what are my options gettin the gf a green card?

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sir5.7

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i recently moved from australia 7 months ago via the dv lottery. i have been with my girl almost 3 yrs now and she 1st came over for 2 months a week after i got here. she went home back to australia for 10 weeks then came over for another 3 moths and has now been back in aust for 2 weeks. main reason was to see if she liked it here b4 she decided she could be away from friends and family for long periods of time and it not to effect our relationship. she has now decided that she would like to relocated here with me hence the above question. she applied for the dv lottery in november but thats probably a long shot. what is going to be the quickest and most effective non damaging to our relationship way to get her a greencard? would she be able to apply for a working visa, we get married here in the usa then hopefully her greencard via marriage is approved before the work visa needs to be renewed? i read somewhere that marriage visas are being approved within 6 months these days since the financial crisis and ppl turning there back on moving to to the usa because of it? would you guys recommend seeing a immigration lawyer or is it something you can file yourself? if its quicker to process id prefer to pay a bit more to get her here sooner. also does it make a difference that im only a green card holder not a usa citizen?

thanx in advance for reading and your replies
 
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sir5.7 said:
i recently moved from australia 7 months ago via the dv lottery. i have been with my girl almost 3 yrs now and she 1st came over for 2 months a week after i got here. she went home back to australia for 10 weeks then came over for another 3 moths and has now been back in aust for 2 weeks. main reason was to see if she liked it here b4 she decided she could be away from friends and family for long periods of time and it not to effect our relationship. she has now decided that she would like to relocated here with me hence the above question. she applied for the dv lottery in november but thats probably a long shot. what is going to be the quickest and most effective non damaging to our relationship way to get her a greencard? would she be able to apply for a working visa, we get married here in the usa then hopefully her greencard via marriage is approved before the work visa needs to be renewed? i read somewhere that marriage visas are being approved within 6 months these days since the financial crisis and ppl turning there back on moving to to the usa because of it? would you guys recommend seeing a immigration lawyer or is it something you can file yourself? if its quicker to process id prefer to pay a bit more to get her here sooner.

thanx in advance for reading and your replies
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If you apply for her GC after she is in usa, It will take about 2-3 years before she gets her GC. First of all you guys should get married, then file for her GC.
 
mite be a stupid question but does she need to revisit the usa to get married or we can just do the paper work from seperate countries? also would they renew a work visa for someone thats applied for a green card via marriage? just trying to access all my options. mite be easier to be apart for 6 mths if thats all it takes time wise to get a gc via marriage approved from outside the usa.
 
A greencard holder cannot petition for a fiance but may petition for a spouse. That category is family-based, second preference "A" FB-2A (also referred to as F2A but should not be confused with the similar nonimmigrant student dependent code F-2).

The I-130 is filed with USCIS and the filing date becomes the "priority date". The Priority Date must become current in that category for an immigrant visa to become available for either filing an adjustment of status application (I-485) with USCIS from within the U.S. or an Immigrant Visa Application (DS-230) with a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad. An individual must be in a valid nonimmigrant status to be eligible to file an I-485.

USCIS takes around 6 months to adjudicate the I-130 after it is filed. The current time for a priority date to become current in that category is ranging around 2 to 3 years and is subject to change, longer or shorter time, from month to month via the Visa Bulletin.

If she can qualify for a nonimmigrant work visa that would be a good way to proceed (H and L visas afford dual intent to be a nonimmigrant and still seek immigrant status).

As an Australian, the E-3 visa is another option. See: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=71256811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

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FROM: http://www.visalaw.com/05may1/4may105.html

Is the E-3 a dual intent visa?

They are not dual intent in the sense of H-1Bs and L-1s, but they do not have a foreign residence requirement. Applicants need to attest that they intend to depart when their status terminates. A statement is usually enough unless they have clear intentions showing the opposite. But there is case law stating that the expression of a desire to remain in the US permanently as opposed to intending to remain even if legally not permitted, is permissible on an E visa. In other words, wanting to remain permanently is okay as long as one is willing to leave if this is not permitted by law.

E visa applicants also need not demonstrate that they are coming for a limited period of time and they do not need to show a home in their home country to which they plan to return. This would be impractical given the fact that E visa holders can remain in the US for decades.
 
sorry i didnt understand a bit there? are u sayin if she comes over and we get married here then she proceeds home to file the I-130 it will take approx 6 mnths to be granted a green card but if she has a work visa or similar then a priority date is needed? 2-3 yrs?
 
oh n no she doesnt qualify for e3 as she has worked in hospitality the last few years and isnt a university graduate
 
sir5.7 said:
i read somewhere that marriage visas are being approved within 6 months these days since the financial crisis and ppl turning there back on moving to to the usa because of it?
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It got cut down to around 6 months because people weren't showing up to complete the process. Now they are showing up and the backlog is at 3 years.

also would they renew a work visa for someone thats applied for a green card via marriage?
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Depends on what kind of visa. If it's H1B or L1, those allow dual intent so the pending green card process won't cause a problem for visa renewal. Others such as E3 and O-1 visas are quasi-dual intent so they can also be renewed but she'll need to be more careful in certain ways. But if it's a J1 visa, it doesn't allow dual intent.
 
sir5.7 said:
sorry i didnt understand a bit there? are u sayin if she comes over and we get married here then she proceeds home to file the I-130 it will take approx 6 mnths to be granted a green card but if she has a work visa or similar then a priority date is needed? 2-3 yrs?
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You won the visa lottery so maybe you don't understand how MOST immigration to the U.S. happens. Only 50 to 55 thousand can immigrate as DV's each year but that is a small number out of over one million legal immigrants given visas to the U.S. every year.

