Getting married on B-2 while waiting for K-1

[Skyler and Silvia 1]

Hello board, I've been lurking for a while trying to gain knowledge, but haven't been able to find anything through Google that addresses this specific issue.

My girlfriend (Colombian) and I (American) have been dating since she was here on an F-1 visa from January 2011. She left the country at the end of the semester in mid-April, but we've continued our relationship through Skype and such and are thinking about getting married. A couple of the timeframes we had tossed around were October/November or February/March of next year. As I've looked into the K-1 visa, my understanding is that it takes about 8 months from first filing before she can actually come here to get married, correct?

She also has a B-2 travel visa good to enter for a few years. My understanding is that if she enters on the B-2 to get married and then file an AoS that is a big no-no (based on the intent). The wisest course of action - as I understand it - is to wait on the K-1 visa. The scenario (and question, now that I finally rambled into it) is this: Can we file all the paperwork and such for the K-1 visa, have her enter on the B-2, get married, then have her catch a flight back to Colombia and bounce right back on the K-1 when it is ready? That way she never enters on the B-2 with the intent to stay, but I'm unfamiliar enough with the process to know if this is even feasible. Any enlightenment you fine folks can give me is greatly appreciated!

[LeftCoastLady 441]

Hello board, I've been lurking for a while trying to gain knowledge, but haven't been able to find anything through Google that addresses this specific issue.

My girlfriend (Colombian) and I (American) have been dating since she was here on an F-1 visa from January 2011. She left the country at the end of the semester in mid-April, but we've continued our relationship through Skype and such and are thinking about getting married. A couple of the timeframes we had tossed around were October/November or February/March of next year. As I've looked into the K-1 visa, my understanding is that it takes about 8 months from first filing before she can actually come here to get married, correct?

She also has a B-2 travel visa good to enter for a few years. My understanding is that if she enters on the B-2 to get married and then file an AoS that is a big no-no (based on the intent). The wisest course of action - as I understand it - is to wait on the K-1 visa. The scenario (and question, now that I finally rambled into it) is this: Can we file all the paperwork and such for the K-1 visa, have her enter on the B-2, get married, then have her catch a flight back to Colombia and bounce right back on the K-1 when it is ready? That way she never enters on the B-2 with the intent to stay, but I'm unfamiliar enough with the process to know if this is even feasible. Any enlightenment you fine folks can give me is greatly appreciated!

Short answer: No.

The K-1 is for fiancé(e)s to enter the U.S. You can't get married before receiving the K-1 visa. Instead, you'd have to apply for the CR-1/IR-1 visa for spouses to allow her to join you in the U.S.

Please read the comparison chart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[kate&javi 26]

K-1 is for fiance(e) only. If you get married, file for CR-1. She'll have to return to her country, but it's your choice: file for K-1 and wait while you are engaged and apart ; file for CR-1 and wait while you are married and apart. Or move to her country to wait it out with her.

[TheZ 0]

If you file for a fiancee visa, and get married while the process is going on, you will have to stop that and have to file fresh for a spouse visa. The overall process might take longer since I'm sure you will be asked about why you applied for fiancee in first place and they might need additional supporting documents for your answers or intentions. I would suggest decide on one or the other from the beginning and stick to that process till completion. The outcome will be the same, you guys will end up together

[Pitaya 2,577]

Short answer: No.

The K-1 is for fiancé(e)s to enter the U.S. You can't get married before receiving the K-1 visa. Instead, you'd have to apply for the CR-1/IR-1 visa for spouses to allow her to join you in the U.S.

Please read the comparison chart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[Skyler and Silvia 1]

Awesome, lot's of helpful information. I'm trying to do my homework early on this one to cut down on headaches later, so this site and others are great!