Hello All, I am very new to this website. It has a lot of great nformation. I am a canadian citizen and have been dating a US citizen for 4 years and July 2007, he had applied for my I-129 F(Fiance visa). But we decided to get married while he came to visit me over last christmas holidays and then after he went back to US, he applied for spouse visa (I-130). I see on here that most people who apply for K3 have applied for both I-130 AND I -129. I am not sure why the I-129 is needed? Can someone please let me know whether we need to apply for I-129. I have been very frustrated today because I been on the phone all day trying to igure out this visa process and haven't been very successful. Also, I am planning on visiting India from AUgust to October 2008 and I am planning on staying in US when I come back from my trip. I am not sure whether I will be let in while my I-130 is under process. Does anyone of you know wat to do in this case? Please help.........

I’m sure some other members will give better descriptions, but here is the basic stuff.
I-130 is for alien spouse (or family member). You can stay this course, which is CR-1 / IR-1 Visa. This is the least expensive and most advantageous (immediate greencard), but can take longer, depending on USCIS and Embassy speeds.
I-129F (K-1 or K-3) for K-3 visa after married. It is suppose to take less time for entry, but requires greater expense after arrival in the US. K-3 was developed to reduce the amount of time family members are apart. Some file the I-130 and I-129F together. Others file the I-130 first, wait for NOA1 and then file I-129F.
The recent turmoil from last year has thrown USCIS timelines out of whack.

If you had waited for I-129F (K-1) visa to complete (which is the shortest wait), then you would have been able to enter, marry and stay. With K-3 and CR-1 / IR-1, you’ll have to wait for completion to move to US.

I’m not sure how the process will work, since you filed for K-1 first and now filed for CR-1 / IR-1. Hopefully someone else will have some guidance.

I hope this is of some help and not too confusing.
Be sure and read the guides and flowcharts at: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=guides

Best of luck for a speedy process.

Thank You for your help

The guides here would probably have taught you more in an hour than all your time on the phone.

By the way, your husband needs to withdraw the original I-129F petition if he hasn't already.

Thank you Pushbrk

Yes, I got to know about a lot of important information on this site than I did trying to make calls all day today to the Immigration Officers out in US. All those 1800 numbers that are given don't even work from Canada. I called the live operator line which charges you $1.59 but the lady was so not helpful. She didn't know anything at all and just told me to tell my husband to call someone to find out more information. Its very frustrating to sit here and try to figure things out.

Yes, I had been contacted by the Vancouver Visa office back in Janaury because our 1.29F was almost thru when we got married and I emailed them back asking them that we would like to withdraw petition, so they asked for a copy of the marriage certificate which we still haven't sent yet. We are wondering whether that petition can be used and combined with the I-130 to fall under the K3 category.

When my husband applied for Spouse Visa he only sent in the I-130.. so after reading some posts on this site, I came to know that we fall under the CR-1 category. Also, I read that the CR-1 visa takes very long. As, I said before that I am going to India in August until Oct 19 and I booked my ticket already. I will be flying via chicago and my return in only upto Chicago because we thought that I would have my immigrant visa to US by then. But, after seeing the timeline on this site, it almost seems impossible. I am very upset and I don't really know what to do. I was hoping to stay with my husband after October 2008, upon my return from India.

Does anyone know much about the Direct Consulate Visa? I read that it gets processed within 3 weeks. Can someone please provide some solution to my problems... I feel so helpless

First, I would suggest reading the guides, they write out exactly the difference between the K-3 and CR-1 visa.

Secondly, you would only qualify to file DCF (Direct Consular Filing) if your U.S. citizen spouse was residing in Canada legally (i.e. on a work permit, as a dual citizen, or as a landed permanent resident) which doesn't sound like its the case.

Also, you should visit the VJ Canada board, they have lots of information specific to Canadian filers.

No, you cannot use the I-129F filed for a fiance. K3 would require a new one.

Please do study the guides. The other questions you asked are clearly answered there. I'm sure you'll have more after you study the guides, but please start there.

Thank you, I have spent a lot of time on this site today and got great information. It seems like I will be stuck in Canada for a long long time before I get my visa for US