QUESTION
Can my French girlfriend stay with me while we apply for a spousal visa for her?
Asked on Mar 17th, 2015 on Immigration - Texas
More details to this question:
Hi, I need some quick advice please. I’m a Green Card holder as of January 2015. My girlfriend is a French national and can visit the US on the Visa Waiver Program. I was wondering that if she travels to the US this month and we get married by the end of March, would it be possible that she lives with me during the time we apply for a spouse visa for her: F2A category I think? We also have a 5 month old baby. What would the process be? Any help with be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
3 ANSWERS
She can stay with you for as long as her VWP allows but because you are a green card holder and not yet a US citizen, you cannot confer any immediate immigration benefits upon her. The current wait for a visa for a spouse of a green card holder is about 1.5-2 years. She will NOT be able to remain in the US during all that time just because you filed. She would need to have an independent nonimmigrant status to do that.
Answered on Mar 20th, 2015 at 6:19 AM
Your questions raise multiple significant immigration legal issues, including what the USCIS is likely to consider the fraudulent use of the Visa Waiver Program to enter the U.S. with the intention of promptly getting married and staying in the U.S. permanently. It would be a mistake to proceed as you outlined, and instead I strongly recommend that you and your fiance engage an immigration attorney who, upon learning all of the relevant information about your fiance could advise about immigration-related eligibilities, options and strategies. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.
Answered on Mar 19th, 2015 at 10:41 AM
Bruce A. Coane
Generally, under existing law, no, there is no law allowing her to stay longer than the 90 days. When you become a USA citizen, that will change, but otherwise, you need another solution to try to allow her to stay.
Answered on Mar 19th, 2015 at 1:20 AM