DV 2008 Winner

[qatarsl]

Hi .

My friend is a DV2008 winner. He received his Visa to the US last Week(After showing a sponsor in the US). He was stamped a Visa in his Passport and he was also given a an envelope which needs to be produced to the Immigration in the US.

There is one other problem. He has a Girl friend (NOT MARRIED) who has a child (His child). He intends to take her and the child along as well. At the Interview in the US embassy he mentioned to the Visa office about this and he was told to bring her along before the 30th of September.

How do u recommend he should approach this? Do u think his Girl Friend can also go with him as a Dependant? Appreciate ur thoughts.

[starfleet_hq]

I can't help with the question but wish your friend all the best

[Eternal_Howl]

oh not sure on the girlfriend and child. The DV lottery has a section for partners if I recall - did he mention her or her child in that?

congrats to your friend, that's awesome!!!!

[Administrator]

.

The girl friend and the child needed to be listed on the lottery application.

However, it is always possible they are something that happened AFTER the lottery application was filed. In that case, there MIGHT be some flexibility. Remember to emphasize that unforeseen circumstance, if it's possible.

Prepare to document her, the child, and all relatives as if they were on the original application. The U.S. may or may not allow her in, but they will certainly want fully detailed information to conduct a thorough background check.

In the event they don't allow her in on the merit of his green card win, he's looking at the possibility of a fiancee visa to bring her in with the intention of marrying her (there will be limited time to conclude the marriage once the fiancee visa is issued).

The GF & child may not be coming with him immediately, but arrangements could be made to bring her along (a few months) later as dependents of a green card holder.

It might be easier to marry her immediately and apply for a spouse visa.

The child is his .. he will need to document that with proof and then claim the child as his direct dependent and bring the child in on a dependent visa.


Additionally, the same way he needed to document how he will support himself, he will now have to document how he will support the fiancee and child.

Everybody .. including her family members such as parents & siblings, etc., will need to be documented and background checks are likely/nearly assured.

the Admin

[qatarsl]

Thank you Admin for your reply.

He is given a 6 months Visa and a SEALED ENVELOPE which he need to produce to the immigration in the US.

Do u recommend he get married right away and apply for SPOUSE visa...OR go to the US obtain his green card and return back to the country, get married and apply for GreenCard Visa.

What do u suggest ?

[Marco 72]

Unfortunately your friend is unlikely to bring his girlfriend to the US any time soon. Once he travels to the US and gets his passport stamped he will become a Permanent Resident. He must do this within six months. There is no straightforward way for a PR to bring a spouse to the US. After he marries his girlfriend he will need to apply under Family Preference 2A (spouses and children of PR) but the application will take years to get processed. In July 2007 they were still processing applications filed in June 2002 (see here).

Five years minus 90 days after becoming a PR your friend will be able to apply for US citizenship, if he satisfies the various requirements. The process takes approximately 6 months. After that he will be able to upgrade his wife's petition to Immediate Relative, in the likely case that it hasn't been processed yet.

You may also want to post on the following forum, where several users are familiar with the way the DV lottery operates. You may get useful advice there:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=34

You mentioned that your friend was told at the US embassy to "bring her along before the 30th of September." Bring her along where? To the embassy? I very much doubt they would give her a visa, since they aren't even married.

[Marco 72]

The girl friend and the child needed to be listed on the lottery application.

Only spouses can be listed in the lottery applications, not boyfriends or girlfriends.

In the event they don't allow her in on the merit of his green card win, he's looking at the possibility of a fiancee visa to bring her in with the intention of marrying her (there will be limited time to conclude the marriage once the fiancee visa is issued).

PR's cannot sponsor for fiancee visas (K1). Only US citizens can. PR's can only apply for their spouses to join them under the Family Preference system, but it takes ages because only a relatively small number of them can get visas each year. I very much doubt that it would be possible for him to take his girlfriend to the US now, even if they got married at once.