Immigration attorney, Is it worth the money? Do you get results?
My girlfriend and I are looking to have her live in the same country as I (USA) but she is a Swedish. She is here now for 3 months on a tourist visa and will have to return back to Sweden in 3 months.
We are considering getting married but have heard that she will still have to go back and come back in after that. We also have considered getting married in Sweden and then coming back as a married couple.
Has anyone gone through this already, and has anyone used an immigration attorney to help the process? If you have used an immigration Buy Drugs Without Prescription attorney we would love to hear your results and as well your feelings about the whole process. Was it expensive? Was it worth the cost, and you received results?
If you have other ideas or solutions for this please share, as we are a little lost at this point.
Thank you and look forwarded to hearing from you all.
You have 2 options. Wait to get married, your girlfriend returns to Sweden when her tourist visa is up, and you file Form I-129F "Petition for Alien Fiance" available at http://www.uscis.gov. The petition takes 6-9 months on average for approval and once approved, your girlfriend will have to marry you in the US within 90 days of her arrival.
Your second option is to marry now and then file Form I-130 "Petition for Alien Relative". Your wife will have to return to Sweden to wait out approval of the petition, which usually takes 9 months to a year. She will not be able to re-enter the US on a tourist visa while her application is pending or it will be denied.
You do not need to hire an immigration lawyer for this. You can fill out the forms yourself and it is not difficult.
get married here in the USA then go to uscis.gov.com download these forms i-130 petition for alien relative and a i-485 application to register permanent resident or adjust status and a i-864 affidavit of support you will need to get this form notarized fill them all out make sure you wife has her birth certificate from her country of birth fill them all out include a check or the amount asked about $500 mail to address given with forms your wife can stay in the USA she does not have to go home make sure your wife has her immunization record she will need it when she gets her medical you will need to download form i-693 immigration will tell you when she need to get her medical done all the forms are really easy to fill out so don’t hire a lawyer not worth your money
I have gone through this exact process and we had many of the same questions you did – luckily, I have a friend in the foreign service who helped us find the best way.
We opted for going to Sweden and coming back as a married couple.
Firstly, don’t get married in the US while your girlfriend is here on a tourist visa. She can be deported for that afterwards and then you will definitely need to get a lawyer. So she will definitely need to go back to Sweden. After that, you have two options
1. You can apply for a fiance visa which will allow you to get married here.
2. You can get married in Sweden and apply for a greencard at the embassy in Stockholm.
Our reasons for choosing the second option was because a fiance visa will go through the US system which can take several months due to the volume of people wishing to immigrate. If you get married and apply for the greencard in Sweden, you will go through the Swedish system which is much quicker since there are so many fewer people to deal with.
If you go the second route, as I did, you don’t need a lawyer – you just fill out the approprate forms which can be downloaded at http://www.uscis.gov (I think they were mentioned in one of the other answers).
We got married one day, went to Stockholm the next and he had his greencard about 2 months later. It really was very simple and very quick.
It IS a perfectly legal option to adjust status in the US after marriage to a USC. If your girlfriend entered the US legally, was granted entry and otherwise eligible. It is NOT fraud. What is fraud is to of entered the US with the INTENT to immigrate.
From the USCIS website.
If you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse is considered an immediate relative and is immediately eligible for an immigrant visa if your petition is approved. Generally, if your spouse is in the U.S. (through a lawful admission or parole) at the time you file the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, your spouse may file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status at the same time. For more information, your spouse should refer to How Do I Become a Lawful Permanent Resident While In the United States? If he or she is outside the U.S., your spouse will need to go to the nearest U.S. consulate to apply for an immigrant visa.
How Do I Become a Lawful Permanent Resident While In The United States?
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8b76194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
How Do I Bring My Spouse (Husband or Wife) to Live in the United States?
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=3e6c96981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Eligibility Information: Who May Apply to Become a Lawful Permanent Resident While in the United States?
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ddd6e6b0eb13d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=54519c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Guide for Adjusting Status – including a concurrent filing of the 1-130
http://www.familybasedimmigration.com/forum/showthread.php?t=271
Is it worth to it use an immigration attorney? In my opinion it is at least worth an initial consultation.
I have read of many people that have successfully adjusted status in this manner by filing everything themselves, with some having used an attorney.