Nicholls, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Your question requires an attorney consultation. It is not a simple question that can be answered on this type of forum. There are many factors that would need to be considered and evaluated. Since we do not have all the facts, it is impossible to give a completely accurate answers. I strongly suggest that you contact an experienced immigration attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your father's situation. (S)he would then be in a better position to analyze his case and advise you of your options.

There are advantages and disadvantages for each of the options you mentioned, beyond what can be discussed in a response that is just a few sentences long. Beyond that, there are legal issues relating to timing: a visitor's visa is exclusively for someone entering the U.S. with "nonimmigrant intent," i.e., an intention to remain temporarily in the U.S. and then depart. It is not lawful to enter with a visitor's visa with the intention of becoming married and then applying to remain permanently as a Permanent Resident (with a "Green Card"). Misuse of a visitor's visa can constitute visa fraud, with very serious immigration-related consequences. Nonetheless, it can be lawful to enter with nonimmigrant intent, and later have a change of mind and decide to become married and apply for Permanent Residency. There really is no substitute for your daughter and the man she is considering marrying to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies to attain the couple's goals, and who then could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.

Generally, investments that can form a basis for an immigrant visa (to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, to get a "Green Card"), must be $1,000,000, although a minimum of $500,000 may be sufficient for investments in designated economically depressed geographical locations. There are many additional requirements for success in this type of application, including documentary evidence of the legitimate source of the invested funds, the placement of the funds at risk, the expected employment of American workers, etc. It would be a mistake to initiate this type of immigration application (or even to select an investment with expectations of the investment meeting immigration-related requirements) without engaging an immigration attorney to provide legal representation in this complex type of case.