K1 vs K3 visa - Fiance in Philippines

[Arnold_and_Joan 0]

Hi, am glad i found this page. I've been researching re: both K1 or K3 visas and it seems like K1 would be the best option for me and my fiance who is in the Philippines. My questin I guess is if there have been anyone else here that dealt with Philippine US Consulate and can tell me how long it took you from your fiance receiving the first packet to an interview being scheduled. Would a petition and applying for K3 visa be faster? Philippine US Consulate by the way doesn't allow DCF (fast track) like some other countries.

Background: We've been communicating since November (met online chat) and became friends. I travelled to Philippines (where I am originally from) for holidays and we've been calling and texting each other until we finally met in April. We've dated since and have fallen in love and I have talked to her parents and guardians regarding our plans on getting married. It's now close to August and I'm still in Philippines. But as soon as I get back to US I will staring the filing of K1 visa. I'm just wondering now if K3 is faster, I can stay longer and get married here to petition her later on and get a K3 visa.

Thanks for any help given.

Arnold & Joan

[Alanlvsjudy 0]

Hi, am glad i found this page. I've been researching re: both K1 or K3 visas and it seems like K1 would be the best option for me and my fiance who is in the Philippines. My questin I guess is if there have been anyone else here that dealt with Philippine US Consulate and can tell me how long it took you from your fiance receiving the first packet to an interview being scheduled. Would a petition and applying for K3 visa be faster? Philippine US Consulate by the way doesn't allow DCF (fast track) like some other countries.

Background: We've been communicating since November (met online chat) and became friends. I travelled to Philippines (where I am originally from) for holidays and we've been calling and texting each other until we finally met in April. We've dated since and have fallen in love and I have talked to her parents and guardians regarding our plans on getting married. It's now close to August and I'm still in Philippines. But as soon as I get back to US I will staring the filing of K1 visa. I'm just wondering now if K3 is faster, I can stay longer and get married here to petition her later on and get a K3 visa.

Thanks for any help given.

Arnold & Joan

My Fiancee is also in the PI, I cannot present any hard evidence but from what I understand the K-1 is generally faster than the K-3. I think the Manila embassy's web site even says so...Best of luck

[peace 0]

Hi, am glad i found this page. I've been researching re: both K1 or K3 visas and it seems like K1 would be the best option for me and my fiance who is in the Philippines. My questin I guess is if there have been anyone else here that dealt with Philippine US Consulate and can tell me how long it took you from your fiance receiving the first packet to an interview being scheduled. Would a petition and applying for K3 visa be faster? Philippine US Consulate by the way doesn't allow DCF (fast track) like some other countries.

Background: We've been communicating since November (met online chat) and became friends. I travelled to Philippines (where I am originally from) for holidays and we've been calling and texting each other until we finally met in April. We've dated since and have fallen in love and I have talked to her parents and guardians regarding our plans on getting married. It's now close to August and I'm still in Philippines. But as soon as I get back to US I will staring the filing of K1 visa. I'm just wondering now if K3 is faster, I can stay longer and get married here to petition her later on and get a K3 visa.

Thanks for any help given.

Arnold & Joan

From what I understand is that the k-1 is supposed to be faster but at the same time I have seen the k-3 get done fast too. It all depends on your case and how strong it is weither you have pictures so on and so forth. I am personally doing a k-1 and I filed in april and from what I believe our case is just about half way done not totally sure on that but by the standards the k-1 is supposed to be faster and does she have any kids? cause I know the k-1 covers her child as long as it's under 18 and resides with her. I am however not sure about the k-3. It was a toss up back and forth with me and my fiancee weither or not we wanted to do the k-1 or k-3 we finaly went with the k-1 and ours seems to be going at an acceptable speed considering the time we've been apart.

To build yourself a strong case you can use e-mails, pictures, phone bills, snail mail letters and packages reciepts. Those are strong things to have. In this forum there are alot of people who have gone through this process being that your still in the philippines it's going to take a while for them to answer you so tomorrow make sure you check back here. I went the lazy way and got a lawyer hahahahaha i'm not good with paper work. I had the lawyer do all that stuff she prepared everything. but the decision is up to you if you want to get married in the Philippines then k-3 might work better if you want to get married in the US near your home k-1 is what you want but it's eventually your call

[GarynMarie 0]

Important info-Co Sponsors - Philippines. I dont know if this pertains to you or not but maybe someone else might benefit from this. While at the U.S. Embassy in Manila I asked if I could use a co-sponsor for a K1 fience Visa and the officer said they do not accept Co-Sponsors for K1 Visa's but they do accept a Co-Sponsor for the K3 Spousal Visa. Another thing to consider is geting Married in the Philippines might be something your fience and her family very much desire. From what I have gathered the time frame difference between the K1 and K3 isnt very much if anything at all. Whats a couple months though if it means having your fience getting married with her family and friends present. Also traveling outside the U.S on a K3 Visa is permittable. With a K1 Visa, until your status has been changed, you cant leave the U.S. and get back in. The K1 is a one shot deal.

