Change of Visa Category?

[wildrover]

Hi all!

A friend has been working in the US for over 3 years now. He is an Irish citizen & employed by an international company who have transferred him over there on a year-to-year basis. I’m not exactly sure of what exact category his visa is, but I do know that he does come home once a year specifically to renew his work visa & has to bring various documents prepared by the company’s lawyers etc to the US Embassy in Ireland. His visa was renewed & is valid for another year.

He & his girlfriend (who is a US citizen) live together in the US & they have a two year old son. They recently came to Ireland on a vacation & got engaged whilst they were here. They are in two minds as to whether or not they will come to Ireland to live at some future stage, or whether they would like to live in the US, but either way they would like the choice. They plan to marry but don’t know if they should marry in the US & process an application there to change his status, or whether they should marry in Ireland & apply from this end, or a combination of both.

My question is what options are available for him & what would be the best avenue for them to take regarding the application process? He doesn’t want to have to be apart from his fiancée for a long period of time, firstly for obvious reasons, but especially because of his son.

Can they apply for a fiancée visa, & if so would that affect his present status, or should they wait until his present visa is about to expire & do something nearer the time?

Hope this makes sense!

[nichole]

First off-- people get a K1 or K3 visa just to get legally admitted into the US. It doesn't mean they can stay there permanently. They get in with permission to live in the US while they apply for AOS (green card.)

Your friend is already admitted to the US legally (for work). Most people in that situation marry and adjust status while in the US. They file the I-130 petition along with the AOS paperwork....all together. So study up on that, over the K visas to see if that is the route to go. I don't know the rules, but I know people do that when they already live in the US legally.

[wildrover]

First off-- people get a K1 or K3 visa just to get legally admitted into the US. It doesn't mean they can stay there permanently. They get in with permission to live in the US while they apply for AOS (green card.)

Your friend is already admitted to the US legally (for work). Most people in that situation marry and adjust status while in the US. They file the I-130 petition along with the AOS paperwork....all together. So study up on that, over the K visas to see if that is the route to go. I don't know the rules, but I know people do that when they already live in the US legally.

Thanks Nichole!

It looks as if they would be better off marrying in the US & then going down the I-130 route.