wanting to move to hawaii, out of cold Canada... (living in, legally)

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by jaggster

If I marry a Hawaiian, do I automatically get status to work in Hawaii?

If you marry a United States Citizen - and it is a legal marriage and not just a sham marriage just for right to work purposes - you will eventually get the right to work anywhere in the United States, which includes Hawaii. It is a very long drawn out process to get the proper visas.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by jaggster

If I marry a Hawaiian, do I automatically get status to work in Hawaii?

I'm going to take a guess that you're talking about being an alien, and gaining a resident visa (green card) that would allow you to work legally in the country by marrying a US citizen?

No, it's not automatic. Yes, if it is a genuine marriage, it is typically not too hard to gain approval, HOWEVER, it is not automatic, and immigration officials are constantly on the lookout for possible fraud. If they detect that a marriage is a sham, just arranged for the purpose of getting someone into the country, they can come down hard.

A good friend of mine met a Japanese woman who had come to the US on a tourist visa... they "fell in love", and within a very short time he married her, and they applied for permanent residency for her. Her tourist visa expired, however, before the application could be approved. So she had to return to Japan. Over the next year they were each interviewed several times, and other family members were interviewed, and it was eventually determined that they did not have a valid marriage for immigration purposes. So she never returned to the US, and later they were divorced.

IOW, there has to be a serious relationship behind the marriage, not just a casual hookup.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by jaggster

If I marry a Hawaiian, do I automatically get status to work in Hawaii?

First you will need to learn the difference between being "a Hawaiian" and "a U.S. Citizen".

[Jungjohann]

But if you are a resident of Hawaii can you apply for US citizenship? Or do you have to get married to someone from the States? Inquiring minds want to know..

okolemaluna..... must be the meteors

[CyberCity]

Jungjohann ...

[oregonwoodsmoke]

"Residents" can apply for citizenship after lots if classes, several years wait, and passing a test. However, for citizenship, "resident" means that you are a legal resident, ie: you have a green card. It doesn't count if you are simply living there illegally.

Residing illegally gets you nothing except deported if they catch you. It is not legal for you to work, probably not legal to get a driving license (varies by state)

As far as I know, the recent immigration law says that in order to get papers for a foreign spouse, the application must be submitted in the foreign spouse's country of residence. You can no long move illegally to the USA, find someone to marry you, and walk in and get your papers.

However, consult an immigration lawyer, or at a minimum, walk into the USA embassy and ask what the requirements are and what paperwork to file in order to get to the USA as a spouse.

There are other visas that make it legal to work in the USA. If you do specialized work, where there are no enough US citizens to fill the jobs, you can usually get a work visa. If you have enough money to meet the requirements, you can get an investor's visa.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

PS: I can't imagine marrying anyone whose only interest in the marriage was obtaining a green card. Not a very good deal, as far as I can see.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

PS: I can't imagine marrying anyone whose only interest in the marriage was obtaining a green card. Not a very good deal, as far as I can see.

Depends on the paycheck.

And the benefits.

[VanHa]

I can't believe this has gotten so off track...marriage, illegal aliens...etc...if you want to get a taste of the islands...marry a Hawaiian and live in Canada. Otherwise apply to live legally under one of the many Visa options!

VanHa

[jaggster]

what visa options? I have decided to just vacation for 5 or 6 months and get a better feel before diving with two feet to relocate to the island of Kauai.......maybe there might be another hawaian island I may fall in love with......even though Kauai is still deep in my heart......maybe its the past memories I am hanging on to......it was a long time ago.....I recently visited Maui found too busy......I visited Kauai after 18 years recently....spiritually it made me truly happy to be there even though it was one nite.....the feelin never changed.....it is where I like to live part of the year there.........

The local people were really hospitable, hard workin, down to earth.......economy is tough though but that is every where but I must admit Maui was pretty busy.....

jaggster