Ok I am a little confused about the k1 and k3 options I have here.
I want to marry my girlfriend and have her live in america.
she is here for another 3 weeks witha tourist visa.

am I aloud to just Marry her now? and do the k3 ? or must I do a k1 and petition to marry her?

some facts/ opinions please

thank you much.

As long as there is no evidence she came to the US to marry you you can do so and she can apply for adustment of status. If there's evidence she came to marry you that's visa fraud!

ok well we met here in Las Vegas a few months ago, no intent to marry.
so it IS lawful to marry now and do a k3?
is that a better route to go? or should she leave and we apply for a fiance visa?

whats the best way to go?

You can marry now, have her go home and then apply for a K-3 visa. Or you can not marry her, have her go home and apply for the K-1 visa. Both of those visas have the fiance(e), spouse back in their home countries where they go through a medical and interview at the local American consulate.

If you married now and she stayed then you could apply for AOS. But she has to prove that she had no immigrant intent at POE when she entered the USA. She will also not be able to leave the USA until either her Greencard is approved or she has Advanced Parole. The AP can take up to three months and the Greencard even longer.

She will still need a medical to be done over here in the states if she decides to stay.

What type of visa did she come over to the States with? On certain types you are not allowed to immigrate so that also would be important to the path you decide to take.

In both cases your GF will need to return home and wait for visa, Yes you can marry now or later, and either file for (CR-1 or K-3) for marriage now, or K-1 for marriage later.

CR-1 is much better than K-3 because it costs less, has less paper work, results in a green-card upon entry using the visa. The K-3 is known to be only slightly quicker for most countries, compare VJ timelines for your country for K-3 and CR-1.

Lastly if your GF was not your GF before visit, and intent upon entry to the USA was not marriage, you could just marry and file I-485 and I-130 together and adjust status directly from visiting. Again this has to do with intent.

Read the warning carefully in this guide: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

Better route to go is marry now and adjust status (I-485 and I-130 together)

SEE: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

how do you qualify? just have to be legally able to marry?
the only thing i can think of is maybe financially, i may need a sponsor for the I-134

also how does she proveshe was just here on vacation and found me and we decide to marry?

Just have to be legally able to marry, If just marry and adjust status YOU need to provide an I-864, and if income is low, you may need a Joint-Sponsor.

Prove just here on a vacation, how about a Job, apartment, or home, etc.. back in the home country that they were planing on returning to but now things have changed.

if we marry and file the k3 how soon do i have to submit an I-864?

i had a question on the I-864, because on the I-134 it states only if you are self employed that you must show tax records.
on item 25 of the I-864 it asks a question about tax records, is that n/a for me if I am not self employed?

Some of the terminology used to describe what is needed for you to marry and her to stay has been a little misleading.

The issue of intent refers to your fiancee's intent when she entered the US. If she didn't know you before she arrived, or at least you had never met in person, it would have been extremely difficult to enter the US with the intent of marrying you and immigrating.

She MIGHT have to "prove" she didn't have intent but generally what is required is to satisfy an adjudicator, not "prove" anything. Showing some supporting "evidence" is a good way to satisfy the adjudicator.

All this is really moot, if she actually has a need to return to her home country anytime soon. It only works if she can feasibly stay for several months after marriage.

Otherwise, she'll need a visa to return after she leaves. Which of three possible visas would depend on whether you decide to marry before she leaves. Marrying is totally legal regardless. It's how you arrange for her to live here that requires the effort.

if we marry before she leaves will it be any easier for her to return?

i have a question on the I-864, because on the I-134 it states only if you are self employed that you must show tax records.
on item 25 of the I-864 it asks a question about tax records

Must I have tax records to show? i was not working in the previous years.

The I-134 directions are old, most consulates in foreign countries tend to treat the I-134 like the I-864 and ask for IRS returns to prove the figures on the I-134. I-864 for AOS, or green card REQUIRES IRS returns, and if a US Citizen marries a foreign citizen the US citizen is required to provide I-864 to adjust status to that of an immigrant, the US citizen spouse must be a sponsor of their foreign spouse for the green-card. The US citizen can use a joint-sponsor.

If you did not file IRS returns, you will need to file them late, or have a very good reason you did not file returns.


Makes no difference on return on a K-3 or CR-1 visa other types of visa like visitors tend to be harder to get though.

i havent payed taxes because i was not working.
i am paying taxes for 2 months that I worked last year..
i am just recently starting work. if i can prove my income and have a letter from my employer
stating I am full time with that salary? is that enough?

do i have to wait for years to get tax records?

some say I can qualify others say i need tax returns, which is the truth?

You need tax returns OR you must cite the IRS regulation that exempts you from filing. If you weren't working, that's your exemption. However, you said you worked two months last year, so you should file a 2006 tax return, if for no other reason than to get most or all of the withheld tax money refunded to you.

Current income is the most important, so yes, pay stubs and employer letter will do it.

However, no matter what petition you file, it will likely be 2008 before you need to complete either affidavit of support.

thank you, this is what I needed to hear.
do i attach a letter explaining that I had not been working?

also, will marrying and fileing k3 before she leaves america in a month save any time?
or will it be the same if she goes back and we file k1