US Visas & Ethics?? (long post)

I have been reading this board for sometime now and have been really impressed by the expertise and knowledge of those whom frequently participate. Here is my situation: I was married to a Dominican woman in Puerto Plata (a small town about 30 minutes from the city) in March of this year. I am about to file an I-130 petition for an alien relative on her behalf. I was dismayed to learn, as expressed on this board, that the waiting time for visa approval is about one year for an alien husband or wife. I have heard that the "Fiance visa" (not sure of the INS code yet) is much faster, with approval granted in only a few months. I'm sure most of you know where I'm going here. Would it be possible for me to file for the Fiance visa and just act as though we were never married in the DR? I seriously doubt that the US Embassy in Santo Domingo was notified about the marriage. Is it likely that I would be caught? Would my wife (fiance in this situation need to own land, have a certain amount of money, etc. to qualify for the finance visa? Any advice on dealing with the bureaucracies of two governments? How do I make this speed up? Thanks in advance.

I did all that with my wife from Colombia.

You are doing nothing wrong by trying to get a fiancee visa.
They come fairly fast. 84 days for my wife. Then get married in the states. Then apply for the change of status, the 2yr green card, we have been waiting about one year for that one.
You can't do much else until that comes through. We were able to get an INS work permit, good for one year while waiting for the green card. While waiting for all this you can not do much about getting her relatives up here. If you are in a large metro area with lawyers that work on INS problems you can get some very good help from them. Check your local phone book.

On a side note, would it be possible to have the INS paperwork sent to the US Consulate in POP? I have heard that SD is terribly backed up. My wife lives on the N. Coast. Thanks for the advice. Please keep it coming!

First, the US Consulate in POP does not process visas, only the the consulate in SD (at least that is what I have always been told).

I know that the theory about fiancee visas being very fast is probably true in general, though of the dozen or so people that I know who have gone that route (myself included), it has not been that fast. For me it was just under a year and was not until I got my congressman involved did it even move forward. Most of the others I knew took an average of six months, start to finish.

I am hardly risk-adverse, however I would not take a chance and lie on all of those forms. Forms which you swear to the truth, have to have notarized and are warned that any falsification can lead to the banning of the immigrant for 10 years or more. Ask yourself carefully: do you really want to take the chance?

Finally, any disillusions you may have about Uncle Sam, rah, rah, this is "my" government will be gravely shaken by the immigration process regardless of which route you take. It is an arduous road, full of lousy bureaucracy, mean bureaucrats and meaningless rules, regulations and paperwork.

If you really love this woman, do it right, don?t take a chance. Best of luck!

Re: POP is Consular Agency/No visas!!

I guess you really don't get it yet. To get a fiancee visa for your friend you come back to the states. You apply for the fiancee visa for her here at your nearest INS office. After it is approved here the office here will send it down there to the US Embassy there for final processing. They will contact her and set up an appointment to talk to her and tell her where to get her physical exam that is acceptable to them. Once all that is done she will get a fiancee visa good for 90 days once she comes to the US, during which time you need to get married here and then apply for a change of status for her. The change of status can take forever but she is here in the states while you wait. Fiancee visas are only issued by application initiated here in the US. You can not do it down there in Santo Domingo until it is done up here. If someone has some shortcuts please let us know.

Of course if she was Cuban you could just pay $500.00 to have her brought here by speed boat and if she got her foot on dry land she could stay and apply for permanent residency and then citizenship and get a US Passport. Fast and cheap. Designed to piss off Castro.

Another point. During this long wait for the change of status she cannot leave the US or she will have no visa to get back here with. You see the fiancee visa will expire and you will have nothing to show that allows her to come back here. She will need to understand that it may be a long time before she can go back and forth freely like we do. Even after the change of status is issued it is just a 2 year temporary green card. With the temp green card she is expected to stay here unless there is a problem like a sick parent, etc. At the end of the 2 yr green card you apply for a permanent green card. They then want to see that you are still married and living together. This is all to prevent fake marriages for the purpose of getting into the states. I think they have gone overboard but this is what it is.

Re: POP is Consular Agency/No visas!!

Good post Milo! Lots of good info.

One small correction though. Once you are married and you apply for the change in status, you can also apply for something called "advance parole" which allows your new spouse re-entry into the US if she/he leaves the country while awaiting the green card. In my case, my wife was issued an advance parole good for multiple re-entries simply because I told them that we were planning several overseas trips.

Since then my wife has gone to Mexico and back the the Dominican Republic twice with no problems re-entering the USA.

It is worth noting that each INS office has rules about who gets the advance parole and under what circumstances. I guess for my assigned office, it was no big deal. One question from them, one answer from me, and we were told to return in a week to pick up the papers!

I agree with Greg.. I went through this 1 1/2 years ago and we decided to get married and go that route. It took about 7 months from the time I filed the first papper work.Make sure that you have every thing they ask for (triple check to make sure). I forgot my w-2s requested for the second mailing (they all ready had three copies for the last three years) but I had to fed-ex new copies and it cost us about 4 weeks.Get all your senators involved from the start and it will help speed things up alot.I also had the 800 number for the visa center and called every week to see how things were going.If you don't have the number e-mail me and I will give it to you. Good Luck

Reality Check

What presents a real problem in the Embassy Consular Section is that the overwhelming majority of new wives would never qualify, on their own, for a visa as a tourist. This automatically raises a red flag for them.

Put yourselves in their shoes. Someone with no prospects, no job skills, maybe not even a job, suddenly wants to go to the States as a wife of a U.S. citizen. Add to the mixture that you know of cases where the "marriage fee" was over 20,000 dollars(!), and you have a breeding ground for abuse. Of course it is complicated!

It is the same for Canadians, Spaniards and especially the Swiss-in fact, anywhere there is great public health, education and welfare.

I wish you well, but the road is long....

HB

Re: POP is Consular Agency/No visas!!

Heh Greg, thanks for the info about the "advanced parole" deal. I will give it a try, can't hurt. I looked it up in the book; "U.S. Immigration Made Easy", and there it is.
PS, the book title is bull shit.

I believe that each and every one of you who have attempted to obtain a visa for friend or fianc?e has been stymied by Ms MARIA ARAN, head of INS Santo Domingo (US).

She believes and acts as if the INS is her personal fiefdom, and depending if she likes you or not, you will either be declined or approved. The only real solution to change this situation and help not only you but also the thousands of others who follow is to get your US Senator or Congressman involved.

Letters to Ambassador Manatt, letters from your US Representatives will eventually institute a Congressional probe that just may get rid of this despot.

Currently, there are several pending investigations of her handling of cases and refusals to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests.

If each and every time you get the run around, you ask your Representative for assistance and file a FOIA request, something will eventually give.

Gov. Bush has introduced a plan to separate enforcement and consular duties within the INS., this may lead to some reform if he is elected.

Again, the only way this horrendous problem will ever become resolved is through political pressure to investigate and remove MARIA ARAN for her dereliction and abuse of duties

Grupo M

I NEED TO LOCATE THE MANUFACTURING PLANT, "THE LARGEST EMPLOYERIN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, MAKE CLOTHES FOR HUGO BOSS, TOMMY HILFINGER AND MANY OTHERS...PLEAS PROVIDE ME WITH THE MAILING ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND E MAIL.

Re: Grupo M

LM II Grupo M
Zona Franca
Santiago
809-575-2121

Hope this helps.