Looking to live in the US

akits · Jan 7, 2012

Hello, this is my first time posting on this forum, so excuse me if I commit any faux pas.

My current situation, I currently live in Portugal and i'm unemployed due to this economic recession, i'm also a college Student but I've yet to finish college.

Last year I met an American and well... we hit it off, though, right now she's living in the US and I have never been there.

I've been trying to look for a way to become a legal immigrant and but there's so much legislation to read that it makes my head spin, though from what I understand most of it is focused on work visas, the problem is they all require a hiring company to make the petition for me (how in the world do I manage that?).

I did try to contact an American based company who were looking for a service representative fluent in Portuguese and English, the problem is that I do not have a work visa, I of course explained my situation to them to which their reply was:

"I am putting your application process on hold. Once you have your visa, please let me know and we will continue with the process."

Which I feel it's really just a polite way of telling me "don't count on our help with that".

So I came here looking for any tips, advice or anything really, maybe I just haven't looked in the right places?

In case you're wondering, yes, marriage is a possibility, but we feel rushing towards marriage for legal purposes is not the most romantic of causes, with that said, if we do decide on this course of action, do I automatically become a Citizen once i'm married? what do I have to file? how long would I hate to wait for it? days? weeks? months? years? would I have to wait years just so I could marry her?

any and all help would be very welcome, thank you

akits · Jan 7, 2012

mmm... I'm guessing my post was too vague for any sort of any help

Bevdeforges · Jan 7, 2012

First of all, you've only given it six hours. On a forum like this, it can take a day or two for someone with the appropriate experience to respond.

Secondly, you seem to be pretty well aware of what your options are and what the pitfalls are of each of the options.

There's a student visa - but you need to be admitted to a program in the US and to have the resources to pay tuition and living costs while you're studying. There is no guarantee you'll be able to stay on in the US after completing your degree.

To get a work visa, you need an employer to sponsor you for the visa. This costs money and time and effort for the employer, so obviously, they aren't going to agree to sponsor you unless you have some skill, talent or experience that they have not been able to find among those already able to work in the US without the visa sponsorship.

Marriage will probably get you a visa, but your American spouse will be your sponsor and has to have the financial resources (or parents, other family or friends willing to co-sponsor) to assure you'll stay off welfare once settled in the US. A spouse visa will ultimately only get you a Green Card, not citizenship. That takes a certain number of years residence in the US plus passing the citizenship test and submitting a bunch of documents. (None of the visas are free, and taking citizenship also requires the paying of some serious fees.)
Cheers,
Bev

akits · Jan 7, 2012

ah thank you for your help

what fees are involved in all of this? as in how much should we expect to pay?

as for her job, she is currently a Civil Engineer, so hopefully that will be enough to prove to them that we wouldn't require wellfare

twostep · Jan 8, 2012

Depending on which route you go you can apply for EAD and work after it has been granted which is generally 90+ days.
Have you considered visiting the US before taking such a big step?

akits · Jan 8, 2012

yes I have, it's still out in the open, I just want to consider all my options

could you just tell me what EAD is? I'm sorry for my ignorance :\

Looking to live in the US

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