So, I've been married to my wife for yearly three years and during those three years we already were separated many times and this year my wife was able to come to the US and stay with me and ideally we don't wish to be separated again. I'm applying for my Naturalization but because of the long distance relationship I had with my fiance/wife I've got some stays outside of the US that are longer than six months and so my Naturalization application could result in a charge of abandonment of PR status. So there's already some uncertainty about my Naturalization going thru. I have consulted a lawyer and they believe that I shouldn't have too hard a time defending myself of a such against a charge. My lawyer doesn't have any experience defending such a charge and always comes across as unconfident and unable to suggest the right choice for us to take.
But ideally my wife and I would like to remain together whilst I'm waiting for my Naturalization to go thru and then apply for her whilst she's still here so that we aren't separated during her green card processing. I've got about eight months from my application date before she would hit her 180 days overstay. We've been told that as long as overstay is less than 180 days the consequences are fairly minor but should she decide to not overstay then we are potentially looking at a long separation whilst both my naturalization and her green card applications are processed?
What are the consequences of overstaying less than 180 days? Is any existing b1/b2 visa put at risk if you overstay for less than 180 days? The lawyer tells us we were lucky this time for my wife to join me here and that we shouldn't assume that that will be possible again in the future.
We've already been advised that it would be unwise to apply for an extension for her but since there's some uncertainty of my Naturalization going thru at all I'm not convinced that this is a bad idea. You see we could end up in a situation where we remain separated and then they may deny my Naturalization. Should they do so they may decide to either charge me with abandonment or simply require that I wait longer before Naturalizing. If the latter than it's possible that my wife would still be able to visit on her B1/B2 providing she hasn't already overstayed.
What are my travel restrictions upon becoming a US citizen? ie. is there anyway I can spend time with my wife during the processing of her greencard should we be separated at the time?
But ideally my wife and I would like to remain together whilst I'm waiting for my Naturalization to go thru and then apply for her whilst she's still here so that we aren't separated during her green card processing. I've got about eight months from my application date before she would hit her 180 days overstay. We've been told that as long as overstay is less than 180 days the consequences are fairly minor but should she decide to not overstay then we are potentially looking at a long separation whilst both my naturalization and her green card applications are processed?
What are the consequences of overstaying less than 180 days? Is any existing b1/b2 visa put at risk if you overstay for less than 180 days? The lawyer tells us we were lucky this time for my wife to join me here and that we shouldn't assume that that will be possible again in the future.
We've already been advised that it would be unwise to apply for an extension for her but since there's some uncertainty of my Naturalization going thru at all I'm not convinced that this is a bad idea. You see we could end up in a situation where we remain separated and then they may deny my Naturalization. Should they do so they may decide to either charge me with abandonment or simply require that I wait longer before Naturalizing. If the latter than it's possible that my wife would still be able to visit on her B1/B2 providing she hasn't already overstayed.
What are my travel restrictions upon becoming a US citizen? ie. is there anyway I can spend time with my wife during the processing of her greencard should we be separated at the time?