Hi. I'm an American man in the Philippines now to be with my Filipina love interest. I have been here for less than a month and it's the happiest time of my life. We've known each other for a long time and now we're finally met, we know we were right in what we felt about each other. I want to do this right but I also want to be with her as much as possible now. I want to marry her right away and every day if I could. But a friend of her family told us I should petition her as a fiancee instead of a wife. I don't understand why but whichever would be more expedient and convenient, I am willing to do. Isn't there a way I could marry my girl and take her to the States with me while we wait it all out? How long would it take if we married? Should we get married?

I'm looking at visa pages and it looks like we'll have to stay apart for as much as a year. I don't mean to be whiney but I don't want that. I worked hard to save money and waited a long time to be with her. And yet I am confused by these typs of visas. I don't like how my baby being scared and worreid either by what others say. Please can anyone advise me? I'll check here again in a couple of days. I'm using my girlfriend's brother's computer. Thanks so much.

Sadly, no, unless she already has a tourist visa.



No one wants that, but that's how it is.

You have two options - fiance visa or spousal visa. Read through the guides to compare and understand the differences and check out the timelines to get an idea of how long it could take.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

In a way, you're lucky, because you're going into this with eyes wide open, knowing that you could be apart for about a year. Digest it, accept it, and plan for it. If your love is genuine, it will withstand it.

You'll find factual and emotional support here, where many people are separated for more than a year. Believe me, if there was a foolproof way to marry a foreigner and bring them to the States immediately, we'd all be doing it. Best of luck on your journey!

Check DCF process as well..
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=82

Hope this helps!

This looks like a very supportive community. Thanks. Do you know if she can start getting the required legal stuff like clearances as early as possible or only after they are requested? I want to help as much as I can while I'm here!

Scorpion

Read the guides, there are lists of what you will need through out the process. You can start collecting all the things you will need through the entire journey now. As far as any type of clearances, that happens during the process and you can't speed that up unfortunatly.



Now just make the choice which visa you would like to file for, K-1 for a fiancee or K-3 for a spouse. Go to the guide area here on VJ for that particular visa and let your journey begin.



Wishing you a speedy journey and the best of luck. It isn't always easy but there are many of us here that can tell you it can be done.



Bethanie

She can get her clearance, cenomar and other forms/papers ready anytime.