# Marriage



## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

I'm currently a resident in the USA (got my IV through sponsorship). Im hoping to bring my UK boyfriend over and have been told the quickest/easiest route is by marrying in the US. He does, however, have a criminal record from over 25 years ago but has never committed an offence since. What are the chances of him being able to reside with me in the US?


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

clangrid said:


> I'm currently a resident in the USA (got my IV through sponsorship). Im hoping to bring my UK boyfriend over and have been told the quickest/easiest route is by marrying in the US. He does, however, have a criminal record from over 25 years ago but has never committed an offence since. What are the chances of him being able to reside with me in the US?


Depends on the offence and if its a CIMT .... if its drugs ...
that can be problematic


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

clangrid said:


> I'm currently a resident in the USA (got my IV through sponsorship). Im hoping to bring my UK boyfriend over and have been told the quickest/easiest route is by marrying in the US. He does, however, have a criminal record from over 25 years ago but has never committed an offence since. What are the chances of him being able to reside with me in the US?


IV? Are you US citizen or permanent resident?
Have him request a copy of this records to know what you are dealing with.


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## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

Davis1 said:


> Depends on the offence and if its a CIMT .... if its drugs ...
> that can be problematic


not drugs, but using dodgy traveller cheques back in 1983 in Israel. He was sentenced to 3 years on his return to the UK. I guess we need to apply for a uk Police Report to see if it still shows up? Is doing fraud classed as bad as drugs though? Thanks for your reply though. Much appreciated.


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## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

twostep said:


> IV? Are you US citizen or permanent resident?
> Have him request a copy of this records to know what you are dealing with.


permanent resident only. Back in 1983 he did dodgy traveller cheques in Israel and was sentenced to 3 years on his return to the UK. How strict are they on fraud? Albeit 27 years ago and not another offence ever commited?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

clangrid said:


> permanent resident only. Back in 1983 he did dodgy traveller cheques in Israel and was sentenced to 3 years on his return to the UK. How strict are they on fraud? Albeit 27 years ago and not another offence ever commited?


In colloquial American - one oh **** voids all atta boys. Let's wait and see what the police report shows. Fraud is fraud. You know he will have to discuss this at every job interview?
FatBrit is still MIA. Too early for him:>) It may be faster to wait until you have your citizenship. I am not up to speed on processing times for green card holder spouses.


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## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

twostep said:


> In colloquial American - one oh **** voids all atta boys. Let's wait and see what the police report shows. Fraud is fraud. You know he will have to discuss this at every job interview?
> FatBrit is still MIA. Too early for him:>) It may be faster to wait until you have your citizenship. I am not up to speed on processing times for green card holder spouses.


In colloquial English terms - oh b*llocks! thanks for the heads up though. How long does it take to get citizenship? 5 years?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

clangrid said:


> In colloquial English terms - oh b*llocks! thanks for the heads up though. How long does it take to get citizenship? 5 years?


As sponsored green card holder it will take five years to be eligible. Processing times vary. I went from application to swearing in in about eight weeks. Have you read up on this on uscis.gov or the stickies here? Get your ducks in a row! It is not rocket science:>)


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

clangrid said:


> I'm currently a resident in the USA (got my IV through sponsorship). Im hoping to bring my UK boyfriend over and have been told the quickest/easiest route is by marrying in the US. He does, however, have a criminal record from over 25 years ago but has never committed an offence since. What are the chances of him being able to reside with me in the US?


Some thoughts for you to chew on:

Permanent residents may sponsor their spouse but not their fiancé. The category is numerically limited and the applications go into a queue. The line is listed here: Visa Bulletin, and they're currently processing for April 2010 so there's around a 6 month wait. However, the line does not proceed in a linear fashion. You can add 9 months processing to the wait.

Citizens may sponsor either their spouse or their fiancé.There's no waiting in the line, but there's still the same waiting time for the paper pushing.

Permanent residents who sponsor their spouse may upgrade any pending petition to the no-wait one when they naturalise.

Permanent residents may apply to naturalise 90 days before the 5th anniversary of becoming a permenant resident.

It's perfectly lawful to marry as a visitor to the US, but not to marry with the intent to remain.

A criminal record can preclude use of the VWP.

A three-year sentence is quite serious. 27 years of sober living mitigates this. At least it's not a drug offence! He may require a waiver.....which adds extra time and $$$ to the processing.

Non-straightforward cases often benefit from a professional. AILA's Immigration Lawyer Search.


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## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

Fatbrit said:


> Some thoughts for you to chew on:
> 
> Permanent residents may sponsor their spouse but not their fiancé. The category is numerically limited and the applications go into a queue. The line is listed here: Visa Bulletin, and they're currently processing for April 2010 so there's around a 6 month wait. However, the line does not proceed in a linear fashion. You can add 9 months processing to the wait.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for your reply. It is incredibly helpful - the informatoin you have provided. I guess first step is getting the UK police report and taking it from there. Thank you again.


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## clangrid (Oct 3, 2010)

twostep said:


> As sponsored green card holder it will take five years to be eligible. Processing times vary. I went from application to swearing in in about eight weeks. Have you read up on this on uscis.gov or the stickies here? Get your ducks in a row! It is not rocket science:>)


Ta. Am trying to get "my ducks in a row" hence posting on here, but your info has been very helpful and I thank you for that. Just a bit difficult trying to find inside information before going straight to the top - aha

Am interested to know how you went from application to swearing in 8 weeks though


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

clangrid said:


> Ta. Am trying to get "my ducks in a row" hence posting on here, but your info has been very helpful and I thank you for that. Just a bit difficult trying to find inside information before going straight to the top - aha
> 
> Am interested to know how you went from application to swearing in 8 weeks though


Sent in application and money. Interview was three questions and I argued about one of them:>)


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