[sbgwolf1 0]

Important info-Co Sponsors - Philippines. I dont know if this pertains to you or not but maybe someone else might benefit from this. While at the U.S. Embassy in Manila I asked if I could use a co-sponsor for a K1 fience Visa and the officer said they do not accept Co-Sponsors for K1 Visa's but they do accept a Co-Sponsor for the K3 Spousal Visa. Another thing to consider is geting Married in the Philippines might be something your fience and her family very much desire. From what I have gathered the time frame difference between the K1 and K3 isnt very much if anything at all. Whats a couple months though if it means having your fience getting married with her family and friends present. Also traveling outside the U.S on a K3 Visa is permittable. With a K1 Visa, until your status has been changed, you cant leave the U.S. and get back in. The K1 is a one shot deal.

It may not be accurate, but I have read a couple times that K3's have a higher chance of admin review which is a delay. I do not have experience with this (I am doing a k1) but it is something you may want to research.

S.

Edited July 21, 2006 by sbgwolf1

[chzuga 0]

...... I went the lazy way and got a lawyer hahahahaha i'm not good with paper work. I had the lawyer do all that stuff she prepared everything. ...

this is the EXACT route, I am taking .... I already called the lawyer and they told me that it will take about 5 months processing with a K1 and about 8 months with a K3. She does not want that, she wants to get here already so we going the K1 route. Off course, having to process in Vt. helps a lot since it is really fast there.

[sbgwolf1 0]

...... I went the lazy way and got a lawyer hahahahaha i'm not good with paper work. I had the lawyer do all that stuff she prepared everything. ...

this is the EXACT route, I am taking .... I already called the lawyer and they told me that it will take about 5 months processing with a K1 and about 8 months with a K3. She does not want that, she wants to get here already so we going the K1 route. Off course, having to process in Vt. helps a lot since it is really fast there.

No matter what center you go through, do not expect 5 month turnaround. Sorry. It may take that long at the embassy to get the interview. Not trying to be negative, but realistic. If your at the VSC, it will definately be faster, but 5 months is a high expectation.

[Dean iWait 0]

...... I went the lazy way and got a lawyer hahahahaha i'm not good with paper work. I had the lawyer do all that stuff she prepared everything. ...

this is the EXACT route, I am taking .... I already called the lawyer and they told me that it will take about 5 months processing with a K1 and about 8 months with a K3. She does not want that, she wants to get here already so we going the K1 route. Off course, having to process in Vt. helps a lot since it is really fast there.

Hate to burst your bubble bro. K-1 for the Philippines is running about 8 months from filing to visa in hand. It's taking 5 months for most people to get interview after NOA2. K-3's seem to take a little longer but not by a lot. If your lawyer is telling you hire me and you'll get your visa faster they are lying. That's one thing no one has control over. Not saying it isn't a good idea to have a lawyer help.

[chzuga 0]

...... I went the lazy way and got a lawyer hahahahaha i'm not good with paper work. I had the lawyer do all that stuff she prepared everything. ...

this is the EXACT route, I am taking .... I already called the lawyer and they told me that it will take about 5 months processing with a K1 and about 8 months with a K3. She does not want that, she wants to get here already so we going the K1 route. Off course, having to process in Vt. helps a lot since it is really fast there.

Hate to burst your bubble bro. K-1 for the Philippines is running about 8 months from filing to visa in hand. It's taking 5 months for most people to get interview after NOA2. K-3's seem to take a little longer but not by a lot. If your lawyer is telling you hire me and you'll get your visa faster they are lying. That's one thing no one has control over. Not saying it isn't a good idea to have a lawyer help.

ok, i get your drift but i have been so close, yet so far ... i did all this journey to fail at the end . my first fiance had problems and was denied (please do not ask cuz i am not opening up that chapter again.) from what i recall, yes you may be right .. i think it was around7-8 months.. i thought it was very fast ... i am glad that i iwll be re-processing with VSC.. but i want a lawyer by my side in the case GOD FORBID something goes awry.

i have a question, what is an IMBRA-RFE. i see that RFEW stands for Request For Evidence, what is the other term?

thanks.

