I have green card, my girlfriend on H1, can she quit her job ?

[steviekm3]

Hi I have a green card. On it is says resident since 07/31/07. I got it through marriage but was divorced 04/01/08, so since the marriage did not last 2 years I had to apply for removal of conditions. A few months ago I succeeded and got a letter from INS saying conditions were removed.

I have a girlfriend on H1 visa from Germany working for a university. She really dislikes her job and wants to quit. Is there any way she can stay in country legally if she quits ? Meaning could we get engaged and then she could stay in country somehow ?

Second Question is when can I apply for US citizenship ?

Thanks.
Steve.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Hi I have a green card. On it is says resident since 07/31/07. I got it through marriage but was divorced 04/01/08, so since the marriage did not last 2 years I had to apply for removal of conditions. A few months ago I succeeded and got a letter from INS saying conditions were removed.

I have a girlfriend on H1 visa from Germany working for a university. She really dislikes her job and wants to quit. Is there any way she can stay in country legally if she quits ? Meaning could we get engaged and then she could stay in country somehow ?

Second Question is when can I apply for US citizenship ?

Thanks.
Steve.

You can apply for citizenship on May 1st of 2012. Based on 5 years residency.

and it's kind of suspicious to apply for fiancee visa if you get your status the same way not a long time ago.

Looks like Immigration Pyramid

 

[DreamUSA]

Simple answer on Citizensship:
If your GC was employer based. Five years after your residency date 07/31/07, but you can apply/file N-400 US Naturalization (Citizenship) application 90 days prior 5 year threshold.
If your GC was marriage based, i think it will be 3 years rule.

You can full details in USCIS guide:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf

Now on you sponsoring her for GC, the current law does not allow to do so until you become a US citizen. You have to secure that 1st then you can apply GC for her during which she can obtain EAD (Employment Authorization Document) so that from that point on she may not need to rely on her H1 visa.

You can read more via USCIS site on your prospective sponsorship for her GC (after you become USC):

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=4c2515d27cf73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD



The bottom line is that she should not quite her job/loose H1 benefits...until you secure her GC....Of course, she may find another sponsor for work Visa and transfer H1 visa...that could be always possibility....

Hope this helps....

 

[ndc121]

You won't be able to use the 3 year rule for citizenship since you are now divorced. You have to be a PR for 3 years, married for 3 years (and still married when you take the oath), and your spouse needs to be a USC for the last 3 years.

 

[saf]

Hi I have a green card. On it is says resident since 07/31/07. I got it through marriage but was divorced 04/01/08, so since the marriage did not last 2 years I had to apply for removal of conditions. A few months ago I succeeded and got a letter from INS saying conditions were removed.

I have a girlfriend on H1 visa from Germany working for a university. She really dislikes her job and wants to quit. Is there any way she can stay in country legally if she quits ? Meaning could we get engaged and then she could stay in country somehow ?

Second Question is when can I apply for US citizenship ?

Thanks.
Steve.

She needs to find another H1 sponsor if her H1 doesn't expire in the last stage of 6th year. Otherwise, she would have asked her university to sponsor her for her GC on her own. Marrying her would be risky for her.

You can apply under 5 year rule. that would be 5/31/2012.

 

[Jackolantern]

Simple answer on Citizensship:
If your GC was employer based. Five years after your residency date 07/31/07, but you can apply/file N-400 US Naturalization (Citizenship) application 90 days prior 5 year threshold.
If your GC was marriage based, i think it will be 3 years rule.

It doesn't matter how you got the green card. Even if your GC was employment based, you can still use the 3-year rule if you've been married to a US citizen for 3 years (and have sufficient continuous residence/physical presence for the last 3 years, of course).

 

[steviekm3]

She needs to find another H1 sponsor if her H1 doesn't expire in the last stage of 6th year. Otherwise, she would have asked her university to sponsor her for her GC on her own. Marrying her would be risky for her.

You can apply under 5 year rule. that would be 5/31/2012.

What if she did not want to work and just stay here. If I married her would she be allowed to stay here without working ?

Also I heard that if you are on an L1 visa your wife can get a work visa called L2. It seems then that in this case the L1 visa is better in this situation than the green card.

 

[saf]

What if she did not want to work and just stay here. If I married her would she be allowed to stay here without working ?

