Legal Question in Immigration Law in Washington

Hello everyone,

I am asking this question on behalf of my sister.

My sister is a Greencard holder of States and her spouse is ILR of UK. My sister would like to apply for dependent visa for her spouse. However, my sister doesn't have any income of her own as she is trying to get into grad med school. I could also be a co-sponsor and I don't feel any risk while being a sponsor.

Is this an issue? Can this be any better, if yes how?

She is going to apply for dependent visa for her spouse now. In couple months she will find out whether she gets to enroll in med school or not. If she did, awesome, the application will keep on going and when approved her spouse will come to States. However, if she didn't get into grad school, she would like to try to get into med school in UK by getting dependent visa of UK through her spouse.

If she did so, is that going to affect application process that she has started in United States for her spouse? To maintain her status as Greencard holder or to keep the application process sane, does she have to keep visiting United States, if yes, how often that needs to be?

Since I have explained the scenario, any other suggestions/recommendations along with answer to above questions will be highly appreciated.


Asked on 2/08/14, 11:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marlene Hemmings Marlene Hemmings, Attorney at Law

If your brother in law is outside the United States, then your sister will need to be living in the U.S. to be able to petition her spouse for a K-1 visa (or U.S. Legal Permanent Residency, depending on the availability of an immigrant visa number).

If her spouse is in the U.S. unlawfully, then he will not be eligible for a greencard until your sister becomes a U.S. citizen. If he is here lawfully, then she will need to check the visa bulletin to see if a visa number is immediately available to him.

If she is not working, she would need a co-sponsor for the affidavit of support. Being a student will not affect her ability to petition her spouse, as long as she has a qualified (financial) co-sponsor.

Read more
Answered on 2/10/14, 10:08 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Immigration Law questions and answers in Washington