Advice on which visa to try and obtain(merged)

[bellona 0]

Forgive me if i posted this in the wrong spot....

I am a US citizen and have been dating someone from Afghanistan. We have been discussing marriage and want to start a family. I cannot move there because I was divorced 8 years ago and have a daughter that lives with me from that previous marriage. So, he is willing to move here to be with us, even though all of his family lives in Afghanistan. He has actually never been to the US, but speaks and writes perfect English, and has a Bachelors degree, which hopefully would make him finding a job here so much easier. We have been looking at our options on visas and its been sort of disheartening reading the forums on how long it takes and how some people are getting denied left and right.

So my question is, which is the way to go, that will be more likely on him getting a visa to come here and eventually get his citizenship in the US? We are planning a trip to Dominica in July and have talked about getting married while we are there. But then, we worry that even if we got married, he still might get denied the visa. Is there a bigger chance to get approved if you are married or ???

I guess I just need some answers on the best approach to all of this. We are just looking for suggestions and advice.

[bellona 0]

Forgive me if i posted this in the wrong spot....

I am a US citizen and have been dating someone from Afghanistan. We have been discussing marriage and want to start a family. I cannot move there because I was divorced 8 years ago and have a daughter that lives with me from that previous marriage. So, he is willing to move here to be with us, even though all of his family lives in Afghanistan. He has actually never been to the US, but speaks and writes perfect English, and has a Bachelors degree, which hopefully would make him finding a job here so much easier. We have been looking at our options on visas and its been sort of disheartening reading the forums on how long it takes and how some people are getting denied left and right.

So my question is, which is the way to go, that will be more likely on him getting a visa to come here and eventually get his citizenship in the US? We are planning a trip to Dominica in July and have talked about getting married while we are there. But then, we worry that even if we got married, he still might get denied the visa. Is there a bigger chance to get approved if you are married or ???

I guess I just need some answers on the best approach to all of this. We are just looking for suggestions and advice.

[Morganalmonshid94 84]

Typically with certain countries they will deny k1s more so then other countries, yours being a little more so on that end in regards to scrutiny, if you want him to be able to work when he comes in right away and not wait several months and so on then get married, he'll go back to his country after your guys vacation/marriage and you can file the cr-1 visa for him which is the spouse visa it's taking around a year. If you choose not to get married your option would be the k1 fiancé visa which depending on what service center you get can take 6-12 months, is more expensive due to the fact you have to do aos in the U.S. And he cannot work for a few months . Hope that helps a bit, take lots of pictures, save papers, etc. for your vacation and enjoy .

[Boiler 43,436]

So, he is willing to move here to be with us, even though all of his family lives in Afghanistan.

Well that is a start.

It take it you have yet to meet, you have been conversing on the web.

Meet first, who knows what happens after that.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to What Visa Do I Need - OP still deciding on immigration path~

[LORIEandPHIL 123]

Have you met in person yet? for a K1 you have to have met within 2 years.

[Ontarkie 13,917]

~~Duplicate thread merged. Please do not make multiple threads for the same topic.~~

[ThisSiteSucks 10]

Typically with certain countries they will deny k1s more so then other countries, yours being a little more so on that end in regards to scrutiny , if you want him to be able to work when he comes in right away and not wait several months and so on then get married, he'll go back to his country after your guys vacation/marriage and you can file the cr-1 visa for him which is the spouse visa it's taking around a year. If you choose not to get married your option would be the k1 fiancé visa which depending on what service center you get can take 6-12 months, is more expensive due to the fact you have to do aos in the U.S. And he cannot work for a few months . Hope that helps a bit, take lots of pictures, save papers, etc. for your vacation and enjoy .

Afghanistan is not just a "little more" so on that end regards to scrunity. Afghanistan is a high fraud country. K1 (fiance) visas are rarely approved there. If yes, then in most cases there is a long Administrative Processing after the interview, that can last from weeks to years. Men from MENA countries are most likely facing long APs.

