Mixed Insurance Banners Health Insurance for Visitors to USA

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

I'm a US Citizen, Finacee is chinese citizen, process to bring her over?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • I'm a US Citizen, Finacee is chinese citizen, process to bring her over?

    I'm currently a US Citizen and I've resided in the USA all my life (31 years old now). Anyways, I met a girl in China a few years ago and we were just friends for many years before we started a romantic relationship earlier this year and it's quickly progressed to engagement and we are planning our wedding now.

    In the meantime, she obtained a B2 visitor visa to come visit me (this was actually prior to us getting engaged). She is scheduled to come visit me in a few weeks (early October), and I have been popping over to Hong Kong to meet her (she lives in Shenzhen just across the border). She is now also pregnant with our first child, so we are looking to get married legally within the next few months (before the child is born).

    I intend to apply for a spousal visa (K-3) for my fiancee immediately after we get married. So now the question is, would my fiancee still be able to use her B2 visitor visa in the next year or so to visit me while her K-3 visa is still pending? She does not intend to immigrate over to the US until mid 2019 because she needs to wind down things in China.

    Since the child will be born in wedlock, from what I know, the child is automatically a US Citizen because I am a US Citizen and I've been a US resident all my life? We would prefer for the child to be born in the US (so she would be arriving on a B2 while pregnant and already married to me, give birth here, and then return to China for a bit). I know the US authorities are suspicious of Chinese ladies coming to the US to give birth to take advantage of birthright citizenship for the child, but in this case, the child should automatically have US citizenship anyways.

    It seems like, there's a lot of paperwork to do and I'm a bit confused as to everything. Thanks for any guidance I can get.

  • #2
    I wasn't clear, where do you want to get married, in the United States or abroad?

    Comment


    • #3
      K-3 is obsolete. If she wants to immigrate after marrying, then she would get a CR-1/IR-1 immigrant visa directly. No K-3 involved.

      Yes, the child will be a US citizen if born outside the US. (Even if born out of wedlock, the child would still be a US citizen as long as you the father apply for the CRBA.)

      If she tries to come on a B2, there is a good risk of denial of entry, not necessarily because of the pregnancy, but also because of the fact that her spouse is a US citizen living in the US, and so it would be too easy for her to just change her mind after entering to stay and do Adjustment of Status.

      This is my personal opinion and is not to be construed as legal advice.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by newacct View Post
        K-3 is obsolete. If she wants to immigrate after marrying, then she would get a CR-1/IR-1 immigrant visa directly. No K-3 involved.

        Yes, the child will be a US citizen if born outside the US. (Even if born out of wedlock, the child would still be a US citizen as long as you the father apply for the CRBA.)

        If she tries to come on a B2, there is a good risk of denial of entry, not necessarily because of the pregnancy, but also because of the fact that her spouse is a US citizen living in the US, and so it would be too easy for her to just change her mind after entering to stay and do Adjustment of Status.
        What's the CRBA? How long of a timeline can I expect to get her CR-1 visa approved? Once she has the CR-1 visa, how long must she stay in the US for? I read that she could enter and leave the US freely after CR-1 is issued? If so, can we just use Guam as a Port of Entry? I ask because she does not want to immediately resign from her current job. She wants to stay there for about 1-2 more years before moving over.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by matrixwalker View Post
          What's the CRBA? How long of a timeline can I expect to get her CR-1 visa approved? Once she has the CR-1 visa, how long must she stay in the US for? I read that she could enter and leave the US freely after CR-1 is issued? If so, can we just use Guam as a Port of Entry? I ask because she does not want to immediately resign from her current job. She wants to stay there for about 1-2 more years before moving over.
          CRBA is Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which is one form of proof of citizenship for a child born abroad who was a citizen from birth. You will usually apply for both a CRBA and a US passport for the child born abroad so they can go to the US.

          Consular processing for an immigrant visa usually takes about a year from filing of the I-130 petition to getting the immigrant visa, but it varies a lot from place to place. After she enters the US with the immigrant visa, she becomes a US permanent resident and the visa is void. She can travel into and out of the US freely as a US permanent resident, but she needs to maintain residence in the US. Whether she has abandoned residence depends on many factors, not just time, and is subjective. Usually it would be better not to get the immigrant visa until she is ready to move to the US, but then that would probably mean she would have to give birth in China.

          This is my personal opinion and is not to be construed as legal advice.

          Comment


          • #6
            Note that the baby would be born with Chinese citizenship if she is born in China (because one parent is a Chinese national), but not if the baby is born abroad to a Chinese parent who has settled (ie resident) abroad

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by inadmissible View Post
              Note that the baby would be born with Chinese citizenship if she is born in China (because one parent is a Chinese national), but not if the baby is born abroad to a Chinese parent who has settled (ie resident) abroad
              So in my case, if the baby is born in China, then the baby will be eligible for both US citizenship through me and Chinese citizenship through my fiancée? I suppose the US doesn’t care if she also acquires Chinese citizenship but the Chinese government won’t allow the baby to hold both citizenships?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by newacct View Post
                CRBA is Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which is one form of proof of citizenship for a child born abroad who was a citizen from birth. You will usually apply for both a CRBA and a US passport for the child born abroad so they can go to the US.

