Hey one of my friends sent me to this website, cause I am currently trying to immigrate my wife. But the US Embassy in Seoul is taking to long. They first said 30 days to 41 days. And when I called them yesterday they said it's still pending at the Embassy, and it will be 45 days to 60 days before they send it to the US for final approval.

I was wondering, since my wife is 7 months pregnent, would it be possible for her to still get a B-2 Tourist VISA to come to the states, and when she comes we do an adjustment of status on her? Even though she has a I-130 pending?

Rick,
Did you do a Direct Consular Filing?

You need to:

You'll get more accurate responses to your questions.

no, this will not be possible... You can't come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent to stay and then adjust status...

Thanks for the information. All I know is when we went to Seoul in July they told us 41 days, but now they are saying 45 to 60 days before they send it to the NVC or whoever here in the states. And that the entire process in Seoul would take about 4 to 6 months. I think it's cause she is a Filipina and sending it through the Embassy in Manila.

Rick Prime,

Doesn't your base have some legal staff who you could consult with, and who could perhaps help you out or at least give you some information about the process you have embarked on? (There is a lot of 'empty space' in the explanation of your situation you are giving - you are either not good at writing or you've stepped on the gas pedal of a racing car without having learned how to drive.)

Yodrak

Unfortunetly no they do not. When I was stationed over in South Korea. Base Legal sent me to the US Embassy in Seoul. Here in Arizona they sent me to the local sub office in Tucson. And only the US Embassy has been any help. The office here says they can't do anything cause she is not in the computer system here in the states. So I called the US Embassy in Seoul, and they said that her petition is still pending there and has not been sent to the states. That was monday, and that it would be anywhere from 45 to 60 days until it is sent to the NVC. Then however long it will take them to approve it and send it back to South Korea for final approval.

We had our initial interview where I turned in the I-130, two biographical data forms one on her and one on me, along with copies of her passport,my military ID, our marriage certificate, copies of my orders with her name on them. Photographs of ourselves and paid the $190 processing fee.

The guy who we saw, said everything was in order and that we would hear something in 30 to 41 days. That was on July 20th. Now my wife wants to return to the Philippines and I have no idea how that will effect her immigration. I've even asked my Senators from Illinois for help, and plan on bugging them until they do.

As for why so long, in the USAF stationed in South Korea we need USAF Form 80 Commander approval to get married, signed by my commander. I sent the USAF Form 80 (the form required by USAFK servicemembers) to my commander in March. But by then we already had an understanding of hating each other. So he and my first shirt kept sending it back. So I had to get Base Legal involved and only under threat from them did he finally sign the form. And my wife and I finally got married.

If I would have known about the K3 Fiance VISA back in March or April. I would have gone that route, by marrying my wife and then sending the paperwork so we could actually do her immigration from the states. And she could be here with me rightnow. However with the current timeline. She would not be able to get the VISA until after she is no longer able to fly or even until after our daughter is born.

I hope this helps in explaining our situation and clears up what I was vague about.
I'm actually a lot better at explaining things when I'm talking to someone face to face.

Rick, this is the part that jumped out at me before--it is not usual for Seoul to send the I-130 to the US. The office in Seoul is a USCIS Field Office, the NVC is a Dept of State visa preprocessing center. Usually, CIS Seoul would approve the petition and send it to the Consulate for the visa application.
Do you have any special clearances that would be affected by a foreign spouse?

Rick Prime,

I understand your situation much better now, thanks. I am puzzled by the same thing that meauxna is - I don't understand why the petition would go from USICS-Seoul to the NVC then back to Seoul.

I can understand why USCIS-Seoul might take longer to process the petition than normal since your wife is from the Philippines not S Korea.

Since you can get no legal assistance on base, perhaps you might want to have a consultation with a civilian immigration attorney to discuss your situation. The cost of a consultation should be in the $100-200 range.

Good luck getting the situation resolved.

Yodrak

I wouldn't recommend she fly over to visit. She is from the Philippines and pregnant, a bit of a red flag at customs. I flew over twice whilst pregnant and got asked a few questions. If I was not an Aussie I am sure they would have asked more. Also at 7mths they may be concerned that she will stay indefinately as many airlines do not allow pregnant women to fly after 8 months, and I wouldn't recommend it!! It was very uncomfortable for me.

My husband is also with USAF, we think that helps a little at customs.