The vast majority of immigrants are petitioned by a family member via form I-130 who sponsors them with an Affidavit of Support (form I-864) to get them an immigrant visa. Some people are petitioned by employers via form I-140 who sponsors them with a permanent job offer. That is only the first step.

Depending on who sponsors an immigrant and the relationship between them or the job classification, the wait for a visa varies.

A USC can sponsor an Immediate Relative (spouse, minor child, or parent) and the visa is legally "immediately available" but that still takes time to process all the required steps (proving the relationship, proving financial resources, medical exams, vaccinations, background checks, interviews, and general paperwork).

A USC can sponsor certain other relatives (unmarried adult child, married adult child with their spouse and minor children, or a sibling with thier spouse and minor children) BUT those relatives are in the family-based preference categories and have to wait until an immigrant visa becomes available on the visa bulletin.

An LPR (greencardholder) can sponsor certain relatives also but all of their relatives are in family-based visa categories and have to wait for a visa to become available on the visa bulletin. FB2A is the spouse and minor children. FB2B is the unmarried adult child. An LPR cannot petition for anyone else.
 
What if we were to go halves in a business in the USA? Would she then be allowed to wait it out here? Possibly studied in the USA instead as an option? as u can see I'm intent to make it work somehow and what to get as much info as possible before seeing a lawyer. Also would we be better off with a lawyer here or back in oz?
 
hmmm. not looking good. u stated that the 1-130 takes approx 6 months correct? then after that u have to wait again for a visa to become available??? 2-3 yrs? is that the priority u spoke of before? makes it hard cause as a green card holder i cant go back to australia to wait it out as i will lose my green card status and she cant wait it out in the usa due to there laws? i assume theres a good chance she wont even be allowed to travel here on a tourist visa via the vpw once the 1-130 is submitted? seems odd and extremely harsh at the same time.
 
Since she's from Australia, her odds are much better to get a visitor's visa since she is less likely to overstay than if she came from a poorer country.
 
aust has a visa waiver program so we dont even need to apply for a visa. do the point of entry officers know when you enter the country that there is a current visa application process in the system? just worried she would be refused entry cause it shows she is married to a usa green card holder. how would they know if id doesnt show or they dont check at point of entry
 
sir5.7 said:
aust has a visa waiver program so we dont even need to apply for a visa. do the point of entry officers know when you enter the country that there is a current visa application process in the system? just worried she would be refused entry cause it shows she is married to a usa green card holder. how would they know if id doesnt show or they dont check at point of entry
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VWP requires the traveller to sign a waiver of the right to adjust status (certain exceptions apply but not to her circumstances). She can come for short visits of up to 90 days.
 
bigjoe5 thanx for ur knowledge atm. even been reading a lot of the us government website and looks like she wont qualify for a work visa either not being a highly skilled or of shortage employee. so does this sound like my only option??

1: when she comes back on the vwp, get married here in the usa
2: send the I-130 straight away
3: wait the 2-3 yr process time with her comin to visit twice a year on the vpw?
4: apply for v visa if the wait ends up more than 3 yrs?

suks just the thought of being apart for 6 months a year for up to 3 yrs and i cant go home otherwise i lose my green card
 
on another note i cant find anywhere were it says how many times you can leave and come back on the vwp? i thought ages ago i saw something about you have to be out of the country more than in but cant find anything sayin the mentioned??
 
sir5.7 said:
suks just the thought of being apart for 6 months a year for up to 3 yrs and i cant go home otherwise i lose my green card
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If you get a reentry permit, you can stay out of the US for 2 years without losing your green card.

on another note i cant find anywhere were it says how many times you can leave and come back on the vwp? i thought ages ago i saw something about you have to be out of the country more than in but cant find anything sayin the mentioned??
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They don't have a specific hard limit on how much time per year can be spent in the US with the VWP. But generally you are right, a VWP visitor should spend more time outside the US than in. After spending 2-3 months inside the US, there should be 3-6 months spent outside the US to reduce the risk of being refused entry on the next trip.

do the point of entry officers know when you enter the country that there is a current visa application process in the system?
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I don't think it pops up on the screen automatically, but the information is in the system and they can find it if they look for it. If they notice her pattern of spending 3-6 months per year in the US, they'll probably start asking questions about why she is spending so much time in the US and if she's married or engaged to somebody who lives in the US. And/or be looking for an immigrant petition that was filed for her.

If you got married prior to completing the DV lottery formalities at the consulate, she could have joined you and got a derivative green card.
 
we arent married atm. i was aware but we werent sure if she was goin to like it her or if she could be away from friends and family for extended periods of time
 
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