Advice On Filling In Marriage Papers & Residence

[DontMindMe]

How I am supposed to stay in Argentina two years if not by asking residency here as well? Being a permatourist? So that if I have an emergency abroad I might be denied to come back here where my OH, my stuff and my life are?!
I know this might cost me my US residency, but - seriously - do you expect people to live separate for two years because your bureaucracy takes this long to process sponsorship papers?!

You're a permanent resident who doesn't even live in the U.S. (good luck continuing to pull that off), you live with your partner, and you are complaining about the wait time? Do you know how many U.S. citizens wait a year or more separated from their foreign spouses/children while they wait for spouse visas to get approved? I think you are playing with fire and putting your green card at risk, but it's your decision, obviously. I know very few international couples who haven't had to do long distance at one point or another if they moved at any time. And yeah, you are in one of the most lax countries in the world when it comes to this stuff, so being a permatourist for two years is really not that crazy of an idea.

Even if you don't lose your green card, will proving domicile later on for the spouse visa be a problem for you? I have a feeling they'd scrutinize a permanent resident living abroad quite a bit. Do you have property in the U.S., own a car there, anything like that? Worst case scenario if you can't prove domicile (other than losing your green card of course) is that you'd have to move back to the U.S. before your husband and then send in evidence that you're back, or perhaps more if they ask for it, but still, it's something to think about if you haven't yet.

The address you put on the solicitud does not matter and seems to me to be the least of your worries.

 

[syngirl]

You're a permanent resident who doesn't even live in the U.S. (good luck continuing to pull that off), you live with your partner, and you are complaining about the wait time? Do you know how many U.S. citizens wait a year or more separated from their foreign spouses/children while they wait for spouse visas to get approved? I think you are playing with fire and putting your green card at risk, but it's your decision, obviously. I know very few international couples who haven't had to do long distance at one point or another if they moved at any time. And yeah, you are in one of the most lax countries in the world when it comes to this stuff, so being a permatourist for two years is really not that crazy of an idea.

Even if you don't lose your green card, will proving domicile later on for the spouse visa be a problem for you? I have a feeling they'd scrutinize a permanent resident living abroad quite a bit. Do you have property in the U.S., own a car there, anything like that? Worst case scenario if you can't prove domicile (other than losing your green card of course) is that you'd have to move back to the U.S. before your husband and then send in evidence that you're back, or perhaps more if they ask for it, but still, it's something to think about if you haven't yet.

The address you put on the solicitud does not matter and seems to me to be the least of your worries.

LOL I had written something akin to this but then felt badly and erased most of what I said.

But yes, i don't know how long the OP can keep up the residency scam, I had to give up my Canadian resident status a long time ago. However I know a european girl (won't say which country here) living here who has managed to "keep" her residency back home even though she is here 11 mos out of 12 months of the year -- she even gets generous maternity benefits there, which, wow, is a big benefits scam, but hey, to each their own. Good luck if she ever gets caught...

And yes the time statement -- Actually SERIOUSLY, yes MANY countries do indeed expect you to spend the 2 years apart, you know why -- because countries, especially like the USA -- are trying to cut down on the number of visas issued for fraudulent marriages! The 2 years apart is a bit of a test, not just a result of being bogged down in paperwork -- the more legitimate the marriage appears, the faster the process goes, believe it or not. But even our application to Canada, which required over USD$1000, an almost 2-inch binder of evidence of our relationship (despite having been together 4 years and married 1, and pregnant with child), took almost a year if I remember correctly -- I think my husband's residency papers about the same time that my son was issued his citizenship card!

Believe it or not, while your romance may make so much sense in your head, the immigrations officers are looking at the stone cold facts on paper, and no matter how legitimate every move you make may seem, to them every change in status, every move of countries, every piece of evidence that can throw suspicion of a marriage of convenience = more scrutiny and more time for processing of the spousal sponsored visa.... Moving to Argentina then marriage then application immediately for visa to States would put some pretty heavy heat on an application if you ask me.

