Hi!

Super newbie here. My fiancée and I were planning on getting married in June in Germany and have her come here in August. I now no longer think that it's possible for her to come as a resident in such a short period of time. However, we were planning on having a ceremony in August.

Does anyone know if it's possible to start filing a K3 in June/July and have her come as a tourist in August or would she have to stay in Germany throughout the application process?

Thanks in advance for any info!

Chris

No. So many people have raised this question up. I don't even recommend trying.

So, would you reccomend not applying for a K3 until she comes to the US and goes back to Germany or applying for a K1 instead now? Or something else?

It's up to you if you want her to visit on a tourist VISA first then return to apply for a K-1 or K-3. Generally, if you already filed a petition on her behalf and pending, she'll be denied a tourist VISA.

Well wait a minute though: Germany being a country under the Schengen Agreement: she doesn't need to "apply" for a tourist visa. Technically - yes, she'd be here as a tourist, but there's no visa in her passport per se.

Are you sure she wouldn't be able to come?

I see. That, you need someone else with experience. I work with those from the Eastern part of the world where you need to apply for tourist VISAs to come.

If she can prove ties to her home country technically she can try to come. But since it is up to the border folks, it is also possible that she would be turned away.

They say the best thing to do is to try to leave from somewhere that they pre-clear customs before they ever let you on the plane so if you are turned away, it is less of a trauma.

There is really no right answer here other than maybe.

Yeah - well, right now because we've put a down payment on the second (American) reception, I'm more worried about her not being at her own wedding celebration. I mean, I'd rather her be able to move in with me as soon as possible, but I'd find utterly tragic if I was celebrating my wedding reception with my friends and family but without my wife!

But my question is to you is: how would the border agents even know whether she applied for a K3 or not?

I mean, we could wait until after she's back in Germany to start the K3 process, but I really want her to be able to come sooner rather than later. So, if we could get this process rolling in early July as opposed to late August, that'd be ideal. By the time we get married, we will have been living in different countries for four years. Enough is enough.

i think you shouldnt mention that she is entering the contry to be a bride at a wedding celebration, that could lift a red flag with the border officers

other than that, just present evidence that she has ties in germany and she should be able to enter... i think

I got married in the UK last July. I travelled over to the US on the VWP for a holiday in August. We then filed the I-130 in October. I made another trip to the US in November for Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law threw us a second 'reception' for all the US guests who couldn't come to the wedding in the UK. At the border I replied when asked why I was there, that I was there for Thanksgiving and a family party. Said I was staying with family. There were no further questions. Next month I am visiting again. This time for two weeks and if asked I will say I am staying with my husband. I plan to take a letter from work showing what date they expect me back at work, a letter showing my rental agreement and my return ticket of course. I'll let you know if I have any problems.

They may or may not know she has an ongoing visa application. If you're really worried you could wait and do the application after her visit - but even so she would still need to show ties to her home country, proof that she is going home and probably best not to mention a 'wedding' but I would say no harm in saying a family party.

This is really helpful info - thanks so much!

If there is more than one thing going on and you answer questions omitting details they don't ask for, you could get passed... but if they probe and you lie, that's a very bad and dangerous thing indeed. So there's a fine line.

Yeah - but I don't think she'd have cause to lie. If they ask whether she's planning on staying, it wouldn't be the case (she'd be going back regardless). I mean, I've never been asked the kinds of questions that border guards ask non-citizens of the US. Do they ask things like "are you currently applying for a resident visa?"

Hi everyone - I just want to mention that I talked on the phone to USCIS and asked them this question. They said as long as she's on the visa waiver program (Schengen Agreement countries, etc.), it's not a problem for her to come as a tourist during the application for a K3. As long as she isn't planning on staying and filing for an adjustment (which would be visa fraud), then she's allowed to come whenever she wants and having started the paperwork for a K3 doesn't make a difference one way or the other.

He said she might get asked a lot of questions by a border agent if she's married to an American who lives in the US while she has her residence in Germany, but that technically speaking, there's no problem with it.

Hope this helps any other newbies out there. Thanks for all your help!