Marry in Brazil then Apply

[Alves N 0]

I am sure this topic has come up before but I'll ask again and maybe you all can help me.

I have already applied for my fiance's K-1 Visa. He is Brazilian. I am going to visit him this month (I have already visited him once before and worked with him for a year, as a missionary, in Brazil) I know that the visa will eventually come to pass but the waiting is killing me.

The thought came to my mind today; can I marry him while I am in Brasil this month, forfeit his K1 visa process and then apply for the Marriage visa. I understand that this would be throwing away more time and money in the long run but in the end I am not opposed to living in Brasil for a year or so.

I guess my question is how do the foreign countries take all this? I know that if I tried to pull this in the US (meaning bring him here on a tourist visa and marrying him) that would be a big illegal no no but does Brasil see it that way? And would this be breaking a US law and thus making our process of him getting over here more difficult in the future?

Sorry, these are just the rantings of an overly tired stressed out gal who just wants to know that options do exist.

I don't want to do anything illegal.

[Jeikun 65]

It's not even illegal to get married in the USA while on a tourist visa. It is illegal to enter the USA intending to get married and STAY. Marriage isn't illegal no matter your nationality or reason for being in the country. As for Brazil's laws, I would wait for someone more knowledgeable than I, but I seriously doubt they have any law prohibiting you from marrying your fiance. On the USA side, it's not illegal to marry then cancel your K-1 and apply for a marriage visa. Just as you said, wasting time and money already invested.

[menina 50]

A tourist visa to Brasil is usually good for 90 days only. Sometimes you can renew it for another 90 days. The process of getting married there can be complicated and lengthy with many required documents and somewhat of a waiting period. I don't know all of the details, but there are some members on here who got married there and then applied for the CR1 visa. Although being married to a brasilian does entitle you to a permanent resident visa, I believe you have to be living there for a year to apply for that. If your intention is to come back to the US once the CR1 visa is processed for your fiance, that probably is not your best option. Most likely you will end up spending time apart. Depending on how far you are into the K1 process, you may want to stay with that so that you do not have to start over from the beginning and wait for the whole process to go through again. My fiance and I chose the K1 process for various reasons, but one of the main ones was that we didn't want to be separated so soon after marrying. Try looking up the information on your local Brasilian consulate's website. And hopefully some members here on VJ will respond with more information as well. Good luck in your process! My husband and I met the same way--through missionary service.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Then better advice to follow.

[Tricia599 2]

You can get married in Brasil on a tourist visa - as long as you're in the country legally, it's fine. However, there is no quickie Vegas-style wedding there. Like Menina said, it's kind of complicated and you need to be really, really organized with documents.

However, if you do get married there, you can apply for permanent residency in Brasil right after the wedding (which, actually, was a much easier process then getting married, document-wise). Since it's my understanding that the Rio consulate doesn't do DCF anymore, I would think that you can file for a CR-1 immediately, but others might have better info in terms of this and whether or not going the CR-1 would be quicker.

I got married in Brasil on a tourist visa and then applied for permanent residency in Brasil (we weren't planning on coming back to live in the US). I went with the intention of getting married and the Policia Federal knew it. I can't remember if they asked me anything when I entered, but for sure they knew when I registered with the local PF and then when I requested an additional 90 days on my tourist visa - they even gave me a checklist as to what I would need to bring back after we got married to apply for residency. If your fiance lives close to a PF, he could pop in and talk with them and see what they say if you'd like to be certain. If you go this route, you will get to know the officers at the immigrant desk very well, as you'll be renewing your residency protocol every 2-3 months once you apply.

Good luck with whichever route you choose. Just remember, Brasil is a heck of a lot more fun as a tourist than it is is you have to actually live there and work for a living

[Ryan H 3,801]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Mexico, Latin & South America regional forum; topic is more about Brazilian law than it is about the US spousal visa process itself.

[Alves N 0]

Thank you so much for the information everyone! I did add my timeline, I hope it appears now Thank you for helping me see that other options do exist, we just need to decide what is right for us! I know I just need to be patient but sometimes I just get really anxious and afraid it won't work out! I got my first notice November 21!

[The Mean Lady 604]

I don't think I-129s are behind in approval.

So you've already waited 2 months.

Another 3 months and then you'll be at NVC.

You'd definitely be making your overall timeline longer by changing things up now.

[Alves N 0]

I was speaking to a friend who recently went through this process and from start to interview it took about 8 months. She is from the east coast and he has previously had 2 tourist visas denied, would that have anything to do with it taking a bit longer? They never received a notice asking for more information though.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I was speaking to a friend who recently went through this process and from start to interview it took about 8 months. She is from the east coast and he has previously had 2 tourist visas denied, would that have anything to do with it taking a bit longer? They never received a notice asking for more information though.

No.

8-10 months is standard time.

It takes approx 5mos to have the first part approved.

That's the same for the CR1 process but some people like VCS and atlanta have been waiting over 5 months.

[menina 50]

I was speaking to a friend who recently went through this process and from start to interview it took about 8 months. She is from the east coast and he has previously had 2 tourist visas denied, would that have anything to do with it taking a bit longer? They never received a notice asking for more information though.

Nope. The tourist visa denials don't increase the processing time. Our process took 6the months more or less. Almost 5 months of that was waiting for theinitial petition approval.

[sorchaine 10]

My husband and I were originally going to marry in Brasil, but having to go through all the requirement documentation and some of it wasn't even possible for us to complete due to what they require and all the differences between the different cartórios. So we ultimately just filed for the K-1 once I returned the US. It took us just over 4 months to have approval (from interview) from when we filed. As much as I would have loved to been married in Brasil, the K-1 was the best option for us.