Need some k1 advice

[Ju&Ja 1]

So if they don't take her passport from her, she could ostensibly come for 90 days to visit, as long as she went back to Australia to complete the process? It might be better for us then to wait to start the process, so that she can definitely come to the USA... we were planning to go to AUS for christmas this year, so if she goes back in mid november I can join her there, and then we can re-enter together with her finished K-1.

That is what I would do. She can come to visit you during the K1 process but she will have to go back before the 90 days period to avoid an overstay. I visited my fiancé during the K1 process and then went back to France and stayed until I got my K1. It takes around 6 or 7 months from the day my husband sent the petition to the day I had my visa in hand, but we got a RFE and maybe now the K1 process is faster than 1 year ago.

[twowls 217]

Look, I'm 25 and I have a master's degree. I just haven't gotten a job afterwards yet. We're not really kids... just not flush with cash reserves.

Is that CR-1 option realistic? I thought we couldn't get married if she was here for visiting without a visa.

Look, the point is that it's a tough process and you need to understand it thoroughly. Nobody can give you what contact with the source material can. Read the guides for the K1 and CR-1 and then if you are still confused, ask for help. We are pointing you in this direction because it's an intense endeavor and you have to start at the beginning and prepare in a serious way.

[jeff and claire 0]

Look, the point is that it's a tough process and you need to understand it thoroughly. Nobody can give you what contact with the source material can. Read the guides for the K1 and CR-1 and then if you are still confused, ask for help. We are pointing you in this direction because it's an intense endeavor and you have to start at the beginning and prepare in a serious way.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree. I was asking for clarification because as I understood it you can't get married on a 90-day visit. I read that material and thought that was the case. Sensing my confusion, I asked for clarification.

[MrStrain14 2]

From what I can see here, you have 2 options Jeff;

1. Start the K-1 Process. Claire can still visit on the VWP whilst the K-1 is being processed, provided she stays no longer than 90 days and show clear ties to Oz at the point of entry into the US. It should take roughly 6 months for the K-1 to be approved, once issued it is valid for a further 6 months, and once Claire then uses it to enter the US you have 90 days to get married.

2. Have Claire visit as already planned in August, and get married. As long as she is honest with the immigration officer, explains she is there to get married but will be returning home, and again shows strong ties to Australia (letters from Employers / Schools confirming jobs / enrollment etc), then this should not be a problem. Once you get married, she must return home and then you guys can start the CR-1 process.

Either way, read the guides as suggested, which i'm sure you will. There are plenty of people on here who are willing to help and give advice, however a lot of your initial questions can be answered by reading the guides, so start there and that will give you a much clearer picture.

Good luck, keep us posted!

K1 Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

CR1 Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Donald-n-Analyn 6]

Jeff,

Is the non-refundable ticket that Claire bought a round-trip ticket?

I agree with option 2 above. Assuming that she has a round-trip ticket. Go ahead and have her use her ticket, and the VWP, to visit you. Get married while she is here. You can either plan it out, and she can declare her intentions at POE, or you can leave the even unscheduled, and decide to do it if it still feels right after you see each other again ;-).

Claire returns home before her entry permit expires, and you start the CR-1 process as soon as you can afford the fee. When she enters the next time, with the CR-1 visa, there will be no need for the Adjustment of Status step, and no waiting for a work permit, etc.

If the ticket is one-way, check with your airline. Most will let you cancel it, and keep the credit for up to a year. When you want to use the credit, you then have to pay a fee, up to $200, but then you can apply 100% of your original purchase price. But check with your carrier for the details. She will probably not be allowed to enter on the VWP with a one-way ticket.

Good luck!

[Deb+Steve 13]

You can get married while on the VWP, I did. I came back to Australia and we filed for CR1. It is a long process but we had no choice. It really was not planned and I could not stay in the US and do the adjustment of status. Before you run off and think ... cool ... she can hop on a plane and you get married and then file to adjust her status, you have to prove that there was no intent to immigrate.

You really should read all the guides on both visas. It is a lot to take in, once you've read it then post your questions. At this point in time don't confuse yourself with 'what if' scenarios.

The K1 process in Aus seems to be taking about roughly 5 months. Sydney is a quick Consulate for scheduling interviews for K1's. However, it is the petition sitting at USCIS for months that you will have NO control over.

Best of luck ...

[slangofoil 50]

I'd stick with the K-1 plan. It's only April right now. You can probably get the I-129F petition in the mail next month and get the ball rolling. If you do the CR-1 you have to wait until August (when she comes to visit and you can get married) before you can even think about starting the immigration process. That's just adding more time apart in the long run. I would start the K-1 process asap. She will probably not get through that whole process before August, but if not, she can come visit you and then go back to Australia to finish the process up and get the visa. Then she can re-enter the US on that.

(And to clarify, yes you are allowed to marry if she just comes on a visit. She's just not allowed to stay indefinitely afterward. She has to go back to Australia.)

[L&V 1]

Hi Jeff,

I think it might be unrealistic to aim for a K-1 visa process to complete in less than 4 months.

My fiancee (Aussie) and I (USC from San Franciso) hav been fortunate that every step of the process has been much faster than we anticipated. But it still took time. I had a spreadsheet which tracked everything. We did EVERYTHING by the book, which required hours of reading the USCIS websites, visajourney.com instructions, forum posts, and advice, check and double-checking everything. It was fun that she and I could be together through the initial part of the visa petition process. You can follow our timeline below.

