K1 or I-130 when marrying in US but moving back to UK?

[McOodle 0]

Hello

I am a new member of the forum - which has been an invaluable resource.

I live in London with my American girlfriend and we are getting married in New York in October 2012.

In our haste to have everything in order asap, we filed a I-129F as soon as possible after getting engaged with a view to obtaining a K1 fiancee visa.

However, we do not intend to move to the US until June 2013 (or thereabouts).

Having had time to research everything thoroughly, it seems that rather than the K1 route, I should merely marry on a tourist visa, we should then return to the UK together and then petition for a I-130.

Although this would mean losing the fee paid on filing the I-129F, that could just be written off as a learning experience, if necessary.

I would really welcome people's views.

Thank you so much in advance.

[KayDeeCee 4,904]

Hello

I am a new member of the forum - which has been an invaluable resource.

I live in London with my American girlfriend and we are getting married in New York in October 2012.

In our haste to have everything in order asap, we filed a I-129F as soon as possible after getting engaged with a view to obtaining a K1 fiancee visa.

However, we do not intend to move to the US until June 2013 (or thereabouts).

Having had time to research everything thoroughly, it seems that rather than the K1 route, I should merely marry on a tourist visa, we should then return to the UK together and then petition for a I-130.

Although this would mean losing the fee paid on filing the I-129F, that could just be written off as a learning experience, if necessary.

I would really welcome people's views.

Thank you so much in advance.

Yes, you will need to file for a spousal visa to move back to the US when you are ready to.

The K-1 is a one time entry visa and once in the US, you will need to get married within 90 days. You would not be able to leave until after you had filed for AOS and received AP(for short trips) or your green card.

I believe your spouse will need to maintain a US address too. Someone that knows more about the spousal visa can chime in here.