Help an international couple out? (Visa questions.)

[WankstaBoi]

Help?
Long story short it's been four years for my boyfriend and I. I've visited him twice over in Baltimore and I'm going for my third visit in December.
It's getting to the point of annoying and expensive now and we're trying to find information on the possibility of my moving over there.
I don't have a degree (or the ability to get one, really...) so it seems like a Spouse visa is our only option.
Here's where it gets confusing.
I understand how a spouse visa works for heterosexual couples but can anyone tell me if it's even possible to apply for one as a homosexual couple? (preferably in Maryland where 'Civil unions allow varying subsets of rights.")
Additional question, does anyone know what kind of proof or witnesses we'd need to provide? Due to his family's beliefs it would be preferable to do it totally on the DL, though if that's not possible but a spouse visa IS maybe we'll examine our options.
Any help very gratefully received!

 

[EdWoody]

Sorry, but no. Regardless of whether the state to which you're moving recognises same-sex marriage or not, immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. DOMA as it currently stands overrides states' rights as regards marriage, so even if you married your boyfriend completely legally in Baltimore, it wouldn't count for the purposes of immigration. At least not until DOMA gets overturned, which is looking more and more likely.

Your options are either to find an employment visa (I had an H1-B "temporary worker visa" for six years) or enter into a fake marriage with some friendly American lesbian.

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[WankstaBoi]

...Damn that lasts 6 years!? Thanks for the tip! Though I don't have particularly niche skills, I'm a soon to be nvq level 3 qualified male nursery nurse (Read: Kindergarten teacher.) What would I need to do to get a sponsored work visa? Just apply for a job stating that I'll need sponsorship if they were to hire me?
And yeah I read a lot about DOMA and it's definition of marriage.. Hopefully with the (At least a I understand it) up coming votes for/against gay marriage, that crap will be amended if not scrapped.

 

[cdunstan1]

I think the upcoming vote you're referring to is a referendum to uphold MD's marriage equality legislation. Again, state level not federal. Our Supreme Court will probably agree to address the constitutionality of Article 3 of DOMA this term. This may required the federal govt. to recognize same-sex marriages which would probably help your case.

 

[Otep]

As a side note you may be waiting until midway next year to hear anything on DOMA. They haven't even officially selected a case yet. It's expected that they will but thus far nothing has been announced.

 

[slurper_la]

https://www.google.com/search?q=gay+marriage+visa+us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

Strongly recommend you or your BF contact:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Human Rights Campaign

 

[EdWoody]

...Damn that lasts 6 years!? Thanks for the tip! Though I don't have particularly niche skills, I'm a soon to be nvq level 3 qualified male nursery nurse (Read: Kindergarten teacher.) What would I need to do to get a sponsored work visa? Just apply for a job stating that I'll need sponsorship if they were to hire me?

Strictly speaking, it's two lots of three years.

My boyfriend got transferred from Manchester to the New York office, so he got a L visa (for transfers within the same international company). Since of course they didn't recognise us as a couple, I was without a visa for the first year. But I was working (unpaid) as an intern at an office, and when certain issues came to a head, they offered to sponsor me for a visa so I could stay.

To do so they have to prove that they are hiring me only because they can't find an American who could do the job better than me. They hired a lawyer to massage the job description and my qualifications and submitted me for a H1-B visa, which means that I am legal to stay in the country only as long as that company is employing me.

It was successful for two consecutive limits of three years, but that's all you're allowed. So then, while the boyfriend went for the Green Card, I went for an O visa ("distinguished worker"). He got his, but I didn't get mine. And since they still didn't recognise us as a couple, I couldn't get a spouse Green Card based off his.

So we both had to leave, just having spent thousands of dollars on the lawyer for his Green Card, which was now useless to him. And once you've been turned down for a visa for any reason, you're then effectively on a black list and it's very difficult to get them to even give you a chance again.

So basically, it's not easy. Not impossible, but not easy. I'm glad I did it when I did it, but frankly I have no desire to put myself all through all that shit again. Sorry to be a bummer. (Well, that kind of bummer, anyway.)


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