Applying For A Green Card

Question:

That's why I was just wondering how realistic this scenario is. What are the risks? Will this be looked upon as a sham marriage? If the couple proves it's an established relation, doesn't that make it very hard for the Dutch partner to prove that he/she entered the US not intending to stay?

What are the insights of the ng on this?

Answer:

I am a Dutch citizen, married to an American and we live in Holland. My wife and I are subscribers to a mailing-list for Dutch-American couples. One of the recurring topics on that list is the legal ways the Dutch partner has to move to the US.

Recently, a discussion has started on the following scenario. The Dutch partner travels to the US as a visitor and since he/she is from Holland one can do so under the Visa Waiver program (I-94). Then the couple gets married and the Dutch partner applies for a green card on the grounds of being married to a US citizen.

Since my wife and I have plans of moving to the US in the future, we have gathered a lot of information about immigration. From the info we have, I understood that the described scenario is within the boundaries of Immigration laws. My guess is this will be frowned upon by the INS to say the least.

What are the insights of the ng on this?

If the couple had not been co-habitating in the Netherlands prior to the visit to the US, then it might fly. However, if they give info that they have been involved in a relationship and living together prior to entry into the US, then I think the Dutch citizen could be accused of visa fraud most easily. whether or not this claim to fraud would actually happen would likely depend on the kindness of the local INS office, frankly. Some might not even give it a 2nd thought, and others would probably nix it for sure.

My thought is that if the couple are already living in Holland this is a stupid thing to do. Why wouldn't they get married and file the I-130 directly with the US consulate? Unless there are specific reasons not to do that it is likely to be the simplest and quickest approach ... not to mention that it is impeccably correct.

I have to agree with Andy and Alvena. The fact that when you file for the I-130 both you and the USC have to file a G-325A. This bio form asks for not only the current address but prior addresses as well. The fact that you two have lived together who be a red flag to the INS examiner. The easiest thing for you would be to marry in Holland and file for direct consular filing in Amsterdam. Not 100% sure the Consulate does it in Holland but they do for the other Scandinavian countries and worth a call to them to find out. If they do, you can be through the process inside of a few weeks and then arrive in the US as a conditional permanent resident with full privileges of a greencard holder.

The only hitch would be that your USC wife/husband will have to have made serious attempts to reclaim the US as their principal domicile which means job hunting, opening bank accounts, finding a place to live. And there is the issue of the affidavit of support (I-864) which you will have either way. Someone needs to prove to the INS that they can and will financially support you for up to ten years. They must earn or have at least 125% of the poverty guidelines for a family of your size.

The Grinch agrees completely with Andy! Although it would be fun to try and may upset Lisa!

I know that but same general area (North LOL) and perhaps the same US Consulate treatment as opposed the US Consulates serving the Eastern Europe countries.

Since the wife is a permanent resident of the Netherlands, she can submit the petition in person in Amsterdam. The procedures are on this page: http://www.usemb.nl/civpetam.htm It says it takes about 10 weeks to complete the process.