# Boyfriend Moving to US from Greece



## farah0315 (Apr 16, 2011)

My boyfriend is wanting to move from Greece to Wisconsin where I live. We will be living together so he wont need to worry about establishing residents, but what other things do I need to do to help him get over here? A side from the financial aspect of getting here, which he refuses to let me help with stubborn Greecian pride, what else can I do? We aren't planning on getting married right away, we want to wait a bit till after we've been living in the same country for a while. Would it be easier for me to move to Greece or for him to move here? Any advice would be great!


----------



## nat21 (Oct 10, 2010)

What visa would he have? He can't just up and move to the USA just like that. Read through the stickies at the top of the page. This one is the most helpful http://www.expatforum.com/expats/am...ica/30374-looking-live-america-will-help.html

I an not sure how long a Greek national could stay in the US under the visa weaver program (3 or 6 months) but maybe he could come visit and stay with you for that amount of time and then you two can decide what to do from there i.e fiancée visa.


----------



## farah0315 (Apr 16, 2011)

He is going to try and get a job here so i'm assuming a work visa? granted after a few months we could do the fiancee visa, but he needs to get here first and find a job before we apply for that. he wont come on the premiss that we are going to get married soon after he gets here. wont even move till he feels he has enough money saved up to live off of for a few months after he gets here even though he knows I have bills covered already. He is an IT tech so we don't see much trouble with him finding employment in the area I live in.


----------



## nat21 (Oct 10, 2010)

In order for him to have a work visa, a company will have to sponsor him. Does he have a 4-year degree? Does he work for a company with offices in the US? He cannot just come over here an apply for jobs as the majority of companies would not even look at his resume as he doesn't have the authorization to work in the US.


----------



## farah0315 (Apr 16, 2011)

No he doesn't work for a company with offices here. He does have a 4 year degree he studied in England. 
I'm guessing then our best bet is going to be for him to come over on a tourist visa and then apply for the fiancee visa? if i am understanding you correctly? i realize i'm very uneducated in this area, still trying to figure out how all this is going to work and how long its all going to take to get the ball rolling.


----------



## nat21 (Oct 10, 2010)

I would recommend that he comes over on a visitors visa and you two spend time together and then if you want to take it to the next step then get engaged. Don't think that he can apply for the fiancee visa from over here. Think he would have to go back to Greece, could be wrong though. It would help with his application that you two "lived" together while he was visiting for however long.


----------



## farah0315 (Apr 16, 2011)

not to sound cheeky but i'm guessing eloping while he is here would kind of be out of the question to then  was a thought i had..... we know eventually we will get married.


----------



## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Your boyfriend can come to the US on a Visa Waiver program which allows him to stay in the US for up to 90 days or he needs to find an employer to sponsor him for a work visa. Note that the prospective employer applies for the work visa not you.

Those are the options unless you get engaged and apply for a fiance visa or get married and you apply for a spousal visa for him.

Whatever you do you need a visa for him to be legally in the country.

If you go the other way and you go to Greece you too will need a visa to remain in Greece as a legal resident.


----------



## farah0315 (Apr 16, 2011)

Thanks..... i just found the websit on the visa waiver think that will be our first route then to apply for the B-2 Visitor/Tourist Visa to stay up to 6 months. By that time we should be able to apply for the fiancee visa another 90 days. that will at least give us up to 9 months to get married all together. that should be enough time  although i doubt it will even take that long to decide to get married.

He is pretty much set on coming here. jobs are pretty hard to find over there especially right now so for me it would be virtually impossible


----------



## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

He is not likely to get B2 visitors visa because being from the EU he is eligible for the Visa Waiver program. Most EU people applying for the B2 don't get it.

The Visa Waiver program was devised for people coming over to visit, and the US thinks that up to 90 days is quite adequate for this. 

Applying for the B2 will raise issues as to how he can support himself for 6 months and whether he has intent to stay beyond that time i.e he is using the B2 for immigration intent purposes. If he says anything about having a girlfriend and wishes to stay with her for 6 months he certainly won't get the visa.

Once you are denied the B2 then you may also find that when he again enters the States under the VWP that he might get called into secondary questioning because of the refused B2.

I would not consider this route if I was you.

From your posts you are trying to get your boyfriend into the States to live - so you do have intent - the visas you are looking at (VWP and B2) will not do this.

As per your last sentence - jobs are pretty hard to get in the US too. For a fiance visa you would have to sponsor him to a sustainable living level since there is no guarantee that he would get a job anyway.


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Reading the thread up to now, you're playing with the US immigration system. It is likely to bite you hard if you taunt it.

Of your ideas so far:
- Coming over on a VWP and finding a sponsor is unusual. I hope he has a minimum of a PhD in a nanotechnology. Regardless, he wopuld need to leave to sort out the visa.
- Applying for a B2 is a mistake if he qualifies for the VWP.

If you aren't prepared to study yourself, consider hiring a professional to guide you.


----------

