There are times I forget that as a couple, Pollito and I are slightly different from most people we know. Its the international factor. A lot of people get engaged, and start planning weddings. We have to start planning weddings AND deal with immigration issues. Barrels of fun.
After it sunk in that we were engaged, I started looking up the different ways of doing visas and getting Pollito in the US. It is not simple. There are tons of options and each has like a billion steps that aren´t very well defined. I found a website forum about people and visas (Visa Journey) which outlines the ways to get your spouse or future spouse into the US. The most common ways people get their foreign spouse into the US is through a Fiance Visa. They get the visa, the foreign fiance goes to the US, they get married and then they adjust the status. You have to turn in a variety of papers and pay a variety of fees. The otherway is to ask for your foreign spouse from the US. People like the fiance visa because they are able to be with their partner in less time than other processes. The uncertainty is the amount of time you will have to wait to get everything approved. While you are waiting in a fiance visa, you cannot do anything. You cannot work, you cannot travel, for however long it takes. There are so many different processes and visas and forms that it is very confusing even with the help of a forum that explains things step by step. I started to get overwhelmed.
Luckily, since I live in the capital of Lima, we have the American Embassy which provides really bad customer service, but at least I can go and ask questions. So on the one out of two days that the window (literally just a window that you stand at and ask questions) is open, I went and waited to be attended. The info lady who was there was hurried, but helpful. She let me ask most of my questions before cutting me off to tell me that if I had been living in Peru for more than 8 months, then I was considered a resident in the eyes of the government and I could apply for a a green card for Pollito from Peru. She told me that it would take a lot less time, like a month or two instead of months to years. She provided me with papers and I was on my way to tell Pollito the new option.
Just in case you were confused reading thing, I´ll sum up.
1.) Fiance Visa : basically a special tourist visa to get Pollito to the US and then get married in the US. Once married you have to file for a change of status and work permission. Time for Pollito to arrive in the US is short, but waiting time to be a permanent resident can be long.
2.)Spousal visa type 1. Get married in Peru. Ask for Pollito for a visa to allow him to come the US as my husband and then change all the status like in the fiance visa. He enters like a tourist and we file so he can be a permanent resident. He travels as soon as we get the petition approved, but like the finace visa, he cannot do anything in the US until is residency status is approved.
3.)Spousal visa type 2 : Get married in Peru, and file for permanent residency for Pollito from the US. He has his visa interview in Peru and enteres the US as a permanent resident. He cannot travel until he gets the visa approved. Process takes up to a year to get it approved.
4.) Spousal visa type 3 : Get married in Peru and file for permanent residency from Peru. Process takes around 3 months and he enters the US as a permanent resident.
Options 2-4 mean getting married before I leave Peru, and option 1 means getting married in the States. Maybe it would be easiest to stay in Peru....The problem with options 1-2 is that Pollito will be a sitting duck in the US. He cannot do anything becuase he would be in limbo for an undetermined amount of time. Options 3-4 mean that he can stay working in Peru until he leaves for the US. Trying to weigh the options to see what is the best fit. On the other hand we have to figure out what getting in Peru involves.....
No comments:
Post a Comment