Thursday, February 28, 2013
Marrying a Colombian girl?
Marrying a Colombian girl?
I've been dating a Colombian girl who is legally here on a student visa until next year, Fall 2010. I would like to marry her (either in the USA or Colombia) and take her back to Colombia over this Christmas. Can I take her back to Colombia to get married? or would I need to get married here first? How long does the process take for her to become legal? I know citizenship takes a while, but legal enough to travel out of the country and return whenever she likes. Thanks
Immigration - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
My sister just got married in may shes english lived in england all her life and just got married to an american guy and mooved over so it should be the same process. The fact she has a studant visa might change it a little im not sure and i think it depends on were ure gona live once u guys are settled but You're girlfriend needs to get a fiance visa to get married in the USA, then when you get that you have 90 days to get married in America then she can apply for residency. she wont be able to leave the US untill she gets residency, you have to have lived in the USA for a number of years before you can apply for citizenship and get a US passport and stuff. My sister started the whole visa thing in November 08 and she just got her green-card the other day! it only took her three quarters of a year to get to that point. DO IT LEGALY, DONT CUT CORNERS or it could be disastrous, dont wanna scare you but do it right and it will be fine and faster than you think. And be carefull! if they think that ure just getting married so she can stay in the US theyll send her back to colombia before you can say heeeeellll noooo!!!! so youll need sufficiant funds to prove youll be okay! they make it hard for a reason!!!! if you realy love her youll take the time and effort to get this right!!! my sister is a prime example, she did it by the book got it all done in less than a year and shes living in the usa now!! good look hope this helped!
2 :
well if u get married here in the US u can sponsor her to get her to become legal here because she did come in a visa BUT it depends when she will get her legal papers because its a long process. IRS has to make sure the marriage is legit and then do all the paper work so don't count on taking her to her country yet do the legal stuff first then go traveling Hey you have the rest of your life to do so!!
3 :
I think it would look alot better if you get married in colombia. then you can do all the paperwork here. but you going over there to get married makes it seem more real to immigration
4 :
Your girlfriend can travel as is, on a student visa, she just needs her international student counselor at her school to sign her I-20 before she leaves the states, and she must travel with it, the valid student visa and her passport. She also must have her I-94. You don't need to be married for her to travel as an international student. Since you're serious about this girl and want to marry her, you may be better off doing it in the states (you will need your marriage certificate when you apply for her papers, and if it's from Columbia, you'll need to go through an extra loop of paperwork IN COLUMBIA to make sure the Colombian marriage certificate is valid internationally, hence in the US. Same applies for US issued marriage certificates to be accepted worldwide). Once you guys get married, you and her together can apply for AOS - adjustment of status - for her to get her permanent residence. You better do that as soon as you get married too - it'll takes about 6-9 months for her to get her green card. Hopefully, this way, but the time her student visa expires and she's done with school, the green card would have gone through. If you do the entire adjustment of status package together, you'll save time and money and you'll be able to take care of everything all at ones. The package includes - I-130 (application for immigrant visa for relative - spouse in your case), I-864 (affidavit of support - you fill out and submit for her to be able to immigrate), I-485 (application to adjust status, as in application for green card/permanent residence - she fills this out), I-765 (application for employment authorization based on the AOS application - she files this too), I-131 (application for travel document - Advance parole - if she wishes to travel while her AOS is pending. Note - she can travel on her F-1 status while it's active). There is also form G-325, biographical info, that you both need to file, as well as, for you, tax returns for three years back (although USCIS only requires one, it's a good idea to show all three to prove you are able to sponsor her). Every form also has a list of supporting documents that will need to be submitted (READ instructions and be careful), the the fee for filing the package is $1,010 for the I-485 + $355.00 for the I-130 (all other forms are covered by these two) Here is a link where you can find all forms - http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f15b6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f15b6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD The main ones are I-130 and I-485, their instructions will tell you pretty much eth you need. Again, please read the instructions to all of them! I know this seems like a lot - if you're hesitant about any of the legal stuff, contact an immigration attorney - many of them will do a free evaluation of your case (although yours is quite straight forward). also, feel free to e-mail me if you like. Best wishes and good luck!
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