i am a US citizen living in California and my fiancee is an Argentine national residing in Argentina. as an alternative to a K1, we are considering marrying in Argentina and applying for a K3 or for an immigrant visa through DCF. if you've used or are using either of these methods to obtain a visa for your Argentine spouse, i'd appreciate any advice you can give me, including ...

K3

1. how long does a K3 take?

from what i can tell, it looks like the K3 is running close to a year (6 months to get approval from California office) and then another 3-6 months to complete embassy paperwork and get an appointment. is my information short, long or about right?

2. did you live/spend significant time in Argentina while you were waiting?

i'm aware that the K3 needs to be filed here, but i would like to spend time in Argentina during the process if practical.

DCF

1. how long does it take to get an immigrant visa by DCF?

i'm hoping the answer is less than 6 months, otherwise - with the 6 month residency rule - it wouldn't seem to be that much better.

2. how did you establish residency?

i'm aware that i can establish residency through marriage. how long does this take? will i need anything other than marriage certificate, medical records and police certificate of good conduct?

did you establish residency through a rentista visa? are you aware if these are available right now and if the US embassy accepts this type of visa for purposes of establishing residency for the DCF

many thanks in advance to whoever has info on these topics.

Hola tai,
yo vivo en argentina, soy ciudadana americana, y estuve buscando la forma de irme con mi novio lo mas rapido
posible y por todo lo que lei y averigue lo mejor es DCF, asi que ya tengo fecha para casarme el mes q viene, vivo aca hace unos años.
la semana pasada fui a la embajada y me enviaron por mail lo que adjunto aca Click to view attachment Click to view attachment y me dieron los formularios, un I-130 y dos G-325

me dijo que los pasos serian
1. casarme
2. juntar todos los papeles
3. enviar un mail a BuenosAires-IV@state.gov para pedir la cita para entregar peticion I-130 y G-325

y me dijo que el dia que se presenta la peticion tenemos que ir los dos.

Bueno esto es lo que se, al menos lo que entendi, vos podes enviar un mail a BuenosAires-IV@state.gov y pedir informacion, te responden rapido.
En la pagina http://argentina.usembassy.gov/ en la parte ingles tienen mucha mas informacion que en español.

gracias Jazminy, creo que tenes razon ... el DCF es lo mas rapido y lo mejor.

ahora, no vivo en Argentina. en mi caso, creo que tengo que casarme con mi novia y hacerme residente de Argentina por 6 meses antes de presentar la application. la visa touristica ... la de 90 dias ... no sirve, igual si la renovo. bueno, es lo que yo lei en la pagina de USCIS y DOS.

si queres, hay un libro se llama Fiance & Marriage Visas por LLona Bray 2007. yo lo encontre en Google Books por gratis.

gracias y mucho suerte