Obtaining a green card..

[Jay]

NZ is nice. They have Hobbits there in the shire.

[Gypsiyee]

I'm not sure how his dad is here. I just know his dad lives in LA and was sound editor on lord of the rings, that's all I know ><

I won't leave the US, my family would be devastated.. not an option. He hates NZ, he won't stay there. Not an option either ><

[Ganzo]

Dad has to be citizen to get him over. If you decide that you actually want him here legally, go and get married when he in US next time, than file paperwork, he'll have green card in under a year

[Gypsiyee]

He doesn't have to be a citizen, he just has to be a resident.. i'm sure it'll make it more difficult, but it's our best shot

no, i'm not getting married. out of the question ><

[Ganzo]

He doesn't have to be a citizen, he just has to be a resident.. i'm sure it'll make it more difficult, but it's our best shot

no, i'm not getting married. out of the question ><

Sigh, why do you argue facts. My wife has Green Card, she cannot bring her parents over for another 3 years until she becomes a Citizen. This is not pulled out of my ass. We researched it and spoke a an immigration lawyer.

[Gypsiyee]

I'm not arguing facts at all.. just looking at the gov website for immigration is all. I'm just alittle frantic I guess because I have no idea how we're going to swing this.

[Ganzo]

Good luck with their site, it's as vague as possible

[Harrison]

It's going to suck for him when you guys break up. (edit: I didn't mean that in a dickhead manner...I am just looking at facts here, and at our age we rarely keep a relationship going long)

[Phlegm]

To get a student visa, a person must already be accepted by a college. To get a work visa, a person must already have a job waiting and the sponsor by the employer.

A person can be sponsor by a permanent resident immediately family member but it take several years after filing the application. A friend of mine brought his parents over this way but it took him almost 4 1/2 years. This was before 9/11 so it could be different today.

[Ganzo]

I'ts citizen only since 9/11 Phlegm

[Lyion]

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

His father is here in one of three ways: He's married to an American. He has an H1-B. He has a green card.

None of those are avenues for your boyfriend to immigrate here. That is a simple fact. Ganzo has been through this. I have worked through it with friends.

Below are the people who can get in timely. I.e., not wait on the list. None of these people get Citizenship or a Green Card immediately, either, so even if your boyfriend comes, I hope your ready to support him, which he won't via his Dad. However, he won't be coming quickly unless he has work lined up or pays to go to college, in advance.

People who want to become immigrants are classified into categories based on a preference system. The immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes parents, spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. An immigrant visa number will become immediately available.

Note, even if his Dad was a citizen, he still wouldn't get immediately in. The fact his Dad isn't one puts him down the list a ton, further accentuated by the fact he's over 21.

The relatives in the remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the following preferences:

*
First preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.
*
Second Preference: Spouses of lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children under twenty-one , and the unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
*
Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens.
*
Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens.

As an adult NON DEPENDENT coming from Australia, he won't get even on this list, at all.

Once USCIS receives your visa petition (Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative), it will be approved or denied. USCIS notifies the person who filed the visa petition of the petition was approved. USCIS will then send the approved visa petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The Center will notify the foreign national when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available. You do not need to contact the National Visa Center, unless you change your address or there is a change in your personal situation, or that of your sponsor, that may affect eligibility for an immigrant visa, such as reaching age 21, marriage, divorce, or death of a spouse.

[Martrae]

Honestly, Gyps...the day he decided to immigrate he should have contacted the US Embassy in NZ and got info.

He should still contact them and see what they say.

[Tikker]

...

he was just here last week, and i've known him 5 years.

get out of my thread if you're just here to shit it up with assumptions and judgment please~

I thought it was a legit question, it's not like you've been bragging up a NZ dude every day for years or something


chill doll~

[Lyion]

Honestly, Gyps...the day he decided to immigrate he should have contacted the US Embassy in NZ and got info.

He should still contact them and see what they say.

Because government agencies are so helpful.

Definitely get the paperwork and information, but I'd also look at outside resources for getting results.

[Zanchief]

Anyways, NZ is awesome. Make him stay there and move there.

