Alternate Plan???

[Chrisu]

Hello,

I thought my divorce would be final in June, and my girlfriend and I were planning to bring her to the USA via a Fiance visa. However, my divorce will not be final until October now. My girlfriend is a resident of Spain, and a citizen of Morocco. I am wondering if there are any other good options for her to come over sooner, rather than waiting for my divorce to be final and starting the Fiance Visa process. Could she visit on a tourist visa, then we get married? We would very much like to avoid being apart on the Holidays this year!

Thanks!

 

[bbqchickenrobot]

She could do that - that is my situation, but you can't *PLAN* for it ahead. That's considered immigration fraud. In my case, she didn't come over with the intention of getting married and I didn't have the intention of asking her... but that's what happened and we were ok. She came over on a B2 visa.

 

[elcupacabras]

As you have already expressed intent, then if your girlfriend does come over on a tourist visa, marries you and then attempts to adjust status, then as the poster above states, this is immigration fraud. Should the interviewing officer come to this conclusion, then your then wife will be deported and banned from the USA.
The best thing to do in your situation is just wait for the divorce (during which time your girlfriend can continue to visit whilst this is pending) and then apply for the K1 when you are eligible.

 

[Chrisu]

I'll clarify my question a bit, then toss a different thought out there...

Our intent is not to have her visit and marry while she is here, just to visit so she can meet some family and friends, see the location where I live, and get a flavor for the culture and help ease her transition when she would be able to move here.

So that being said, I am trying to understand if it is still possible for her to obtain a tourist visa given that we do intend to marry down the road and utilize the fiance visa for immigration purposes.

Another thought I had is what is the simpler process - fiance visa and marry in the US, or marry outside the country and then have my wife immigrate into the US? I admit I have not looked into that at all, so I am unsure if that is any cleaner a process than the K1 visa...thanks for your thoughts/advice!

 

[elcupacabras]

As Spain is part of the VWP then your girlfriend (providing she is a citizen of Spain) will be able to enter the States for up 90 days visa free using VWP (providing the officer at POE allows admittance......99.9% likely there will be no problems, but no one is 'guaranteed' entry to the US except US citizens....Im just being pedantic I know, but its a point worth illustrating). So of course your girlfriend will be able to visit you in the States. Ive been in a four year long relationship with a USC and have visited this way MANY times. Your girlfriend just needs to make sure that she has proof of ties back to Spain to prove that she will indeed return back to Spain before the 90 days of VWP is up.....this is where the 'no guarantees of entry' comes into play. Should your girlfriend be asked by the immigration at POE whether she is visiting a boyfriend, she may be asked of proof that she WILL return home and not attempt to stay in the US...should she not have any proof on her that she has reason to return (letter from employer, housing lease, car payments, mortgage etc) then she may get denied entry. Hence whenever I visit the States I am literally laden down with evidence....though I have never been asked to show it (though if I never brought it, it would be certain that I would be asked to show it, Murphy's law and all that )
So yeah, once shes been to the US, seen the culture etc, then K1 would be the easiest and quickest option for you two to be together in the States. There are other visas such as K3/CR1 visa where you apply for a spouse to join you in the states, but these take longer than K1.....so like what me and my fiance are going through right now, I would recommend K1.
Good luck to ya

 

[Chrisu]

So after checking into the VWP a little further, this looks good. The only thing I am having a hard time finding is what are the requirements for obtaining a Spanish Passport. My web searches have come up short, so if anyone knows where I can find the requirements for a Spanish Citizen to obtain a Spanish Passport, that would be great!