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Okay, so... my wife is a Chinese national. We met in China seven years ago, married five years ago, have a four year old daughter, and have been living in China since we married. Initially we planned to stay in China for the long term, but the changing geopolitical atmosphere, rising nationalism, and more pressingly, our daughter's situation are pushing us back to the US, pandemic and unrest be damned. The primary school system in China is complex, restrictive, and expensive, and the long and short of it is that we would have to jump through a ton of hoops and potentially pay a lot of money for our daughter to attend school after this year. We'd much rather bring her to the States; we have traveled to the US twice and both my wife and daughter love it there. We just aren't really happy in China anymore and don't see much of a future for us here, at this time.
My wife has a 10-year tourist visa with about 7 years left on it, and a 6 month TOS. I'm a born and raised American. Our daughter is a US citizen with a CRBA and US passport.
Generally, the process for applying for a greencard in China would work as follows: apply at a US consulate (Guangzhou in our case); files are processed at the local USCIS field office; interviews take place locally; greencard is granted. However, right now, overseas USCIS field offices are closed, so she can't have an interview conducted locally. I've tried talking to the consulate, and they tell me to contact USCIS; I contact USCIS and get automated email responses which aren't helpful.
1) Because of this situation, it seems like we have to apply from her greencard from within the US. What I'm worried about, is that we are entering the US with her on a valid tourist visa with a 6 month term of stay, but would then apply for a change of status from within the US. Would this create a problem for us because she entered the US on a tourist visa, and it could be interpreted as fraud? Or is this a nonissue?
2) I know that after the application and fees are accepted by the USCIS office, she is able to stay in the US until her interview. I've read that it's taking over one year for interviews at this point, but wanted to know if the timeframe for accepting the application is also longer; we wouldn't want her staying her past her 6 month TOS, and don't know when borders will be opening up so she could do a border run.
3) Because of my visa situation in China, I don't have an income (family visas in China don't allow you to work, own property, etc, so our assets are in her name). I was advised by a tax professional to submit 0 income on my taxes as I don't have an income in China, and that's what I've done for years. My wife has large sums of cash in China her name in which we could claim, but I gather we would need to pay US taxes on them? For the purpose of immigration, my parents are happy to submit their assets on an I-864A, which pass the thresholds. Is this situation likely to be problematic?
Okay, so... my wife is a Chinese national. We met in China seven years ago, married five years ago, have a four year old daughter, and have been living in China since we married. Initially we planned to stay in China for the long term, but the changing geopolitical atmosphere, rising nationalism, and more pressingly, our daughter's situation are pushing us back to the US, pandemic and unrest be damned. The primary school system in China is complex, restrictive, and expensive, and the long and short of it is that we would have to jump through a ton of hoops and potentially pay a lot of money for our daughter to attend school after this year. We'd much rather bring her to the States; we have traveled to the US twice and both my wife and daughter love it there. We just aren't really happy in China anymore and don't see much of a future for us here, at this time.
Things change; see your other posts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
My wife has a 10-year tourist visa with about 7 years left on it, and a 6 month TOS. I'm a born and raised American. Our daughter is a US citizen with a CRBA and US passport.
At least the child has a US passport.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
Generally, the process for applying for a greencard in China would work as follows: apply at a US consulate (Guangzhou in our case); files are processed at the local USCIS field office; interviews take place locally; greencard is granted. However, right now, overseas USCIS field offices are closed, so she can't have an interview conducted locally. I've tried talking to the consulate, and they tell me to contact USCIS; I contact USCIS and get automated email responses which aren't helpful.
1) Because of this situation, it seems like we have to apply from her greencard from within the US. What I'm worried about, is that we are entering the US with her on a valid tourist visa with a 6 month term of stay, but would then apply for a change of status from within the US. Would this create a problem for us because she entered the US on a tourist visa, and it could be interpreted as fraud? Or is this a nonissue?
Please give an official link for adjusting status from B1/2 to Greencard for a spouse inside the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
2) I know that after the application and fees are accepted by the USCIS office, she is able to stay in the US until her interview. I've read that it's taking over one year for interviews at this point, but wanted to know if the timeframe for accepting the application is also longer; we wouldn't want her staying her past her 6 month TOS, and don't know when borders will be opening up so she could do a border run.
You are confusing fiance and spousal visas. What you call a border run on B1/2 - rule of thum is as much time outside the US as inside.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
3) Because of my visa situation in China, I don't have an income (family visas in China don't allow you to work, own property, etc, so our assets are in her name). I was advised by a tax professional to submit 0 income on my taxes as I don't have an income in China, and that's what I've done for years. My wife has large sums of cash in China her name in which we could claim, but I gather we would need to pay US taxes on them? For the purpose of immigration, my parents are happy to submit their assets on an I-864A, which pass the thresholds. Is this situation likely to be problematic?
Your spouse can self sponsor her Affidavit of Support. Personally I would never burden anyone with the responsibility this affidavit can bring.
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