American embassy or consulate

[ninjakat5 0]

Just a few questions about applying for the K-1 Visa.

I'm from Louisiana and she's from Ontario, Canada.

She's in Louisiana with me at the moment and we'll be getting married here.

We've been going through the I-129F form.

In question 20, "Your fiancé(e) will apply for a visa abroad at the American embassy or consulate at:" ...

We don't know which embassy or consulate she needs to apply at, and write down on the form.

Also wondering how long it usually takes.

Her stay in Louisiana as a visitor is almost up as she's been here since the end of October, 2009.

We're worried that even if we mail in these papers right away, she may have to go back to Canada until they're approved, or until we receive the visa in the mail.

How does this work?

If she ends up going back home, would we need to wait until we have the K-1 Visa in hand before she can come back?

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

[canadian_wife 1,831]

She'll interview in Montreal, so put Montreal.

If she's been for 6 months already, she should return to Canada. Typically it will take between 6 and 8 months to process the visa, although it has gotten better, Montreal is a slow consulate for scheduling interviews. She can visit again after she returns to Canada (she needs to be sure not to overstay - remember it is not 6 months but it is 180 days). However, after staying for 6 months already, it might be worth while to spend some time in Canada in order to show that she is not 'living' in the US.

Good luck.

[mustafa1232 3]

Just a few questions about applying for the K-1 Visa.

I'm from Louisiana and she's from Ontario, Canada.

She's in Louisiana with me at the moment and we'll be getting married here.

We've been going through the I-129F form.

In question 20, "Your fiancé(e) will apply for a visa abroad at the American embassy or consulate at:" ...

We don't know which embassy or consulate she needs to apply at, and write down on the form.

Also wondering how long it usually takes.

Her stay in Louisiana as a visitor is almost up as she's been here since the end of October, 2009.

We're worried that even if we mail in these papers right away, she may have to go back to Canada until they're approved, or until we receive the visa in the mail.

How does this work?

If she ends up going back home, would we need to wait until we have the K-1 Visa in hand before she can come back?

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

hi ninjakat5 tell your fiancee to go back to her home country and then you you filed petation to your fiancee when your i-29f finally approved and you got your noa2 then she have no problem to visit to usa because marriage to a visit visa is illegal according to usa imigration law and if you marry to your fiancee on visitor visa you are really in trouble and you face lot of problems in usa because its damage your whole reputation in my advise is better for you and your fiancee future and this whole process is only 4 to 5 month but my best advise for you that you can marry to your fiancee and then you filed for cr1 visa because cr1 is the cheaper money saving and headche free visa

The K1 visa is not an end in itself. It is only a single step in a procedure for obtaining permanent residency (a green card) based on a marriage to a US Citizen after entry. The steps involved in immigrating to the US via a K1 visa can be generally described as follows:

1. The US Citizen files the I-129F petition for the foreign fiance(e) with the USCIS. The I-129f is filed at a USCIS Service Center in the US (where you file depends on where you live). The petition phase is very straightforward. Approval timelines vary with each Service Center, with the processing times ranging anywhere from one to five or six months. 2. After the I-129F has been approved, the petition is sent to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC) where it is processed and forwarded to the correct embassy and consulate. The process of sending the approved I-129f from the Service Center (through the NVC) and arriving at the embassy takes about a month. The fiance(e) has 4 months from the time the I-129F was approved at the Service Center to obtain the K1 Visa at the US Consulate in the foreign country. This time period can be extended by a consular officer if required. The visa application process is generally similar in all countries, although each Consulate will vary a bit in their requirements. Every K1 applicant will have a unique story to tell about how they got their visa.

3. Once you have the K1 Visa it is good for only one entry into the United States within 6 months of the issue date. ( K1 Visa holder) may enter up to one year after the K1,

4. Once in the United States, you have 90 days to get married

5. Immediately after marriage, you must apply for an Adjustment of Status, Form I-485, to become a permanent resident. You may also apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to work (required until your I-485 is approved) and "advance parole" in case you want to travel outside the United States and re-enter before getting your green card (I-485 approval). I-485 is approved prior to two years after you were married you will be issued a "Conditional" Permanent Resident status (green card) which is valid for only two years. If you are interviewed and approved greater than two years after you were married you will get a full normal Permanent Residency with no conditions valid for ten years. The time it takes to approve an I-485 depends on where you live and the nearest local USCIS office's processing timeline.

7. If you were given a "conditional permanent residency", after two years from the date you were granted this status, you will have to apply to have the "Conditional" status removed; if approved you will get a full 10 year green card. If you had a full permanent residency status without conditions then this step is not required.

8. Further on down the road, you can apply to become an American citizen (naturalization

if you have any other question you can feel free to ask me have a nice day

[Carlawarla 1]

Just a few questions about applying for the K-1 Visa.

I'm from Louisiana and she's from Ontario, Canada.

She's in Louisiana with me at the moment and we'll be getting married here.

We've been going through the I-129F form.

In question 20, "Your fiancé(e) will apply for a visa abroad at the American embassy or consulate at:" ...

We don't know which embassy or consulate she needs to apply at, and write down on the form.

Also wondering how long it usually takes.

Her stay in Louisiana as a visitor is almost up as she's been here since the end of October, 2009.

We're worried that even if we mail in these papers right away, she may have to go back to Canada until they're approved, or until we receive the visa in the mail.

How does this work?

If she ends up going back home, would we need to wait until we have the K-1 Visa in hand before she can come back?

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

You really need to read the Guides. If you're applying for a fiance's visa she'll be interviewed in Montreal. Montreal is a Consulate. The timelines for a K-1 suggest 8-10 months. She has to return to Canada, before her 180 days are up this visit.

She can visit again during the process, if she has sufficient evidence of her ties to Canada to cross the border. That's always the key.

