Marriage after greencard

S

sridhy

Registered Users (C)
hi, I got my gc in Sep, 2004. I got married in Sep 2007. My wife is in India. I am not sure what is the procedure to bring her to USA. Still I have 21months to file my citizenship. Can I file H1 for her? I don't want to bring her on F1. If I apply H1, it will create any problem for us during citizenship ? Do we need to declare as married or unmarried during H1 application ? I am not sure howmany people are here with similar situation. If there are no ways to bring her, I am ready to go back or work from Bombay.
But, i would like to know all possible ways. Please advice me in this situation.

Thx a lot in advance.

-sy
 
sridhy said:
Can I file H1 for her?
Click to expand...
No, her future US employer would do that.

Unless her employer is exempt from the quota (see exemptions quoted below) the earliest she can arrive on an H1 is October 2008. If subject to the quota, the application must be filed within the first day or two of April 2008, because the quota gets filled up that quickly.

"An institution of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965, Section 101(a), 20 USC Section 1001(a)"

"A nonprofit organization or entity related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, as such institutions of higher education are definted in the Higher Education Act of 1965, section 101(a), 20 USC Section 1001(a)"

"A nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization, as defined in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C)"
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Other visa options are extraordinary ability (O-1) or multinational manager (L-1), if she qualifies.

Remember that if you go back, you stand to lose your green card.
 
As a warning to currently single green card holders: Ask these immigration questions BEFORE you get married to a noncitizen who doesn't have a green card.
 
Thanks for the responses. I know few employers in NJ. They are ready to file H-1 for her as she completed her M.B.A. Though she is not in IT, she knows little bit. The problem here is, the probability of getting H1 is very less these days. B1 and L1 are not possible. Not O-1 too. Anyone knows exactly when I can file my citizenship (i.e after 4yrs 9months or 4yrs 3months etc.,) ? after that holwong it will take to get citizenship ? can i bring her right after that or it will take few more months ? I never thought it will be such a night mare to bring her to USA for a GC holder.

thx
sy
 
F1 might be your most realistic option, try community colleges, they are relatively cheap and really easy to graduate from, all you have to do is just show up for class.
 
Have you gotten the marriage certificate from your local authorities in India? If so, then you have pretty slim chance of bringing your wife to the US in
any visa.

Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.

In your wife's case, she will have to lie to the VO during the interview.
But again, the VO would have no way of knowing if she is married unless
they get deep into the case and let the local Police people do the research
and provide the answer. Going back to my question, did you register your
marriage in India?


sridhy said:
hi, I got my gc in Sep, 2004. I got married in Sep 2007. My wife is in India. I am not sure what is the procedure to bring her to USA. Still I have 21months to file my citizenship. Can I file H1 for her? I don't want to bring her on F1. If I apply H1, it will create any problem for us during citizenship ? Do we need to declare as married or unmarried during H1 application ? I am not sure howmany people are here with similar situation. If there are no ways to bring her, I am ready to go back or work from Bombay.
But, i would like to know all possible ways. Please advice me in this situation.

Thx a lot in advance.

-sy
Click to expand...
 
Why would H-1B holders need to undergo the fraud mentioned below?

howdy_howdy said:
Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

Thanks for my delayed response. I did not register my marriage in India. Planning to work from Bombay for 1 month (in Feb ) and I will see whether I can continue for more time..

thx
sy

howdy_howdy said:
Have you gotten the marriage certificate from your local authorities in India? If so, then you have pretty slim chance of bringing your wife to the US in
any visa.

Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.

In your wife's case, she will have to lie to the VO during the interview.
But again, the VO would have no way of knowing if she is married unless
they get deep into the case and let the local Police people do the research
and provide the answer. Going back to my question, did you register your
marriage in India?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for my delayed response. I did not register my marriage in India. Planning to work from Bombay for 1 month (in Feb ) and I will see whether I can continue for more time..
Click to expand...

Out of the options you have none of them is easy and so you will have to plan your next course of action very carefully.

You will not be able to file for citizenship before say June 2009. Based on current trends it may take a year or more for the application to be processed and approved (and that is if you don't get stuck in name check). Add another 6-12 months on top of that before your spouse can come to the US on a K3 visa. So you are looking at at least 3 more years before your spouse can join you in the US unless she can come here on an independent visa.

Each of the other visa types is fraught with risks. If she goes for a F1 (student) visa, revealing her relationship to you may disqualify her on the basis of immigrant intent (lying on the visa application may be worse). As others have pointed out getting a H1 these days is a matter of luck. There are no visa numbers available until October and even if her employer files a petition for her in April the quota gets over so fast that her application may not may not be approved depending on her luck (they do a lottery these days).

If on the other hand you decide to move back to India with her you will jeopardize your GC (unless you want to move back for good). Working in Mumbai for an extended period of time may be interpreted as abandoning your GC and even if you get a re-entry permit it will delay your eligibility for filing for your citizenship.

Sorry to say that there is no easy way out here but I hope you figure something out ...

-KM
 
howdy_howdy,

I don't understand your response below:
****copy start****
Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.
****copy end****

Does it make any difference if you're married in India or the US? My understanding is that the COS (I-130) will take the same amount of time to process regardless of where you're married if you're a GC holder. If you can wait until you're a citizen then the process will be a lot faster.
 
nipster77 said:
howdy_howdy,

I don't understand your response below:
****copy start****
Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.
****copy end****

Does it make any difference if you're married in India or the US? My understanding is that the COS (I-130) will take the same amount of time to process regardless of where you're married if you're a GC holder. If you can wait until you're a citizen then the process will be a lot faster.
Click to expand...
I-130 is not a change of status. I-485 is change of status, and the spouses of green card holders have to wait 5+ years after filing the I-130 to become eligible to file the I-485, but with citizens it can be filed immediately.

The reason for getting married inside the US is that the new spouse is already in the US at that time. If they get married outside, it takes several months of waiting (or years, if the US-based spouse is a green card holder) to get a K visa to enter the US.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
nipster77:

The option you mentioned is the best out of all other options that OP in front of him. But, keeping mind the time he would have to wait to apply for his N400 and to get it approved, you are basically looking at least a gap of three years. So, I chose to provide the suggestion this way.

I know many of my friends who got married after their GC try to keep their spouses in the US by this method. In fact, if the couple get a child during this process, the spouse's chance of getting GC is greatly increased.

That is the reason I asked the OP if his marriage is registered. Having his marriage not registered in India greatly helps him to prove that his marriage in the US is a genuine one.

nipster77 said:
howdy_howdy,

I don't understand your response below:
****copy start****
Normally what people would do (who are in your situation) is, they
get some kind of visa for their spouse (h1/b1 whatever); they get it
stamped and let the spouse land in the US. After 5/6 months, they
"pretend" they start dating in the US and after many months of courtship
they eventually get married in the US and try to do COS to their spouse.
****copy end****

Does it make any difference if you're married in India or the US? My understanding is that the COS (I-130) will take the same amount of time to process regardless of where you're married if you're a GC holder. If you can wait until you're a citizen then the process will be a lot faster.
Click to expand...
 
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