marrying a guy so he can get his green card: classic or dud?

Actually technically doesnt that make it strictly *illegal*? heh.

I dont think I could go thru with it, not someone I didnt know. An old friend sure maybe. And I'd have to be single. But not a stranger! Beware! it could be some scam too :/

Anyways, I doubt it would work. And what the other people said.

hi emilys will you marry me?

i knew someone who did this in a more standard situation (started a relationship near the end of legal stay and the only way to continue was to get married). the relationship ultimately didn't work out but the whole process dragged on forevah.

that said, if any of you european ladies would like to help me get an EU passort... :)

So he'll be paying you for...8 years?

Also, it isn't legal. And while he'll just be extradited, you can go to prison...

Camtron, I already made that joke!

through this entire process the scariest part was going to the US consulate in Sydney and answering a bunch of pleasant plains related questions. its basically up to the person at the window you get called to to decide if you're for real or not based on this 3 minute chat with you. i saw one girl get rejected and it was harsh:

girl talk for about 5 seconds (i dont know what she said)
'sorry'
'excuse me?'
'you wont be getting a visa'
'what?'
'you wont be getting a finacee visa. please exit the consulate'
*tears + fast exit*

the most painfully slow part was getting a employment authorization. that takes a ridiculously long time.

anyway, my point is that it doesnt take that long really and i dont think pleasant plains has had to talk to anyone at all (is that right, b?). I havent been interviewed since sydney and that was only for the visa.

that said, emily: we're really married. if youre not going to be, dont do it. DO NOT DO IT. its taken really seriously and if you get caught you get definitely jail time. it might be worth the risk for him but it isnt for you. also, the DHS considers marriages without going through the proper 'fiance(e)' visa channels first suspicious and will probably look a whole lot harder at whats going on.

The only person I've had any words with was with that asshole hermaphrodite who guards the door at our nearest INS office.

glad to hear. might go thru this, maybe.

https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/officeProcesstimes.jsp?selectedOffice=49

I don't know about after marrying, but once/if you'll get a French citizenship (which also means an EU "citizenship"), you should be able to apply for a job in any EU country on an equal basis with the citizens of that country - that's one of the basic tenets of the whole Union. At least that's how it goes in principle, in practice I'd assume there might be some obstacles depending on the country.

7. Family members

7.1 Similar rights of free movement, including the right to take employment or self-employment in the host State, are conferred on certain family members of EEA nationals in the above categories. These apply whether or not the family members are themselves EEA nationals.

7.2 "Family members" comprise, for this purpose, the person's:

spouse (except where he/she is a party to a marriage of convenience)

divorced spouse (if the primary carer of a dependent child under 19 who is being educated in the UK)

children under 21

other children and grandchildren (if still dependent)

dependent parents, grandparents and great-grandparents

I know they dont do it now but it was only a year so ago that they were processing work authorization on the spot to people with K-1 (finacee) visa that arrived at JFK airport. You would be able to work as soon as you arrived.

Did you get married first and then start this process? that would probably cause a nasty hold up.

you should have a look at this site www.matesupover.com and go to 'the pub' (the forum)
its mostly about australians moving to the US but the forum is a great place to ask questions because everyone there has been through the US immigration process and there are people who went through it in much every state. Id be confused about things and post there and get a very clear answer in a matter of minutes.

We didn't get married just for the green card but wasn't sure where else to post . . .

I got an email this afternoon that L's green card has been ordered and he should have it within a couple weeks. This is exactly one year and one day from our wedding and 9 months after we filed the petition to adjust status. We didn't even have to have an interview. I'm so relieved to finally have a resident alien spouse. YAY!

Well done!

Being a resident alien is cool. You don't have to be American to live here, but it helps.

Wait admrl - you know about these things . . . the initial green card is conditional for a couple of years, right?

yes, then you get one for ten years...but you only have like a short window in which to apply for it, SO WRITE THAT DATE DOWN.

It's no fun/
Being an illegal alien

It's alright actually. I been without status on a few occasions, in the distant past.

OK, will do. Thanks! xpost

im a resident alien too! adam, when you go from conditional to the 10 year one, do you have to interview? or show up somewhere? or is mailing stuff good enough?

ive got to do this in november

I had to show up at office but it wasn't "interview", more like waiting for ages to speak to some monosyllabic admin guy behind a counter.

I knew the date but also my employer got a letter from INS/whoever telling them that I was due to have the new card. Big Brother!

