Immigration attorney, Is it worth the money? Do you get results?
My girlfriend and I are looking to have her live in the same country as I (USA) but she is a Swedish. She is here now for 3 months on a tourist visa and will have to return back to Sweden in 3 months.
We are considering getting married but have heard that she will still have to go back and come back in after that. We also have considered getting married in Sweden and then coming back as a married couple.
Has anyone gone through this already, and has anyone used an immigration attorney to help the process? If you have used an immigration attorney we would love to hear your results and as well your feelings about the whole process. Was it expensive? Was it worth the cost, and you received results?
If you have other ideas or solutions for this please share, as we are a little lost at this point.
Thank you and look forwarded to hearing from you all.
You have 2 options. Wait to get married, your girlfriend returns to Sweden when her tourist visa is up, and you file Form I-129F “Petition for Alien Fiance” available at www.uscis.gov. The petition takes 6-9 months on average for approval and once approved, your girlfriend will have to marry you in the US within 90 days of her arrival.
Your second option is to marry now and then file Form I-130 “Petition for Alien Relative”. Your wife will have to return to Sweden to wait out approval of the petition, which usually takes 9 months to a year. She will not be able to re-enter the US on a tourist visa while her application is pending or it will be denied.
You do not need to hire an immigration lawyer for this. You can fill out the forms yourself and it is not difficult.
siskind susser and visalaw
