K1 processing out of country?

[ChrisFunk 0]

My Fiance and I have yet to file our K1 packet as we have some concerns that I cannot find answers to. I am in the military and not staioned CONUS, she lives in the Philippines and we will probably file while she is there. However within the this year we are planning on her going to Australia for school. It is a 1 year course. With the processing times of the K1 we are wondering if we can start the package while she is in Manila and finish when she is Austalia. Is this even possible? What additional steps would we have to take if any? Thank you for your assistance whatever the outcome is.

[payxibka 10,048]

My Fiance and I have yet to file our K1 packet as we have some concerns that I cannot find answers to. I am in the military and not staioned CONUS, she lives in the Philippines and we will probably file while she is there. However within the this year we are planning on her going to Australia for school. It is a 1 year course. With the processing times of the K1 we are wondering if we can start the package while she is in Manila and finish when she is Austalia. Is this even possible? What additional steps would we have to take if any? Thank you for your assistance whatever the outcome is.

about a 7-12 mos typical to process dependent on your consulate....

If your fiancee is going to go to school in Australia in a year... is she even ready to immigrate to the USA?

[ChrisFunk 0]

about a 7-12 mos typical to process dependent on your consulate....

If your fiancee is going to go to school in Australia in a year... is she even ready to immigrate to the USA?

Well we figure we have about a year and half with all the paperwork from the time we start it and in that time she will do complete her Masters program and I will be stationed back CONUS. I thank you for your response however it doesn't adress my key conern on if we can start her paper work before she leaves for school and continue the processing and peform any interviews that occur during that time frame while she is there.

[payxibka 10,048]

you start your paperwork anytime you want... the consulate jurisdiction will be based on her current legal residence... if that changes during the processing time you request a consulate change... caveat being the consulate change request is not automatic and is solely at the discretion of the newly requested consulate to accept or not.

[ChrisFunk 0]

Point of clarification, if she is htere on a student visa, would that change her legal residence to being there or still back in Manila?

[payxibka 10,048]

Point of clarification, if she is htere on a student visa, would that change her legal residence to being there or still back in Manila?

If it were me, I'd ask the Sydney consulate that specific question..... they have an e-mail address... most likely something like sydneyIV@state.gov

[pushbrk 14,450]

Point of clarification, if she is htere on a student visa, would that change her legal residence to being there or still back in Manila?

It's hard to say. You might contact the respective IV units at the Consulates and ask. At worst, she makes a trip back to Manila for a medical adn an interview. A year and a half is probably longer than it will take even allowing a year for the visa and six months to use it. I'd consider waiting until she's in Australia to file the petition.

[ChrisFunk 0]

Assuming we wait until she is relocated before we start the processing, is there any issue with her being in Australia on a student Visa and applying for a K1 for the US? Would it raise extra questions in the interview?

[freetv 7]

Assuming we wait until she is relocated before we start the processing, is there any issue with her being in Australia on a student Visa and applying for a K1 for the US? Would it raise extra questions in the interview?

My fianee is also a student in another country and so I have read a lot about this. You have to understand that your case will be different than all the others in that country because she isn't a citz so what does that mean at the interview? Most of the time two or three questions like: Why are you studying here? How long have you been here? ect... and then it's on to the standard questions.... I am sure it's boring being a vo and so cases like this offer them a chance to be alittle more creative... whether thats good or bad depends on what you tell them. My current situation is this... nvc sent to the wrong country (not her home country but simply the wrong country) lol

[ChrisFunk 0]

Did you begin your Fiance's visa application before or after she went abroad for school? Also is she in a 3rd Country as mine will be or is she in your Country?

[Marty J 0]

Point of clarification, if she is htere on a student visa, would that change her legal residence to being there or still back in Manila?

I would say if she's living in Australia for the time being, and has permission to remain for the duration of the visa application, then they would consider processing her case in Australia.

It's entirely up to the Australian embassy.

[pushbrk 14,450]

Point of clarification, if she is htere on a student visa, would that change her legal residence to being there or still back in Manila?

I would say if she's living in Australia for the time being, and has permission to remain for the duration of the visa application, then they would consider processing her case in Australia.

It's entirely up to the Australian embassy.

Her stay is up to the Austrailian athorities but her K1 visa is up to the US Embassy or Conslate, in Australia.

[Marty J 0]

Her stay is up to the Austrailian athorities but her K1 visa is up to the US Embassy or Conslate, in Australia.

But the US embassy there will not process it if she doesn't have permission from the Australian authorities to remain in the country while it is being processed, for obvious reasons.

A student visa might not satisfy them in that regard.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Marty J

[Marina-Del 10]

My ex-fiancee and I (back in 2006) were both living in London. He was Australian and I was American (obviously!). He was on a working holiday visa. The London consulate did not ask him any extra questions about why he was in London or anything. In fact, they never even asked to see that he was there legally! However, you will need to contact the American Consulate in Sydney to make sure that they do not have a special rule about this. For example, when I was applying for my Italian citizenship (through my grandfather) I was living in London. However, the Italian consulate in London would not let me file through them because I did not live in London on a permanent visa -only on a visa that lasted 2 years. It didn't matter to them that I had been legally residing in London for almost 2 years and that I wasn't trying to do anything wrong! So, in conclusion, you need to email Australia.

Yes, it is possible for you to begin the application process in one country and then change it over to Australia once she gets there. However, you seem to be missing a very important point that others have pointed out here. The K-1 usually does not take a year and a half to go through. If she is going to be living in Australia for a year then you should wait to apply until she gets to Australia. There is not point in you going through the trouble of changing consulates and her address when you don't need to. It sounds like to me that if you applied now, most likely you would then have to apply for her visa to be extended because her visa will probably be ready way before her course is done!! Look at the timelines for other Australians and see how long it takes. It shouldn't matter what country she comes from (assuming Australia will allow you to file her there). If she will be going through the Australian consulate then you should look at the timelines for Australia and NOT from her home country. My ex fiancee was treated as if he was English throughout the process and the only time Australia was even included in our process was when we had to get the police report from them!

my thoughts to you is to go ahead and get all of your documents ready to file and start getting your evidence ready and then AFTER SHE GETS TO AUSTRALIA start the process. But, don't forget to check with the consualte in Australia first. As someone else stated, the worst thing that could happen is she has to fly home for the interview!

Good luck!

[pushbrk 14,450]

Her stay is up to the Austrailian athorities but her K1 visa is up to the US Embassy or Conslate, in Australia.

But the US embassy there will not process it if she doesn't have permission from the Australian authorities to remain in the country while it is being processed, for obvious reasons.

A student visa might not satisfy them in that regard.

Actually, they will.