What is the best option here?

[xwnx]

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to read this. Please only post informative responses and if you don't have nice comments, keep them to yourself.

My girlfriend of two years is a US Citizen and I am located in England. We have been doing long distance for a while and I have flown out many times to see her.
We have been talking about ways in which I can obtain a green card and permanent citizenship in the US. The easy answer; marriage. However, she is already wrapped up in a marriage.
She is married to another foreign citizen who is also trying to gain permanent citizenship. Most of their process is over, they have their final interview with USCIS soon and most the process is over and done with. This is a marriage she no longer wants to be in, as I have come back into her life recently. Her spouse is a somewhat manipulative guy and she married him with good intentions, however I feel as though he has merely taken advantage of her for green card purposes. We were on a long break but like I say, I have come back into her life and it feels very right now. I just got back from seeing her a couple of weeks ago and we both agree I am the person she wants to be with and start a family with.

So my question here is what is my best option? I understand the USCIS will not take lightly to her sponsoring more than one person if she files for divorce with her current spouse. I do not know how long they have to stay married for, for him to even apply for citizenship. It may look sketchy to USCIS and I don't want to be denied for that reason alone. My thoughts are coming over on a tourist visa for the maximum amount of time I am allowed (the six months). Wait some time for their marriage to blow over and later ask her to sponsor me and get re-married. However, I am not sure if there is a waiting period of sorts she would have to do before filing for another sponsor. I could say that within the 6 months on the tourist visa that was when we decided we wanted to get married and that she realised her current marriage is not right for her, but like I say, if there is not enough space between the marriages, it points towards immigration fraud which I don't want her to be accused of because of the precautions that come hand in hand with that. I also don't want the possibility of being banned from the States if they suspect that is within our intentions, even if it is not and it is just a change in circumstance with her life.

A work visa is out of the question really, as I do not consider myself a 'skilled' worker and my area of work is not in very high demand, in that employers could easily find a local suited candidate as opposed to hiring a foreigner for the sort of role I would be looking at.

Can someone give some advice or input on what my options may be?

Thank you in advance.

[Tezza]

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to read this. Please only post informative responses and if you don't have nice comments, keep them to yourself.

My girlfriend of two years is a US Citizen and I am located in England. We have been doing long distance for a while and I have flown out many times to see her.
We have been talking about ways in which I can obtain a green card and permanent citizenship in the US. The easy answer; marriage. However, she is already wrapped up in a marriage.
She is married to another foreign citizen who is also trying to gain permanent citizenship. Most of their process is over, they have their final interview with USCIS soon and most the process is over and done with. This is a marriage she no longer wants to be in, as I have come back into her life recently. Her spouse is a somewhat manipulative guy and she married him with good intentions, however I feel as though he has merely taken advantage of her for green card purposes. We were on a long break but like I say, I have come back into her life and it feels very right now. I just got back from seeing her a couple of weeks ago and we both agree I am the person she wants to be with and start a family with.

So my question here is what is my best option? I understand the USCIS will not take lightly to her sponsoring more than one person if she files for divorce with her current spouse. I do not know how long they have to stay married for, for him to even apply for citizenship. It may look sketchy to USCIS and I don't want to be denied for that reason alone. My thoughts are coming over on a tourist visa for the maximum amount of time I am allowed (the six months). Wait some time for their marriage to blow over and later ask her to sponsor me and get re-married. However, I am not sure if there is a waiting period of sorts she would have to do before filing for another sponsor. I could say that within the 6 months on the tourist visa that was when we decided we wanted to get married and that she realised her current marriage is not right for her, but like I say, if there is not enough space between the marriages, it points towards immigration fraud which I don't want her to be accused of because of the precautions that come hand in hand with that. I also don't want the possibility of being banned from the States if they suspect that is within our intentions, even if it is not and it is just a change in circumstance with her life.

A work visa is out of the question really, as I do not consider myself a 'skilled' worker and my area of work is not in very high demand, in that employers could easily find a local suited candidate as opposed to hiring a foreigner for the sort of role I would be looking at.

Can someone give some advice or input on what my options may be?

Thank you in advance.

