Would getting a K-1 be more wise?

[Suebert 0]

Hello, I've been a visitor for awhile on these forums trying to learn as much as I can. However, I am officially stumped and maybe short on time!

My boyfriend is a South Korean citizen and he is currently studying in New York on an F-1 Student Visa. I am a U.S citizen living in Minnesota. We've been dating for a little over 2 years now, and marriage has been brought up a couple times. In South Korea, most males have to serve in the military. My boyfriend is 25 years old and he was told that he would be getting his last 1 year extension on his passport. (It'll be expiring Dec 2013.) I really do not want him to go into the army, so I was hoping to get married and file all the papers before December of next year. I have already started compiling many different types of proof that our relationship is real. And we have also received permission from both sides of the family for marriage, and my parents are willing to co-sponsor for financial paperwork when necessary

Now, would it be better for him to go back to Korea during winter break this coming December and I file for a K-1 visa? Or should we just get married ASAP while he is on his F-1 student visa? I don't want to lower my chances of him getting his AOS approved or even getting on the bad side USCIS. Also, is my situation considered to be 'hard' to the point where I should hire an immigration lawyer for help? I feel like I can do all the paperwork and such with the help of this forum, but I'd like a second opinion on this.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

Well I am not familiar with South Korean law but in Chile if my fiance had to do 1 year of military service him getting married to me in the USA has no affect on it he would still have to do it. Are you two planning on getting married making him a US citizen and having him lose his South Korean citizenship and that is how he won't be in the military service? Bc in Chile and a few European countries (I asked friends) if your fiance leaves his country and doesn't do the military service its considered illegal and he is no longer allowed to enter his country. Even if he came in as a US citizen he would be arrested. I would look into that before making any other plans. Just make 100% sure that what you are doing will not ruin your fiance's chances of going back to his country one day.

Regarding your questions I wouldn't hire a lawyer your case isn't difficult. I would personally get married in USA while he is here and apply immediately for your paperwork so you two can wait together bc waiting apart is a killer. I am not very familiar with the marriage (CR-1) visa so I will leave the details to someone else. But I would personally go the marriage route. If I could turn back time I would've done that for my fiance and I.

Good luck!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

How will being married absolve him of his military service?

[Suebert 0]

How will being married absolve him of his military service?

By him becoming a U.S Citizen in the future after receiving his green card is what I want to happen. Also, it's not that he's trying to avoid the army, I just don't want him to go and pause school while he's in the middle of it. Also, I don't want to be apart from him for such a long period of time. The only way they would give him a longer studying time frame is for him to get accepted into graduate school 100% in either spring semester or the next fall semester. And I'd rather not take the chances of waiting for acceptance results.

[C-ma'am 684]

I moved your post to the Regional forums where other people from South Korea can possibly guide you better. Military service + Immigration are pretty specific of every country.

[FanTa 2]

Military service + Immigration are pretty specific of every country.

Yep. I don't know about South Korea but in Russia you're exempt from a draft if you permanently reside in any other country - no need to give up your Russian citizenship. Check the Korean laws - it's possible that there's a similar provision.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

I moved your post to the Regional forums where other people from South Korea can possibly guide you better. Military service + Immigration are pretty specific of every country.

Exactly! In Chile if you are a man and go to college for 4 years then you do not need to do your military service. It is all country specific that is why I told you to find out before hand. You don't want to do this and then comes to figure out you made the wrong move.

Good luck.

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

I would definitely talk to a South Korean attorney of some sort regarding the military service to confirm that whatever plan you're formulating will be beneficial in the long run. Living in South Korea, I encounter so many wild situations, both for delaying/avoiding the military service, and for serving it despite circumstances that would seem to indicate otherwise. It seems very complex to me, personally. As far as the visa, I see no reason why a K1 is better, personally. Have you looked through the flow charts for the different visa types on here? In any situation where the beneficiary is currently in the US otherwise engaged in some kind of visa-granting activity, it seems counter-productive to have them leave for consular processing, which is what happens with a K1 visa. I suggest reading those guides linked at the top ribbon of this forum to see some of the reasons why a spouse-based adjustment of status is better in terms of US immigration.