J1 Visa - asking on behalf of a friend

[El Tigre]

I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

[Chris_NJ]

As long as the person entered the US legally then yes she could remain here during the approval process.

[vince1956]

Originally Posted by El Tigre

I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

hi tig i am from the uk i married a domincan i applyed for a fiance visa from the home office in the uk it was a for six months when we were married after about five months we had a form for indefinate leave to remain after three years she had a british passport have you looked on the usa govt site about fiance visa could be different than uk laws hope that help you

[rellosk]

El Tigre, it doesn't look like there is an easy answer. Here is some text from the USCIS website from the "Otherwise Eligible" section.

You may be ineligible for adjustment to permanent resident status if:

You are a J-1 or J-2 exchange visitor who must comply with the two-year foreign residence requirement, and you have not met or been granted a waiver for this requirement.

I think your advice for them to consult an Immigration Lawyer was good advice.

[El Tigre]

Wow thanks guys.

My friend contacted a lawyer and they were asking him to stop by and bring with him a $100 consultation fee.

It is amazing how much info you can find on the net. I got him some answers just from this site with your help.

Now all he has to do is find out about the two-year foreign residence requirement and he should be all set. If the girl has to comply with that then he is screwed.

Once again thanks a million!!!

I'll report back with what he finds.

[rellosk]

Make sure the lawyer he is using comes recomended. There are plenty of lawyers that say they are experts in immigration but are not.

[anneeoakland]

If you haven't already found it,

visajourney.com is great website for US visa info.

[MerengueDutchie]

Originally Posted by El Tigre

I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

Tigre,

Good luck to your friend with his immigration questions. As an aside, they know each other one month and are thinking about marriage already?

MD

[El Tigre]

MD,

If it were me I wouldn't rush into things like that. But, love doesn't ask why. I've known this guy for quite some time and have never seen him this happy. I did tell him to make sure he was sure of this. I'm nobody to tell him don't do this or don't do that. He's an adult.

I really wish him the best but if it fails he'll at least have this experience.

[Alyonka]

Originally Posted by El Tigre

I have a friend in NYC who met a really wonderful girl. She is from the DR and is here for the summer on a J1 visa.

They have known eachother for a month and they are crazy about eachother.

My friend wants to know if he marries this girl will she be allowed to remain in the US with him while she awaits her greencard?

If anyone knows the answer to this let me know.

I'm doing him the favor of posting but also told him to contact an Immigration Attorney.

Yes, they have to get married before visa expires and then she should apply for adjustment of status and will get temporary green card valid for 3 years. Is she stays married for 3 years, she can become a citizen or get a permanent green card. Some J1 visas (students' visas) have restrictions - a person has to go back to the home country and stay there for at least 2 years before she can enter US. Then she would have to go back (actually I have known people who were able to stay despite this restriction, you will need an immigration attorney in this case who can prove that she and her work here in the US are that important for the country). But it looks like she is here to work for the summer. In this case this would not apply.