US citizen married Japanese citizen, live in japan but want to move to US can we visit US while waiting for I-130? How long can Japanese husband stay.

While there is no prohibition against those who have visa petitions filed on their behalf from visiting the US during the pendency of the I-130 petition and related consular processing, the rule of thumb is that visits should be short and there should be convincing evidence that the individual will return to the home country at the end of the period of visit. A good example could be a person with a round-trip ticket to stay in the US for one month and then not return to the US for at least another 4-6 months. Current processing is approximately a year for your husband to immigrate to the US. He has no special privilege by being a Japanese citizen. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.