First Post: First Question

[banky]

Hello everyone! i happened to come across this site by mistake and have browsed a little but the truth is i am completely new to this and quite frankly, i have no idea what i am about to embark in. i only know one thing: i am committed to marrying my girlfriend who is not a US citizen like i am.

my issue:
i am a born US citizen and i intend to marry my girlfriend who is: 1) Laos with a Laos passport and 2) currently attending a university in England for the past couple years and flies back and forth to attend to her business in Thailand. She is divorced with a 1year old daughter.

the truth is, im not sure on the pros and cons between flying to england and marrying her there or have her come in on a tourist visa and marrying her here.

if you consider the cost of the whole process (flights back and forth, filing fees, etc.) which would be the cheapest route?

is there a more "guaranteed" route?

i just have no clue where to start or what to even do. i am in the very early stages of planning out everything so im sorry if this post lacks any details. im sure this thread will be at the top for a bit as i keep updating with new information.

i would be very appreciative of any help i can help. feel free to provide me with questions to ask my fiance or whomever else. im just trying to get all my ducks in a row and try to be as knowledgeable as possible.

[wavedom]

Two options that probably are considered as safer than a tourist visa are the K1 visa and the IR1/CR1 visa. K1 is for people who are engaged, but not yet married. The IR1/CR1 is only available for those that are already married.

The ways these two visas work are more or less the following:

K1:
1. File a I-129F petition with the USCIS.
2. When the petition is approved, your fiancée applies for a K1 visa at the embassy in her home country.
3. When she enters the U.S. you get married within 90 days.
4. She applies for her green card once you are married.

IR1/CR1:
1. You file a I-130 petition with the USCIS.
2. The petition is approved and she applies for the visa at the embassy in her home country.
3. She enters the U.S. as a permanent resident and she will get her green card soon after that.


The whole process for receiving a K1 visa is supposed to take 6 to 8 months, but it varies. The green card application in the U.S. should take somewhere between 3 and 6 months. The process for the IR1/CR1 visa should take about the same time until the visa application is approved. The difference is that there won't be any application for permanent resident status since the immigrant already is a permanent resident when he or she enters the U.S. The fees for the K1 visa will probably end up being somewhere between $1500 and $2000 in total. The IR1/CR1 is probably less expensive.

Some people would say that it's easier to use a tourist visa (B1/B2), and people are definitely doing that too without getting into any problems. However, you should know that the tourist visa is a non-immigrant visa meant for non-immigrant purposes. Applying for a tourist visa with the intent of immigrating is the same as committing visa fraud. It also happens that people are denied a tourist visa if they have relatives (e.g. a fiancé) in the U.S. since the consular officer might suspect that they intend to immigrate.

What you could start with is to decide where you want to get married. If you want to marry outside the U.S. you cannot use the K1, since you already would be married when she immigrates. If you want to marry in the U.S., then the K1 would be the best option.

[banky]

wavedom: thank you so much for your reply.

i do have a few more questions though. I read that if i do the K1 visa route (aka. engagement visa right?) she would come in, we'd marry within 90 days, and then she would have to leave back to her home country and then return? i was a little confused on this and was not sure about the whole process of coming into the US then returning back to her country only to come into the US again. can you clarify this for me? im still trying to do a bit more research on it.

to answer your question though, i would prefer getting married here in the US.

i am certainly not asking for you to help me commit fraud, but i would like to understand the tourist visa a bit more. you said it is not usual for people to get denied a tourist visa with any relatives in the US? that would mean she is expected to come into the country and find living arrangements on her own? i imagine it goes deeper and they require her to provide financial information if she could even last that long.

the reason i would rather do the tourist visa route is because she wouldnt have to go back to her country only to come back in again (ie. K1).

anyway, thank you again and hopefully you're still around to reply.

