Immigrating to the U.S. from Indonesia

[RadarContactLost]

G'day. Not sure if I'm in the right forum...
Anyhow, here goes.
I'm American and lived in Australia for 12 years. I returned to the U.S. 3 years ago. While in Oz, I met my future wife about 5 years ago. She was in Oz visiting her daughter. We dated until her visa expired and she had to return to Indonesia. Then I returned to the U.S. We stayed in touch and in may 2016 we decided to get married! I flew to CGK on 14 August last year, and we were married on 16 August 2016.

Now comes the hard part, how to get her to the U.S.?
What are my options?

I have spent hours searching online, and the only way I have found to get my wife a visa is on the USCIS website which involves getting a spousal visa. Not as easy as it may sound! Involves tones of paperwork and hundreds of pages to be translated from Indonesian to English!!

USCIS has a toll free number to call, but none to answer my question of is there another way to getmy wife a visa? Also is an option to ask a question online, but again my situation is not an option


Any help, hints, options are appreciated!!!

[B2N2]

I hate to say it but you’re American and it’s your government.
Their system.
Suck it up buttercup.
And get an immigration attorney.
Don’t risk delays or denials because of paperwork issues or typos.
Congrats on getting married by the way.

[flyboyike]

I agree, consult an immigration attorney, and no, it won't be cheap.

[zondaracer]

Lol there’s a different forum for this kind of question.

www.visajourney.com

You’ll find much more relevant information there. You’ll find some immigration information here as many pilots have gone through that process, but you’ll get better answers if you ask aviation related questions. 😀

The visa journey website will s the way to go for your questions.

[RadarContactLost]

Originally Posted by B2N2

I hate to say it but you’re American and it’s your government.
Their system.
Suck it up buttercup.
And get an immigration attorney.
Don’t risk delays or denials because of paperwork issues or typos.

I know! ;(


Ike, not sure I can afford an attorney. ;(


Zonda.
Thanks for that! Will check it out after I post this.

Here's where I'm at now:
I have completed the spouse visa at rapidvisa.com at a cost of nearly $1,200. The application has been sent to USCIS in Chicago. Now USCIS wants photo copies of joint bank accounts, utilities, rent/mortgage, credit cards, etc that I do not have because she cannot come here. I also have numerous documents they want from her: ex husbands divorce papers, ex husbands death certificate, her national I.d. her birth certificate, national I.d. etc. All are in Indonesian, and they all must be translated to English...
Am ready to pull my hair out.
Thanks to all who have replied

[Lucky8888]

I went through this many years ago but the rules now seem to be pretty much the same as they were then. This isn't difficult. Here are a couple of links that may help if you haven't seen them. You don't need an immigration attorney. You are legally entitled to bring your wife into the U.S. and there is a mechanism to do that. All of the processing for a green card/citizenship is done after she is in the U.S. That is the time consuming part.

Links that may be helpful"

https://travel.state.gov/content/vis...-relative.html
https://travel.state.gov/content/vis...ly/fiance.html

BTW, this is probably the wrong place to ask for this kind of information. There are plenty of ex-pat and immigration forums that would be significantly more beneficial to you than pprune

[RadarContactLost]

Lucky,
Thanks for the reply, I will check the links this weekend when I have more time. Several months ago I found on USCIS website was that it was up to each states attorney general as to whether they acknowledged foreign weddings. ( in this case indosenian ). I emailed my attorney general and he ( or most likely a secretary) replied that they had no position on the marriage as to if they recognized it or not...
Therefore they did not officially recognize our marriage in Indonesia, therefore no green card...

One roadblock after another. ;(

[B2N2]

I’m not trying to be a stick in the mud but you’re experiencing just a tiny sliver of what is a draconian immigration system in the USA.
Easy to Monday morning quarter back but you should have looked into this before you got married.
Would probably have been better to get her over on a K1 ( fiancée) visa then get married in your home state.
This may still be an option since you may not be ‘legally’ married under US law.
Stop looking for advice on an aviation website and get an attorney.

[whherron]

VisaJourney.com is a good resource...I used it myself.

My wife is Indonesian but was in the U.S. on a student visa when we met. After we married (in Vegas), I did the paperwork to convert her status from Student to Spouse. She had a green card within a year, and after three years of marriage was able to apply for citizenship. Two years later, she stood in a USCIS office and swore her oath. She's 'Merican now.

So it is possible. It took us five years, a lot of paperwork, and several thousand dollars. We did not get an attorney involved, but depending on your wife's past it may be necessary for you.

Good luck.

[flyboyike]

Originally Posted by RadarContactLost

Ike, not sure I can afford an attorney. ;(

Then you probably can't afford a wife either.

[HEMS driver]

Originally Posted by flyboyike

Then you probably can't afford a wife either.

[RadarContactLost]

B2N2, i did heaps of research. As you know, there is **** tons of info on the internet... Its hard to digest it all, and also not knowing what is to be believed and what is not to be believed...
I also asked on other sites... All the info I found and received by asking on other sites indicated a spouse visa was the best option. That's why we got married asap...
Maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe not, but it is what it is, and that is what happened. Also, last Feb. we contacted the U.S. embassy in CGK requesting an interview to decide our best plan of action. We were declined an interview... Hindsight is 20/20...

Whherron, have found visa journey to be a wealth of info, thanks!

Tokyojohn, have received your p.m. and have sent 2 replies, but no replies are in my outbox, so don't know if you received my replies... Thanks for taking the time to reply, the info you sent was very helpful.. Thanks!!!

[Freehills]

Couple of things:

1) You might need to register your wedding with the US consulate in Jakarta. Where you properly married in Jakarta? 2 days sounds very quick for all the formalities. Do you have a "buku nikah" (a blue book that is your marriage cert) or was it just a religious wedding? Jerry Hall made the same mistake

2) If you are legally married, and money is tight, then why not live in Indonesia? It will be quicker/ easier/ cheaper for you to get spouse visa for Indonesia as you are married to an Indonesian citizen that the other way round. Plus the food is better

[OFBSLF]

As you know, there is **** tons of info on the internet... Its hard to digest it all, and also not knowing what is to be believed and what is not to be believed...

Which is why you need a qualified immigration attorney who does this for a living. This is the sort of thing where you may only get one shot at the apple. You can't afford to screw it up and it will be cheaper to do it right the first time, than to screw up your application and then pay an attorney to try to unscrew it.

Find a good immigration attorney. Tell him or her your situation and ask them what it will cost.

[RadarContactLost]

Free, yes, I took an oath of being Muslim in CGK.
Yes, properly married in CGK
.was a legit marriage in CGK on October 16 by Muslim priest...

Thunk of that....
Years ago I was promissid a job with hallliburton in png..
Times were good. Not so much now...
So not sure of work in Indonesia...
So therefore not chance best work is in PNG
THANKS FOR THEINFO.!!!

[turbopropulsion]

So, have you had any hotdogs / BLTs since your oath?

I am sure you have withheld it to the religious letter

(Lol)

[flyboyike]

Originally Posted by turbopropulsion

So, have you had any hotdogs / BLTs since your oath?

I am sure you have withheld it to the religious letter

(Lol)

An all-beef hot dog is perfectly OK under Islam, especially if it's made to kosher standards since halal standards are similar.