Posted: 2/3/2004 8:43:12 AM EDT
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A friend of mine just married a Belarussian girl. (No, not a mail-order bride, she's a nice girl, and they're very good for each other.) What should she expect and/or do during the naturalization process? I've looked at uscis.gov, but that doesn't say much of what *actually* happens, how they treat the immigrant, etc. She just got an associate's degree from a college in Maryland, and now lives with her new husband in Pennsylvania. (Her husband is a very good friend of mine.) As far as I know, she's not employed yet. Thanks. |
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Keep in mind that immigration rules change ALL the time, and you can ask three INS employees the same question on the same day and get three different answers. The way it used to work (and largely probably still does), is that she automatically qualifies for permanent residency (i.e. Green Card), which allows he to live in the U.S. and have pretty much all the same rights as citizens, except for voting. So, being married to a U.S. citizen automatically qualified you for a Green Card, and you don't need to be employed or anything else - just being married is enough. They might (probabyl will) ask for an interview to talk to both of them, to make sure it's not a sham marriage just to get a green card - but that's usually pretty benign and just a formality. (they'r enot going to put them in separate rooms and ask what their favorite color and food is - but likely just want to see that they live in the same place, and have a joint bank account - stuff like that) Depending on where she lives, tell her to prepare for LOTS of headaches. The INS is the most inefficient and incompetent government bureaucracy I have ever encountered - and they employ the most surly people in the entire world. She will likely need to fill out LOTS of forms (most of which are 90% redundant with one another) and will spend a lot of time standing in line and generally putting up with lots of red tape. If they can afford it, getting an immigration lawyer that specializes in this kind of stuff might make the process easier or faster, but usualyl dealing with the INS involves having to have the patience of a saint. Then I think you have to live in the U.S. for 5 years or something before you can apply for citizenship, but I'm really not as sure about that part of it. |
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Quoted: I thought it was 7 years,could be wrong. My mother finally become a US citzen last year,after living and working here for 51 years. You're probably right. I've had my green card for something like 8 years, but I never really looked into the citizenship issue, so I'm not particularly confident in the 5 year number I pulled out of my butt. [;)] |
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She's actually been here since 2000, and they married after 1.5 years of dating/engagement. I know that part of the reason for the January wedding was visa issues - she graduated in December - but they were going to marry anyway. He told me that they were virtually the only couple staying at the way-up-in-the-mountains hotel they picked. |
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Quoted: She's here on a student visa, so Hubby will have to file a "Petition for Alien Relative (I-130)" to adjust her status. There's a PILE of forms, including biographical information for both spouses, affidavit of support (proof of ability of hubby to support her), and others. Also send checks for fingerprinting, the I-130, and the Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). Several hundred dollars in all. I think they did this part - I remember him mentioning something about "proving that I can support her". She'll be granted [b]temporary permanent residence[/b] immediately. She can also get a work authorization card within 2-4 weeks. These two documents allow her to remain in the US and to work legally. After the first interview she'll get [b]conditional permanent residence[/b] (conditional on her continued good behavior and marriage to spouse.) I remember him saying something like this, too. After two years of marital bliss she can have the conditional removed and become a permanent, [b]permanent resident[/b]. By this time she'll be sick of hubby and can move on without loosing her status. [:D] Actually if hubby beats her or the kids she can get out sooner without losing her status.. of course friends of AR15.commers don't have this to worry about, right? If he beats her, the INS will be the least of his worries.... But seriously, after 5 years (from the date of temporary permanent resident) she is eligible to file a N-400 application for citizenship. Optionally, hubby can tell her that she will be questioned in-depth about the meaning and origin of the second amendment, and use that as a hook to take her shooting. Me and a few of my other friends have taken him shooting several times, and he's gung-ho about it. The new wife is also positive (part of our wedding gift is a trip to the range). Well ok, that's a little fib, the written citizenship test has inane things like "q: Who is President? a: George W. Bush" and "q: What does the Bill of Right do? a: [b]Grants[/b] citizens certain rights [b](sic)[/b]" But any excuse to go to the range is good! You also have a short window of opportunity, immediately after the wedding, in which the new bride's brain is receptive to new directions from her husband, due to cognitive dissonance ("I must have married this jerk for some reason... so he must be a good guy.") Get her hooked on shooting before the dissonance resolves itself, it'll make it easier to justify new firearm purchases down the road. Won't be a problem. He's rabidly pro-gun, and his wife is aware of this. (For what little we've encountered, she and I get along well enough.) Important (and serious) note: while your petition is underway, DON'T LEAVE THE US WITHOUT GETTING 'ADVANCED PAROLE', in writing, from INS. Otherwise it'll be a looong wait to get back in. Advanced parole is a permission slip to leave and re-enter the US. Without advanced parole, leaving the US is considered abandoning your application (and you'll have to start over.) Don't even go to Canada, despite popular opinion it isn't the 51st state where prescriptions are cheap. It's a whole 'nuther country, even more so than Texas. Also, people are no longer allowed to ask INS questions regarding filling out the forms (and believe me, you will have questions.) The other option is to search online for advice (or ask your AFCOMMIN' buddies [:)]) or hire an immigration lawyer. Or submit the form and see what they kick it back for, two months later... then start again. The interviews are no big deal, bring some pictures, borrow an infant you can pass off as your own, etc. Try not to say things that might depict your marriage as being fraudulent ("What was your name again?") No really, a lot of the 'fake' marriages slip through the interview process, it's no trouble for a real married couple to be approved. If the pseudo-spouse you paid $500 to sign a marriage license doesn't show up, then you're in trouble. Make no mistake, it's not me. I've been married to an American girl for nearly 7 years. |