[barbarajlw]

wavedom: thank you so much for your reply.

i do have a few more questions though. I read that if i do the K1 visa route (aka. engagement visa right?) she would come in, we'd marry within 90 days, and then she would have to leave back to her home country and then return? i was a little confused on this and was not sure about the whole process of coming into the US then returning back to her country only to come into the US again. can you clarify this for me? im still trying to do a bit more research on it.

to answer your question though, i would prefer getting married here in the US.

i am certainly not asking for you to help me commit fraud, but i would like to understand the tourist visa a bit more. you said it is not usual for people to get denied a tourist visa with any relatives in the US? that would mean she is expected to come into the country and find living arrangements on her own? i imagine it goes deeper and they require her to provide financial information if she could even last that long.

the reason i would rather do the tourist visa route is because she wouldnt have to go back to her country only to come back in again (ie. K1).

anyway, thank you again and hopefully you're still around to reply.

She cannot come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of marrying that is visa fraud. As she would have the intent of immigrating and tourist visa is non immigrant visa. I don't know who told you about the K1 and then she has to go back home WRONG. You apply for a 129f petition fiance application proving that you have met in the last 2 years. That can take up to 5 months - 9 months or longer depending on how fast USCIS work and the country of beneficiary. Once the 129f is approved we call it NOA2 as NOA1 is just the receipt that they received your application and cheque. Then you fiance will have a medical and police report done and collect other documents and then be scheduled for an interview. If approved at interview she will then be given a K1 visa to enter the USA a one time entry and you have 90 days to get married. She cannot leave the USA until you apply for AOS (green card) so no she does not have to leave after you marry she stays with you in the US.
You need to do a lot fo reading and accustom yourself with the rules.

[nichole]

K1 fiance visa
She enters with the visa and she stays. You marry within 90 days. Her arrival card I-94 allows her 90 days in the US in which to marry. If you didn't marry, then she would be expected to leave before her I-94 expired. But you will marry so she does not have to leave. She will file for Adjustment of Status (from K1 status to Permanent resident status) aka greencard. She is allowed to legally remain in the US while her AOS is processing, even if her 90 day I-94 expires. Note: If she remains in England, then she will do her K1 visa application, medical and interview through London. If her student visa will expire before you get through the process, then she will apply through Laos. How much time does she have left in England?

Tourist Visa/Visitor visa
Is meant for tourists or short business trips. Legally she could get one and come marry you then go home. Then you would start the spouse visa. The riskier way is enter as a "tourist" with no intention of going home. Those people do apply for their spouse from the US and are often fine. But it is about "intent". If she used a tourist visa with the intent of remaining in the US as an immigrant, then she commited visa fraud on a tourist visa because her intention was immigration, not tourism.

The tourist visa takes time and money to get and a chance of not being issued. so then you've lost the money and the time.

Better option is start the K1 fiance visa now or fly over to her, get married and start the CR1 spouse visa.

[banky]

Thank you all SO MUCH for the information you've provided. this is exactly the type of "starting point" i needed to do all of this.

i will need to find out more information on her student visa as we've only just started to get serious about this.

i would like to expand on something Nichole said though:

"Better option is start the K1 fiance visa now or fly over to her, get married and start the CR1 spouse visa."

how long would i have to stay in England for this option? i ask because i wouldnt want to be out of work long. i assume i would fly to England where shes studying, marry her, start the CR1 process and both of us come home. But how long from starting the CR1 process to coming home would i have to be stuck in England for?

[nichole]

First would be to find out the requirements for two non-Brits to marry in England.. Or if you fly to Laos, the requirements there.

You are not stuck in England. After the wedding, you go home and she goes back to school. You carry on your long distance relationship as you are now, except she is your wife. You can still go visit her while you wait on paperwork to process if you wish.

You start the CR1 process as soon as you have a certified marriage certificate to send with the petition. You file to USCIS while you are in the US. The petition has to be approved, then more processing at tne National Visa Center (US). Eventually she will interview at the US Embassy in London (or Laos if her time in England will be expired in he next 8-ish months.)

