Hi to sevran79.
I really feel sorry for you. I wish there was a way to work this out.
And wow, you won the lottery two times. You must be a lucky person. Luckier 2nd time around though.
Damn the Visa system. Spouses of H1s or even F1s can join their partners in the US, but spouses of PRs can not. How much more stupid can it get.
There used to be a Visa category called "V" visa which spouses of PRs could use to re-united with their partners in the US (untill their own numbers came up), but it's no longer in use. (President Bush introduced this visa, and even though I think he was a bad President, I always found him to be a very good person. Humble and self deprecating) Idiots in Congress did not renew the program.
And this should be a warning to all you PRs out there. Call your Congressman or call your Senator. Call whomever you can. Lobby hard for the V visa. You never know when the love bug might bite you.
I am also in a similar situation right now. Although I'm not thinking about marriage just yet (I'm 19 now) -- I do not want to be away from my girlfriend.
But luckily, she got a scholarship from a college in New Jersey (for her BS), and will apply for F1 status. That way atleast we both will be in the US. (Assuming I get my Visa approved on June 9th that is) Hopefully we both get our visas and we can leave in August.
Umm, let's see what options you have.
1. If your husband has the right qualifications, he should try out for a H or an L Visa. He needs to be sponsored by a company though. Or apply for a higher degree course (Phd maybe) and get an F1 visa.
2. He can always play the lottery like us.
3. He can get a PR from Quebec quite easily with a degree. (Much easier in Quebec for you Frenchies). You can live near the border. Check out the TN visa. Although this will be helpful only when he becomes a Canadian citizen. That takes 3 years of residence in Canada after gettiing your PR.
Note IV Petitions from Canada are processed as fast as they are from France. And besides chargeability is determined according to the POB, not Citizenship.
4. He can get a B1. (My friend had to go to a college for a interview and they gave him a 5 year B1). In 5 years you'll be a citizen and he will get a PR immediately as an immediate relative.
5. He can always go to Mexico and jump walls, get in without being registered, and get out when his priority date comes up, or when you become a citizen. Discreetly again. My advice would be to use the tunnel they show in Fast and the Furious 4. Fantastic movie BTW, just saw it today.
Maybe you can do this from Canada too. I mean enter the US without being caught. I advice you to use the Montana/Alberta border.
OR beg an American girl(tell her your sad situation)to marry him(fake marriage of course) so that you can re-unite. American girls have a thing for French dudes.
If he gets caught in any of these acts, he will be barred from entering the US. Like forever.
(I'm seriously joking here. Just trying to find humor in a sad situation)
6. He can join the US Armed forces. Active duty in USA, USMC, USN or USAF. Can apply for citizenship THEN AND THERE if he does that. (Source: The New York Times). You can join the Armed Services too, he can come to the US immeditely as a spouse of a Armed Services member. Or even better you will get your citizenship VERY FAST, and then he can get his PR.
You have basically two options to get him his US PR. Either you become a citizen. (That takes 5 years, and you can not leave the US for long periods). Or you try the Family based 2A route. The current cutoff date is 08OCT04. Damned again. You will be a citizen in that time frame. Almost.
Note. If you use the Family based 2A route and file an IV petition, he is not eligible for a B1 or and F1 visa. Although he can still get a L1 or and H1, I think. They are dual intent visas. The advantage of this course is that you can leave the US for longer periods of time than if you were trying out for citizenship. But you need to be careful not to jeopardize your PR status.
But maybe a new Congress and a new President will eliminate backlogs in the FB categories. Who knows. (I trust Obama more than Congress though.)
Damn once again. I have been spending too much time on Rajiv Khanna's website.