[ninjakat5 0]

So there's absolutely no way for her to stay here with me while we wait for approval?

[payxibka 10,048]

So there's absolutely no way for her to stay here with me while we wait for approval?

No automatic way....

[katie & sifa 25]

So there's absolutely no way for her to stay here with me while we wait for approval?

After the I-129F is approved she would still have to go back to Canada for the interview - the approval of the I-129F does not mean the visa is on its way, just means that the initial petition has been approved. Then comes the interview. The interview MUST take place in Canada - not in Louisiana or anywhere in the US. She will also have to get a medical exam done in Canada by a doctor the Embassy has chosen (check the Canada forum/portal for more info on that.)

You don't want to have her overstay and run into bans and problems down the line, so she should go back home before her time in the US is legally up (6 mos from entry.) If she wants to try to come back in while you're waiting for the NOA2, you can try - there's been lots of threads on VJ about Canadians who do this/want to do this. But she would have to go back to Canada first then try to come back in (and be prepared to show lots of evidence of ties to Canada.) Then she would go back to Canada for her medical & interview.

[pushbrk 14,362]

Just a few questions about applying for the K-1 Visa.

I'm from Louisiana and she's from Ontario, Canada.

She's in Louisiana with me at the moment and we'll be getting married here.

We've been going through the I-129F form.

In question 20, "Your fiancé(e) will apply for a visa abroad at the American embassy or consulate at:" ...

We don't know which embassy or consulate she needs to apply at, and write down on the form.

Also wondering how long it usually takes.

Her stay in Louisiana as a visitor is almost up as she's been here since the end of October, 2009.

We're worried that even if we mail in these papers right away, she may have to go back to Canada until they're approved, or until we receive the visa in the mail.

How does this work?

If she ends up going back home, would we need to wait until we have the K-1 Visa in hand before she can come back?

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

If you take the fiancee visa route, she must not overstay her visitor privilege. She'll interview for the visa in Montreal 5 to 8 months after you file the petition. Carefully study the K1 visa guide here.

You may also want to evaluate whether your circumstances qualify her to simply, stay, get married and adjust status to permanent resident. This will depend on when you two made the decision to marry and for her to stay. Did you propose after her October arrival? Can she manage her affairs in such a way to stay here until about 4 months after the marriage takes place? If both are yes, you probably qualify to just have her stay, get married and adjust status but she does have to stay. The overstay is forgiven in these cases.

So there's absolutely no way for her to stay here with me while we wait for approval?

Not for the approval of a fiancee visa, no. To adjust status, maybe.

[ninjakat5 0]

I proposed to her in March, so yes, it was after she arrived in October.

Would we need to apply for a K3 spousal visa if she stays here, we marry and try to adjust her status?

Is there anyone we could talk to to confirm that this would be okay?

I don't want to risk her getting banned for overstaying.

[pushbrk 14,362]

I proposed to her in March, so yes, it was after she arrived in October.

Would we need to apply for a K3 spousal visa if she stays here, we marry and try to adjust her status?

Is there anyone we could talk to to confirm that this would be okay?

I don't want to risk her getting banned for overstaying.

Visas are used to enter countries. If she stays marries and adjusts status, there IS no visa. See the AOS guide. If she entered to visit with no intention of immigrating instead of visiting, then your decision to marry and have her stay qualifies her to stay and adjust status. To do so, she must stay and if your planned wedding date is after her granted six month stay, she must weigh the risk the marriage will get called off and she'll have an overstay that isn't forgiven and impacts her future privilege to visit the USA.

Study the AOS guide and do your homework before taking this path but it appears quite viable to me.

[katie & sifa 25]

Study the AOS guide and do your homework before taking this path but it appears quite viable to me.

Here's a link to the guide if that's the route you decide to follow: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

[VanessaTony 3,567]

3. Once you have the K1 Visa it is good for only one entry into the United States within 6 months of the issue date. ( K1 Visa holder) may enter up to one year after the K1,

Ummm no. The Visa is valid for 6 months.. as the first part of your sentence says.. so what is the 12 month thing about?

[pushbrk 14,362]

Ummm no. The Visa is valid for 6 months.. as the first part of your sentence says.. so what is the 12 month thing about?

That should read K2 enter up to 12 months after.

[SunDrop 59]

because marriage to a visit visa is illegal according to usa imigration law and if you marry to your fiancee on visitor visa you are really in trouble and you face lot of problems in usa because its damage your whole reputation

This is not correct, it is only considered 'illegal' if you entered the country on a visitor's visa with the intent of getting married and adjusting your status.

Edited March 12, 2010 by SunDrop

[Carlawarla 1]

I proposed to her in March, so yes, it was after she arrived in October.

Would we need to apply for a K3 spousal visa if she stays here, we marry and try to adjust her status?

Is there anyone we could talk to to confirm that this would be okay?

I don't want to risk her getting banned for overstaying.

Yes, you can talk to a qualified immigration attorney if you wish, however we're telling you that if she had no intent to marry and stay during this visit, and your proposal to her after her arrival kind of suggests this, and if she can stay until all the paperwork is done before heading back to Canada (because she won't be able to leave the country until she does....) then just get married, and fill in the paperwork for AOS, see guides above. Or head over to the Adjustment of Status forum for other information. This is a self-help site, and your questions are answered by people who are or have done this before.

Just remember, that she won't be allowed back into Canada, for several months after marriage. She'll have to manage her affairs up there, via the internet and mail.

If she does decide to head back to Canada, she'll have to do this before her 180 days are up now. She'll have to go for an interview in Canada, after having her medical done in Canada etc. She can visit while the process is on-going, and in fact you could send in the package now if you wish, but no, she can't just stay and wait with you while all her application is in process.