Job Discussion Forums

[justme]

I'm at my wit's end!! (actually, I think only old people say this, but I'm 32 tomorrow so I guess it's ok...)

Does anyone have ANY kind of information about visas for Turkish spouses of American citizens? I would like to bring my husband to the States w/me this summer, but we can't figure out how to do the visa thing. He's entitled to an immigrant visa now that we're married, but it's a big hassle to get, and I can't find information anywhere if they give these visas to people not planning to reside in the States. They also want me to prove that I can support him financially there, but 3 years of Turkish salaries has put me well below the US poverty line. Before we were married they turned him down for a tourist visa, saying his family business wasn't enough to prove he would come back to Turkey, and the fact that we were engaged also led to the rejection.

So we don't know which visa to apply for. The US consulates in Istanbul and Ankara are the most unhelpful people ever, and thorough searching of their websites and others has turned up dooky.

Anyone done this before? Or know anyone who has? Someone helpful I can contact? Immigration attornies in Istanbul? My head hurts from banging it against the wall...

Thanks in advance...

[Pine]

Do you have anyone living in the U.S. that can invite your husband to visit for the summer? Family would probably be best. I really think your best shot is trying for a tourist visa. Trying to do anything based on your marriage will take forever.

[Bogazicibaby]

If you are not going to be living in the US, forget the immigrant visa thing. Once you have it, you have to go live there.........or something to that effect. If you decide to apply for the immigrant visa, you can have a family member co sponsor your spouse. Its not a problem.

If you have a contract, that should be enough for the embassy to prove that you have every intention of returning to Turkey
.
To apply for a visa, you need to deposit money in two different banks. The first one is to apply for an appointment. You must deposit money before you can get the appointment.

Once you have the appointment, you need to fill out the forms and deposit your non-refundable money for applying for the visa.

The embassy basically looks at the amount of money that you have in the bank to support your trip to the US and do you have enough of a reason to return to Turkey. If you both have a job and money in the bank and if you both or one of you has a contract for a job there should be no problem. A letter of invitation from a family member wouldn't hurt. This letter should state that they will fully support him during his visit.

I'm assuming that since he was rejected before that he doesn't own any property or have much in the bank. Owning property or a company is a big help in getting a visa. So is having traveled oustide Turkey to other countries.

The process isn't that bad, just time consuming. You can pick up the forms at the embassy or you can download them from the embassy's web site. The instructions explain everything.

good luck and make sure you plan to apply for the visa at least a month ahead of time.

I'll be doing the same thing for my summer trip, except I'll also have to get a passport for my newborn.

[justme]

Thanks, both of you. I didn't know I could have a family member co-sponsor for the visa. That may make life easier...

When he was rejected for the tourist visa last year, he gave documents showing ownership of the business, a few other properties, and several thousand dollars in the bank. They told me later that his business didn't count because it's a family business and the papers from the Chamber of Commerce weren't enough to prove the business exists. As to the other stuff, they refused to answer why that didn't count. Actually, I'm inclined to go with my husband that the whole thing is BS and they just outright reject several people a day to keep their quotas up and look good.

I've continued to try to research this for over a week, since the original post. Here are the answers I got by email:

From the consulate in Istanbul:

Since he would be coming for a short visit he will require a non-immgrant visa (B1/B2). Please visit our website www.usconsulate-istanbul.org.tr which explains in detail all the procedures of non-immigrant visa application.
(B1/B2 is a tourist visa)

From the embassy in Ankara:

Foreign nationals married to the U.S. citizens are considered as intending immigrants. Therefore, you need to apply for your spouse for an immigrant visa. Visitor visa is not suitable for him.

Sincerely,
IV UNIT



Guess I'm not the only one who can't figure this out.

In fact, we were planning to do the tourist visa til I got the above msg from the embassy. I had planned to use my contract, as well as out rental contract, but we plan to go in August, which is also the month those contracts are finished. So I doubt it would help much anyway.

And they wonder why we hate America...

Sigh...

[justme]

In case anyone's, I think I found a solution to my visa problem. After many emails back and forth asking questions of increasing specificity, I got this reply from Ankara:


Immigrant visa is for living in the U.S. You can use it a couple of times as a multiple entry-visa. But you may also ask for Re-entry permit from the Citizenship and Immigration Service Office when your husband enters the U.S. Re-entry permit allows the applicant to reside overseas for 2 years. On the other hand, If you prove your strong ties to Turkey, he may get a visitor visa as well. S[Ozsoy, Handan] o you may aply for visitor visa first.

Sincerely,
IV UNIT


So it seems he can get into America once or twice on the immigrant visa, even if he doesn't plan to live there. I haven't asked yet how long immigrant visas are valid. Even though immigrant visas are pricey, we figured it was best to do this rather than throw away another $100 applying for a tourist visa that he probably wouldn't get. Also, we figured that if he needed to get a tourist visa in the future, it would look good if he had an immigrant visa but STILL came back to Turkey.

Thanks for everyone's advice!

[gelin]

You husband will not get a tourist visa -- trust me on this. He is an intending immigrant by the virtue that he has married you. Your only alternative is to apply for an immigrant visa for him. You will have to fill out an I-864 affidavit of support, even though you will not make enough to support your husband in the States. You will then have to get a co-sponsor -- someone who is a U.S. citizen and who lives in the U.S. You will also have to show that you still have a domicile in the United States in order to file a petition on his behalf. Immigrant visas are only done at the embassy in Ankara. You must have lived in Turkey for more than one year to apply. A green card is good as long as he makes the trip to the States once a year, though rumor has it it's going to go down to six months. If he knows that he's not going to be able to go one year, he must apply for an extension of stay abroad FROM the U.S. So, when he's in the U.S. have him apply right away. You cannot apply from outside the U.S. and he'll lose his green card and you'll have to start the process over. If you plan on going back to the States, he can apply for his citizenship after some years of living there and then never have to worry about a visa again. Good luck.

[justme]

Thanks so much gelin. I suspected that was true about the tourist visa, that there would not be any ties 'strong' enough to prove he was coming back to Turkey. I hadn't thought about a green card, but I suppose that would be the next step. He doesn't want to live in the States, but a green card is such a holy grail for foreigners he'll probably want one...

Where did you find your information? I know most of the stuff about applying for the immigrant visa and getting co-sponsors from the Embassy site, but where did you learn about green cards and having to stay in the States for a certain amount of time, and that it may change from a year to 6 months?

[gelin]

I'm an insider

[justme]

He got the immigrant visa! Yay! We're ever so pleased. The interview was scary and lasted all of 5 minutes and they didn't even want to look at the foot-high pile of stuff I brought to prove our marriage and everything else.

Many thanks to those who sent advice about this....

[Baba Alex]