This is obviously a pretty complicated situation especially for her. Why are they even going to their final interview if she doesn't want to be in that marriage anymore? My two cents, go for divorce from that person ASAP, especially since he has taken advantage of her for immigration purposes, something that is against the law and he should rightly be answering to the USCIS for this. She will not get in trouble for it assuming she thought the relationship was for real and not to evade immigration laws.

You've mentioned coming over on a B1 tourist visa and then once her marriage has blown over get re-married. This sounds like blatant immigrant intent and you should avoid this. When you get a tourist visa you promise the U.S government you are staying only temporarily. If you have preconceived intent to get married when you apply for that visa, you're committing visa fraud and are likely to be banned from ever applying for an immigration benefit. However, the action of getting married on a B1 visa is not in and of itself fraud, as long as you married then returned back to England so that your new spouse can sponsor you using the alien spouse petition using the basis of your marriage as her reason for petitioning you, this would mean you complete consular processing in England and if your visa is granted, you can move to the U.S to be with your spouse and then apply for Adjustment of Status for your green card to become an LPR (Legal Permanent Resident).

Another option available to you is the fiance visa, this would allow your USC fiance to petition to allow you to come to the U.S. to get married. This would mean you'd go through the consular process in the UK and if granted the visa it allows you to come to the U.S to marry your spouse within 90 days of your arrival, from here once you're married you can apply for Adjustment of Status to get your green card.

Both of these options unfortunately mean spending time away from your intended spouse. I think in general the fiance visa has a quicker processing time than the spouse visa, but it depends how busy the offices of USCIS are at that time. Just be very aware of immigrant intent as it can land you in big trouble. If you apply for a B1 tourist visa, ensure you're not intending to over stay and apply for adjustment of status. Although the overstay for an immediate relative of a USC is forgiven when applying to adjust status, it isn't if you always intended to come to the U.S using the tourist visa and never leave again. The only time it's generally acceptable is for example if you came over to visit on a tourist visa, and only after you were here did you both decide you wanted to get married, then you aren't accused of immigrant intent as the intent to stay happened later on while in the U.S and you weren't lying to the immigration officials, which is a huge no-no.

I am sure you will get lots of advice from people on the forum, hopefully I have shed some light for you.

[xwnx]

Why are they even going to their final interview if she doesn't want to be in that marriage anymore? My two cents, go for divorce from that person ASAP, especially since he has taken advantage of her for immigration purposes, something that is against the law and he should rightly be answering to the USCIS for this.

Mainly because she feels like she owes him the favour, like I say, he's a manipulative guy and because she has worked alongside him for several years. I guess she thought it was right for her at the time and that it's gone so far that there is not much point in pulling out of which. If she does, I worry that USCIS will find it sketchy that she files to sponsor someone else so soon afterwards. It's kind of a lose/lose situation and I wouldn't want her to get into any trouble, even if she went into which with good intentions.

You've mentioned coming over on a B1 tourist visa and then once her marriage has blown over get re-married. This sounds like blatant immigrant intent and you should avoid this.

I meant stay for the 6 months, go back home to England after the time is up and then ask her to file for whichever VISA would be easiest and quickest to process in regards to getting re-married. I can say that we decided on which during those 6 months and we could wait a couple months or so after the visit before filing for anything. I still do not know if it would be enough time to give so soon after the prior marriage though and that is what we are worried about.

However, the action of getting married on a B1 visa is not in and of itself fraud, as long as you married then returned back to England so that your new spouse can sponsor you using the alien spouse petition using the basis of your marriage as her reason for petitioning you, this would mean you complete consular processing in England and if your visa is granted, you can move to the U.S to be with your spouse and then apply for Adjustment of Status for your green card to become an LPR (Legal Permanent Resident).

Well this I was unaware of. I wasn't sure if it would be possible to get married in the States while on a B1 VISA, or if it would have to be clarified beforehand. As mentioned, I would rather wait out the 6 months before I apply for anything, mainly because it is more time after the current marriage and it would look rather sketchy going over so soon with the intent to marry.

