Immigration Site

Hi,

I am writing this on behalf of a Brazilian friend of mine, and will explain as best I can. I hope I have posted this in the correct section.

Sarah is currently living in Brazil with her parents. For a while, she was living in the America while her parents were on a religious visa. This has finished, they were asked to leave America, and as a result, they are all now living in Brazil.

While living in America, Sarah met a guy (who is brazilian also), and they eventually got engaged. They would like to get married sometime in August this year.

Her fiance is currently living in America, and has only recently received his green card. I understand he will have this green card for the next few years at least.

Sarah is trying to find a way to be with her fiance in America. They would both like to live together there, and are not wanting to live in Brazil, as this would mean her fiance losing his green card.

I understand from my research that because her fiance is not a US citizen yet, and has just received his green card, it will take a long time before he can bring Sarah to live with him. They do not want to get married and apply for a I-130, only to then be separated for years whilst waiting for a visa number to become available. Does anyone know how long it would likely take for a visa number to become available?

so it looks like the only option would be to wait until he is a citizen, and then try to bring his fiancйe to America to live with him, but this will mean waiting at least another few years before this becomes possible.

(This seems really harsh on those holder of green cards, as separation from partners seems highly likely!)

I have looked into the various visas, and I cannot seem to find any visa which would be applicable in their situation, so they could be together now. Sarah was thinking of applying for a student visa, and doing a 4 year course there (she has relationship with a college there who would invite her), but it looks like, as she is engaged to a green card holder, she will likely be refused this visa as she cannot prove her intent to return to Brazil after the course has finished. (which of course is not her intent anyway). Could someone confirm this?

I have also tried to look into the option of a business visa (H-2B) for her. Would she be eligible to apply for one of these, if she were able to find a job there?

I guess there is the possibility of 6 months in Brazil, followed by 6 months in the US, for the next few years, but that is hardly ideal, and also doubtful that Sarah would be able to prove her intent to return to Brazil at the end of each visit, plus, it would prove expensive with all the costs of flights.

Her fiance was also looking into the option of joining the forces in the US, as apparently you could then become a citizen after one year? is this correct?

I would appreciate any advice you can offer,

thanks,
Andy

They would both like to live together there, and are not wanting to live in Brazil, as this would mean her fiance losing his green card. He could obtain a reentry permit, which would let him stay outside the US for 2 years without losing his green card.


I have looked into the various visas, and I cannot seem to find any visa which would be applicable in their situation, so they could be together now. Sarah was thinking of applying for a student visa, and doing a 4 year course there (she has relationship with a college there who would invite her), but it looks like, as she is engaged to a green card holder, she will likely be refused this visa as she cannot prove her intent to return to Brazil after the course has finished. (which of course is not her intent anyway). Could someone confirm this? Thats true. Getting a student visa while having a green card fiance will be problematic.

I have also tried to look into the option of a business visa (H-2B) for her. Would she be eligible to apply for one of these, if she were able to find a job there? Like student and tourist visas, the H2B visa also has the requirement of demonstrating the intent to return to ones home country (or otherwise leave the US) after the status has ended. Its H1B that exempts the visa holder from that requirement.

Her fiance was also looking into the option of joining the forces in the US, as apparently you could then become a citizen after one year? is this correct? Yes, military service normally makes a green card holder eligible for citizenship in one year. Sooner if deployed into active duty. But he shouldnt join the military if his main purpose is to sponsor her green card.

He could obtain a reentry permit, which would let him stay outside the US for 2 years without losing his green card. thanks for your reply.

If he was out of the country for 2 years, wouldnt this effect his period of continuous residency, needed for becoming a US citizen?

if this is the case, then wouldnt this just be putting back the period of separation by 2 years, so after the 2 years are up, he would then return to the US, and they would again be separated for at least 3 years or so until he has enough continuous residency in the US to be eligible to apply for citizenship? or am I missing something here?

If he applied for a re-entry permit, and stayed in Brazil for 2 years, they got married etc etc, what options would they have when those two years were up? would he be any nearer (timewise) to be able to bring her to the US with him? or would they still have a long wait, as they are facing currently?

If he was out of the country for 2 years, wouldnt this effect his period of continuous residency, needed for becoming a US citizen? Yes, it would delay his eligibility for citizenship, but if he married her and filed I-130 the time spent would allow the I-130 to progress in the family 2A queue, which currently has a 4 year wait.

So for example, he could get a reentry permit, go to Brazil, and use the first 6 months to build on the relationship and decide if they 100% want to marry each other under the circumstances. Then if they get married at the end of the 6 months, he files I-130 and it works its way through the queue. By the time he returns to the US, his I-130 has about 2.5 years left to reach the front of the queue, and hes enjoyed the 2 years with her. He could then get another reentry permit to spend another 2 years in Brazil.