K1, K3 visa?

[sarah4252 0]

I'm an american citizen but have been living in Korea for about 17 years as a dependent of a civilian working for the military...

Anyway, I hope to go back to the US in early January to attend school in February. My decision has been a bit abrupt, but I really would like to go back to the US.

Problem is, my abrupt decision has lead to a problem. My boyfriend of 7 months and I must part, but we don't want that. We want to get married. But, with my sudden decision to leave, he has decided to follow... problem is, with such short amount of time i'm not sure there is any way for him to come along? I would like to get married to him in the US, but don't want him to come into the US on a separate visa obviously with the intent to get married... So, what is there to do? Can he come on a tourist visa and we get married? Or maybe a student visa? Or is there a way to get married in Korea and have him come to the US with me on a tourist visa, all while we are in the process of getting him a k3 visa? Thank you!

[lost_at_sea 995]

Student visa: Does he have a course or school he's looking to attend? If so, of course that could be an option.

He can marry in the USA, but coming to the USA with intent to marry and then adjust status in order to stay in the USA (i.e. having immigrant intent while on a tourist visa) would be considered fraud. If he wants to marry and then go back to Korea to follow the proper procedures, no problem.

Your other options are...

1. I-129f for K1 - This is a petition to bring him to the USA as your fiancé with intent to marry and settle with a K1 visa. You can file the I-129f ASAP then he follows you when he has the K1. You can read a guide on this here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

2. I-130 for CR-1 - This is a petition to get him a CR-1 visa, and involves you being married. You could marry ASAP in Korea before you leave, and file the petition, then he can follow you once he has his visa. The guide for this is here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide You can try and file the I-129f for K3, but that's deemed defunct by most here on the board

3. Are you in South Korea? If so, you can marry ASAP in Korea and file DCF. This is a much faster route. You can read a little about this here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare#dcf I'm finding the Seoul embassy website hard to navigate, so you may need to contact them first to check they're still allowing this option. EDIT: They must still be doing it. Here's a timeline for someone who recently did DCF in Seoul - you'll see it was pretty quick (don't be alarmed by their AP - if your fiancé has it, he'll have it no matter what route you go)! http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=156656 Here's someone who already completed and moved: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/373578-dcf-seoul-south-korea-approved/

Finally, there is a comparison guide for your options here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Edited October 30, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[sarah4252 0]

Student visa: Does he have a course or school he's looking to attend? If so, of course that could be an option.

He can marry in the USA, but coming to the USA with intent to marry and then adjust status in order to stay in the USA (i.e. having immigrant intent while on a tourist visa) would be considered fraud. If he wants to marry and then go back to Korea to follow the proper procedures, no problem.

Your other options are...

1. I-129f for K1 - This is a petition to bring him to the USA as your fiancé with intent to marry and settle with a K1 visa. You can file the I-129f ASAP then he follows you when he has the K1. You can read a guide on this here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

2. I-130 for CR-1 - This is a petition to get him a CR-1 visa, and involves you being married. You could marry ASAP in Korea before you leave, and file the petition, then he can follow you once he has his visa. The guide for this is here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide You can try and file the I-129f for K3, but that's deemed defunct by most here on the board

3. Are you in South Korea? If so, you can marry ASAP in Korea and file DCF. This is a much faster route. You can read a little about this here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare#dcf I'm finding the Seoul embassy website hard to navigate, so you may need to contact them first to check they're still allowing this option. EDIT: They must still be doing it. Here's a timeline for someone who recently did DCF in Seoul - you'll see it was pretty quick (don't be alarmed by their AP - if your fiancé has it, he'll have it no matter what route you go)! http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=156656 Here's someone who already completed and moved: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/373578-dcf-seoul-south-korea-approved/

Finally, there is a comparison guide for your options here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Thank you so much for the awesome information!

Would we have a higher risk of being denied if we were only married for... say a few days.. before we began to apply and take the route of the DCF?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thank you so much for the awesome information!

Would we have a higher risk of being denied if we were only married for... say a few days.. before we began to apply and take the route of the DCF?

Nope. We were only married 4 days when we filed, and I think one of the links above had a couple in Seoul who were married for only a few weeks. You may need good relationship evidence, but you'd need that on any route (take a look in the guides for examples).

[lost_at_sea 995]

Also, I just realised I swapped the two links above for the K1 & spouse guides, but I'm sure you noticed that. Oops.

[TBoneTX 45,536]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the "What Visa Do I Need" forum -- OP is contemplating visa paths. ***

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I vote for DCF.