Q: My girlfriend lives in Italy. I was born and raised in the United States. I own a business. How can my girlfriend stay?

A: Good morning,

There are several immigration vehicles that may be suitable for you and your girlfriend. Deciding which alternative is best, will largely depend on your personal goals, circumstances and the means available to you in order to achieve those goals. Therefore, to advise you on the best possible solution, I will need to gather more information about you, your girlfriend, your relationship, and your business, as each of those factors (together with other factors) may lead to different solutions.

Our firm is uniquely positioned to assist you in this matter. A large part of our immigration practice focuses on assisting clients seeking to emigrate to and from the United States and Italy, for both business and personal purposes. Aside from US immigration law services, our firm is also able to offer a full range of Italian legal services in the United States.

I am available to discuss your case in more detail at your earliest convenience. Please contact me for more information at: 305-442-1443 or larca@fleitaslaw.com. You may also visit our law firm's website (at: www.fleitaslaw.com) for more information about our Immigration and Italian law practice areas.

***Please Note: That this answer is not intended as legal advice for your particular situation, nor is it intended to establish an attorney/client relationship. Rather, it is only provided for educational purposes.***

A: The simplest way is to get married to her. Of course it’s not clear from your post if that is an option that you’d like to consider.

A: Normally a tourist visa should allow her to do that.

A: This question if difficult to answer as you do not give us much insight in your goals. For the sake of trying to help you, I will make some assumptions: 1: Can my girlfriend stay in the United States for only 6 months of the year. I am assuming you have some knowledge of US immigration laws. I will also assume she would like to earn money while in the U.S? If so, she will need to have work authorization. There are several ways to obtain work authorization in the U.S. Among several are: you have an investment business, you may be able to hire her for qualities she might possess and not available in the U.S. The fact that she speaks English and Italian may help, her specialized education and or training to the type of investment you have, and others.

If not, she is able to live here for less than 6 months and enjoy herself as a tourist. Florida is a beautiful State, and Naples, FL is a beautiful city.

I strongly suggest you speak with an immigration attorney to help you navigate all the possibilities. I bid you good luck.

Sincerely,

Ana S. Mendieta, Esq.