Question:
We would apply for his green card while staying in France and only make
the move once we have it (I think). Would this give him the immediate
right to work? How long does this usually take? Could we actually move
and he work even before receiving the green card?
Answer:
I know this is really similar to another recent post, but I just wanted
to have one all to myself.
I'm an American citizen and I've been living in France for the last 5+
years. I've been married to a French man for 3+ years. My husband
possibly has a job opportunity in the US and so I wanted to see about
the immigration process.
We would apply for his green card while staying in France and only make
the move once we have it (I think). Would this give him the immediate
right to work? How long does this usually take? Could we actually move
and he work even before receiving the green card?
I know, I don't know anything about this, but it's really hard to find
information about this particular case even though I feel like hundreds
of couples must have already done something similar.
You can sponsor him for an immigrant visa, using form I-130 (
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-130.htm ). Once he
enters the Us with the immigrant visa, he becomes a permanent resident,
and should get the green card a
few days later in the mail.
It will only take the processing time (up to a year), no quota kicks
in. Chances are that it will only take about 6 months. If you want to
be on the safe side, you can file an I-129F (
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-129f.htm ) for him to
get a K-3 visa ( it should take up to 6 months to get that one ).
Disclaimer: The mentionned times are guesstimates.
The K-3 visa is the "while we sort it out visa". Until he gets the K-3,
he can only VISIT (excluding work, but can include moving belongings)
using the visa waiver program for up to 90 days at a time.
You can gather more info at
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.visa.us.marriage-based (read past
messages and you'll learn a lot) and http://visajourney.com/
The same style of processing applies to your case as the fellow living
in Germany. You can petition your husband in Paris and he will apply
for an Immigrant Visa. There is a lot of info on the US Embassy's
Consular page on this process. I recall that it takes less than one
month to do the whole case in Paris, currently. If possible, give
yourself a 6 month lead.
When he arrives in the US with his Immigrant Visa, he becomes a
Permanent Resident immediately and may live, work and travel freely. It
will take about a month to get his Social Security card, but he may be
hired and employed while he is waiting for his application to be
processed.
The same tips that hcj wrote out will apply to you. There is an
explanation of Direct Consular Filing here:
What is DCF and Why Do I Care?
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=dcf
There are several current Paris experiences posted there (Frankfurt
Germany too!).
I was basically looking for real-world estimates rather than the
official ones from the embassy. I was planning on giving myself 6
months, but hoping that it would take a shorter time and really hoping
it wouldn't take any longer. The one-month estimate alleviates a bit
worry.
Cool. I think his success in landing this job will depend on how
quickly he will be able to legally work in the US, so that's good.
