Want to swop ????
December 3, 2008 12:54 PM Subscribe
How can I marry an American woman, for her to get workingpermission in the EU and myself a greencard for the US ?
This post was deleted for the following reason: This kind of reads like you're asking how to pull of immigration fraud, which isn't really an okay use of AskMe. If this is just terrible phrasing, consider trying again next week with more information about what exactly your situation is. -- cortex
Too bad you didn't get here a bit earlier.
You could try online dating. I know Udate has international listings.
posted by triggerfinger at 1:16 PM on December 3, 2008
You could try online dating. I know Udate has international listings.
posted by triggerfinger at 1:16 PM on December 3, 2008
Personal ads?
The question needs more information. Is the problem the finding the person, marrying them, or finding a lawyer to deal with the visas? Or the moral dilemmas faced by those who opt for a marriage of convenience?
I don't know about this specific setup, but usually this is pretty hard to do legitimately because countries don't want you doing this. They want you both living in the same country, not swapping citizenship.
posted by Ookseer at 1:20 PM on December 3, 2008
The question needs more information. Is the problem the finding the person, marrying them, or finding a lawyer to deal with the visas? Or the moral dilemmas faced by those who opt for a marriage of convenience?
I don't know about this specific setup, but usually this is pretty hard to do legitimately because countries don't want you doing this. They want you both living in the same country, not swapping citizenship.
posted by Ookseer at 1:20 PM on December 3, 2008
Meet an American woman who wants to marry you, and not just for the citizenship exchange. You'll probably need to go to somewhere there are American women, either the US or somewhere in your home country there are lots of them (college? international financial district?). Once you meet one you want to marry and who wants to marry you there are various visa options depending on when and where you get married etc.
The morality of this kind of thing doesn't keep me up nights, but from a practical standpoint I feel like I need the emphasize that if you try to fake this you will almost certainly fail. It's a long and stressful process that challenges committed couples and requires a lot of proof and paperwork. The stakes (especially for the American who could go to jail and has to make a large financial commitment) are huge. If you aren't in love I'd be surprised if you made it far without one or other of you pulling out. I asked a USCIS interviewer the other day how many "fake" couples he saw, and he said they were almost all related to each other (cousins etc). I'd bet that's because "fake" couples who don't have a bond beyond greencard swapping or money don't get that far.
And as a Brit in the US I'd say really, if you're Scandinavian, you should probably just stay where you are. It's pretty shitty to have to worry about losing your job/home/healthcare all the time, and the economy really is going down the toilet.
posted by crabintheocean at 1:25 PM on December 3, 2008
The morality of this kind of thing doesn't keep me up nights, but from a practical standpoint I feel like I need the emphasize that if you try to fake this you will almost certainly fail. It's a long and stressful process that challenges committed couples and requires a lot of proof and paperwork. The stakes (especially for the American who could go to jail and has to make a large financial commitment) are huge. If you aren't in love I'd be surprised if you made it far without one or other of you pulling out. I asked a USCIS interviewer the other day how many "fake" couples he saw, and he said they were almost all related to each other (cousins etc). I'd bet that's because "fake" couples who don't have a bond beyond greencard swapping or money don't get that far.
And as a Brit in the US I'd say really, if you're Scandinavian, you should probably just stay where you are. It's pretty shitty to have to worry about losing your job/home/healthcare all the time, and the economy really is going down the toilet.
posted by crabintheocean at 1:25 PM on December 3, 2008
Do you have a particular woman in mind? Or are you asking how to game the system? Because that... would be illegal.
posted by ostranenie at 1:28 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by ostranenie at 1:28 PM on December 3, 2008
Something to keep in mind is that the process of getting permanent residence in a country through marriage tends to be a lengthy one that involves a lot of paperwork and some time (often years) living in that country TOGETHER. Doing it both directions is even harder, because typically permanent residence is lost once you are not actually residing in the country anymore. That may mean at least one of you has to get citizenship in the other's country (which takes even longer).
To give you an example, I'm Canadian and my wife is American. After four years living in Canada, she is finally eligible for citizenship (she got permanent residence after about 18 months), and will probably get it within a year. Now if I hypothetically wanted to get a green card in the US, we'd have to move there and go through a process that takes at least a couple of years.
posted by Emanuel at 1:34 PM on December 3, 2008
To give you an example, I'm Canadian and my wife is American. After four years living in Canada, she is finally eligible for citizenship (she got permanent residence after about 18 months), and will probably get it within a year. Now if I hypothetically wanted to get a green card in the US, we'd have to move there and go through a process that takes at least a couple of years.
posted by Emanuel at 1:34 PM on December 3, 2008
This question is phrased badly but I'll give it a shot. Let's say you were to marry an American. There's no way that you could both simultaneously get what you're after. If you live in the US you can get a greencard but she can't get an EU work permit. If you just swap countries it's going to look a lot like a sham marriage.
posted by ob at 2:18 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by ob at 2:18 PM on December 3, 2008
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posted by dunkadunc at 1:08 PM on December 3, 2008