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My girlfriend is from Mexico and is an au pair in the Denver area. She is already on her second year and cannot renew her visa through the agency again. I am looking for ideas of what could possibly be done to renew her visa and keep her in the states. Thanks for any information
I would guess your only option is to marry her but even if you do that it will be quite a while before she's eligible to work in the US so you'll be supporting her.
Two things come to mind:
- F1 student visa if she is willing to go back to college and she or you have the fees to pay for it.
- How strong are your feelings for her? If you marry, she can probably stay (unless her visa is subject to a 2 year home stay requirement, but you could apply for a waiver for that).
Unfortunately her options are few. As mentioned she could change status to an F1 visa - a student visa - which would allow her to stay until she's done with her studies but this option would be very expensive since she would have to pay the international student rate at a college in addition to her living costs without being allowed to hold a job outside of the school. A wealthy family or a hefty loan would be required.
Another option, technically, would be to get a work based green card but these are very hard to get. She would have to find an employer that would be willing to sponsor her for a green card and there are a number of requirements as well. If your girlfriend isn't well educated and have some very desirable attributes it's not very likely, especially in this economy.
Realistically, though, your only real option for your girlfriend to continue to live in the US would be for you to marry her and apply for a green card for her. This is assuming that you're a US citizen. Once you're married you can apply for a green card right away and while it's pending she can stay here legally and work if she gets a work permit. Once she gets the green card she can live here permanently and do almost anything a citizen can.
I'm assuming your girlfriend has a J visa and with some J visas there is a requirement to leave the US and stay away for two years after their visa is up but that's not the case with au-pairs so you don't have to worry about that. Your girlfriend can change to another visa or a green card while in the country.
Those are your options. A lot of international couples are forced to marry sooner than they would have liked to because it's the only way to stay together. It sucks but it is what it is. You have to decide if being together is that important.
Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions.
Once you're married you can apply for a green card right away and while it's pending she can stay here legally and work if she gets a work permit. Once she gets the green card she can live here permanently and do almost anything a citizen can.
I believe that obtaining a "work permit" while the immigration application is pending would only take place if the applicable visa requirements were met - in other words those that are required of anyone. Being a GC applicant in no way alters or enhances that process. Depending on the location, the period between the application and the granting of a GC via marriage takes anywhere from 1-3 years during which the applicant is prohibited from working.
I believe that obtaining a "work permit" while the immigration application is pending would only take place if the applicable visa requirements were met - in other words those that are required of anyone. Being a GC applicant in no way alters or enhances that process. Depending on the location, the period between the application and the granting of a GC via marriage takes anywhere from 1-3 years during which the applicant is prohibited from working.
None of the things you are saying are accurate. Applying and receiving a work permit, by filing a I-765, at the same time you're applying for a green card is standard. You are definitely not prohibited from working during the application process and most do work. A work permit, or more accurately called an Employment Authorization Document or EAD, is not available to anyone but green card applications are one of those it is available for so, yes, being a green card applicant does "enhance" that process.
It also no longer takes 1 to 3 years to get a green card. They have sped up the process significantly and now it usually just takes a few months.
I have no idea what you mean by "if the applicable visa requirements are met".
My girlfriend is from Mexico and is an au pair in the Denver area. She is already on her second year and cannot renew her visa through the agency again. I am looking for ideas of what could possibly be done to renew her visa and keep her in the states. Thanks for any information
How old are you two? And how serious are you two about your relationship? I ask because marriage can be a legal and ethical option.
Thank you. Things may indeed have speeded up but it isn't true that the "few months" wait is common throughout the US - the time frame in many cases depends on one's physical location, plus a brand new marriage of less than a year isn't likely at all to be fast-tracked - in fact the opposite.
Thank you. Things may indeed have speeded up but it isn't true that the "few months" wait is common throughout the US - the time frame in many cases depends on one's physical location, plus a brand new marriage of less than a year isn't likely at all to be fast-tracked - in fact the opposite.
OP has not been heard from.
There is no such thing as processing according to individual circumstances. Some visas have the option of expedited processing based on additional fees.
Were they to get married spontaneously they could file AoS, she applies for EAD (recent applications took three weeks) and live happily ever after once her Green Card arrives and she can move on to a 10-year Green Card in two years. Spontaneous is a gamble. The safer route is K1.
Thank you. Things may indeed have speeded up but it isn't true that the "few months" wait is common throughout the US - the time frame in many cases depends on one's physical location, plus a brand new marriage of less than a year isn't likely at all to be fast-tracked - in fact the opposite.
for most of my foreign-trained friends who came here via work visa but married citizens, they only waited a few months to get their green cards, usually three months.
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