Getting Married While K1 is Processing?

[MBMRes 0]

I am trying to figure out the best approach to take in order to ensure that there are no visa rejections and my fiance are able to start the waiting period as quickly as possible.

Here is the approach I was considering:

-File the i129f and check the box for the K1 visa.

-Fly to her country a month from now, and get married.

-Change the i129f application to check the box for the K3 visa (I was told this was possible by someone at my local immigration office)

-Hopefully, get the K3 approved and my then wife would be able to come back to the US and wait for a change to permanent status.

I understand this seems tricky but I already have not seen her for 8 months and we need to get the process going as quickly as possible. I am not able to go see her until at least a month from now, so I am trying to figure out a way to get the process started now. I was also thinking that we would be less likely to be rejected if we are actually married. We have been together 2 years but we have very little evidence, so I will need to go there anyway so that we can start accumulating evidence. I figured if I am there with her, we might as well get married.

If we get married after filing the K1 application, will be go to the back of the line when asking to get the K3 processed?

[aleful 1,905]

hi

nope, you cannot do that

the petition for K1 will be voided if you marry, if you're going to marry her in her country, then don't start the K1 process,

marry and the start the CR1 with the i130

the K3 is obsolete practically because it is filed with the i130 and they close the K3 at the NVC stage most of the times to continue the i130 consular processing

they were incorrect, they are 2 different types of visa, the K1 to marry in the US, you would have to re file for another petition

how many times have you met? do you have photos? plane tickets? emails?

if you marry, and file the i130 you still would need evidence of bona fide marriage

[MBMRes 0]

I was told by someone in my local immigration office last week that it would be possible to change to the K3 after the K1 was filed.

We have been together for more than 2 years but we have very little evidence (I don't like taking pictures, we have nobody that can do a signed affidavit).

I dont want to wait for the CR1 to process, we have already been apart for 8 months and another 8-11 months would be very difficult emotionally and financially. We didnt understand this whole process when we got started, we thought she would just be able to get a tourist visa but after she was rejected twice for that we realized that the only option was the spouse/fiance route.

Edited May 25, 2015 by MBMRes

[aleful 1,905]

hi

like I said that is incorrect, that person gave you wrong information, you cannot change one petition to the other, If you file the K1 you must go through with it or you will loose the payment, time, money and it will become voided the moment you marry

unfortunately you will have to be apart, you can visit each other, and gather the evidence, if you have met at least once in these 2 years, you can file the K1, and gather a lot of evidence of long distance relationship, the wait is over 6 months

read how others have been able to manage and what they have submitted as evidence

[MBMRes 0]

like I said that is incorrect, that person gave you wrong information, you cannot change one petition to the other, If you file the K1 you must go through with it or you will loose the payment, time, money and it will become voided the moment you marry

OK well, I don't know what to believe at this point. The person that told me this was an immigration officer.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

even if they are, officers do make mistakes, read the guides, read the forms and read the forum to educate yourself and don't trust the officer that said that

[mallafri76 1,012]

Below is a link to USCIS' website, which explains the K-3 process:

http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/k3-k4-visa/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas

As it states, to apply for a K-3, you must FIRST file an I-130 petition, once that has been accepted by UCSIS, you file the I-129 together with the NOA1 from USCIS. Whomever you spoke to at your local immigration office, was wrong. It happens all the time. I don't know how many times I've spoken to people at USCIS, NVC or the US embassy and got mixed or wrong information. The best source of information are the guides on VJ or information posted on USCIS' and the State Department's websites.

Right now, the K-1 visas seems to be processing pretty quickly, I've seen people on here get it within three to four months. The CR-1 visa will take about a year and will require quite a lot of proof of bona fidas of marriage. As far as I know, the K-1 visa only requires that you've met once within the last two years. So proof of that plus email/chat/phone logs and you're set for the K-1.

[jan22 2,898]

OK well, I don't know what to believe at this point. The person that told me this was an immigration officer.

Sounds like you spoke to a relatively new officer, or one who does not have a lot of experience with the K-1 process. As others have said here, you cannot convert the petition to a K3 if you've filed it as a K-1 and then gotten married. One reason this is the case is that the I-130 is the one REQUIRED to petition for a spouse (resulting in a CR1 or IR1 visa, depending on the length of time you've been married).

