Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jmbran11]

I'm posting this on the very off-chance that someone here has been in this situation.

I am a U.S. citizen. My husband is not. He previously lived in the U.S. and overstayed his tourist visa. We are applying for family immigrant visa status to return the U.S. and live/work.

There is something on the form that indicates that if the immigrant applicant resided illegally in the U.S. within the past 10 years, the visa will be denied. After some legal researching, I found that this exclusion can be waived in some cases of family immigration (like mine). I'm trying to figure out if it is commonly waived.

Has anyone here ever applied for a visa for a relative who previously lived in the U.S. illegally? If so, can you please post or pm me.

And, I realize I could contact an attorney, so you don't have to remind me. I just thought that with all of the international marriages around here, maybe someone has some experience with this issue.

[hellofaniceguy]

Each case is different.....case by case.
You would be applying for a CR or IR1 visa for spouses....it depends on how long you have been married.
You'll need CURRENT U.S. tax returns amoung many other documents.
It's pretty straight forward...but...time consuming.
Now I do know of personally.....three guys who married korean women in the U.S while they were on tourists' visas...the women overstayed their visas....left the U.S. freely without being deported and applied in Seoul for their spouse visas (they did apply in the U.S. for the spouse visa but were denied by CIS and all three had to return to korea and apply).
And actually, one friend contacted his Senator who in turn contacted the local immigration office where he filed for help. That local immigration office really gave him more of a hard time! They told him..."you're the one who contacted senator so and so.....you think you have problems now...just wait!" And problems he did have....it took him three years!
All three were approved...this was within the last three years. They had MANY hoops to jump through!
Once you get assigned a case number from the State Department...then it's pretty much a given that the visa will be issued because CIS has done its background checks, etc. and "rubber stamped" the approval for the issuing embassy to actually issue the visa. The embassy is hard pressed to deny the spouse of a U.S. citizen a visa without a real good reason.
Now...they will look at the length of the overstay, what he was doing during the overstay and try and determine if you and he married in order to circumvent immigration rules.
It's a judgement call on the embassy worker. They play God and look for reasons to deny.
If you call the embassy.....you WILL NOT get a straight answer. They will tell you...apply and see what happens. But again....they need real good reason(s) to deny the spouse of a citizen a visa.
If the spouse has no tax returns or not enough income....denied. Bad background check....denied. Prior deportation...denied. Overstayed a visa but was not deported.....50/50.
The embassy worker is looking for reasons to deny the visa. They also look at and consider...will this person become a public charge...will they be likely to collect welfare.
Another friend also married a korean...they both went to the U.S. (she on a tourist visa) he is a U.S. citizen....they married and filed for a spouse visa...she was denied...this was last year....in the mean time...immigration did not deport his wife while their case was pending....they continued to file appeals so she was not required to leave the U.S.....long story short.....she gets a letter from immigration telling him that her visa is denied for whatever reason and that they have to apply through the state department....her departure from the U.S. is not required...so....they file in Seoul....they get a case number...go for the interview and she was denied!! All his ducks were in order...tax returns, etc....the embassy told him...she overstayed her visa! They show the embassy worker the letter from immigration stating that her departure from the U.S. is not required while her case is pending...but...they embassy rejected her because she overstayed her visa!
This does not help you...but....you'll have many hoops to jump through.
Has anyone else who is reading this, who married a korean and overstayed their visa......had a bad experience with visas and the U.S. embassy?
How do I know so much about this subject? I just have many friends who married koreans and have been sharing their stories with me. Most are horror on the part of the embassy staff.....we only hear about the good results and the visas being issued...we very rarely hear about the bad ones.
If you catch the embassy worker on a good day....you may get lucky.