_______________________________________________________

19Jan2010 My fiancee came to San Francisco. She and I have been traveling back and forth many times. Since we didn't know how long the K-1 Visa process will take, we figured this will be her last visit before she can come back on an approved K-1 visa. She stayed to 16Apr2010 (almost the full 3 months allowed by the tourist visa)

23Jan2010 Mailed I-129F (return recp't & certified mail)

25Jan2010 NOA1 (website), noticed via snail mail 01Feb2010

26Jan2010 USPO return receipt arrived

27Jan2010 Check cashed

26Feb2010 NOA2 (website), noticed via snail mail 04Mar2010

06Mar2010 Petition received at NVC (website), noticed via snail mail 10Mar2010

17Mar2010 Packet 3 received (via email)

24Mar2010 mailed DS-230 to Sydney

18Apr2010 Fiancee returned to Australia (we didn't realize the paperwork will flow so smoothly and quickly.

19Apr2010 Fiancee requested for police certificate (in Melbourne)

21Apr2010 Fiancee medical exam

23Apr2010 police certificate received

_________ Medical results

_________ Send "ready for interview" to Sydney Embassy

_________ Interview appointment

_________ Visa Approval

_________ PoE

[jeff and claire 0]

I met with a Columbus field officer today who told me the following:

We can get married when she comes to visit. Then she can stay as we apply for a green card, a work permit, and a travel document all at the same time. When she gets her travel document and work permit, which he said would be before Christmas, she can go back to Australia or anywhere else but not before. We can vacation there over Chstistmastime, and come back while she waits for her green card.

Here's what he told me:

Get married

File I-130 Petition for Alien Relative ($355) (all of these filed at the Chicago Lockbox)

File I-485 Application for Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ($1010)

Including: G-325, I-864 Affadvit of Support, I-693 Medical

File I-765 Work Authorization

File I-131 Travel Document

Wait for I-131 and I-765 which should come fairly quickly, within three months - then free to travel or work

Wait for Green Card

I hope this is right, this would work for us really well by minimizing purchases of plane tickets. The one missing link is we think she has to show that she has return transportation before entering. Would a train ticket to Canada be good enough? And we have to declare that we didn't intend to marry until she got here, right?

Thanks for all your help folks.

[Deb+Steve 13]

Yes, definitely did not 'intend' to marry and a return ticket to Aus is what would be required.

Maybe I'm missing something but you go see a field officer who tells you how to adjust status but your fiance is not even in the country yet, so is there going to be a record somewhere that you enquired about this months before you even married?

Edited April 24, 2010 by Deb+Steve

[slangofoil 50]

I met with a Columbus field officer today who told me the following:

We can get married when she comes to visit. Then she can stay as we apply for a green card, a work permit, and a travel document all at the same time. When she gets her travel document and work permit, which he said would be before Christmas, she can go back to Australia or anywhere else but not before. We can vacation there over Chstistmastime, and come back while she waits for her green card.

Here's what he told me:

Get married

File I-130 Petition for Alien Relative ($355) (all of these filed at the Chicago Lockbox)

File I-485 Application for Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ($1010)

Including: G-325, I-864 Affadvit of Support, I-693 Medical

File I-765 Work Authorization

File I-131 Travel Document

Wait for I-131 and I-765 which should come fairly quickly, within three months - then free to travel or work

Wait for Green Card

I hope this is right, this would work for us really well by minimizing purchases of plane tickets. The one missing link is we think she has to show that she has return transportation before entering. Would a train ticket to Canada be good enough? And we have to declare that we didn't intend to marry until she got here, right?

Thanks for all your help folks.

You'd be LYING if you said you didn't intend to get married before she came. See the problem there? Lying is not the way to start off your immigration journey. You'd be committing fraud if you did it this way. Since you already plan on getting married you need to file for the correct visa. Period.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

And we have to declare that we didn't intend to marry until she got here, right?

No, that's not how it works. She must not intend to IMMIGRATE when she ENTERS the United States with a non-immigrant visa (or visa waiver). It has nothing to do with whether she intends to wait until she arrives to get married.

If she plans on getting married and adjusting status, and those plans are made BEFORE she enters the US, then she is committing visa fraud. She is using a non-immigrant visa for the purpose of immigration. If caught, the consequences are severe - she could be banned from the US for the rest of her life.

Many people do what the field officer recommended you do. Many have also been caught, their AOS denied, and they are deported.

Geez, it's bad enough when people get this sort of advice from an attorney, but it's far worse when it comes from a government employee!

[jeff and claire 0]

Okay. Thanks for all the advice again, folks. I guess we'll go with the K-1 Visa route. This is the timeline as I understand it (based off of the flowchart, but with our particulars added)

Start the process by sending in the I-129f

Claire comes to visit on VWP August 18

By then the process should be around the issuance of the NOA2

After that, we send more components to the embassy in Sydney, and compile others

When they ask to schedule the interview, we ask for a date after the 90-day VWP visit is over

(this is so we can plan ahead for plane tickets)

Claire goes back to Australia

Claire attends interview and if all the paperwork is done she has her K-1 Visa and can return with me after Christmas

then the adjustment process

Any problems with this strategy then? I like all of the step-by-step guides on here, but it's tough when we factor in her August 18th flight. As long as we have some discretion about when to schedule the Sydney interview, I think this plan is airtight. I've started gathering all of the documents we'll need and I should have our I-129f in within two weeks. Thanks again, all...

[Darnell 8,478]

Ya - sounds like a plan, for now.

You can get some 'fudge factor' on the timing by DELAYING the return of the P3 packet, when/if ya need it.

[L&V 1]

Hi Jeff,

Just another bit of information. My K-1 Visa (US-AU) was processed rather fast: NOA1 (2 days), NOA2 (29 days), Packet 3 from Sydney Consulate (19 days) and it came while my fiancee was visiting me in the US, so we had to wait a month for her to return to AU to get her documents. I believe the NOA2 is valid for 4 months.

So make sure you take into account all the date requirements...especially if you or your fiancee have special circumstances.

-V