Introduction and some questions.

[Paulu 0]

Hello to all!

This is my first post on VJ!

My name is Paul and the love of my life is Jen.

She sent me a wink thru' match.com the beginning of May

After almost daily emails and weekly phone calls she came to visit me in Ireland last week :-)

We hit it off straight away and by the time we had to part at the airport this Monday

we have fallen totally in love with each other :-)

We had no idea that we would get on so well!

So I was planning to visit her in September by means of the VWP!

and have spent the last two days looking at how we can be together :-)

Didn't know that there was even a K1 visa program!

Found it on the USCIS site and it looked like it was made for us :-)

Fill out a few forms, get the visa and we would have 90 days to see if we wanted to

get married :-)

Then I found this site! Which was both a curse and a blessing!!

Made me realize that that it's just not a form or two and that it takes

a long time to even get to the stage of the 90 day clock!

The blessing is that I know that there are many people like us out there

going thru' the same process and that the wealth of knowledge and support

is staggering! Still trying to digest it all!

Many thanks to all that have gone before us and have shared their experiences.

I had a green card previous by means of one of the lotto diversity visas programs and

spent 6 years in the US but returned to Ireland and let it lapse!

So I am accustomed to the level of bureaucracy required!

We are both Virgo's so form filling and details should not be a problem!

The problem is the time we will be apart!!

If I understand things correctly, even though Jen lives in NM, the CA center is

the one now that would be processing her I-129F and there is a backlog!

They are now only up to application made in March!

So it would appear that the sooner we could get the I-129F in the better!

Now I have a couple of questions!

Can I visit Jen again using the VWP after she files the I-129F ?

If I can, would it be wise to stay almost to the end of 90 days?

Can she file it while I'm still in the US?

and finally, if we got married, either in Ireland or the US would it be of any help?

I was worried that all this might be too much for my sweetie to take, but she just

sent me a email reassuring me that whatever it takes, she thinks it is worth it to be

together :-) God I love her so much!

Paul.

P.S We are both 36 and neither of us has been previously married.

We are both pretty sure we have found our soul-mate at last :-)

[gag54611 1]

Hi Paul,

Welcome to VJ. Its good to hear that you have found your soul mate. Feels good, eh??

The first thing that I would say is, don't use the K-1 as a means to determine if you are meant to be together. My suggestion is that you use the VWP for that purpose. That is what my (then) fiancee did. She came here for 3 months (she stayed exactly 90 days) to stay with me and then we progressed from there. That gave us more time to plan our wedding properly.

Can your fiancee file the I-129F while you are in the USA? Yes she can.

Can you come back here on VWP while the I-129F is being processed? Yes you can, but be sure to bring plenty of proof that you have strong ties to Ireland (mortgage, job, etc). Your details will show up on the Border Control agent's terminal once the I-129F has been filed, so he/she will know that you are a fiance. He will also know that you are a former green card holder, so be prepared to explain that as well.

Concerning how long it takes to get the visa, that varies greatly. An application with no complications can reach visa issuance state in as little as 3 or 4 months, so don't be too put off by all of that.

One thought that I have is that you had a green card previously, so it is possible for you to apply for a re-entry permit (Form I-131 I think). Have you considered that possibility? I'm not too well versed in this area, but it is worth exploring and might actually save you time. Is there any chance of getting a commitment for employment in the USA before you submit for a re-entry permit (assuming that you try this route)?

Concerning where you get married. The K-1 requires you to marry in the USA, so don't apply for the K-1 and then get married in Ireland. If you do that, you'll have to start a K-3 application and that takes just as long to get as a K-1, so you'll cost yourselves time and money. If you start by getting married in Ireland, you can apply for the K-3 at that time, but you still cannot enter the USA until you have the K-3. Jen could stay with you in Ireland of course and then travel with you once you have the visa. It all depends on work and other commitments I suppose.

Best of luck,

G

[mozplay 29]

Welcome to VJ!!

[Vagina Journey 0]

Welcome to VJ

[Paulu 0]

Hi Paul,

Welcome to VJ. Its good to hear that you have found your soul mate. Feels good, eh??

The first thing that I would say is, don't use the K-1 as a means to determine if you are meant to be together. My suggestion is that you use the VWP for that purpose. That is what my (then) fiancee did. She came here for 3 months (she stayed exactly 90 days) to stay with me and then we progressed from there. That gave us more time to plan our wedding properly.

Can your fiancee file the I-129F while you are in the USA? Yes she can.

Yes, it feels very good to find that special Lady :-)

Would feel even better if we hadn't to go thru' all this

but like Jen said, it will be worth it in the end.

While we are both pretty sure that we are meant to be together, we were going to use my trip to

be sure to be sure!!

If we can file while I'm over there this means a lot!

We can get the ball rolling sooner that expected and this could cut our potential time apart by months!!

Also helps that the two of us can work on the application.

Thanks G

For the first time I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Paul

[Alex+R 0]

Congrats on finding Jen and welcome to VJ!

[Robin28 2]

Welcome !

[STL_HCMC 0]

Welcome to VisaJourney. You found an invaluable source of information for the process!

[chuckandkim 0]

Welcome Paulu!!! Lovely story, I don't see you will find any trouble with helps from this site. Just let's us know when you start filing and here come VJ Power

Again, welcome, and read the FAQ's + Guides once or twice, and all over again. You'll have find they are most helpful, sometimes as you stated a curse

gag54611: well stated!

cheers,

chuckandkim

[PF&RM 0]

Hey Paul,

Welcome to Visa Journey. Like yourself Im a fellow Irish man but currently living in London. Were gathering information to begin the visa process soon. If you go through some of the other forums, youll find a few Irish folks that have went through the visa process pretty recently (American Embassy in Dublin). You will find a lot of info on this site in relation to filling out forms and the likes. It seems complicated but with a bit of patience and attention to the detail the process can go pretty smoothly.

Good luck with geting started and doing lots of background reading.

Patrick

[Ladylethal 12]

Welcome to VJ!