Posted by boodle on 7/20/07

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my USC bf and i plan on getting married, but i'm still
going through a divorce with my european ex-husband right
now. this won't be finalized till the end of the year. i
have been separated since last year and my bf and i met in
manila when he was there. we have been living together for
almost a year including the time when we were in manila.
his contract ended and he went back here. so i came a few
months ago on a tourist visa.

since we don't want to be apart we've decided that i'll
just stay here with him till my divorce is settled, which
means i'll be overstaying. if i overstay, our option is to
get married after my divorce if we want my status to be
updated. we know the risk of being denied due to
accusation of fraud marriage since we plan to get married
right after my divorce, but we have limited options.

he just found out that his company might be sending him
back to manila for work before the year ends or early next
year on a long term contract. since we don't want to be
apart, by then, i would've overstayed. if i leave the
country with him at that time without getting married and
updating my status, then that means i am banned in the
country for 3 years. we know all the risks we're taking.

my questions are:
**if i go back with him at end of the year to manila and
get married there after a few months or so, can we apply
for a spousal visa there if we want to visit here? will
that override the 3 year ban or would the 3 year ban
override the petition for spousal visa? can we apply for a
spousal visa from there while we are both in manila or
does he have to be here in the US to apply for that? cuz i
know that you can't file a fiance visa if you're in
another country and i dunno if it's the same case with
spousal visa.

**what if we get married here and he goes back to manila
to work before the update of my status is completed, and i
stay here, then he comes back for the immigration
interview and then i go to manila to be with him after my
status is updated? is that possible? do they allow that?
or does he need to be here in the country the whole time
during the process?

**we live in GA and GA has new state laws about
immigration. will this affect us? like if we want to get
married? is getting married considered a benefit of a USC?
cuz the new state law says you have to show legality
before you can avail of public benefits in the state. or
in this case, do we need to get married in another state?

i hope my questions don't sound too stupid. but i would
really appreciate any suggestions, comments, or insight on
this. please.

Re: overstaying and marrying a citizen, 10/19/07, by Law office of Patrick Waters 210-5247778.

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