I would venture so far as to say MOST spousal residency cases involve couples who live separately for not months but YEARS on end waiting for processing. The alternative is to live both in the country of the spouse. The living in a third country where the US perm resident sponsor doesn't yet have residency has the potential to put your file under even more scrutiny. If the Argentine boyfriend has an italian passport I would have counselled to stay in Italy and apply from there, OR marry in Italy, then move here with residency for Argentina already sorted. Just be prepared for some tough interviews, unfortunately Argentines do get scrutinized, and the worse the economic situation gets here, the more the applications get poured over with a fine-toothed comb.

 

[Girino]

"LOL", I wanted to reply about my "residency scam", the "proof of true love" and my "fake marriage", then I remembered why you came to Argentina.

 

[nlaruccia]

Is the spousal visa the only kind you can get? If you're planning on eventually residing in the States, I wouldn't run the risk of losing your permanent residency there. I imagine that it would be difficult to be separated from your spouse for such a long time. My Italian grandparents were separated for two years during WW II after they already had children together. Is it totally unfeasible for you to spend part of the time in the States with friends and part of the time here?

 

[ghost]

I guess the time and the money. On this forum everybody suggest to "have your FBI record sent to a relative and mail it to you", but I have no relative/friends in the US/Florida. Getting an attorney just to get the FBI record is MONEY.
I have no criminal history in the US nor in Italy, I just wanted to avoid to provide another paper saying "blank" especially for a country where I spent physically so little time and never got nor a single speed ticket.

I already asked for my criminal record in Italy before leaving, but today I was told (not by Migraciones, so I am not sure) that was valid for 90 days only. I thought that getting my CR in April and entering in Argentina in May would have made it valid for 6 months. There is no expiration date on the CR, but of course I couldn't have committed anything from May on in Italy, since I have been here in Bs As!

I will research on how to get a FBI record from here and without outside help.

An US immigration official can hold your GC at any time he suspects you've abandoned your intention to live and reside in the US. You can ask for a hearing before a judge and show proof or your "intention" (re-entry permit, tax returns, bank statements showing you have funds in the US, etc), but as a resident you have a privilege which is discretional.

I hope I will be able to live in the US one day, it has always been my dream, but by the time I got a Green Card I was already committed to this man and I could not leave him behind. He is not so fond of the idea of moving to the US, but he also recognizes that Argentina is unstable and Europe is facing a hard time.


It struck me that on another thread someone said that they wouldn't see themselves raising kinds in Argentina given the situation, but my post was along the lines "we couldn't afford a family in Italy so we moved to Argentina". So, I think I really have to get to know Argentina before deciding.
And if we get a kid here, I guess I'd have to sponsor him/her as well, and if this requires another 2 years I will be out of time, and I will have to say "adios!" to the US forever. Keeping my foot in that shoe is costing me a lot, not only money-wise!

Get used to Argentina . Your future is there. Good luck.

 

[DontMindMe]

"LOL", I wanted to reply about my "residency scam", the "proof of true love" and my "fake marriage", then I remembered why you came to Argentina.

Cop that attitude with the judge if you have a green card hearing and see where it gets you. No one said you were trying to scam either government or that your marriage/relationship was not real, we said you're not using the green card the way it's supposed to be used and could suffer consequences for it. You're seem to be purposefully interpreting things in the worst way possible so you can lash out at people who are trying to help you. Spend more time looking into your options and less time getting upset for no reason.

Is the spousal visa the only kind you can get? If you're planning on eventually residing in the States, I wouldn't run the risk of losing your permanent residency there. I imagine that it would be difficult to be separated from your spouse for such a long time. My Italian grandparents were separated for two years during WW II after they already had children together. Is it totally unfeasible for you to spend part of the time in the States with friends and part of the time here?

I don't think permanent residents can bring people over on the K1 fiancé(e) visa. Their options are more limited. But considering she is a freelancer, she certainly would enjoy the freedom to come and go that many people don't. The kind of freedom that my husband and I sure would have enjoyed during the one year and seven months of long distance hell we went through after already being used to sleeping in the same bed almost every night for a year and a half. Oh man, the eight months we went that one time during that year and seven months without being able to visit each other sure was a blast! Gee, would things have been different if one of us had been, say, a freelancer that could actually take time off, or even keep working and keep making money while traveling? YES.

