Wedding is overseas. How does the visa work?

[Nemo2010 0]

Hi, so my fiancé and I got engaged over the holidays, and we want to have our wedding in Brazil where most of our family members live (including my fiancé....for now). We've already booked the church and reception, and it needs to be during that time of the year for me to be able to get away from work. I almost have all of our paperwork to send in the I-129F petition for K-1 fiancé visa.

Anyway, we were planning on getting the civil wedding done as soon as he gets here to begin the process of adjusting his status so that he can work/study. The wedding is in late December in Brazil. I assume that with the petition and visa processes he will only be able to come to the United States in September at the absolute earliest. Would he be able to go to Brazil for the wedding and come back to the US if his status has not been adjusted yet? Should we just do the religious ceremony first and get the civil part handled after the December wedding?

Thanks!

[Paz_Tranquilidade 61]

Sorry I am editing my post because I am not sure if I understood you correctly.

You want to have a wedding in the US, first? (Civil ceremony) and then return to Brazil to have the religious wedding?

Yes, K-1 visa is the way to go. File for it now.

You can ask for Advanced Parole to be able to leave the country before the Green card arrives and while the process is taking place.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Paz_Tranquilidade

[kitthekat 1,317]

Well, you are sending in the I-129F in March and expecting him to be in the US by September. That's quite a short turnaround time and you'll need to have a combination of extremely good luck and planning to stick to that timeline.

If in the event it does work out that he's in the US by September, then you can do a quick civil marriage in the US and apply for advance parole at the same time as adjustment of status, which will allow him to travel before receiving his green card. It takes about 60-90 days to obtain AP. So, again, the timeline is rather tight for him to be back in Brazil by December, but with luck, doable.

The K1 is a one-time use visa so if he leaves before receiving AP then he won't be allowed back in the US on the K1. You'd have to start over with the CR1.

If he hasn't received his K1 visa by late December, then it would be extremely risky to go ahead with the wedding in Brazil (even if it is just a religious ceremony). If the consular officer or the CBP officer suspects you are already married, then they can deny the visa (at the interview) or deny entry to the USA on the K1 (even after the visa has been obtained).

Hope it works out for you, but, wow, that was a risky move booking anything before even sending in the I-129F petition. Best of luck.

[Nemo2010 0]

The wedding date is December 26th. I guess what I want to know is if it will still be possible to get the petition approved, get the visa, have my fiancé travel here and get married before December, go back to Brazil for the religious ceremony, and both of us return to the United States.

I am not sure what the processing time is for the petition to get approved as I can't get the links from USCIS to open, but acquaintances that have gone through this process told me it took them 4 months to get the approval.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Searching timeslines for Brazil it is taking about 222 days from filing to interview, assuming you add 90 for EAD/AP you are at 310 which put you in the final days of December before you could leave. I think you are cutting things too close unless you like gray hairs

[christeen 966]

Looking at your timeline and current processing you are looking at Sept - Oct to get visa and come get married in USA ... Then u need to file for AP.. Which takes 90 days... Bet case, you may be able to travel mid December, worst case, AP does not arrive till January... I personally am not a gambling person and it would stress me to,the point of maki g myself sick knowing there is a very real possibility I would not make it... You might be a bit more relaxed about it... Personally, I would suck up any cancellation fees and move the church wedding till Feb just to be sure... There is a chance you will be ok (by a few hairs) but more of a risk you will not be (and lose hair in the stress) ... So would weigh the uncertainty and stress you are about to put yourself under...

[Gwapo1ako 14]

That's a rough timeline to try to meet

[SparklePony 238]

I would flat out cancel anything and not book anything again until you actually have the visa in hand. These things are always a gamble and anything can happen along the way that will screw up your timings. You can get an RFE or be placed under AP at NVC or the Embassy, for example. You just don't know, and the timings other members have been through are in NO way a prediction of the timing you will go through. There are too many variables here that can work against you and your plans.

[Darnell 8,478]

The wedding date is December 26th. I guess what I want to know is if it will still be possible to get the petition approved, get the visa, have my fiancé travel here and get married before December, go back to Brazil for the religious ceremony, and both of us return to the United States.

I am not sure what the processing time is for the petition to get approved as I can't get the links from USCIS to open, but acquaintances that have gone through this process told me it took them 4 months to get the approval.

I would say no.

Why? Yer trying to slot into a calendar in one of the worst managed systems on the planet, and I'm a pessimist .

[Zedayn 485]

Why not just get married in December and file for a CR-1 visa instead?

You have to figure at least 6 months to get approval of your I-129f. I mean its nice when its approved much faster than that, but you just have to expect it will take at least that long. Then figure 8 weeks at NVC (I know it doesn't take that long at NVC, its just that's what they tell you when you call them for your case number). So you are looking at 8 months before you can even schedule your interview, which means scheduling your interview in October. I don't know how long it takes to get an interview at Brazil, but say it takes one month, you are looking at getting the visa in November. If you came to the US in November, hurried up and got married and sent paperwork in for the AOS, AP and EAD, you STILL wouldn't be able to leave the US until about February.

You are taking a big risk expecting to get your visa in hand, marry and file AOS, and receive your AP ALL before December 26. Your best option is either postpone your wedding in Brazil, or cancel your plans for the K-1 visa and file the CR-1 visa after your wedding in Brazil.

[Paz_Tranquilidade 61]

I agree with Zedayn and a few other posters. Just wait in Brazil and have your wedding in December. Afterwards, apply for a CR-1 visa. You can have a better peace of mind that way.

[Boggy1974 124]

Besides waiting and getting married in Dec, the K-1 is slightly more money and you'll need to remove conditions.

[2018JourneyDone 77]

If you're planning to go the K-1 route, I wouldn't book anything until you've had the interview and have the visa in hand. We were sure our case would be a straight-forward approval and we were saddened to learn that we were placed on Administrative Review after our interview. Our interview was Jan-15 and we are still waiting in never-never land for a final approval/visa issuance. We are being safe and letting our family in Haiti know that once everything is situated here (once he finally arrives) we will begin planning our wedding in Haiti within a year after. We plan on having a small, quick service in the US and a celebration in the summer sometime. Again, absolutely nothing has been set in stone, no dates scheduled, because NO ONE knows when/if a case will sail through the system without a problem or be held up for months. There is another VJ member who was approved on Jan-13 but still has yet to receive their visa to travel...

To summarize, play it safe. Either marry in December and appy for the CR-1 or move forward with the K-1 but don't count on being finished by any particular date/month. Every single case varies.

[fqadri 8]

Another option is you can go to Brazil now and have a court\civil marriage and then start the CR1 visa process.

[Jeremy12095 8]

I wouldn't bother with the K1. I would just get married in brazil and make sure you meet their guidelines to marry. If I understand the rules correctly you cant travel on the K1, its just a 1 time to get you here.

Each country has their own regulations on marriage's. Ecuador for example requires you to be in the country for 70ish days ( I don't remember the exact number) and you have to get a single status affidavit from the US consulate. It was a few hoops to jump through but I was able to marry my wife in Ecuador and bring her back to the states in about 10 months. You can check processing times and averages on the USCIS website for your filing center and application. I think you would be best to just get married and file the I-130 for the green card, ooh and its a lot cheaper and less bull to go through. K1 visa is not work permission, you would have to apply for that while your AOS is processing and the AOS is pricy. The green card is much better and you come here get the green card apply for the SSN and your basically all done. After two years you just do the removal of barriers and your spouse gets their 10yr green card instead of the 2 year CR1