| It took my mother about 7 months to wade through the paperwork,get fingerprinted,etc,then they gave her an appointment to see them,ask her some history questions,then she finally was a citizen. I wished she had done before I had gone into the Army,they gave me such grief over her not being a citizen and because I had relatives in Holland for my clearance. |
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Here is what and should happen: (I know from first hand) *Get an immigration lawyer. I can recommend a man that does fantastic work for a decent price in Baltimore. *Fill out her work authorization app., I-485 app and you should be good to go as far as forms. Once the receipts come back for the forms double check all the information. Then sit back and wait for an INS interview. This is very easy as long as the marriage looks legit. After she gets her green card, you will have about 3 years until she can take her citizenship test. If he or you needs to talk to someone about it, feel free to IM or email me and I will give you my #. |
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Quoted: If you liked ATF-- you'll love INS/USCIS. They'll always be "La Migra" to me. If I had a nickel for every hour I've wasted standing in line, or filling out forms... I'd have this great big pile of nickels! No kidding. Once, after spending an ENTIRE day standing in line and sitting waiting - my number came up on the board. I had been watching the board (but you don't know which desk it'll be until it comes up), so I was ready to go the instant it told me where. As soon as the number came up, I started walking quickly towards the correct desk. The 400-lb pile of unkempt blubber behind then desk then said "if you don't hurry it up, I'm going to call the next number" Charming people at INS. [rolleyes] Did I mention that my green card was delayed for 6 months? You know why? Because the person that was handling my case had quit. Apparently when that happens, NOBODY takes over the cases. If I hadn't checked up on them, I'd still be waiting. I don't know if it has changed yet - HOPEFULLY, given the war on terror it has - but 10 years ago, the INS only used paper files, no computers. Seriously! It's WORSE than being in a third-world country (and I've lived in third-world countries [;)] ). The interviews are no big deal, bring some pictures, borrow an infant you can pass off as your own, etc. [ROFL2] |
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Quoted: Easy answer, one hell of alot of buerocratic bullshit filled with lazy ass civil servants that treat you like shit after you drive all the way to the closest federal building. Tj I found the process uneventful and without any bureaucratic bullshit or lazy ass civil servants. You will need to fill out an I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), G-325A for both parties (Biographic Information), I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status), I-864 (Affidavit of Support) with copies of last three years tax returns, I-765 (Application for Employment), I-693 (Physical Exam). Also you will need to submit copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, and a copy of her I-94 or student visa. The forms can be mailed to the local service center, no trip necessary. From my personal experience: 07/15/2002 packet mailed to INS 08/22/2002 appointment for work permit 08/29/2002 appointment for fingerprints 10/11/2002 first and only interview, permanent residence granted. Since we were married for more than two years at the time, did not have to deal with any temporary residence. No appointments took more than 30 minutes. Again, this was from my experience, anyone else's may vary. Also, anyone married to a U.S. citizen can apply for citizenship after being married 3 years. No bullshit. Costs: I-130 $130.00 I-485 $255.00 I-765 $120.00 Fingerprint Card $50.00 Grand Total $555.00 Prices might have increased since then. |
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Quoted: That sounds pretty easy Parrandero! Maybe they've changed things for the better. I know I had to come in on three different occasions - but I also got the impression that the experience can vary GREATLY from city to city. In Chicago, it sucked! I had really expected the worst, heard all kinds of horror stories. I was living outside the U.S. when I got married and my wife came here on a tourist visa after we were married. Maybe that shortened the process. I had expected it to take at least a year. A good friend of mine had just the opposite exprience with the same INS office. He met a person that had come here on a fiancee visa but her intended decided he didn't want to get married after all and she was left high and dry. She was introduced to my friend through mutual friends and after a couple of months decided to get married. They went to the INS office to ask if she could marry someone else other than the person on her fiancee visa. No problem, they were told. She can marry anyone, so they did. Over the next two years they went to INS for several interviews with no problems. On the last interview to grant her prmanent residence the INS told them that the marriage was not legal because she maried someone other than the person on her fiancee visa. In all the previous interviews this had been brought up and they were told it was no problem. To make a long story short she was deported (she was given 90 days to voluntarily leave) and told to resubmit an I-130. They were further told that it would take approximately 3 months for her to return. Didn't happen. Over a year later she finally made it back, ended up doing the whole paperwork routine all over again from scratch. So it varies even in the same INS office. |
| Believe it or not, I'm an immigration paralegal and do this stuff all the time. I can explain the process to you if you give me a bit more info (what visa was she on before she married?) but won't bore everyone on the board with it. let me know if you're interested (though sounds as if you've gotten some relatively on point advice already). Just reply that you're interested and I'll set you up |
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Start out here, with the K-Visa FAQ: [url]http://www.k1faq.com/[/url] I think in some ways it is easier if you arrange this while she is overseas but my experience [u]buying[/u] marrying my slave-girl wife in Asia is that it can take 6 months to get approved. The INS stuff takes time and there are fees involved. You should be able to do it without an immigration lawyer, even though many folks do hire them. GunLvr |
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From my friend... Thanks. We actually went through a lot of this "BS" already. We talked to an immigration lawyer, etc. The best help was actually a friend of hers who was in basically the exact same situation. She kept very good records of what she did, so we are basically just "following in her footsteps". It was a fairly easy process for this girl overall...so I don't expect it to be too difficult for us. Thanks for your help. |