Student Visa For Arg Wife

[PhilipDT]

I would take legal advice before trying that. I know someone who was in US on a student or work visa (can't remember which), married a US citizen and then applied for a change of status based on that. She was deported for 10 years!

That seems like a likely result if its obvious that the student visa is just a back dooring the immigration process. I was more thinking that she'd go to the US and then when her program was done then get married.

I know plenty of people who met their spouses in the while in university abroad in the US. So it can't be an automatic rejection.

Or depending on what she does, she could apply for a H1 B and go to the US and marry there after a few years and then change.

Since Argentine weddings aren't actually legal until you go to the registro civil (i think), the OP could even 'get married' here and still be single legally.

 

[Azagarth]

6 months isn't to much, I'm just afraid of being stuck here for like 2 years. The hard part is the sponsorship, I'm a student so I don't have an income... How do you get around this? I will be supporting her, but on my student loans, but it doubt that really counts as income. I don't want to do it the wrong way because I really don't want any issues, rather go slower and safe than to risk her being kicked out for 10 years.

 

[PhilipDT]

You'll be supporting her on your student loans? That won't fly, that's not income its a liability. You can get someone else to sponsor her, would your parents and or siblings be interested?

 

[Azagarth]

That's why I'm worried I know that won't fly at all. So I have to figure it out, my mom earns right around 24k a year, so I'm not sure if she would work and my dads in Worse shape. My mom is willing to help, so that may be an option but I'm not sure if she earns enough. What level does she need to earn at?

 

[StuckLikeGlue]

We applied for a K-1 Fiance visa in March 2013, and were on our way to the US (together) by the end of October the same year. It was a little bit of a wait but not too bad, considering how long the other options take. If you can wait it out in Argentina just a few more months, it's definitely one of the quickest (not to mention, less risky) ways to go. Just sayin'.

 

[GuilleGee]

That's why I'm worried I know that won't fly at all. So I have to figure it out, my mom earns right around 24k a year, so I'm not sure if she would work and my dads in Worse shape. My mom is willing to help, so that may be an option but I'm not sure if she earns enough. What level does she need to earn at?

Your wife (or fiance, if you go that route) will need a sponsor with yearly income of 125 % of the Poverty Line - http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/F3en.pdf. Just read up, the information is all out there.

The IR-1/CR-1 process currently takes between 9-12 months, and is not a fun process. It isn't cheap either. My wife was approved last week, after 11 months. The final cost for everthing, including sending papers to & from the US from Argentina was probably around U$D 1500, maybe a little bit more. If you go for the Fiance Visa route, the cost is even higher, at least if you want her to be able to work in the US.

 

[GuilleGee]

I should also mention that we applied while we were both living in Argentina. After having been married & lived together for 3 + years. It was very easy for us to prove a "genuine" relationship at all stages of the process, which ensured the process was not delayed at all. It is not a matter of simply "getting" her a visa - there are lots of hoops to jump through.

Best of luck, but please realize that it does not make sense to support your family on loans.

 

[PhilipDT]

That's why I'm worried I know that won't fly at all. So I have to figure it out, my mom earns right around 24k a year, so I'm not sure if she would work and my dads in Worse shape. My mom is willing to help, so that may be an option but I'm not sure if she earns enough. What level does she need to earn at?

I think 24k is more than enough. As GuilleGee said, it's 125% of the poverty line which is

2014 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES
AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Persons in family/household  Poverty guideline
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,060 for each additional person.
1 $11,670
2 15,730
3 19,790
4 23,850
5 27,910
6 31,970
7 36,030
8 40,090

What does your fiancee do? Could she legitimately get visa on her own to work (or go to school) near where you will live? If she could do that then she could later apply for residency and citizenship on that track. If you have any contacts with companies that regularly hire international employees, you could give them a call, large companies usually have a dedicated legal team which streamlines the immigration process for international employees.

 

[DontMindMe]

6 months isn't to much, I'm just afraid of being stuck here for like 2 years. The hard part is the sponsorship, I'm a student so I don't have an income... How do you get around this? I will be supporting her, but on my student loans, but it doubt that really counts as income. I don't want to do it the wrong way because I really don't want any issues, rather go slower and safe than to risk her being kicked out for 10 years.

I don't have an income either. You can't get around that requirement, but you can get joint sponsors (yes, more than one). A friend, a relative, a random dude on the street--it doesn't matter as long as the person is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident who makes enough money (see the poverty guidelines) and is willing to sign the form and submit some tax records. These instructions are on all the official government web sites, Visa Journey guides, etc. I don't think baexpats is the web site you should be on to get visa info. I say this to save you time and stress--the process is not easy and it will try your patience, to put it mildly.

At the moment, there's no reason the CR-1 process should take anywhere close to two years if you meet the requirements and can follow directions. Especially if you are in Argentina, like I said, USCIS is currently auto-expediting petitions for married couples if the U.S. citizen lives abroad (there's an active thread on that other forum you should be checking out that is keeping track of this trend; PM me if you want the link). We started this process in April of this year and we could have the visa in hand in September. It's actually a great time to file the I-130 compared to 2013, when there was a horrendous backlog at USCIS. They sped things up after it got some media attention. But if you can't prove that you and a joint sponsor(s) can support your wife financially at the NVC stage when the time comes, she will not be granted the visa. Some petitioners, if they can't find a joint sponsor who makes enough, have to move back to the U.S., get a job and re-submit the sponsorship paperwork before they can move past that step.

I know how it feels to be stuck abroad while you try to figure out how to bring your love home with you, so I completely understand your fears. We'd already done long distance once before we got married, for a year and a half, at one point going eight months without getting to visit each other, so me moving back to the U.S. early is simply not an option because we refuse to spend more time apart. We're in an odd sort of limbo being in Buenos Aires, trying to embrace the now while at the same time feeling like we're completely stuck until we leave this place. All you can do is research, research, research to figure out the best option for you and your partner.

 

[Azagarth]

That's how I feel for sure, I spent 2 months only away from her and that felt like an eternity and really I just don't want to think about going through that again or even worse. I talked with a family member that can sponsor, so I got that now ready. Now it's just getting all those papers filled out.

Thanks a ton for the help everyone.