Spousal Visa for my Aussie husband to be...?

My fiance is an Australian citizen. We are planning to have a wedding ceremony in June and then spend a year in Australia. Afterward, we plan to come back to the USA to begin to raise our family. We're not sure if getting 'officially' married by the US government in June will mess up our process for him to be allowed to work in the US. He does not need to have American citizenship, but he DOES need to the right to work in the US. Should we wait until we've come back from living in Australia ? Should we get married right away ? Can someone please brief me on our options ?

Ozmaniac

The sooner you marry and start living together as a married couple, the easier it will be to convince US immigration authorities that your marriage is genuine and that your fiance should be granted a spouse visa (which you will of course have to petition for) and green card that will allow him to work. I don't think though that you can petition from outside the US as you must prove that you have sufficient US income to support him.

My (sketchy) understanding of US immigration law indicates that you should marry outside the USA. I understand that it's not a good idea for him to enter the USA on a tourist visa if he intends marrying while he's there and that it could be seen to constitute some kind of visa fraud.

pianojangee

After marriage and before you want to move back to US with your husband, you must petition him for green card, which let him work and live permanently in US. If you gain a resident status in Australia after living there, you can file all the paper work for your husband at US Embassy through Direct Consular Filing.
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=dcf

If you are not qualified DCF, then you must come alone and do paper work in US to bring your husband.
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=i130guide1

He doesn't have to be naturalized to become US Citizen, if he chooses not to. All he needs is renew his green card every 10 year.

LV-Gnome

There is nothing to stop you from marrying in the US. Provided he doesn't stay in the country after the marriage without a valid visa, then it will affect nothing.

Since you intend on living in Australia for a year, my advice would be to get married and head off to Oz.

Around 5-6 months prior to planning the move back to the US, talk to the nearest US Consulate and inquire about Direct Consular Filing. You need to have lived in the country legally for 6 months to be eligible, but it's much faster than going through the US. At that stage of your marriage, you would be looking at CR-1, conditional residency (which is given to all marriages less than 2 years old), which gives him all the same rights to live and work in the US as any other permanent resident.

Please remember that while you live in Australia, you still need to file your taxes with the US.

Good luck!

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