Getting married and moving to the USA

[SylwiaKa 0]

Hello, 

 

My name is Sylwia and I just am looking for some information. I and my fiance would like to get married and for me to move over to the USA to be with him as the long distance has been really making things hard for our relationship. 

 

He is American and I am Polish. I have lived in the UK for the past 10 years. 

 

We are currently engaged and have been together for over 3 years and last seen each other in person June 2016. 

 

We are trying to figure out which will be the easier way to go on about our situation. 

Could someone who has been through the process just advise on the following: 

 

- if I were to apply for the fiance visa to go to the USA, what are the rough charges and processing times?

- Once over there and we got married do I have to apply for a spousal visa or can I just apply for status adjustment? How much does it cost and how long does it take? 

 

or 

 

- does he need a fiance visa or the marriage visitor visa if we want to get married if he will not be staying here any longer than is necessary?

- The spousal visa for the USA. I got lost with what you have to apply for to get it. Correct me if I'm wrong but this would be the break down of the costs :

   * Immigrant petition for relative (I-300) $535

   * Processing fee $325 

   * Biometric information $85

   * Whatever the cost of the medical exam, police reports, travel to the consulate in London and the interview would be. 

 

Could someone just help me out here because I am getting so confused with what and where and why and I can't for the love of god work out an estimated price for all this. 

 

So if you could help please advise. 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

I have the 

37 minutes ago, SylwiaKa said:

- if I were to apply for the fiance visa to go to the USA, what are the rough charges and processing times?

- Once over there and we got married do I have to apply for a spousal visa or can I just apply for status adjustment? How much does it cost and how long does it take? 

 

I have the fiancé fees going through London saved on notepad. Note some are dollars, some are pounds.

 

K1 fees

$535 Fiancé Petition (USCIS)

£45 police certificate (ACRO)

£300 medical (Knightsbridge) pay at the appointment

$265 visa fee (Dept of State/Embassy) pay online 

$30 or $0 (Courier) home delivery or pick up at depot

$1225 AOS/EAD/AP (USCIS) 

 

The last line is adjustment of status. A visa (Fiancé or spouse) is to get into the US. Once in on your fiancé visa, you don't need a spouse visa because you are already in. You adjust status to get a greencard. 

 

Processing times vary and yours won't be exactly like what is happening now. Here's a timeline of a UK person just waiting on the courier to bring her passport and visa...probably by Friday. http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=257058 and

 

another who is picking up his at the courier today http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=260159

 

[Coco8 1,039]

If you have a good job in the UK, you might want to do the spousal visa. That visa is cheaper and you are allowed to work once you get to the US. A lot of people are favoring that over fiance visa. People who prefer fiance visa care more about being together very fast.

[geowrian 22,335]

1. K-1 visa takes about 6-8 months from I-129F filing to visa in hand on average.
2. Once you enter on a K-1 and marry, you will file for AOS. No visa anymore (visas are for entering the country). You can stay in the US while your AOS is pending. You cannot work until you have an EAD (3-4 months to approve, and can be filed with AOS). If you travel abroad before obtaining AP (same timeline as the EAD), AOS will be abandoned and you will probably not be able to re-enter without a spousal visa (K-1 is single use).
   1. Fees noted in the post above.
   2. ETA for AOS approval: ~8-12 months...but varies heavily. It could be 4 months or over a year. It's usually longer if you don't get an interview (common with a K-1).
3. Your spousal visa section is missing the immigrant fee ($220) to get the actual green card after entry. And there is no biometrics fee for a CR-1, but there is an I-864 NVC review fee instead.
   1. Either way, CR-1 (spousal visa) is well cheaper and superior to a K-1 in every way except it takes 12-14 months to obtain. It grants LPR status immediately, which means you can work and travel abroad right away.

Edited August 9, 2017 by geowrian

[LionessDeon 2,060]

 

There is so much information in the guides.  It is really difficult for others to tell you what to do for your unique situation.  All we can do is explain the process (which is in the guides) but the ulitmate decision of what is best fo ryou and your fiance needs to be decided by the two of you.

I recommend you start reading.  When I began the process, I clicked on every single tab at the top of this page and read.  I read all of it.  Then come here and ask questions if need be.  It is important that you learn the process not just third party.

 

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare     USE THIS LINK TO COMPARE OPTIONS

[NikLR 13,220]

~~moved fo what visa do i need from Ir1/Cr1 process and procedures~~