are in Europe , at least I know the marriage and birth certificates can be requested in this format.

As far as I understand once the I-130 is approved he can travel to the US and apply for adjustment of status over there.

So, I got the info last year or so, when they were still answering the phones in Madrid and providing info. A few weeks ago I called again to verify the info I got was still valid, that is when I found out about the expensive way of giving free info. The lady that answered gave me a phone number in Madrid because my case was related an inmediate family member. Anyways, those number are never answered. I finally found a lady, don't even remember how, at the front desk that provided me with an email address. I emailed them and then they confirmed what I needed.

My marriage took place in a US territory and I reported the birth of my daughter right away so she alreay had her US birth certificate. Overall gathering the paperwork was easy because I had them here so I just had to make copies. I had to send the following: marriage certificate, baby's birth certificate, divorce decree, passports, name change, G-325A forms and photos. We have been married and living together in Spain for over 5 yrs now. I believe after 2 yrs you don't have to proof bona fide.
I will sit back and wait...will keep you posted, but I imagine less than 4 months it will not take. Keep me posted on your situation.

[sommerfugl]

Hey there,

Thanks for your quick responses guys. As I understand that to start the process for both the CR-1 and the K-3 is to send the I-130. After the NOA-1 is received, mail the I-129F, which starts the K-3 process.

Now, whichever one gets processed first will determine your route. If it's the I-130 then you have to go the CR-1 route, wait it out, have the medical, interview, etc and then when your spouse enters he will be able to work right away. If the I-129F gets processed first I think you have the medical and interview, and get the K-3 visa which allows your husband to legally enter, but then he has to do the I-485 route (I think that is what you mean when you say I-145), which is the adjustment of status from a K-3 to a legal resident.

In the past I think the K-3 was used to get the spouse over quicker, but from what I've been reading they both take about the same time now, and with the CR-1 your spouse enters as a legal resident and can work, but on the K-3 there is still lots to do in the states to solidify those two conditions.

I do have a question for you sommerfugl, were you ever able to get in touch with somebody at the madrid embassy regarding all of this stuff? It's quite sad how difficult/expensive it is to get good advice from them.

Keep me informed of your progress and I'll do the same. At the moment we are waiting for some paperwork and then we have to get it translated (wedding certificate, empadronamiento of both us, etc to provide extra evidence as we are recently married without children or bank accounts together yet).

Good luck!

FYI, I just checked the status and as of Sep 8 they approved the I-130. Waiting on the letter and trying to figure out next steps. Cuz I am not sure if with that we can just go and he can apply for the Adjusment of Status over there.

[rajban1918]

Glad to hear it was accepted! I'm still waiting for some paperwork and hopefully by this weekend will have it sent out.

Keep me updated and inform yourself about whether you can go or not. Honestly from everything I have read in this forum and in others (do a google search, vj is a good place too) it sounds like you have to wait in Spain until he gets the visa. For me your plan of going now and applying for the AOS doesn't add up, and I wish it did, because we are feeling stuck here unfortunately.

I'll keep you updated as well.

[sommerfugl]

I will update you when I get the letter to see what it says. I am in no rush, at least for the next few months, to move back to the states. So, I can wait patiently a few months. Once he get it we will get organized to start the moving process etc.

[sommerfugl]

Rajban,

I just received 2 emails, one with a letter to me as the petitioner and another one for my husband as the applicant. The first one to pay the Affidavit for support fees $88, and the other one to get in contact with the NVC via email and submit some information. I took care of both of them now waiting on next steps, since here in Spain there is no electronic processing.
I just don't know about the affidavit for support because I am currently working in Spain, have a contract to start next year but didn't see anywhere in the application where I could specify that. I will wait and see next steps. Let me know if you know anything on how to submit that. What step are you currently on? It is going fairly fast I think...