My Aunt is a millionaire living in Washington DC. She has a condo in Florida which is only used for family holidays (vacations) and if I waqs to move over I would be free to live there without charge. Now, the red tape is a pain in the a**e in the US. I realise that I can only be sponsored by a close relative or apply for a green card. I am not in any way a man of many talents which would make it hard to get in by way of a job offer. Now, my Aunt knows some people in high places and she is going to try to pull a few strings for me in order to get the sponsorship required. The only problem is my Swiss girlfriend, she would love to come too. If I was to be offered a visa by way of sponsorship, could I also bring my girlfriend if she was my fiance, or would we have to be married?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Tony

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

There is a "fiancé" visa for the US, but the catch is that the sponsoring person has to be a green card holder already resident in the US. And you'd have to get married within something like 6 months of her arrival. What that means is that you'd have to go on ahead and then apply for your girlfriend's visa once you're established.
Cheers,
Bev

The sponsoring person, my aunt, is an American citizen and a passport holder. So basically if I was granted a sponsorship, i could bring my fiance and see how she likes it, if its working well we can head off to vegas and get a tv style marriage within 6 months. Thanks for your advice, very much appreciated!

Oops, sorry but I mis-explained myself. For the fiancé visa, the sponsoring person is the fiancé, i.e. the bride or groom to be. You can't fob off that sponsorship on another family member.

I'd also be a bit patient with your aunt about pulling those strings. With the elections coming up, everyone is trying to show how "tough" they are on immigration, so favors and string-pulling may take a bit longer than usual between now and November, 2008.
Cheers,
Bev

damn, not so easy then, i am about to book up to come over for 2 weeks in august anyway, maybe i can pull some strings myself, hopefully the next president is a female

thanks for all your advice, looks like my american dream has turned into a nightmare. Oh well, its life, i shall save it for holidays or start a singing career in Hollywood. Another question, Canada is in the commonwealth, is it easier for me to get a visa there??? I know it doesnt relate to this forum but maybe someone know.

Thanks

You could do worse than visit the "Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada" website ...

It probably won't help Tony, but I have the details on the US fiance visa, since I am a US citizen and have a Filipino fiancee who I am trying to bring in. To summarize, (1) there has to be a marriage in 90 days after entry or the fiance has to leave, and (2) the US government takes about six months to process the application. It's like an immigrant application, with a medical exam and a police statement, plus evidence of the relationship (such as photos together).

This is described in excruciating detail at uclue . com - search the archives for "visa"

Good luck with your own visa, Tony, but I don't think your fiance can come along.