# applying for green card now for move to US in a few years



## CaliforniaDownUnder (Jul 25, 2012)

My fiancee and I are currently living and working in Australia. I am a US citizen and she is an Australian citizen. We are happy with our arrangement for now, but we are considering moving to the US in the future. If we were to apply for a green card immediately after getting married, would we actually have to move to the US right away, or could she hold onto it until we were ready to move in a few years?


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

CaliforniaDownUnder said:


> My fiancee and I are currently living and working in Australia. I am a US citizen and she is an Australian citizen. We are happy with our arrangement for now, but we are considering moving to the US in the future. If we were to apply for a green card immediately after getting married, would we actually have to move to the US right away, or could she hold onto it until we were ready to move in a few years?



she cannot receive a green card until she arrives in the 
us as a permanent resident ...file for a sposusal visa a year before 
the intended move


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## CaliforniaDownUnder (Jul 25, 2012)

Davis1 said:


> she cannot receive a green card until she arrives in the
> us as a permanent resident ...file for a sposusal visa a year before
> the intended move


What would happen if we were just visiting after the spousal visa has been approved?


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

CaliforniaDownUnder said:


> What would happen if we were just visiting after the spousal visa has been approved?


the spousal visa can take a year to get ....
when she enters the country with that she gets her green card mailed to her
any attempt to screw the system ends in tears


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## CaliforniaDownUnder (Jul 25, 2012)

I don't get what you mean by screw the system... 

Because it takes so long to get a spousal visa, can we apply for one before we actually have an intention of moving? Then, can we pick it up when we visit? Or do we have to actually move to the US to get her a green card.



Davis1 said:


> the spousal visa can take a year to get ....
> when she enters the country with that she gets her green card mailed to her
> any attempt to screw the system ends in tears


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

CaliforniaDownUnder said:


> I don't get what you mean by screw the system...
> 
> Because it takes so long to get a spousal visa, can we apply for one before we actually have an intention of moving? Then, can we pick it up when we visit? Or do we have to actually move to the US to get her a green card.



once te immigrant visa is issued you have 6 months to enter the 
US on arrival they take you brown envelopre andall your details then arrange to send to green card to your address you give ..once you get that and your SSN .. you can do whatever you like 


there are tricks people try to beat the system ...


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

CaliforniaDownUnder said:


> I don't get what you mean by screw the system...
> 
> Because it takes so long to get a spousal visa, can we apply for one before we actually have an intention of moving? Then, can we pick it up when we visit? Or do we have to actually move to the US to get her a green card.


To get your wife a spouse visa, you need to "prove" that you (as the US citizen sponsor) are actually in the process of relocating to the US. A sponsor has to be resident in the US - or, in the case of a spouse, planning on relocating back there soon. Among other things, you need to show that you have a place for the both of you to live, and that you have a means of supporting her in the US (generally, a job, or family members willing to support the both of you until you find a job).

You can't get a spouse visa/green card "for sometime in the future."
Cheers,
Bev


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

And if you get that visa, activate your wifes status in the US, and leaf the US after a couple of months to come back after 1 or 2 years, your wifes status isn't valid anymore. You can leave the country for a long time once she will be an American Citizen, but that will take a couple of years.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

It is all explained in detail at uscis.gov which is the official source USCIS - Green Card


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