In the OP's case I would definitely choose the spousal visa (IR-1/CR-1) route. Getting married shows more commitment (especially to high fraud consulates). The case will still need to be frontloaded with tons of evidence of bonafide marriage and lots of time spent in person (multiple visits). Otherwise, the chances of having a visa issued is very slim.

[bellona 0]

Thanks for all of your advice on this. I never thought I would be in this situation, so this has definitely been a very eye opening experience for me. He had told me that it was very hard to get a visa from there to US, and he suggested we move to Afghanistan, but I was being hard headed and didnt think it could be THAT bad. Unfortunately, I dont have the means to just leave work to take trips out of the country to visit him whenever we want, which is why we were thinking the fiance or marriage visa would be best for us. But, i was ignorant on that it could take a year or longer to even get that approved.

[ThisSiteSucks 10]

Thanks for all of your advice on this. I never thought I would be in this situation, so this has definitely been a very eye opening experience for me. He had told me that it was very hard to get a visa from there to US, and he suggested we move to Afghanistan, but I was being hard headed and didnt think it could be THAT bad. Unfortunately, I dont have the means to just leave work to take trips out of the country to visit him whenever we want, which is why we were thinking the fiance or marriage visa would be best for us. But, i was ignorant on that it could take a year or longer to even get that approved.

Don't feel bad. It is not impossible to get a fiance or a spousal visa in Afghanistan (well, like I said above the spousal visa is way more likely to be approved compared to the fiance visa), it is just very hard and can be complicated.

If you two are serious about getting married and living in the US together then you should definitely save up for trips, and then file for a spousal visa years later. Many couples (especially in high fraud countries) do the same: they get married but then they wait years to build up a good pile of evidence of bonafide marriage (including time spent in person).

Hope it works out for you guys. Good luck!

[Boiler 43,436]

Do you share the same religion

Is he older?

Same ethnicity

You mentioned you are divorced and have a child, does he have children, are they a similar age?

[madtownguy 164]

I would try to obtain a visa with a low interest rate, and if you can get rewards or cash back that's awesome.

[Jawaree 717]

I say a marriage at first visit with each other in a 3rd country ??? CO

will be sooooo scrutinizing, I say do the marriage a few mths later

when you get together a 22nd time, and ave more visual eviences

[YouAndMeForever 1,022]

Definitely make multiple visits before applying for either a fiance or spousal visa.

[Cathi 5,610]

Afghanistan is not just a "little more" so on that end regards to scrunity. Afghanistan is a high fraud country. K1 (fiance) visas are rarely approved there. If yes, then in most cases there is a long Administrative Processing after the interview, that can last from weeks to years. Men from MENA countries are most likely facing long APs.

In the OP's case I would definitely choose the spousal visa (IR-1/CR-1) route. Getting married shows more commitment (especially to high fraud consulates). The case will still need to be frontloaded with tons of evidence of bonafide marriage and lots of time spent in person (multiple visits). Otherwise, the chances of having a visa issued is very slim.

Afghanistan is not a Middle Eastern country, it is located in Central Asia. This is the list of Middle Eastern countries

• Bahrain
• Iraq
• Iran
• Israel
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Palestine
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Syria
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

And although men from the Middle East are put under higher scrutiny, most do not suffer with months and years of AP. In fact in Jordan, most men and women alike do not get AP at all.

If you look at the portal for Afghanistan, many couples who apply for the K-1 do in fact get approved. Some people from Afghanistan and Pakistan get long AP but not all, and the reason is because of the high cases of fraud and terrorism.

To the OP, before making a decision of what type of visa to apply for you should meet first. Meeting, talking and falling in love over the internet is one thing, it is what happens in real life that makes the real difference. I met my husband online and spent quite a bit of time with him in real life before we decided to get married. And the more time you spend together in real life, the more evidence of a bonafide relationship you will have and the easier the visa will be to obtain, no matter the type you decide on. Meeting and marrying on the first visit is never a good idea, no matter the country or part of the world he is from as far as USCIS goes. Just be prepared to for a long journey, that won't be easy. Immigration is hard for all couples and because of the country he is from, the relationship will be scrutinized more than most. Read the guides at the top of the page so you will know and understand what is needed and required and make sure to save everything. Good luck!