Help with Info regarding K1/K3/CR1 visas

[David R 2]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum. I have been circling the internet trying to get information on various visas to the US and have become increasingly confused by everything so I thought I should present a question that relates specifically to own situation.

I am currently in the US on a J1 teaching visa that is about to expire in a few weeks. I have been here for three years and my girlfriend of two years got engaged a few weeks ago.

We are now in the process of trying to work out which visa option would be best for us. Our plan is to go back to Australia for 6 months so my fiancee can meet my family etc and then come back to the US on a K1 and get married in the US next spring.

I have learned that with the k1 visa I will be unable to work until I get a work permit which may take as long as the K1 is valid for. Then I will have to wait for an additional work permit after I adjust my status so I could be in a situation where I could be out of work for 3 - 6 months (which is not ideal as I have a mortgage in Australia I will continue to pay off)

My question is which visa route (K1, K3 or perhaps CR1??) would be the best situation for me to spend the least amount ofr time unable to work in the US. We are open to marrying in Australia if that will help us but I understand that visa can take up to ten months anyway? What would you suggest as the best visa route for our situation?

Any information or help anyone could provide me would be extremely grateful.

Thank so much for your time everyone.

David

Thanks so much for your time.

[cathy2904 97]

Forget the K3, that is now obsolete.

First of all, take a look at this comparison chart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Personally I would recommend the CR1. You can marry wherever you want. You will be be a permanent resident and able to work as soon as you arrive in the US and there is no need to AOS after marriage. Your Green Card will be a conditional one as you will have been married for less than two years so you will have to file to remove those conditions just before the second anniversary of your Green Card. these days the CR1 does not take much longer than the K1. We got through it in 7 1/2 months from filing to the issue of my visa - although the time from NVC to interview will vary by Consulate.

Edited June 12, 2012 by cathy2904

[Anh map 2,098]

Marry now and adjust status. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

[cathy2904 97]

Marry now and adjust status. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

That would work too but would it depend on how quickly he wants/needs to go back to Australia?

Edited June 12, 2012 by cathy2904

[David R 2]

That would work too but would it depend on how quickly he wants/needs to go back to Australia?

Thanks so much for the responses guys. I have been discussing all this with my fiancee and she wants to wait and get married with a full ceremony etc in spring. That means I will have to come back in on the K1. Does anyone know how long the usual time it is to wait for the work permit once I adjust my status after the wedding?? Can I work at all all the K1 or do I need to wait for the work permit?

Thanks so much.

David

[Anh map 2,098]

Thanks so much for the responses guys. I have been discussing all this with my fiancee and she wants to wait and get married with a full ceremony etc in spring. That means I will have to come back in on the K1. Does anyone know how long the usual time it is to wait for the work permit once I adjust my status after the wedding?? Can I work at all all the K1 or do I need to wait for the work permit?

Thanks so much.

David

Plan for a few months after entry and marriage for the work authorization. That's the big drawback to the K1.

If you want to marry in the spring you need to get started soon. The interview is in Oz, not here in the US.

There's nothing wrong with a quick courthouse wedding and then the big party/event in front of family and friends at a later date.

[Adrian_Trischa 6]

I agree with the above. Even if you did want to wait for the K1 to get married - you would need to get married within 90 days of entering in the country. If she wants the big wedding in front of family and friends, believe you me, it'd be hard to get this organised in 90 days especially if you dont know when you are officially entering the country.

This is what my fiance and I have discussed doing. Marrying at the courthouse for formalities and then setting a date later down the track so my family can celebrate with us and we can have all the bells and whistles.

[David R 2]

I agree with the above. Even if you did want to wait for the K1 to get married - you would need to get married within 90 days of entering in the country. If she wants the big wedding in front of family and friends, believe you me, it'd be hard to get this organised in 90 days especially if you dont know when you are officially entering the country.

This is what my fiance and I have discussed doing. Marrying at the courthouse for formalities and then setting a date later down the track so my family can celebrate with us and we can have all the bells and whistles.

My fiancee is reall adamant that she wants the real thing on her wedding day, she does not want it to just be a wedding for the sake of it. Our plan is to plan for late spring, have everything ready to go and then try to book a venue as soon as we are aware of when my visa will be coming and when I will be allowed back in the US.

I am obvisoulsy trying to plan for all these practical matters but I do not want my fiancee to miss out on her dream wedding.

What do you guys think? Is this a plan they could work for us??

[LeftCoastLady 441]

My fiancee is reall adamant that she wants the real thing on her wedding day, she does not want it to just be a wedding for the sake of it. Our plan is to plan for late spring, have everything ready to go and then try to book a venue as soon as we are aware of when my visa will be coming and when I will be allowed back in the US.

I am obvisoulsy trying to plan for all these practical matters but I do not want my fiancee to miss out on her dream wedding.

What do you guys think? Is this a plan they could work for us??

It's always best to not make any reservations until you have the visa in hand. There have been plenty of threads on VJ where people thought they'd have their visa by a certain date, so they went ahead and booked the non-refundable venues, catering, had their families make travel arrangements, etc. All before actually having the visa in hand and then, maybe their NOA2 didn't arrive when they thought, or the NVC took longer getting the petition details to the embassy, or the embassy wasn't able to schedule the interview for a few months. Thus, throwing a massive self-inflicted wrench into their plans and then having to deal with trying to move reservations without losing money, or losing money.

If your fiancée is set on having a "dream wedding," then you both can definitely start looking at places, but definitely do not sign anything until you have the visa in your hand. In most cases, you have up to six months to enter the US once the visa is issued (this varies) and then you have 90 days to get married once arriving in the US. That will give you nearly nine months to plan post-visa issuance.

Edited June 14, 2012 by LeftCoastLady

[Inky 1,110]

Moving to general as the OP is trying to figure out what visa to use.

[Tinchen_ 21]

u two could have a small wedding for just u two or with some family and friends in the 90day period. a lot of places like bed and breakfast offer package for it and make the day really special and have a big wedding a little later on when you have the time to plan and invite ppl, so u two dont have the stress to do it all in 90days.

and special when you wanna do it in the spring in march the wedding season starts and on friday, saturdays and sundays most places are booked months in advanced.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Does your J1 have a 2 year home residency requirement?

Good luck