Expert: Sandra - 2/25/2010

Question
Please explain what the criteria are for marrying a Brazilian citizen. I am an american citizen interested in marrying a resident of Brazil. She wishes to live in the United States. Would I be able to work in Brazil after marrying here in the states ?

Answer
OK, so you are talking about bringing your Brazilian fiancee to the U.S. to get married and then applying to adjust her status to permanent residency/Green Card.

Once you are married, if you want to work in Brazil, you can apply for permanencia at your local Brazilian Consulate in the U.S. (considered faster and cheaper) or do so in Brazil (which involves a surprise home visit by the PF).

Note: The "criteria" for marrying her in Brazil are listed by her local cartorio. After the marriage, you would apply for a spouse visa to bring her to the U.S., which really involves the same paperwork as the fiancee visa and status adjustment together, and takes about the same time to recieve travel permission.)

For the fiancee visa forms, look on the site:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a...

Do everything carefully, legibly, with attention to detail.
Make Xerox copies of all documents you intend to send, to keep for your records.

Go to www.uscis.gov and download these forms (or use the attached PDFs):
I129F  (fiancee petition)
G325A (biographical data)

Make about 6-7 Xerox copies of the G325A.

You need:
*U.S. birth certificate (can be Xerox copy of 'original with official seal')
*bio form G325A completed and signed
*photo (passport type, 2"x2", with your name on the back)
*statement of intent to marry (a bit about how you met and how you came to be serious and that you want to get married now)
*evidence (photos, etc--photos can be Xerox copies) that you have met your fiancee within the last 2 years
*the fee (money order--U$475 I think)


She needs:
*photo
*statement of intent to marry, in Portuguese
*bio form(s)--just send a bunch and have her sign all of them (then you fill out the info here)
** for the bio form, get her to write, on a separate sheet, her parents' names and birth info, her employer, address and dates for all jobs in last 5 years, and any other info for the bio form you will need to know and spell correctly (saves fussing over the phone later)
*She will also need a passport, if she does not already have one.

When those items arrive from Brazil:
*write her name on the back of the photo
*fill out the bio form with her info
*get the statement of intent translated
*get a letter from the translator stating why s/he is qualified to do the translation

The whole process, from submitting the forms to the date of the interview in Rio, is running about 7 months.
She will need to do a medical exam with a registered doctor. It seems easier to do this in Rio (if you choose Rio on the I129F form as the Consulate to use) the day (or so) before the interview (to pick up the results just before the interview). They will send of list of doctors. (One is right in front of the Rio Consulate.) Make sure she gets copies of the immunization info if she needs to get shots there (that she can't prove she has), or her proof that she does have what they require from her own doctor. She will need this once she arrives here.  
 
Be prepared (financially and time off from work) to fly to Rio to be there for the inteview if you feel you can.

Once she arrives, you have 90 days to get married and then file the forms to adjust her status.

Best wishes fro a happy future.