Korean Job Discussion Forums

Gorf · Joined: 25 Jun 2011

My girlfriend is Korean, and a student in a university in Incehon. I've decided that I'm about done with my little sojourn in Korea, and though I've enjoyed my time here and I'm happy I met her, we've both agreed that we want to head to the U.S. and start a new life there.

A little bit about her: She still lives with her parents (as you would expect), but she's not particularly fond of them. Her dad is your typical Korean salaryman who drinks too much and yells at his kids, which prompted his wife (her mom) to leave some number of years ago. Essentially, family is something that isn't holding her back. She speaks excellent English and I have no doubt that she'll be able to function just fine in the United States as an expat.

About me: I've got my 4-year degree of course, and after having worked in Korea I fully feel like I can be a success back in America no matter where I land. I have a good family that supports me in these decisions, and they will help us settled in, and they are completely okay with me getting married and/or bringing my girlfriend back home.

The question, however, is how do I legally get her over there? From what I've been researching, it seems that getting married is one of the options here to get her some kind of permanent resident status, which allows her to work for 2 years, and stay indefinitely. I also was curious to see if anyone here knows about that, and also if she might be able to do a study abroad program for her university so she could get a student visa. I know that there's probably a lot of variance between universities and acceptance into such programs, so that's why I'm asking here. I'm still looking into all this, but I was wondering if anyone could help me fast-track my research and decision making process.

What say you, wise Dave's goers? How can we make this work? Thanks in advance!

tardisrider · Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Location: Seoul

The fastest option would be to take her in your luggage.

If that's not an option,you need to be talking to the U.S. embassy.

The student visa route is possible, but neither guaranteed nor easy. She'll have to not only be accepted by the school (which involves language tests and verification of funds to pay tuition and living expenses) but also she'll have to go through the U.S.embassy's interview process.

Marriage or Engagement are possible routes to helping her immigrate, but they are not immediate, nor should they be undertaken lightly. I don't mean this advice as a moral judgment, but rather as a pragmatic regarding future happiness, personal economics and immigration complications.

Anyway, you'll need to talk to the embassy no matter what, but here's a starting point: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-iv-typek1k2.asp

youtuber · Joined: 13 Sep 2009

Arrive alone leave alone.

orosee · Joined: 07 Mar 2008 Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

Find out about the movie in her mind first.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

Swampfox10mm · Joined: 24 Mar 2011

If you plan to marry her, first discuss:

1. How will money be handled and by whom?
2. What are your expectations for sex (times/week?)
3. What are her beliefs on sharing money with family?
4. What will she expect you to give her in money per month?
5. What are her religious expectations?
6. Who will clean/cook/etc?

Just a few off the top of my head.

krnpowr · Joined: 08 Dec 2011 Location: Midwest, USA

Weigookin74 · Joined: 26 Oct 2009

Get married and stay here for 2 or 3 years. In the meantime, register the paperwork with the US Gov and save up some money. You'll need to pay fees to get set up in Me gook. Maybe even get an immigration lawyer to navigate through the paperwork and bureacracy more quickly. You'll need money to lvie on and support yourself when you're starting out. Stay here, file the paperwork, and start saving. (Then , go back.)

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

All relationship issues aside your options are limited to:

Tourist entry - 90 days on arrival (no visa entry - biometric passport and return ticket required). Cannot be extended. IF you marry after her arrival she must leave the country and apply for a spousal visa. She cannot change her status inside the country.

Fiance visa - marriage required within 90 days of arrival. This process is long, convoluted, expensive and takes 6-12 months before the visa is issued and requires a change of status (in the US) twice in the first 2 years (90 days - conditional green card application, 2nd year, change to green card, 10 years renewal or nationalization.

Spousal visa - again, convoluted, expensive and long. Takes about a year and $2000 if there are no complications.

.

nicwr2002 · Joined: 17 Aug 2011

When I thought about doing the marriage thing I was told to get married outside the US first and then head that way. Bringing her over without getting married first makes the process a lot longer and more stressful. The other poster is right. Get married in Korea first and save some money for a few years. Just remember, being in Korea we have free housing, no need for a car, and cheap medical care. Things are easily 10x more expensive in the states, and oh yea not to mention you have to tip when you eat out...

bobloblaw · Joined: 30 May 2010

Yaya · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

DIsbell · Joined: 15 Oct 2008

atwood · Joined: 26 Dec 2009

How to bring a Korean girlfriend back to the US?

Tell her there's free kimchi on the plane.

Modernist · Joined: 23 Mar 2011 Location: The 90s

It's interesting you call her your 'girlfriend' throughout and the only time marriage comes up is when you are talking about immigration issues.

Not to sound like an advice columnist but: Do you want to marry this person or not? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live? Yes or no? If the answer is anything but an absolute yes, than for God's sake don't do some quickie marriage over here just to start the gears moving for American immigration.

Like the others have said, the stress and problems you will face coming back to America will be immense. This notion that you seem to have that a) you will just slide right into a good, family-supporting job within 10 minutes of getting off the plane is a delusional bubble just waiting to be popped. What kind of degree do you have? Do you have any applied experience doing anything besides teaching here? Do you even have a field in mind to start looking when you get back?

And b) that your GF will be just fine as an expat. Very likely this is false. My God, she is a college student who still lives with her parents. IN KOREA. A list of all the things she has no clue about would run to pages and pages. Has she ever even traveled out of the country before? Does she know how to drive? Has she ever had to pay bills before? Can she prepare her own food? Go grocery shopping? How about basic housekeeping? Not because she is a girl but because when you live alone SOMEONE has to deal with this stuff. I clean my bathroom, I take out my garbage, I manage [most nights] to feed myself. Can she do this, NOT in a dorm, NOT with her parents but BY HERSELF?

And does she understand she will have NO support system, except for you? Do YOU understand that? After spending her whole life in a group-centric culture she will suddenly be in the world's most individualistic culture, with no friends, no family, likely not even other Koreans. She will be so lonely she will cry. Many, many days. You'd better recognize this now, and be prepared for it.

And what in the world is she going to do for work? I'm assuming she's never held a job before. At most a PT gig in some store in Korea. So you think she's going to be all set to handle American workplace expectations? And that's IF she has any training in a desirable field, something technical. If her degree will be in Korean history or psychology or [God forbid] English lit, give me a break. Also, 'excellent English' by Korean standards is NOT necessarily sufficient. Has she ever been in all English-speaking environment where people speak at normal speeds--i.e., fast? Can she handle accents?

Finally, as orosee said--the movie in her head. This will be a huge issue. She has NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what America is really like. She has bits and pieces of various fantasies. Most of 'em are probably set on the Upper West Side of New York or Santa Monica too. If you'd be taking her to suburban San Antonio or Knoxville you'd better be damn sure she understands what it will REALLY be like.