The K3 was invented when petition processing times were very long, and it was to allow the waiting time for approval of the I-130 to be spent in the US. The I-129f does NOT result in permanent residence status nor allow for adjustment of status to residency for your spouse -- the I-130 does that (i.e., if you enter on K3 you cannot apply to adjust status to residency until the I-130 is approved). The K3 visa is, as most will tell you here, essentially obsolete now, as it takes about the same amount of time to get the original petition for it approved as it does to get the I-130 approved. More importantly, they will not/cannot approve an I-129f for a K3 if there is no underlying I-130 filed, as the K3 will never be able to wait in the US for something that cannot legally occur.

So, you will actually delay your process by doing what you plan to do, even if it were possible to do so, since you will have to wait to file the I-130 after you're married, then apply to convert the K1 to K3 (which isn't possible anyway -- this is just for illustration purposes). Plus, you will have lost the money you spent on the K1, since it will not roll over to cover the new !-130, as that is a new petition and filing the I-129f for a K3 in conjunction with an I-130 is free. That's why what you are proposing is not possible -- it would cost more, require more processing steps, and clog the USCIS even more than it is now, and USCIS likely knows that.

[MBMRes 0]

Below is a link to USCIS' website, which explains the K-3 process:

http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/k3-k4-visa/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas

As it states, to apply for a K-3, you must FIRST file an I-130 petition, once that has been accepted by UCSIS, you file the I-129 together with the NOA1 from USCIS. Whomever you spoke to at your local immigration office, was wrong. It happens all the time. I don't know how many times I've spoken to people at USCIS, NVC or the US embassy and got mixed or wrong information. The best source of information are the guides on VJ or information posted on USCIS' and the State Department's websites.

Right now, the K-1 visas seems to be processing pretty quickly, I've seen people on here get it within three to four months. The CR-1 visa will take about a year and will require quite a lot of proof of bona fidas of marriage. As far as I know, the K-1 visa only requires that you've met once within the last two years. So proof of that plus email/chat/phone logs and you're set for the K-1.

Thanks for the response.

Where are you seeing a 3-4 month time frame for the K1 visa?

I called USCIS three weeks ago (after the second tourist visa was rejected) and they told me they are processing K1s from August, so that would be loser to 8 months.

[mallafri76 1,012]

I've read many threads on here were people have been approved way before the six month mark. Just today, there was someone who started a thread saying she had gotten package 3 from the embassy, two months after they had sent in their I-129 petition.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Here's the link to that thread I saw today, where they only filed two months ago and are already scheduling the interview:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/550239-is-this/

[Cathi 5,609]

As others have stated, the immigration officer was blatantly wrong. Period. A K-1 is a fiance visa, for UNMARRIED couples. Period. You cannot switch to a K-3 from a K-1 Period.

To file a K-3 you can only do so after having an I-130 already in the process. Period. Also, the K-3 is an obsolete visa, they are rarely approved. And IF it is approved it is at the same time the I-130 is, therefore the K-3 will be dropped and processing of the I-130 for the cr1 will proceed forward. The K-3 was a viable option a decade ago when the I-130 and CR-1 was taking years to process and was a way of reuniting married couples in the US faster. At this point the CR-1 isn't taking nearly as long to process, usually in under a year. When I petitioned my husband a few years ago our cr-1 process took less than 10 months and that was with a long delay at the NVC because of a fee change and they couldn't get their act together and

with almost 3 months of AP thrown in there. He would have had his visa in 6 months without the delays,

If you marry before your I-129 is approved or before the K-1 is issued you no longer qualify for the visa, the entire process is null and void, you will lose all the fees and you will need to start from the beginning with an I-130 for a CR-1. Period. End of story.

Good luck!

[j&ana 363]

Like others had said the immigration officer was wrong or confuse. You can not change from K-1 visa to a K-3 visa without starting over. I personally think the Cr-1 visa is a better option but that is only my opinion. I am sure others will think the K-1 is better. Since you have already started with the K-1 visa, you should stay with that, You do not want to have to start all over

[ch3john 308]

I don't want to know the reason why she was rejected twice for a tourist visa, but you might look at the reasons why and ask yourself if those same reasons will be used for a K1. She must have some red flags to get denied a tourist visa and a K1 isn't easier than a tourist (in my opinion)

[MBMRes 0]

I don't want to know the reason why she was rejected twice for a tourist visa, but you might look at the reasons why and ask yourself if those same reasons will be used for a K1. She must have some red flags to get denied a tourist visa and a K1 isn't easier than a tourist (in my opinion)

She was told it was unlikely she would return to her home country. They didnt even look at the documents she brought with her.