K1 or spouse visa - We both live in Philippines

[Tukaram 0]

I looked around the Forum but did not see this issue yet...

I am 50, quit working and living on a small VA disability check. I live in the Philippines and have only a mail forwarding service in the US. So no real domicile. But I have US bank accounts still. I live with my fiance in the PI's. She is 25, does not work, family has no money to speak of.

We want to go back to the US for my daughter's wedding in October 2014. My girl and I are planning on getting married but unsure of the best way to go about it. Would it be better to do a K-1 visa and get married in the US? Or get married here and try a spouse visa? We do not want to move to the US but a tourist visa is virtually impossible to get for a non-working Filipino.

My main concern is the easiest way to get her approved to go to the US for a visit. It just hapens that since we are getting married, maybe I can use it to my advantage in filing...

[EndlessStory 53]

K1 visa will be a quicker way since cr-1 takes 12-18 months but it all depends on your luck for K1 visa too. I got mine in a little over 5 months. You will cut close to your daughter's wedding date since its in October and Philippines has a waiting time for interview

[Tukaram 0]

But I thought I had to show a US domicile for a K-1 visa? So I could sponsor her - even though we have no intention of staying...

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K-1 Process to What Visa Do I Need Forum~

~Inquiry about spousal vs. fiancee visa~

[NikLR 13,227]

If you legally reside in the Phillipines you can look into DCF after marriage as well. No matter what you'll need to figure out how to prove you're reestablishing domicile in the USA to pursue a green card for your fiancée.

I assume you want to do all this simply to visit the USA and the fact you feel your fiancée likely would be denied a visitor visa. It sucks that you have to pursue a green card route just to do this. Have you even tried getting a visitor visa? Maybe go that route first and base future decisions on that outcome?