www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I'm far from an expert but I would surmise that if you have already qualified for the benefits and you have registered your foreign marriage in the U.S. your spouse should be qualified for her share.

Now you may have to go through the entire I-130 visa process to get her a green card and preferably citizenship eventually. That would be a good question for someone who has done that. I'm sure you can find someone in Medellin or at least research it on the internet. This link might help:
http://www.planet-love.com/

To answer an earlier question from PacoLoco the green card is first granted with restrictions. After 2 years she can request the restrictions be removed. This requires another trip to immigration to prove she's been a good girl and the two of you are still happily married. She can also do this on her own if she can prove any number of circumstances i.e. divorce, abuse, death of spouse, etc.

After she's been a good, little spouse for a minimum of 3 years she can then apply for citizenship (this may be a little longer but I believe that's about right). She does gain some favor for having been married to a U.S. citizen.

As for marrying and bringing a Latina to the U.S. My experience had it's ups and downs but overall it wasn't too bad. Fortunately she spoke some English and had a college degree. She had to adjust to being away from everything she knew besides her family but she as been here 9 years and is a U.S. citizen now.

We would probably still be married but after 5 years she just had to have a baby. We talked about that on our 2nd date back in 1999 and she knew where I stood on that subject.

She is now remarried to a gringo and has a beautiful little girl. We are still friends and see each other from time to time for lunch. It's more of a big brother / little sister relationship (she is 18 1/2 years younger at 37 but still looks 27, sigh).

She has said we will always have a connection and her father has told me on more than one occasion that regardless of the way things worked out I am always welcome in his house in Cali. So for every bad story there are some good ones.

As for my current situation I have just begun a relationship with a lady in Medellin. Yes, it comes with baggage but hey, anything worth having in life is worth a little effort.

Wit

Wit, in my book that is a successful relationship. You enjoyed each others company when you were together and parted on good terms. Nothing wrong with that.

_________________
"Your love gives me such a thrill
but your love don't pay my bills,
I NEED THE MONEY!" - John Lee Hooker

Disclaimer: The above is merely the opinion of the author unless specific scientific data is included.
Your mileage may vary. https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 978#206978

She must become a US citizen with a social security number in other words she has to be in the system and on the grid, maybe work a quarter or two as well.

Do you think that when a Latino hooks up with a Latina the family is part of the package? No way. Maybe that's an special package for a gringo!


You can bet that what keeps her there is not the family but a novio.


Don't worry she'll be happy here and there, it's your own happines you should be concerned about it and your chances are not good (with a young Latina) anywhere. I never heard of a young Latina looking for an old husband. Now, if you're around her age, treat her right and live in her country, then you might have a chance!

_________________
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly!

I'm not sure how Latinas are different. If you marry any woman from anywhere, her family is going to be part of the package. Would you want her to cut off all contact with her family? That makes no sense, so I assume that I'm not understanding what you're trying to say.

I don't think that it is the Latinas that are different but rather the Latino families. The extended family is much more common down south than it is in the US. Adult Ch*ldren often live with Mom and Dad and don't even considering moving out unless they have to leave for work or marriage. I'm 53 y/o and I swear that every chica that I have met has asked me if I live at home or have my own place! Hey, I left home when I was 18 and have never been back in the family home except to visit! If I were a Tico it would not be unusual for me to live with Mom & Dad. In the good ol' USA I would be a momma's boy! There are completely different mind sets.

_________________
Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

I am Latino and where i live the family comes with the package and i like it that way!It seems that when i wrote this it was percieved as something bad.(it's not) Mis dos centavos...

Agree. I’m Hispanic too. If you want the relationship to even have a chance, you better embrace her part of the family. It will make things just that more easier on you. Another $.02.

_________________
Hit them fast, Hit them hard and NEXT!
A good chica is like a good carpenter - No wood gets wasted!!!

I'm not even Hispanic but there is no way that I would try to remove my girl from her family. They are an integrated support system that I could not do easily without. Beside, I like 'em.

_________________
"Your love gives me such a thrill
but your love don't pay my bills,
I NEED THE MONEY!" - John Lee Hooker

Disclaimer: The above is merely the opinion of the author unless specific scientific data is included.
Your mileage may vary. https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 978#206978

One new wrinkle to the foreign-wife thing is that a relatively new law allows green card holders who are victims of domestic violence to get divorced immediately *and* stay in the U.S., no matter how short the couple had been married.

From what I'm hearing, this law is being used more and more by foreign wives against their American husbands -- i.e., staging and/or falsely reporting claims of abuse so they can ditch the old gringo and get the green card and benefits.

I can't speak for other areas of the U.S., but I've heard this is very common now in So. Fla.

Buyer beware, gentlemen.

Embrace the family, yes...Love family, K*ds and all that stuff. Support the extended family, aw hell no!!

Maybe I got the wrong idea of what "the package" means, I thought of it like having to take care of her family too and accepting their interference.
Socializing and family support is not a package but an added bonus, and of course, I like it too!

_________________
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly!

I had lunch yesterday with a bunch women from the Catholic Charities and they brought up the same thing Jack spoke about. A lot of this happening.

When you hear something about one or two Americans, do you automatically generalize all American families the same way? If not, why do you do so for Latinos?


We neither support them nor get any interference from my inlaws or anybody else on my wife's side.

I come from a Irish family. Family is part of life. Yet as a man most of us try not to be a burden to our K*ds.

Now, I married a Phillipinia. That Family tie stuff even caught me by surprise. We have been divorced for 7 years and I still get the uncle stuff all the time. But the fact is they are my K*ds family. What to do? Not support them all is for sure. But, do what I can for the young ones.

_________________
Take a walk on the wild side.