Please Help With Immigration/GNIB/Green Card Problems!

Robdude

Help!

I'm being told a lot of different things from a lot of different people and they can't all be correct! I just got back from the GNIB office, but all they told me was 'No'

Here is my situation...

• US Citizen
• Visiting Ireland with a US Passport (90 days)
• My Wife (US Citizen) is studying Veterinary Medicine at UCD (DFQ Level 8 - not PHD level)
• I have a job offer. The job meets all of the qualifications for a Green Card
• I have 60k USD in an American bank at my disposal.

I've been in the country since August 31. I'll need to leave by November 28th or so, unless I can extend my stay. My employer would like me to start January 2nd (that should allow enough time for my Green Card to be processed/approved).

My employer has also told me, I should be able to *remain* in the country. I was told I could simply include a colour copy of my passport stamp and include that information in my Green Card application. If I go to the GNIB, they should be able to extend my stay for two months on the biases of my offer letter. (Page #6 of the Green Card Application seems to support this; there are boxes for information about residents currently in Ireland)

When I went to the GNIB, they told me this was false.

I was also told that, if I could show financial resources were available to me, I could extend my stay. The GNIB worker told me that it didn't matter what I had, he could not extend my stay in Ireland.

However, the company (a large US-based multinational company) assures me that they regularly hire people from the US and other companies and they do this *all the time*, and getting a two month extension until my Green Card shows up is easy to do.

I can't illegally over-stay my 90 days because that will jeopardize the Green Card application.

So, my questions are...

1.) Is there any way I can *legally* remain in the country while my Green Card is processed, given that it will take longer than I have left in the country?

2.) If I have to leave the country after spending < 90 days here; how long must I remain outside of Ireland before I can return? If I return to the United States, I have no place to stay. The plane ticket will be very expensive and finding a place to stay will also be very expensive. Can I simply fly home, and immediately fly back? I have been told 'Yes' and 'No' when asking that question.

3.) If I do leave the country and return before I have my Green Card, will I need to leave and re-enter once more when it is issued? (Assuming it is issued, I know they can deny my application)

If anyone can help at all, I would be eternally grateful. I just don't even know where to ask these questions. I showed up to the GNIB at 7:45AM thinking they'd answer all my questions; but the guy just basically said, 'No, I cannot help you' and stared at me until I left

EDIT: Finally - if this is too much to ask on an internet forum, can someone tell me where I could go for professional advice? Are there 'Immigration Lawyers' or specialists that know these laws very well, whom I could pay for advice?

Our man in Havana

Go on Ryanair.com and book the cheapest return flights to a country in the schengen area. Go to France, Germany or any other schengen country and get a stamp there and then simply return here and restart your 90 day period. Afaik you can simply leave Ireland one day and return the next day.

Apply for you work permit from there.

blueythebear

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Go on Ryanair.com and book the cheapest return flights to a country in the schengen area. Go to France, Germany or any other schengen country and get a stamp there and then simply return here and restart your 90 day period. Afaik you can simply leave Ireland one day and return the next day.

Apply for you work permit from there.

The reference to 90 day permission to remain for non-visa required nationals is 90 days in a year so leaving and re-entering is not necessarily the best way to go although alot will depend on the mood of the GNIB officer that you get when re-entering the country. GNIB in Burgh Quay do not have the power to extend your permission to remain without instruction from the INIS (Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Services).

So you have three options, i) leave at end of 90 day period and re-enter immediately hopefully the GNIB officer on entry will grant you at least two months (depends on the mood of the immigration officer) , ii) write to INIS with proofs seeking Stamp 3 for two months to make an application (Probably take over a year so don't bother) or iii) apply for a Green Card now. If no response by the time your 90 days have expired, you could do i) or just attend GNIB when you have applied with copy of your application (seek acknowldgement of the application) and seek an extension to your visa.

This is best done if you live down the country where they're less anal.

LordDorington

Sorry if this is a "bump" but not sure how to start new thread and have been trying to find the most relevant one to my own situation, which is:

I am Irish and living in Ireland

I met my wondeful Brazilian girlfriend (we are a gay couple) just under 7 months ago.

Last week she came to the end of her (3 year) student visa

Our application for de facto was refused (no surprises given our short time together)

We want to stay together but are at our wits ends!

Willing to do whatever it takes - any ideas?

jeckle

LordDorington wrote: »

Sorry if this is a "bump" but not sure how to start new thread and have been trying to find the most relevant one to my own situation, which is:

I am Irish and living in Ireland

I met my wondeful Brazilian girlfriend (we are a gay couple) just under 7 months ago.

Last week she came to the end of her (3 year) student visa

Our application for de facto was refused (no surprises given our short time together)

We want to stay together but are at our wits ends!

Willing to do whatever it takes - any ideas?

