Legal Question in Immigration Law in Washington
Bringing girlfriend here
Hi, my girlfriend and I have been in long distance ''relationship for quite a while now (email, letters, phone calls etc). Unfortunatly, I am unable to recieve a passport due to some historical legal issues. I am interested in marrying this woman and bringing her to the US. It is my understanding that for a fiance visa we would have to meet in person. being unable to travel abroad this is not possible. What would be the best course of action to get her here. I was thinking attempting to get her a tourist visa and brining her here so we could meet. I understand that bringing her here on a tourist visa with the ''intention'' of marrying her is ''questionable''. So I can get her a tourist visa (How hard is this?) meet her here send her back home and then apply for a fiancee visa? I am just wondering the most efficient/quickest way to get her here. I also run my own business and have been told I can bring her on a work visa? Is this true? Just for the record I was bornn in the US and she lives in the phillipines.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Bringing girlfriend here
The Philippines is considered a high fraud area in terms of immigration. It is unlikely that a young unmarried woman would be granted a tourist visa to the US unless she can present very strong evidence that she will be returning to the Philippines when her visa expires.
Such evidence may include a well-paid job of long duration, ownership of real property or a lot of money in the bank. The US Embassy in Manila has more information here: http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhnv03.html .
As you noted, K-1 visa generally requires that you and your fiancee to have met within 2 years before filing the petition.
Re: Bringing girlfriend here
You should be able to bring her here on a tourist visa if you do not intend to marry her during that trip. Bring her here on a work visa is possible but the more difficult way to get her here. There is a lot that can be done to make a tourist visa application go smoothly so you should hire an attorney to assist with the process.
At your service,
Re: Bringing girlfriend here
You could consider both the tourist visa or the fiancee visa. The tourist visa is likely to be a the quicker route, though careful preparation will be required to ensure the visa application is successful. Depending on more information, the fiancee visa might be the safer option even though it might take a little longer to process. Hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions.
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