Thank you for your informative response, it is much appreciated

[Tezza]

Mainly because she feels like she owes him the favour, like I say, he's a manipulative guy and because she has worked alongside him for several years. I guess she thought it was right for her at the time and that it's gone so far that there is not much point in pulling out of which. If she does, I worry that USCIS will find it sketchy that she files to sponsor someone else so soon afterwards. It's kind of a lose/lose situation and I wouldn't want her to get into any trouble, even if she went into which with good intentions.

I understand. What I would say is that she'd have more credibility with USCIS if she comes clean now to them about the situation and that she's discovered he only married her for a green card. That way it might be easier to explain your current situation, rather than going through the interview (in which she is going to have to lie to questions since things have obviously changed which would not be a good idea as any further petition from her to USCIS is likely to be denied or intensely scrutinised) and getting him a green card and then divorcing him and going through it again with you. It might be worth getting some advice from an immigration attorney as how to best deal with it.

I meant stay for the 6 months, go back home to England after the time is up and then ask her to file for whichever VISA would be easiest and quickest to process in regards to getting re-married. I can say that we decided on which during those 6 months and we could wait a couple months or so after the visit before filing for anything. I still do not know if it would be enough time to give so soon after the prior marriage though and that is what we are worried about.

Okay this would be fine. You can specify you're wanting the B1/B2 to visit your girlfriend etc. But upon doing this be wary that they can sometimes get suspicious that you may not return if they know you're visiting a girlfriend. So what you'd need to do is provide evidence of ties to your country, for example employment pay stubs, letters from employer stating you have a job, property or vehicle documents showing you own assets in your country etc. They need to be convinced that you have responsibilities to your country and will in fact leave the US before your visa expires. The same if you are granted your visa this doesn't mean you will definitely get access to the country, as you know the customs and border protection officers will ask purpose of your visit, so you will need to provide them the same evidence as the interviewing officer, so they are comfortable letting you in (this is personal experience between myself and my now-wife).

Well this I was unaware of. I wasn't sure if it would be possible to get married in the States while on a B1 VISA, or if it would have to be clarified beforehand. As mentioned, I would rather wait out the 6 months before I apply for anything, mainly because it is more time after the current marriage and it would look rather sketchy going over so soon with the intent to marry.

Yep it's definitely allowed, because a tourist visa has no rules about not being allowed to marry, as long as you leave the country before your visa expires. If you went to the US under a tourist visa with the intent to marry and not leave, that's where the fraud is, that's the immigrant intent, i.e. you knew you were not going to leave the country and therefore lied to the government immigration. But if you leave after the marriage and your USC spouse then files for the spouse visa, that will allow you to move here once approved. The other option (and arguably quicker option) is to visit here, get engaged if that's your wish, then return home and have her apply for fiance visa, in which once approved you have 90 days from entering the country to be married and then you can adjust status.

[xwnx]

However, the action of getting married on a B1 visa is not in and of itself fraud, as long as you married then returned back to England so that your new spouse can sponsor you using the alien spouse petition using the basis of your marriage as her reason for petitioning you, this would mean you complete consular processing in England and if your visa is granted, you can move to the U.S to be with your spouse and then apply for Adjustment of Status for your green card to become an LPR (Legal Permanent Resident).

Also, to add..How long does one have to go back to their country for during this time? If I was to marry her during the 6 months on the B1 Visa, go home after the 6 months, is there a period of time that I would have to wait to gain access back into the USA again?

[Tezza]

Also, to add..How long does one have to go back to their country for during this time? If I was to marry her during the 6 months on the B1 Visa, go home after the 6 months, is there a period of time that I would have to wait to gain access back into the USA again?

Yeah there is a waiting time. I am using estimates I have seen from various sources as well as USCIS, as it changes a lot. But the spouse visa waiting time is around 9-12 months generally from the time your USC spouse petitions you from the US, to you receiving your final consular interview.

The waiting time for the fiance visa from her petitioning you from the states to you having your final consular interview is around 5-8 months, but both of these time frames are always changing and it also is a case by case basis situation.

So once you left the states after your period, she could then immediately begin the petitioning process for either option dependent on which route you go - spouse or fiance.

Unfortunately with both options you and your spouse/fiance would have to spend those months apart, as in general you won't be granted access to the states while these cases are pending but it's worth it in the long run.