[Menlaan]

Someone else mentioned this, but I don't recall your answer: since you're not ready to marry him, why try so hard for him to be here legitly? Why doesn't he just stay here and see how things go with you two? He can leave whenever he wants, but he'll have trouble working unless he can pull off being a nanny for one of your friends or something. At least you'll get to be together for a while, and if you want to make something of it, then get married. He should also apply for school NOW, so that at least you have that as an option to get a Visa in the Fall (or find a summer program that qualifies).

[araby]

We just don't even know where to start, really.

Your best option is to start legally and within what the law is going to allow you to do. If you are reading from a website that is vague and you do not understand it fully, find a contact number and don't give up until you find a human being to talk to who can help answer your questions about how to get this done.

also, if he is going to be the one moving here, I think it's probably up to him to take care of these things. You can help him, of course and especially with the accent/communication barrier, if any, however this is his baby-let him have it. I know he's your boyfriend and you want him here, and that doesn't mean you can't help him get here. However, he has to be the one who takes care of this and makes it happen if he's the one who's going to do it.

you guys will feel and do much better in this process if you follow the guidelines, do your research and plan properly. your relationship would benefit in the long run, once he's here.

I agree that getting married would be a mistake, if the intention is to have a "quick fix" for getting him here. tell him to do his research, you do some research and make it happen accordingly. anything else will likely fail or cause trouble in the future.

[Arlos]

I don't know why no one has suggested this yet, but my advice is to contact and have a consultation with an actual immigration lawyer. Information on a website is going to be general at best, and no one here is a specialist in immigration affairs. The ONLY person that is going to know how the system works, AND be willing to help (because you're paying him to be willing) is an actual immigration lawyer.

Sure, you could try going directly to the consulates and work it yourself, but your'e not going to know all the hoops you need to go through, any loopholes, how to grease the wheels of the system, etc.

Seriously though, getting someone into the country can be a pain in the ass. I once had someone who was coming to visit me from Canada, and she got turned away at the border, since she was between jobs right at that point. Only way I got the system to let her in is my parents were friendly with our Congressperson, and called her office, she called the immigration department, pulled some strings, and bingo. Without those connections, no way would it have happened.

So again, go talk to someone who actually knows how this works, a real immigration lawyer. It may cost you a few hundred bucks, but it'll be worth it.

-Arlos

[Gypsiyee]

A few hundred would be easily swingable, but my boss's wife is from turkey and I know that when they first brought her over it cost them thousands of dollars.. not so swingable.

Araby: he is handling it, I'm just trying to get feedback from all sources possible also. the more places you ask, the better general understanding you have =)

ps - thank you guys for all of your input - i don't mean to seem ungrateful if I do, it's just a frustrating situation

[araby]

makes perfect sense to me, it's the reason we post these things =)

good luck =)

[Jennay]

Gyps.. my sister married a man from India and he was able to come over on a "fiance's visa" Then he was able to find a job and turn it into a work visa, and now it's permanent, but it took A LOT of hard work and many months apart I will ask my sister if she has any advice for you.

Just a tip though, if I were you I'd start documenting time spent together, cell phone bills, text message counts, photos with family, time together, receipts, everything you can to show you two have a relationship. My sister had to submit afidivants(sp?) from friends and family about them as a couple, full background checks, photos from their engagement party, etc. It was tedious but I'm sure you can do it.

[Jennay]

p.s. Do what Arlos said, find an immigration lawyer if you can afford it. They will help walk you through it maybe and even file some of the paperwork for you. Could save you some time and money in the long run.

[Lyion]

Gyps.. my sister married a man from India and he was able to come over on a "fiance's visa" Then he was able to find a job and turn it into a work visa, and now it's permanent, but it took A LOT of hard work and many months apart I will ask my sister if she has any advice for you.

Has he set her on fire yet?

[Haylo]

Ash you may remember Lelaa from EQ. It took her a very long time to manage to get over here, but iirc she ended up coming over as a nanny, then eventually she enrolled in school and stayed through that. Maybe start looking into au pair stuff for him. It's very trendy to have a manny these days and the fact that he has an accent is also a plus for that sort of job. I don't know how he feels about kids, but it's an option.

[Gaazy]

He must have a monster cock if you are goin through all this trouble in bringing him here from NZ!