Green Card Process

[ben]

1. Filing the paperwork here and waiting is the "straightest" way to do it. Unless you expect to need to visit the US in the interim, in which case you'll be SOL.
2. Entering as a tourist and doing it from there can be tricky, as indicated. Definitely should not do it without a competent attorney.
3. About the competent bit - as I said before, a close relative of mine is an immigration attorney. A not insignificant amount of the cases were problems that had arisen because previous, less competent attorneys, had screwed the case up, and the job was to get things back on track.

 

[chris]

what is SOL?

 

[Pierre Smith]

Here's how it works.

1. You either need to return to the US ahead of him to establish domicile, or you need to build prove that you intend to return to establish a domicile;
2. You or a citizen/permanent resident need to show US salary sufficient to support your family unit (for 2 people, you're looking at about $22,000/year) or 3x that amount in liquid or convertible assets (not property); you can use your foreign assets, but not your husband's. If you can't do this, any other relative or friend can, but beware that they'll be on the hook if he uses welfare within five years (which can also make him ineligible for citizenship);
3. You'll need to be able to prove the relationship is valid. This is everything from shared bills, leases, and investments to photos and emails.

Once you're sure you can satisfy those things, you'll be applying for a CR-1. The requirements are straightforward, and you shouldn't need an attorney to complete it, but it'd probably be worth hiring one to review your application once you've collected everything, just to speed it up (edit: to make sure that you don't waste weeks/months answering requests for evidence).

Your husband will need to do a medical exam, and the consular officer may want to see proof of health insurance before he's admitted, but probably not.

Your wait time will almost certainly be over a year for this.

Another poster suggested that you two simple enter the US (he as a visitor) and apply to adjust status. This is possible technically, but it could also easily result in a denial. Under Trump, the USCIS has a '90 day rule' by which anyone who files to adjust status on a tourist visa is automatically assumed to be doing so fraudulently - ie. to have entered the country with the intent of immigrating rather than visiting - and the likelihood of denial goes way up. Once he's denied, he's automatically in overstay and would have to leave. Depending on how long that is, you're looking at doing the CR-1 as above but they also seeking a waiver for the overstay. The scrutiny is only getting move severe, so taking the sneaky way in is just not worth the risk.

BTW, you'll looking at a couple thousand dollars USD for the full process.

Good luck!

 

[Pierre Smith]

BTW - it's a CR-1 because I assumed you were recently married, but if you've been married over 2 years, it's IR-1. It won't make any difference in terms of proof requirements (financial support, intent to return, valid relationship), but the longer you've been married, the less likely the consular officer is to suspect fraud, and the CR-1 has a 2 year limit and must have "conditions removed" to turn into a full 10 year green card, whereas the IR-1 stream gets you the full package right away. Remember too that your spouse can apply to naturalize after 3 years instead of the normal 5 for all other green card holders. Realistically, with delays what they are, if you do everything right, this means that he'll could be a citizen of the US inside of 4.5 years after the green card is granted.