J1 Visa - asking on behalf of a friend

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.
 

Chris_NJ

Bronze
Dec 17, 2003
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As long as the person entered the US legally then yes she could remain here during the approval process.
 

vince1956

On Vacation!
May 24, 2006
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El Tigre said:
I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.
hi tig i am from the uk i married a domincan i applyed for a fiance visa from the home office in the uk it was a for six months when we were married after about five months we had a form for indefinate leave to remain after three years she had a british passport have you looked on the usa govt site about fiance visa could be different than uk laws hope that help you
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
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El Tigre, it doesn't look like there is an easy answer. Here is some text from the USCIS website from the "Otherwise Eligible" section.

You may be ineligible for adjustment to permanent resident status if:

You are a J-1 or J-2 exchange visitor who must comply with the two-year foreign residence requirement, and you have not met or been granted a waiver for this requirement.

I think your advice for them to consult an Immigration Lawyer was good advice.
 
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El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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Wow thanks guys.

My friend contacted a lawyer and they were asking him to stop by and bring with him a $100 consultation fee.

It is amazing how much info you can find on the net. I got him some answers just from this site with your help.

Now all he has to do is find out about the two-year foreign residence requirement and he should be all set. If the girl has to comply with that then he is screwed.

Once again thanks a million!!!

I'll report back with what he finds.
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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Make sure the lawyer he is using comes recomended. There are plenty of lawyers that say they are experts in immigration but are not.
 
Oct 13, 2003
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El Tigre said:
I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

Tigre,

Good luck to your friend with his immigration questions. As an aside, they know each other one month and are thinking about marriage already?

MD
 

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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MD,

If it were me I wouldn't rush into things like that. But, love doesn't ask why. I've known this guy for quite some time and have never seen him this happy. I did tell him to make sure he was sure of this. I'm nobody to tell him don't do this or don't do that. He's an adult.

I really wish him the best but if it fails he'll at least have this experience.
 

Alyonka

Silver
Jun 3, 2006
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El Tigre said:
I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

Yes, they have to get married before visa expires and then she should apply for adjustment of status and will get temporary green card valid for 3 years. Is she stays married for 3 years, she can become a citizen or get a permanent green card. Some J1 visas (students' visas) have restrictions - a person has to go back to the home country and stay there for at least 2 years before she can enter US. Then she would have to go back (actually I have known people who were able to stay despite this restriction, you will need an immigration attorney in this case who can prove that she and her work here in the US are that important for the country). But it looks like she is here to work for the summer. In this case this would not apply.
 
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El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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Avroca,

This girl studies at the prestigous PUCMM university in Santiago. According to her she was here last summer as well. So I don't think she has the two year restriction you mention. If she came last summer and this summer that's 1 year apart.
 

Alyonka

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Jun 3, 2006
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El Tigre said:
Avroca,

This girl studies at the prestigous PUCMM university in Santiago. According to her she was here last summer as well. So I don't think she has the two year restriction you mention. If she came last summer and this summer that's 1 year apart.

2 year restriction is for those J1 visitors who are students in US universities and were given grants by US development organizations to pay for their studies here. It is designed for them to go back to their home countries and apply the skills they learned in the US. This is what those grants were for. I guess she is not part of any program like that. But she should definitely find out to make sure. If 2 year restriction does not apply - she will have no problems at all and does not need to pay an attorney - waste of money.
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
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Avrora said:
Yes, they have to get married before visa expires and then she should apply for adjustment of status and will get temporary green card valid for 3 years. Is she stays married for 3 years, she can become a citizen or get a permanent green card.
Shows you what I know, I always thought you needed to be a legal resident for 5 years before you could become a citizen.
 
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Alyonka

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Jun 3, 2006
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rellosk said:
Show you what I know, I always thought you needed to be a legal resident for 5 years before you could become a citizen.

3 years is for those married to US citizens (maybe it changed now, I am not sure). But during these 3 years you cannot spend too much time outside of US - they can deny of US citizenship then.
 

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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rellosk said:
Show you what I know, I always thought you needed to be a legal resident for 5 years before you could become a citizen.

Same here buddy.

Always thought you had to wait five years to become a citizen.

I know I had to but that was a very long time ago. Maybe things have changed.
 

Alyonka

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Jun 3, 2006
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El Tigre said:
Same here buddy.

Always thought you had to wait five years to become a citizen.

I know I had to but that was a very long time ago. Maybe things have changed.

5 years is for those who got green cards on the basis other then marriage to a US citizen. But, again, it was some years back I did it. It might have changed. INS website is pretty good. Check there.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm - all of the information is included in each form. All they need to do is to fill out right forms and bring or mail them to the right INS office (it is also described on the Website). But in any case, they need to get married and file the adjustment of status form BEFORE her visa expires, there are might be complications otherwise. Good luck!
 
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Alyonka

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Jun 3, 2006
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It looks like it is 2 years at this point. They change regulations all the time!

Yes, marriage to U.S. citizen based Green Cards are temporary in nature. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants Conditional Permanent Residency for two years, after which you need to file for Removal of Conditions to get a permanent Green Card. The USCIS does a second check on the marriage after two years because marriage is a relatively easy route to get permanent residency in the U.S.

Note: If you have already been married for two years when you apply for a marriage to U.S. citizen based Green Card the USCIS will grant you a permanent Green Card.

http://faq.visapro.com/Marriage-US-Citizen-FAQ4.asp#Q10