SS - :-) So you know how good this kind of approval feels!

xp crap. our closest office is 3 hours away. oh well, november trip to memphis, i guess.

did the INS send you stuff or did you just turn up?

ENBB - the initial K1 visa, the employment card and social security card were more of a relief to me. the green card was more 'fucking finally! jesus!'

I THINK I just turned up. I never receive any mail from the INS.

Call them.

xp: but yeah, i do remember checking the case number on the ins website a bunch of times every day for i dont know how many months.

thanks, adam

The only thing I do remember is that the process itself was straightforward, no interviews, no suspicion. Just a lot of waiting and grinding bureaucracy.

SS - Yeah, I guess you're right. Our K1 visa petition was one of a couple thousand recalled last spring due to an administrative fuck up at USCIS. It ended up taking much longer than initially expected and we had to have a "fake" wedding last July and then a "real" wedding at city hall in Oct. The whole K-1 thing was such a mess this seems nothing.

I think I'm so happy mainly because I hadn't thought about it in ages and kind of expected something else to go wrong so the approval email was a pleasant surprise!

By fake I mean that stuff had (stupidly on our part) been planned so we had the whole ceremony and reception thing but weren't actually married that day. We kind of just went through the motions. He then had to go back to teh UK and wait until Oct when the K-1 was actually approved.

Hmmm...

Our thing was complicated but going by this thread we have had it fairly easy compared to most folks.

xp: wow. thats so weird. did family copme out from the UK for it?

Yeah, that's the main reason that had to go through with the wedding - everyone had already booked their tickets by the time the petitions were recalled. I think there were about 35 friends/family from the UK. We exchanged vows etc. but the officiant never actually pronounced us married. Most people didn't notice anything and didn't know we weren't legally married that day unless we told them. L's K-1 was delivered to him on Oct 10th, he flew to America on the 11th, and we were finally legally married at city hall on the 13th!

awww!

My wife and I went through this process last year. It took about eight months from beginning to end. It was damn expensive, and it's about to get MUCH more expensive. The green card application fee is about to jump (or maybe did already) from $395 to around $1000.

Wow. Yeah, the green card, temp empolyment authorization and advanced parole application were about $800 total for us. I forget what the K-1 app fee was.

It's a total racket. I read that 99% of the budget for USCIS is supplied by fees. If the purpose is to ensure homeland security and keep undesirables out, why don't taxpayers foot some of the bill?

Where is the thread for those of us wanting "European" citizenship?!

I like adamrl and ENBB as posters but seriously

at this point of the imperial lifecycle

WHY THE FUCK

WHY

WHY

WHY

I mean, yeah, america right, but FUCK ALL INSANE and also NUTTER or whatever appropriate term for an EXTREMELY BAD IDEA

mitya living in stalin_redux.land notwithstanding, I'm basically with him

We've been contemplating moving to the USA lately. Assuming I got a comparable job we could actually buy our own place or rent somewhere big enough to swing a cat in. My wife misses her nephews, plus her mom is getting on a bit. But I think my wife would prefer to stay in the UK, so it probably won't happen.

lol @ me, january 2006

I like adamrl and ENBB as posters

HEY

but seriously at this point of the imperial lifecycle

WHY THE FUCK

WHY

WHY

WHY

I mean, yeah, america right, but FUCK ALL INSANE and also NUTTER or whatever appropriate term for an EXTREMELY BAD IDEA

-- El Tomboto, Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:52 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

youre right but still i cant think of any other country i could stand

i might have to do this.

Thanks for liking me Tombot but while I agree on the significance of the "imperial lifecycle", my personal relationships, career situation and other things of great importance tend to take precedence. Also, have you lived outside of the US? Not a facetious question (because I don't know the answer), I'm just curious.

That said, if I had a choice I would spend alternate weeks in London and California, Beckham-style.

And might I add I am still a British citizen and fully intend to stay that way.

wife's green card application approved! :D :D :D interview made me really anxious but was mostly easy and quick.

fyi we did not get married just for immigration reasons. but this is the green card thread.

what country does she come from, ian?

Awesome Ian. It's a very stressful process. Congrats!

she is from englands. she was here legally for a while then uhm, lapsed.
i think she's gonna feel 10000000x better having the weight of that off her shoulders.

ok!

This notice informs you that USCIS is able to reuse your previously captured fingerprints and biometrics. USCIS will run the same security checks and use your biometric data as in the past, however, it is not necessary for you to appear at a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) for a biometrics appointment.

ok that second sentence is not a sentence but that's good news i guess.

The biometrics fee will not be refunded.

fuck you.