Serafina, you are actually really lucky. I hope you realize it. Good luck with everything.

 

[ghost]

"LOL", I wanted to reply about my "residency scam", the "proof of true love" and my "fake marriage", then I remembered why you came to Argentina.

Arrogant. Keep up the attitude and the US immigration guys will peel your skin. Good luck Italy is waiting.

 

[nlaruccia]

Arrogant. Keep up the attitude and the US immigration guys will peel your skin. Good luck Italy is waiting.

Don't give her a hard time. How many expats have been making the run to Colonia year after year as a perma tourist when they very well know that they should have gotten a visa? She just wants the best of all three countries.

 

[Girino]

But considering she is a freelancer, she certainly would enjoy the freedom to come and go that many people don't.

Serafina, you are actually really lucky. I hope you realize it. Good luck with everything.

Freelancing is a fallback job I had to rely upon after the job crisis in Italy and to be able to do what I am doing. I used to be an engineer in a power plant, and I know that in Italy and in Argentina it is impossible for me to find a job in the Power industry nowadays.
I couldn't maintain myself freelancing in Italy, either. Argentina was a natural choice: immediate move and less expensive, plus we were both happy with it.

I make 1/3 or less of what I am supposed to by freelancing, I don't have the money to jet set in America (North/South). I don't understand why people are so upset about the fact that I have a GC and don't spend my time there. I don't get anything out of the US right now, I don't even walk their roads, so what are you pissed at? I just pay taxes there (any complain about this?) and stated the facts about immigration application processing times.

They are long, yeah, but when I read about people who stood apart for years to wait for a VISA to move to the US together, I pity them - I do not admire the system! It is not an act of strength, a proof of allegiance to the US soil, or whatever gobbledygooks you got in mind that makes this feel normal. It is not. Argentina did not ask this to you, European countries wouldn't, either. Look outside your US-centered bubble before assuming what's normal and what's not.

I am not bending the rules, nobody is immigrating illegally, I am not getting without giving, I am not doing Colonia runs or Mexico runs (they wouldn't work, you know?!), I am not hiding behind the fact that I spend most of time abroad to avoid paying taxes in the US.
It's two of us, so I am trying to make it happen the best I can. If it won't happen, I'll live it with, but at least I won't say I didn't try or that I fucked up my personal life to be alone in the US.

Finally, I don't feel that most of people of this forum are in the position to criticize me after being permatourists for years to enjoy the cheap Argentinian life style and hop on a plane to go back home when they feel like shopping in the first world.

There is no permatourist thing in the US, but you don't get scandalized about permatourists in Argentina.
FYI, Argentina has its immigration rules, as well. But on this forum you actually get advices on how to abuse the lack of control of the Argentinian govt., assuming this is okay because it is "only" Argentina we are talking here.
When you read about the Canadian guy deported at EZE we all feel sorry and we try to find a way to fight back or to put a patch. I didn't read anybody saying "Hey, you fucked up, now gotta suck it up!".


Thank you to those who actually managed to contribute with something about the topic.

 

[Crema Americana]

I believe you need an Argentine address for your Argentine marriage certificate.. hence the whole domicile check thing for residency. (Or the address where you´ll be living together.) This isn´t set in stone (people move afterall) but the registro needs to know where you are now. Your husband´s address should work.

I was not a resident of Argentina before married and I believe I still put my Argentine address. I don´t think the US will have issue with that, and if they do, just explain it´s your husband´s residence. US authorities just have to look at your passport to know where you´ve been the past years. Putting a US address isn´t really going to fool them. I am not in Argentina and don´t have the acta de matrimonio with me so I´m not sure if my US address appears or not.

You might be able to put your US address, but like you said, you don´t know if immigrations are going to then ask for the FBI check. They might... or might not.