Husband to be needs some advice. My fiancee is a us citizen.

[ker&ket 0]

We are getting married in the coming months and want to move to the US around the middle of next year. My wife to be is a US citizen. We are at present living in England.

My questions is this can I just fly over to the US after we have been married in England and live with my wife in the US, and as soon as I enter apply for the K3, IR1/CR1 and work visa. Or do I need to inform immigration before I come over with my wife.

My main concern is if I can go straight over how long do I have to wait for a work visa/permit so that I can work. Also how long do the K3, IR1/CR1 take to process.

It would be great if someone out there has been through the route I intend to take and could give us some good advice. The whole immigration process sounds very complex in some cases. I hope that its not as complicated as it sounds.

I know that everyones time is precious, so thanks to all that read this and have left a response.

Best Regards k.

Edited November 8, 2010 by ker&ket

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Welcome to VJ! You can't go straight over, you need to apply for an immigrant visa.

K-3 is dead, so you can forget about that. You will file for an IR1/CR1 visa, and once it is obtained and you move, you will become a permanent resident once you enter the US (which means you can work right away). If your wife is a legal resident of the UK (and has been for 6 months) then you can file your IR1/CR1 directly through the London embassy and go much faster! This is called Direct Consular Filing (DCF) and you want to take advantage of this if possible.

Here is the forum for DCF here http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/82-direct-consular-filing-dcf-general-discussion/

Here is some statistics on length of time for recent London DCFs on VJ (I think the most recent on that list is not actually a DCF and is miscategorized). http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op7=United+Kingdom&dfile=Yes&op1=&op2=&op3=5&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28&cfl=

Here is the London embassy website with instructions for filing petitions http://london.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas/immediate-relatives.html

It's pretty cryptic there... not much help but oh well. It also says K3 is available... which is not true. Maybe you can find some clearer info on there elsewhere.

Anyway, good luck!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Why not K-1 or CR-1 rather than K-3?

[santa cruz 0]

Don't go K-3. CR/IR 1 is your better choice. I know this from my experience. Also since your wife to be is there with you go for Direct Consulate Filing. You will avoid alot of problems and will be quicker. Also bottom line is you can not enter with your wife until you get that visa.

[Nik+Heather 121]

+1 to advice to look into the direct consular filing for married couples living together overseas. Rough timeline: Marry in the next 2 months or so. This does not need to be a big and fancy thing, but it does need to be legal. Many couples in the middle of immigration do the paperwork and then when that's settled down, do the ceremony later. ~4-6 months before you want to enter the US, (after marriage) apply for your visa with the US consulate in London. You'll be going for a CR-1 visa, which is an immigrant visa for a US citizen's spouse.

There is a wiki section (link in the blue bar with white text at the top of the screen) on the DCF with some other links. Also, try searching the forum to see if you can't find the rather long thread with "UK DCF" in the thread title. (or maybe it's "London DCF?" Limit your search to the DCF forum, and it should come up. The purpose of that thread is to let people share their experiences with the direct consular filing share it with others.

You asked a couple of questions in your original post. "Do I need to inform immigration before I come over" Uhm. Yes. You need to ASK them if it's alright, actually. Don't worry, we all were at this point in the process sometime. You've been lucky to stumble upon Visa Journey before you started. We were sure glad we did too.

You were also asking about working etc. When you get the CR-1 visa, you enter with a green card because it's an immigrant visa. There is no waiting (except on your SSN to be mailed) for work or any other benefit of residency like getting a driver's license etc.

[Stanley Hermosill 1]

Harpa's advice is correct - You should go for Direct Consular Filing. These guys are not as bogged down as the US offices, so your processing time will be much faster!

[ker&ket 0]

Thanks for all your replies I do appreciate it.

At least I have a better understanding of which route to take and it does sound like we will be in the states next year, which is great. I know there will be some hurdles but im sure we will get over them.

DCF sounds the best way through the London embassy so we will look into that.

Thanks again everyone and best of luck whatever stage your at, k.