My boyfriend is Austrian and has lived in the U.S. for the past 6 years. He has recently been sent back to Austria for some reason. He is working on getting a green card but there are a few different methods of getting one. If anyone has any suggestions on which one would be best, please let me know. Thanks, ~Jeannie
Immigration - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There are too many to count. Of course if he was "sent back" by the US Government for overstaying his visa then he's barred for ten years and you may have to rejoin him in Austria. Or the UK. Or Canada. Otherwise there's the visa lottery; or if he becomes a minister of religion he can get a green card easily that way. Or an I visa (journalist for a recognized news outlet). Marriage is the next easiest. A diplomatic or government visa to work at his consulate or at the UN or another international organization is nice. Or secondment by an international firm, although that takes time it's a lot less time than a green card.
2 :
If he's been here 6 years, and has a clean record while here, there is a preferred alien status to apply for. It still has to be approved by INS, but it could help things move faster. The only other way is to marry the guy. "Sweetheart visa" may be another avenue.
3 :
you can marry him, but here's the thing, i know that the us embassy in japan makes it fast and easy to get a green card. you don't apply here in the states, you go to the actual embassy in that country. it's a lot of paperwork, but it's really fast (this is based off of the us embassy in japan)
4 :
get married is your best bet
5 :
Have him get an american girl pregnant. It's surefire 100% way to get him in the country indefinately. He's the father of an American so he's entitled to be with is offsprint in America. If you don't want to have his child (or someone else doesn't) then he can just apply and wait forever.
6 :
Too many choices, but most of them take a long time to get resolved. For starters, if he was sent back to Austria by the US HLS, then he is banned to enter the country for the next 10 years. Nothing to do about it, but to wait. Even if you marry him overseas, or you petition him under a Fiance K-1 visa, he would not be able to enter the country. If he is not in this position, your best bet is to have him try to come with a Fiance K-1 VISA, or if you marry him overseas, then you will have to start a Spousal petition procedure. Fiances can visit or live with their partners using a K-1 visa and can remain in the United States as long they observe a good social status. K-1 and Spousal petitons are time-consuming procedures and it will require lots of patience on your and his end. There are 2 basic steps to getting a K-1 visa. The 1st one is the petition, which is completed by the U.S. citizen, the 2nd step is the application which is the foreign citizen’s request for a K-1 visa stamp at their home country's U.S. consulate. Much of the fiance visa processing takes place at the U.S. consulate abroad. If ya'll not sure about tying the knot yet, then your second best bet is a F-1 student Visa. I met lot of foreigners in the MBA program at the University of Phoenix on this status, but I met also a bunch of foreigners in our local community college. If he goes on this venue, he can go for 2 years, and depending on his education, he can get a masters degree or an Associate's degree. After graduating he can apply for a job within the USA. The potential employer will issue a Help Wanted ad in 3 of the most well known employment newspapers (including the internet) to make sure that there not any Americans available to fill that position. If after a 30 days nobody meets the criteria, your boyfriend can be hired. He will be issued a work permit and his visa will change to H-1B. His employer would have to renew his work permit every year for the 3 years. On the fourth year he could not renew his work permit but he would have to apply for a permanent redidenceship. There are 98% chances he will get it. If he changes jobs before the fourth year, he will have to go throught the hiring process again with his new potential employer, but he would not have to start all over the 4th year waiting period. To get a F-1 student visa he needs to be accepted in a US acredited school. The school will send him a I-20 form notifying he has been accepted into their program. Before the school sends the I-20 form, he needs to prove that he has enough funds to support himself for the first 2 semesters. About $19K US will do it. He does not have to show this in cash, but showing that he have reliable sources where this money would come from (e.g. Loans, credit cards, properties, Health insurance contract and sponsorship agreements from relatives and significant others). Here is where your help comes handy. You can send a letter stating that you are going to sponsor him for as much as you pay in rent or mortgage and food expenses, since is very likely he will be living under your roof. Your living expenses could amount about $12K or more, depending on where you live and he can show that amount as part of his resources. NOTE: Students under M visas cannot undergo this process to become residents. Any way you go, it would take a long time, but these two choices are the fastest ones. Good luck.