Firstly, you really need to seek professional legal advice, something which you cannot get here on boards.

You need to do this pretty quickly as judging by your post your girlfriend has already overstayed, & this in itself may cause problems, as if it gets to the stage that she is subject to a deportation order, even if you became civil partners (which takes at least three months from time of registration of intent), her application for permission to remain on the grounds of being your civil partner will not be entertained unless she applies for the deportation order to be revoked, which in itself is more hassle.

I don't know whether or not you were given the option to lodge an appeal on the de facto refusal, but if it is an option it might be worth appealing anyway just to gain some time. Have a look HERE which states (on page 5) that:

'If an applicant cannot satisfy the two year cohabitation requirement but can show that they are in a genuine, committed, cohabiting relationship, the Minister may exercise discretion and grant a temporary residence permission on stamp 3 (dependent) conditions i.e. permission to live in Ireland, but not to work in Ireland, with permission to re-apply for a stamp 4 when the two year requirement can be met.''

If she were to get this permit, even though she wouldn't be entitled to work she would at least be here legally & you would have time to consider further options

Considering how new the same sex civil partnership act is, & the possibility being that officials might not be all that experienced with dealing with exceptions or discretionary decisions I would suggest pursuing this avenue rigouressly after seeking as much professional advice as possible. Supporting letters from organisations such as GLEN might also be beneficial to your application. If this was a few months ago I would have suggested contacting David Norris for a letter of support, but I don't know whether or not this would be a good idea, considering recent letter related controversy, but I would certainly recommend contacting one one or more local politicians & ask for their support.

You could also have a look here to check if she might be entitled to apply for permission to remain through a Post Study Pathway , but this would depend on the type/level of course she was studying.

Contact GLEN who will more than likely be able to advise you properly, & also recommend a solicitor that has experience of dealing with couples in the same situation as you, who could give proper advice/free consultation on your options & possible avenues to take.

Details for GLEN: 2 Exchange Street Upper, Dublin 8 E: info[at]glen.ie T: 353 1 6728650

Hope everything works out well for you both.

LordDorington

jeckle wrote: »

Firstly, you really need to seek professional legal advice, something which you cannot get here on boards.

You need to do this pretty quickly as judging by your post your girlfriend has already overstayed, & this in itself may cause problems, as if it gets to the stage that she is subject to a deportation order, even if you became civil partners (which takes at least three months from time of registration of intent), her application for permission to remain on the grounds of being your civil partner will not be entertained unless she applies for the deportation order to be revoked, which in itself is more hassle.

I don't know whether or not you were given the option to lodge an appeal on the de facto refusal, but if it is an option it might be worth appealing anyway just to gain some time. Have a look HERE which states (on page 5) that:

'If an applicant cannot satisfy the two year cohabitation requirement but can show that they are in a genuine, committed, cohabiting relationship, the Minister may exercise discretion and grant a temporary residence permission on stamp 3 (dependent) conditions i.e. permission to live in Ireland, but not to work in Ireland, with permission to re-apply for a stamp 4 when the two year requirement can be met.''

If she were to get this permit, even though she wouldn't be entitled to work she would at least be here legally & you would have time to consider further options

Considering how new the same sex civil partnership act is, & the possibility being that officials might not be all that experienced with dealing with exceptions or discretionary decisions I would suggest pursuing this avenue rigouressly after seeking as much professional advice as possible. Supporting letters from organisations such as GLEN might also be beneficial to your application. If this was a few months ago I would have suggested contacting David Norris for a letter of support, but I don't know whether or not this would be a good idea, considering recent letter related controversy, but I would certainly recommend contacting one one or more local politicians & ask for their support.

You could also have a look here to check if she might be entitled to apply for permission to remain through a Post Study Pathway , but this would depend on the type/level of course she was studying.

Contact GLEN who will more than likely be able to advise you properly, & also recommend a solicitor that has experience of dealing with couples in the same situation as you, who could give proper advice/free consultation on your options & possible avenues to take.

Details for GLEN: 2 Exchange Street Upper, Dublin 8 E: info[at]glen.ie T: 353 1 6728650

Hope everything works out well for you both.

Wow do you know that is the most amount of helpful and jargon-free advice I've gotten since we started this whole thing! Thank you so much! I think we will go donw the appeals route to buy some time, and try to get some supporting letters. Also going to contact GLEN

We did put in so much evidence of our committment to each other - flights, emails, a transcript of every text we had ever sent, and a 400 photo album! I dont think they even looked at it - we sent it on a thursday evening and got a call friday morning to say it was refused.

I will keep you posted with any updates. Thanks again so much

jeckle

LordDorington wrote: »

I will keep you posted with any updates. Thanks again so much

Do, it would be good to hear how things go. Best of Luck!