Also I heard that if you are on an L1 visa your wife can get a work visa called L2. It seems then that in this case the L1 visa is better in this situation than the green card.

Question: You can't have L1 visa because you already have a green card so after marriage, she won't be eligible for L2. For her, first, it is the company that has to apply for her H1 or L1. For example: only if the company she is working for has a branch in India, and if she has worked in the Indian branch for at least one whole year, the company can apply for her Intra Company Transfer Visa a.k.a L1. So this is the first parameter. See if she qualify for this.

 

[usnycus]

Hi I have a green card. On it is says resident since 07/31/07. I got it through marriage but was divorced 04/01/08, so since the marriage did not last 2 years I had to apply for removal of conditions. A few months ago I succeeded and got a letter from INS saying conditions were removed.

I have a girlfriend on H1 visa from Germany working for a university. She really dislikes her job and wants to quit. Is there any way she can stay in country legally if she quits ? Meaning could we get engaged and then she could stay in country somehow ?

Second Question is when can I apply for US citizenship ?

Thanks.
Steve.

Looks like some one already applied for citizenship question.

Regarding your girlfriend not working: You can ask her to enroll in school and try converting her visa to F1 (student). In that way she will be legal and no need to work.

 

[Al Southner]

You can apply for citizenship on May 1st of 2012. Based on 5 years residency.

and it's kind of suspicious to apply for fiancee visa if you get your status the same way not a long time ago.

Looks like Immigration Pyramid

What is an immigration pyramid? Never heard of this one before, sure one learns new thing everyday. Uncle, can you enlighten me on this one...

 

[warlord]

What is an immigration pyramid? Never heard of this one before, sure one learns new thing everyday. Uncle, can you enlighten me on this one...

Probably something along the lines as 2 people marrying to get 1 person residency status. They split, the new Green Card holder finds a way to bring another foreign person in the country and sponser them. They split, so now both have Green Cards, they then both bring 2 more people in and so on until you have a mass system of a ton of people being brought into the US by this pyramid. It's fraud as people aren't marrying for anything more then to bring people in to the US and not a real bonafide marriage.

You hear about this a lot though that people will marry just for citizenship, and then quickly divorce after they get their conditions removed...

 

[steviekm3]

Looks like some one already applied for citizenship question.

Regarding your girlfriend not working: You can ask her to enroll in school and try converting her visa to F1 (student). In that way she will be legal and no need to work.

Maybe she will do this. I will have to see. She probably doesn't want to go back to school though since she already has a PhD and is 35 years old. I would like to marry her and then she could stay home. But I'm not sure she wants to marry me since we have not being going out for that long. I would though for sure would want it. I don't even care if she doesn't work since I make plenty for both of us to live on.

Essentially the main problem is she has this crappy job where she is basically slave labor. She works 7 days a week often from 9am to midnight in some biology lab for this insane man. She wants to try to get a new sponsor for H1 but that is not so easy.

She is a very moral person and may think getting F1 visa is a bit dodgy.

I have some friends that are green card holders and their wives are not US citizenship. Somehow their wives stay in the country, although not they don't work.

 

[saf]

Maybe she will do this. I will have to see. She probably doesn't want to go back to school though since she already has a PhD and is 35 years old. I would like to marry her and then she could stay home. But I'm not sure she wants to marry me since we have not being going out for that long. I would though for sure would want it. I don't even care if she doesn't work since I make plenty for both of us to live on.

Essentially the main problem is she has this crappy job where she is basically slave labor. She works 7 days a week often from 9am to midnight in some biology lab for this insane man. She wants to try to get a new sponsor for H1 but that is not so easy.

She is a very moral person and may think getting F1 visa is a bit dodgy.

I have some friends that are green card holders and their wives are not US citizenship. Somehow their wives stay in the country, although not they don't work.

You can try helping her to get a H1 sponsor or get her on school. You may marry her. I am not sure if IO suspects. About green card holders and their wives being not US citizens, they got married before they obtained their green card. After the person got a green card, many girls are eager to marry this person for a green card in order to stay in USA. That's why IO doesn't like it and could consider it a fraud. If you still love her and marry her, you have to prove the marriage is bona fide, but you said you are not sure if she wants to marry you. that's problem. Can you wait until you become a US citizen and marry her and sponsor her?