I want to apply for a green card in the USA

[luciecr]

I am a Czech citizen married to an American citizen and we live together in the UK. I work as a doctor and he is a bar manager. We got married in Florida in 2005 whilst I was there only for a month on tourist B1/B2 visa.

Then we moved to the UK because of my job offer and we have lived here for almost 2 years now.

But we are going to move to the USA in August this year. I will enter on tourist visa and will be at home studying for USMLE exams. We plan on applying for my green card from the USA.

My question is: Is this possible? Has anybody any experience of applying from the USA? And how long does it take?

I suppose if they give me 6 months approval to stay I could always extend it whilst switching from tourist to immigration visa, right?

I appreciate any comments!!
Thank you.[/b]

[cartaverde]

It's probably better if you apply for the visa already.

When you go to US, you will most likely be treated like @#$R#! on the border because you are married. So if you go before applying for the card, hide all evidence supporting you are married, take your ring off, don't travel together etc.

I had a similar situation in trying to get the card while in US. And USCIS got us really bad information, so I can't get in US BECAUSE I am married to one of their citizens...

[ca2lejero]

I have friends done that recently. It is the best thing to do - apply for residency from US, at least you`ll be living there together. There are a bunch of forms to fill out, med. exam, than in about 3-4 months they gonna send you a work permit, or depending on place - you`ll have to go and get it to Immigration. Than the interview follows- separately, you and your wife, about 40 questions - that is where everybody fucks up, make sure to know your wife`s underwear` color and, for example, what you have - curtains or sliding door in the shower... If you pass it, in few months you`ll get a temporary green card, which in exactly 2 years, you`ll have to apply to remove your temporary status. All together, after 3 years, after they granted to you the temporary one, you can apply for citizenship, which will take another year, year and a half to get.
And don`t repeat my mistake, before you`ll become a citizen, don`t get cought smoking dope, or it`s over...
I`ve just got through this, and got deported after 30 years living there, imagine that.
Good luck.

[Marco 72]

But we are going to move to the USA in August this year. I will enter on tourist visa and will be at home studying for USMLE exams. We plan on applying for my green card from the USA.

That sounds like a very bad plan to me. For one thing, you will have to pretend you are travelling by yourself rather than with your husband, otherwise they will ask you for evidence that you will return to the UK afterwards (e.g. employer's letter). Then you will have to lie to US immigration, telling them you are just going over for a vacation while in fact you are travelling to settle there. You may be lucky, or you may find yourself deported from the US. I would recommend applying for either an immigrant visa or a K3 visa.

[ca2lejero]

Re Marco´s reply.
What you called lie is only a lie considering our discussion. It can as well be... a change of mind. All considering that she has a guest visa already. If she has to apply, than it makes sence to apply for residency at consulate - should not take longer than 6-8 months. If everything else is clean, I doubt INS will look at who she entered with, or under what visa. Yes, she´ll probably need a return ticket for a visa waver.
Sorry, keep saying she... she or he.

[Marco 72]

Re Marco´s reply.
What you called lie is only a lie considering our discussion. It can as well be... a change of mind. All considering that she has a guest visa already.

A guest visa does not entitle her to get into the US. It only entitles her to ask for admission at the point of entry. Even if they let her in, when she applies for adjustment of status they may ask her to prove that she she had no intention to stay when she arrived. It's up to her if she wants to risk it, all for the sake of going to the US a few months earlier.

Sorry, keep saying she... she or he.

It had better be a she . Same sex unions are not very useful for US immigration.