Quickest Way To Be With Wife--K-1, K-3, or just wait?

[dirkdingy 0]

I am a USG contractor that does not reside in the US. If I marry my GF (Moldovan) on a K-1 visa she will have to reside in the States without me until she receives Advance Parole or Adjustment of Status correct? I work in the Balkans. If she gets Advance Parole, how long will it be good for...for one or two years or only for a month or two? It takes about six months for advance parole, correct? Essentially, I am a US citizen that wants to marry a Moldovan but does not wish to reside in the US but do not want my future wife to have to abandon her status.

In my case, should I get a fiancee visa and marry her at home, marry her abroad, or just wait to marry her until I return back to the us for good? Obviously, I want to maximize our time together during the process. Thanks for your help.

DD

[Uklander 0]

I am a USG contractor that does not reside in the US. If I marry my GF (Moldovan) on a K-1 visa she will have to reside in the States without me until she receives Advance Parole or Adjustment of Status correct? I work in the Balkans. If she gets Advance Parole, how long will it be good for...for one or two years or only for a month or two? It takes about six months for advance parole, correct? Essentially, I am a US citizen that wants to marry a Moldovan but does not wish to reside in the US but do not want my future wife to have to abandon her status.

In my case, should I get a fiancee visa and marry her at home, marry her abroad, or just wait to marry her until I return back to the us for good? Obviously, I want to maximize our time together during the process. Thanks for your help.

DD

Hi,

If you are planning to stay in Moldova for the next few months (or say a year at least), then you might be better getting married in Moldova, and then you can petition her to get a Conditional Residency Visa (CR-1) which takes about 9-12 months. She then gets a Green Card 2-3 weeks after entry into the US. Conditional residency is when you have been married for less than 2 years (at 2 years you show you are still married and the conditions are lifted - she would then get a rolling 10 year Green Card). I am not too sure how this works for you living in Moldova at present (I think that should still be fine for the petitioning bit starting with the I-130 once you are already married). There is also the K-3 visa that is/was meant to take 6 months after you have got married. This gives you the right to live together in the US and then complete the Green Card process in the US called Adjustment of Status. BUT:

1) The K-3 visa is totally backlogged (we went for that and the CR-1 was quicker which I got 2 weeks ago after 11 months).

2) And Adjustment of status costs $1000 in the US or so.

As you are both already in Moldova, get married there (as long as you are not coming back to the US very soon to live there).

Advance Parole sounds a messy business and as you will be in Moldova alot more than the US, there is not much point leaving her stranded in the US!! That's why we went for the CR-1/K-3 and not the K-1. Though we still had a wedding party in the US! I hope that helps.

[dirkdingy 0]

Thanks mate. I did a bit more research---there is a lot of stuff to cover--and found that my best option is to do a DCF, as I am a DOD contractor on official orders.

I think that this is the same thing as CR-1 except that the process is a whole lot faster. One thing that I am learning is that the immigration process is not designed for people who don't wish to immigrate. Go figure:)

One thing I sill do not know is that if she gets her green card does she also get travel documents? If so, how long will it take? Do travel documents grant the same rights as a US passports do? Or can she just travel on her Moldovan pasport and present her green card when she wants to return to the US? I read that she can be out of the country for up to a year with out being denied reentry.

Thanks

[Todd-Leah 0]

Yes, DCF is the fastest.

But, do a DCF only when you are about to move back to the States. (You need to be married to do DCF)

File I-130 petition at the US consulate and all the subsequent paperwork will get your wife a CR1/IR1 visa that must be utilized within 6 months to enter the US.

She will become LPR and receive a green card. There is residency requirement to maintain the green card i.e. she can't live oversea for longer than a certain period, else she can lost her LPR status and you have to start the whole process all over again.

Leah

[payxibka 10,048]

I am a USG contractor that does not reside in the US. If I marry my GF (Moldovan) on a K-1 visa she will have to reside in the States without me until she receives Advance Parole or Adjustment of Status correct? I work in the Balkans. If she gets Advance Parole, how long will it be good for...for one or two years or only for a month or two? It takes about six months for advance parole, correct? Essentially, I am a US citizen that wants to marry a Moldovan but does not wish to reside in the US but do not want my future wife to have to abandon her status.

In my case, should I get a fiancee visa and marry her at home, marry her abroad, or just wait to marry her until I return back to the us for good? Obviously, I want to maximize our time together during the process. Thanks for your help.

DD

K-1/K-3/IR1/DCF are all paths for individuals to immigrate and become RESIDENTS. If your wife does not live in the USA it will be very difficult to convince the USCIS that she is a resident. Simply do not do anything from an immigration perspective until you are ready to relocate back to the USA permanently.

[pushbrk 14,076]

I am a USG contractor that does not reside in the US. If I marry my GF (Moldovan) on a K-1 visa she will have to reside in the States without me until she receives Advance Parole or Adjustment of Status correct? I work in the Balkans. If she gets Advance Parole, how long will it be good for...for one or two years or only for a month or two? It takes about six months for advance parole, correct? Essentially, I am a US citizen that wants to marry a Moldovan but does not wish to reside in the US but do not want my future wife to have to abandon her status.

In my case, should I get a fiancee visa and marry her at home, marry her abroad, or just wait to marry her until I return back to the us for good? Obviously, I want to maximize our time together during the process. Thanks for your help.

DD

K-1/K-3/IR1/DCF are all paths for individuals to immigrate and become RESIDENTS. If your wife does not live in the USA it will be very difficult to convince the USCIS that she is a resident. Simply do not do anything from an immigration perspective until you are ready to relocate back to the USA permanently.

DCF is simply a method of filing a petition for an immigrant visa that gets all the process completed through a USCIS office and Consulate abroad instead of the USCIS portion in the US and NVC processing prior to getting theo the Consulate. The resulting visa is still either CR1 or IR1 as appropriate to the couple.

So, the question is not "do I chose IR1, CR1, K1, K3 or DCF?" If married and living together abroad and you qualify to do so, your best route is to seek a CR1/IR1 visa through a Direct Consular Filing method. If at the time of visa issue, the marriage is less than two years old, the visa will be CR1. If more than two years, IRI. The difference is the 2 year green card or the 10 year. If a CR1 visa is issued, and the US entry occurs after the second wedding anniversary the same 10 year green card is awarded anyway.