No matter which visa you choose, there will be separation while you wait on the paperwork to work through the government.

[banky]

First would be to find out the requirements for two non-Brits to marry in England.. Or if you fly to Laos, the requirements there.

You are not stuck in England. After the wedding, you go home and she goes back to school. You carry on your long distance relationship as you are now, except she is your wife. You can still go visit her while you wait on paperwork to process if you wish.

You start the CR1 process as soon as you have a certified marriage certificate to send with the petition. You file to USCIS while you are in the US. The petition has to be approved, then more processing at tne National Visa Center (US). Eventually she will interview at the US Embassy in London (or Laos if her time in England will be expired in he next 8-ish months.)

No matter which visa you choose, there will be separation while you wait on the paperwork to work through the government.

Again, thank you SO much for all your information.

I think i will go with the K1 so that we can get married here in the US.

I forgot to mention that she is previously divorced with an Brit citizen and also has a 1 year old child with him whom she is the main caretaker for. she previously went to Thailand for about 6-8 months with the child and just recently returned to England not to long ago.

will any of this prove to be a problem?

[barbarajlw]

Again, thank you SO much for all your information.

I think i will go with the K1 so that we can get married here in the US.

I forgot to mention that she is previously divorced with an Brit citizen and also has a 1 year old child with him whom she is the main caretaker for. she previously went to Thailand for about 6-8 months with the child and just recently returned to England not to long ago.

will any of this prove to be a problem?

If she is divorced she has to supply a notarised copy of her divorce decree for the 129f petition for you to send in and if she has a child then will need permission from the father to bring child to USA and apply for K2 as well.

[nichole]

She will need extra documentation. She needs her divorce decree from her first husband with the court stamp on it as part of your initial petition form I-129F. I suggest a color photocopy be sent to you because the British final decree isn't signed by a judge. There is a red circle stamp from the court on the document. USCIS tends to think this isn't the real decree, but it's all they do in the UK. The red stamp will show better if she makes a color copy. She will save her original decree to show at her interview. What I did was use a light yellow highlighter and marked the sentence in the document that says it is final or over on [date]. O forget the exact words. then at the very bottom in teeny tiny print are the words "Decree Absolute" which I highlighted too. I had no requests for further evidence by doing it this way.

At her interview London will want a statement signed and notarized where the father gives his permission for the child to be taken out of the United Kingdom.

The child will need a British passport and a K2 visa. You will add the baby to your petition so there will be two visas K1 and K2. Check the fees for children so you pay the correct amount.

She should start working on getting documents in order now or at least researching how to get them. Her birth certificate and any documents not in English have to have a certified translation with them. Anybody that will "certify" that they are fluent in both languages can sign off on it. It doesn't have to be a paid service. It could be a friend , but they write a statement at the end saying "I certify that I am fluent in both [language] and English. This document is a true and correct translation of the birth certiicate of [name]. They sign and give their name and address, and title or relationship.

She will also need police certificates from any country where she has lived more than 12 months including the UK. Those won't be needed until her interview, but she should start ordering those well before to speed the process along.

Now find the guides for the K1 visa on here and start learning all the forms and documentation you will send with your petition. There are things she will have to sign and send to you by mail to go in your packet. Start making lists so you can be sure you cover everything. It's a lot of pages. Get it right the first time or you will be delayed. Make photocopies of everything you send for your records.

And start saving your money because you will spend thousands before this is over. And if you don't already know, you will have to prove a certain income for an Affidavit of Support, both for the visa and later her greencard application (Adjustment of Status.)

[banky]

i just wanna give a big THANK YOU to everyone whos posted in this thread, especially nichole, you've been so helpful and detailed that that i dont think there is anywhere else i could get the same information i am getting from you.

thank you for your time and patience with me! i am sure i will be back to post another question or two soon when i get some more details, haha.