Marrying a nicaraquense

[Mary]

Hi - I'm from the US and getting married to my Nicaraguan fiance in September.  I have lots of questions about the immigration process.   Our main concern is that we want to reside in Nica for the majority of the year and in the US for just a few months.  All the immigration websites assume he wants to live in the US full time.
Will you leave me any helpful hints you have here?  Thanks!

[NicaChicaWannaB]

I know this post is ancient, but I am in a somewhat similar boat. And if you're still around the boards, I thought I'd ask and see how the whole process went for you???

[Megan]

My (Nica) husband and I (USA citizen) married in 2000 and I have heard nearly everything has changed since then with the visa process but I think the basic concept behind this part remains the same-- you only apply for the resident visa for your spouse because you are planning to reside in the USA permanently with him/her. If you are not planning to reside in the USA, there is no need to apply for the residency visa for the Nicaraguan spouse. And for all "permanent resident" visas in the USA, I believe the requirement is that you must be in the USA at least 6 months of the year.

So, in brief, if you are not going to live in the USA, there is no need to get the visa. (Of course, if you want to travel together and visit, he will have to apply for a non-resident (tourist) visa which can be very difficult to get.)

We planned to live in the USA, which we did, for several years, until he could apply for US citizenship, which he did. We now reside in Nicaragua and can travel freely - both of us on our US passports.

Good luck!

[Surfmasachapa]

I am an American Citizen married to a Nica, My Nica wife has her permanent resident status for the U.S we have been traveling back and forth every 6 months so that she can keep her status. I have heard there is an extension that you can apply for that will allow a resident to stay outside of the states up to 2yrs.  I'm checking into that now, maybe you should do the same.  Good luck.

[Randall Wood]

I can confirm the above is true - if you plan on spending time outside of the US, keeping a green card "activated" is a real hassle, believe me.  It's also true that if you plan on staying in Nicaragua they won't likely give you a green card.  Even the "extension" can be a hassle.  Your spouse winds up carrying this extra little booklet (it's like a passport, but green) and has to get additional stamps upon entry and exit. 

It's not impossible, but the US government isn't making it too easy for its citizens to marry outside the US.