Tourist Visa, Immigration, Etc...

[surlypants]

My wife (ARG national) and I (EEUU national) were married in the EEUU, while she was on a J-1 visa, obtaining her PhD. She's now since returned home and I am -- for all intensive purposes -- visiting on and off for an extended time. The big questions this raises are:

01) what is the implication(s) on her ability to visit my family in EEUU
02) what is the implication(s) of my ability to obtain permanent residency in ARG

 

[ben]

1) Being married to a US citizen is a potential liability in getting a visitor visa, as it gives a motive to want to immigrate to the US. There is anecdotal evidence of consular officers denying visas based on this alone. This is rare, however - if your wife can show documentation solid connections to her home country - think work, property holdings, your permanent residency here, etc - that ought to do the job.

2) As the spouse of an Argentine citizen, you are entitled to permanent residency here, no questions asked. The only issue is the hassle getting the paperwork together. You will need:

• You will need:
  • your birth certificate (assuming you were born in the US)
  • a background check from the FBI, and the police of any other country where you spent time (6 months or over?)
  • and your marriage certificate.
• All of the above must bear an apostille stamp (or if from a country like Canada with no apostille, must to check with local Arg. consulate re requirements to legalize the documents).
• All of the above documents - plus your passport - must be translated to Spanish by a traductor publico, and the translation must be legalized by the Colegio de Traductores Publicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
• Photocopies of everything, including all pages of your passport (blank ones as well).
• Some amount (3?) of photos, don't remember measurements now.

All of that is taken to the immigration office in Retiro, you are given a paper granting provisional residency on the spot, and your DNI comes in the mail a short while later.