Hello, new to this site!

[gsxjoey 0]

Hello everyone my name is Joey. I'll try to keep this short but don't really know where to begin. My girlfriend in a South Korean citizen and currently resides there. We first met in Canada of '07 when at the time she was studying English. We applied for a US visitors visa for her at the US consulate in Toronto in '08. It was approved for a length of 1 year. She came to America to visit me and my family for 3 months and then went back to Korea. I visited her in Korea for a month in December of 08 and again from May to August of 09 to study Korean.

Recently we have been considering ways we can get married and for her to come to America but just are not sure of the route to take. We are planning to get married in Jan. 2010 but are not sure if we should start to apply for a K1 Visa now and call the wedding in January an "engagement ceremony" and not file for a marriage certificate in Korea. Or to actually get married file for a marriage certificate in Korea and start the K3 or CR1 process.

Here is where things gets complicated. I am currently a senior in college without an income. So I know I need a Co-Sponsor. I was thinking of having my grandfather sponsor us but recently he was laid off and now will apply for retirement in up coming months. And I am not sure if I want my Father to co-sponsor us because recently HE just got remarried to a Lao national who was an illegal alien for about 5+ years in the US. I don't know how they did it but now she is legal and just got her green card (conditional) less than one year from when they were married. I'm worried if my dad sponsors us, especially if me and my girlfriend will live at his house after we get married, the government will think something is up with my family where the father and the son are both marring aliens only one year apart from each other.

Sorry to be rambling on for so long but I did not know where else to post this since I'm fairly new to this site and my situation is somewhat complex. But I am hoping that people here can understand and hopefully help us with our whole visa journey!

[Old Dominion 26]

To simplify things, can the wedding date be postponed? Then you could file the I-129f for the K-1 as soon as everything is in order. While the I-129 is being processed, you can work out the sponsorship issue. I believe that the co-sponsor provides only detailed financial information along with limited personal data, which they verify, but the fact that he recently remarried is of no concern to the South Korean consulate and there is no likelihood they will know about that. At any rate, your father's marriage is legal, his wife is legal, and so that's that.

[gsxjoey 0]

To simplify things, can the wedding date be postponed? Then you could file the I-129f for the K-1 as soon as everything is in order. While the I-129 is being processed, you can work out the sponsorship issue. I believe that the co-sponsor provides only detailed financial information along with limited personal data, which they verify, but the fact that he recently remarried is of no concern to the South Korean consulate and there is no likelihood they will know about that. At any rate, your father's marriage is legal, his wife is legal, and so that's that.

The wedding is already set, but it doesn't actually have to be a "real" wedding at least for K1 Visa purposes. It would just act as a ceremony for her family to see. The real wedding and marriage license would be in the US.

Also if my girlfriend has a a passport but would like to apply for a new electronic passport to be able to visit me in the us during the application process would i have to wait until she receives her new passport and passport number to apply for the 1-129F or is that information not relevant to the process until the interview?