[Robor007 0]

i have a question, what is an IMBRA-RFE. i see that RFEW stands for Request For Evidence, what is the other term?

thanks.

International Marriage Broker Regulation Act

[Arnold_and_Joan 0]

Thanks everyone so far that has posted a reply. One thing I just thought about if doing K-3 is that the preparation for a marriage will take time. My parents and siblings are in the US have to come here, planning and doing the marriage here will prolong the time for us to move to US together. So maybe K-1 is a better route for now.

As far as evidence of our relationship (dreamlife), I have a lot of those. I've been here in Philippines for 8 months now - over 3 of those months were spent with Joan. We've been to a couple of resorts, we travelled together to her hometown to meet her parents, grandparents, relatives, and we'll be going to Beijing together in a week. I'm saving all receipts, tickets, and dated photos of every trip we have.

I don't really mind the 8 months processing time because i'll be filing the application this August when I return to US. Then I will be coming back here in November and spend another 3 months here. So we'll only be apart for half the processing time. Hopefully even with 8 months, she'll be following me to US a month after I go back next year.

My other problem I guess is i've quit my job to do all these travelling. Would this be a problem with the Afidavit of Support? Do I have to have a job for this? I do have my savings, my stocks, a house, etc. that I intend to list but would not having a job be a problem? Should I get a job first before sending an application in?

One last thing. Someone mentioned to check the IMBRA - no idea right now what it is but will check. This may lengthen the time for K-1 visa??

Thanks everyone so far that has posted a reply. One thing I just thought about if doing K-3 is that the preparation for a marriage will take time. My parents and siblings are in the US have to come here, planning and doing the marriage here will prolong the time for us to move to US together. So maybe K-1 is a better route for now.

As far as evidence of our relationship (dreamlife), I have a lot of those. I've been here in Philippines for 8 months now - over 3 of those months were spent with Joan. We've been to a couple of resorts, we travelled together to her hometown to meet her parents, grandparents, relatives, and we'll be going to Beijing together in a week. I'm saving all receipts, tickets, and dated photos of every trip we have.

I don't really mind the 8 months processing time because i'll be filing the application this August when I return to US. Then I will be coming back here in November and spend another 3 months here. So we'll only be apart for half the processing time. Hopefully even with 8 months, she'll be following me to US a month after I go back next year.

My other problem I guess is i've quit my job to do all these travelling. Would this be a problem with the Afidavit of Support? Do I have to have a job for this? I do have my savings, my stocks, a house, etc. that I intend to list but would not having a job be a problem? Should I get a job first before sending an application in?

One last thing. Someone mentioned to check the IMBRA - no idea right now what it is but will check. This may lengthen the time for K-1 visa??

Thanks

Arnold and Joan

[Robor007 0]

Arnold & Joan... Looks like you did a double copy/paste there. Might want to edit your post.

IMBRA is definitely lengthening the processing time of K-1 and K-3 visas. There's a huge backlog of petitions now and adding a step to an already long process is only going to make it take longer.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each process. I would recommend looking at the differences between the processes and choose the one that best suits you and your fiancee.

[mychelle 1]

Important info-Co Sponsors - Philippines. I dont know if this pertains to you or not but maybe someone else might benefit from this. While at the U.S. Embassy in Manila I asked if I could use a co-sponsor for a K1 fience Visa and the officer said they do not accept Co-Sponsors for K1 Visa's but they do accept a Co-Sponsor for the K3 Spousal Visa. Another thing to consider is geting Married in the Philippines might be something your fience and her family very much desire. From what I have gathered the time frame difference between the K1 and K3 isnt very much if anything at all. Whats a couple months though if it means having your fience getting married with her family and friends present. Also traveling outside the U.S on a K3 Visa is permittable. With a K1 Visa, until your status has been changed, you cant leave the U.S. and get back in. The K1 is a one shot deal.

is this true? my cousin and his gf are using co-sponsors since he's been living in the philippines for almost a year now. they are on k1 route.

anyone here on k1 in the philippines who used a co-sponsor and got approved? i think he has savings and i'm not sure if he filed his '05 taxes. i'll check.