                Consular processing for an immigrant visa usually takes about a year from filing of the I-130 petition to getting the immigrant visa, but it varies a lot from place to place. After she enters the US with the immigrant visa, she becomes a US permanent resident and the visa is void. She can travel into and out of the US freely as a US permanent resident, but she needs to maintain residence in the US. Whether she has abandoned residence depends on many factors, not just time, and is subjective. Usually it would be better not to get the immigrant visa until she is ready to move to the US, but then that would probably mean she would have to give birth in China.
                So by marrying me, my wife’s B2 visa will essentially become useless as she would have difficulty establishing that she is not intending to immigrate? Thus, by marrying her, she won’t be able to visit me in the US until she gets her I-130 and immigrant visa approved? In the interim, what would my options be? Would I be able to take her for a vacation in Saipan (visa exempt for Chinese)? I have no problems flying there to visit her but I’d like for her to be able to come see me.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by matrixwalker View Post
                  So in my case, if the baby is born in China, then the baby will be eligible for both US citizenship through me and Chinese citizenship through my fiancée? I suppose the US doesn’t care if she also acquires Chinese citizenship but the Chinese government won’t allow the baby to hold both citizenships?
                  Not "eligible" -- the baby would *automatically have* both US citizenship and Chinese nationality according to the law of each country -- no action is needed for this to happen. There is no such thing as "allow" or "not allow" someone to "hold" both nationalities -- each country's law decides whether a person has its own nationality or not. Chinese law says the baby has Chinese nationality, so he/she has it, unless and until it is renounced. Children born in the US to Chinese parent(s) where no Chinese parent has permanent residency, similarly has dual nationality and this is well-recognized by the Chinese consulates.

                  In terms of travel documents, a dual national in your child's situation should exit China the first time with a Chinese Entry/Exit Permit (in conjunction with US passport), and for subsequent trips to China, the child should get a Chinese Travel Document from a Chinese consulate abroad (the Travel Document says in it that the bearer is a Chinese citizen) to enter and exit China (in conjunction with US passport). If the Travel Document is lost or expires while in China, the child would again get a Chinese Entry/Exit Permit. The problem is that the Public Security Bureau in certain localities are known to require renunciation of Chinese nationality when applying for an Entry/Exit Permit, even though this doesn't make any sense legally. Public Security Bureaus in major cities may not have this problem, but it's hard to say.

                  Originally posted by matrixwalker View Post
                  So by marrying me, my wife’s B2 visa will essentially become useless as she would have difficulty establishing that she is not intending to immigrate? Thus, by marrying her, she won’t be able to visit me in the US until she gets her I-130 and immigrant visa approved? In the interim, what would my options be? Would I be able to take her for a vacation in Saipan (visa exempt for Chinese)? I have no problems flying there to visit her but I’d like for her to be able to come see me.
                  The visa is valid. There is no rule that she can't visit. She can try to visit, but there is risk of denial of entry; it's up to the officer's judgment.

                  Saipan makes no difference -- she could be denied entry there for the same reason. (CNMI being visa-exempt for Chinese citizens doesn't make a difference for her because she already has a visa.) And Saipan may not be a good place to plan to have birth as it doesn't have many health facilities and there are lots of birth tourists there.

                  This is my personal opinion and is not to be construed as legal advice.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by newacct View Post
                    In terms of travel documents, a dual national in your child's situation should exit China the first time with a Chinese Entry/Exit Permit (in conjunction with US passport), and for subsequent trips to China, the child should get a Chinese Travel Document from a Chinese consulate abroad (the Travel Document says in it that the bearer is a Chinese citizen) to enter and exit China (in conjunction with US passport). If the Travel Document is lost or expires while in China, the child would again get a Chinese Entry/Exit Permit. The problem is that the Public Security Bureau in certain localities are known to require renunciation of Chinese nationality when applying for an Entry/Exit Permit, even though this doesn't make any sense legally. Public Security Bureaus in major cities may not have this problem, but it's hard to say.
                    There is an alternative approach, which parents should consider if they think it is important to maintain their child's Chinese nationality. (Conventional wisdom says everyone wants to immigrate to the United States anyway, but not everyone does, and it might be cruel to foreclose this option for a child. Some parents will want to bestow their child with the opportunity to decide whether or not to exercise their birthright)

                    Treat the child like a Chinese national. Your wife should obtain Permit To Give Birth before the child is born, apply for hukou after birth, and then a Chinese passport. You then gamble on applying for an US immigrant visa for the child. You and I know that if adequate inquiry is done, USCIS would determine that the child is indeed a US citizen an ineligible for an alien visa, but in practice they probably will not catch that. If the gamble succeeds, the child can leave China directly for the United States using her Chinese passport. If the gamble fails, the child will travel to a third country using her Chinese passport, then apply for a US passport, then travel to the United States on the US passport. The rules are looser if the child is born in HKSAR to a HK resident parent rather than on the mainland

                    It sounds like a lot of work, but many parents go through this rigmarole so that their child will retain the option of asserting their Chinese nationality if and when needed. Renewing a Chinese passport will probably require a letter from the US consulate stating the child has no US passport

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      This was a very interesting topic. Thanks for all that contributed, it was very informative.
                      I guess, the question now is if your fiance wants to continue with a tourist visa or hang tight and apply for the K-1.
                      --Good luck--
                      Good luck. I learned the hard way, I hope you don't have to. Immigration is interesting. Not considered as legal advice.

                      Comment

                      {{modal[0].title}}

                      X

                      {{modal[0].content}}

                      {{promo.content}}

                      Working...
                      X