Marrying brasilian in the Usa or Brasil? Which visa?

[smgilley1 0]

My Brasilian girlfriend of over 1 year is coming to the Usa on a tourist visa in May to visit me, (an American) and the Usa. I used to live in Brasil, speak portuguese and also have a tourist visa for there. We want to get married either in the Usa or Brasil soon, what is the best route for us to do so that will get us to be able to live together here in the Usa legally the soonest? What visa or process would be best to achieve this? Thank you in advance!

[Pitaya 2,576]

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

~Inquiry about fiance(e) vs. spouse visas~

[menina 50]

In my opinion, it will be easier to marry in the US. For an American to get married in Brasil it is a complicated and (sometimes) long process. You have a couple of options. If you want to get married while she is here on a tourist visa, you could do that, have her return to her home country when her authorized stay is up (usually 90 days) and file the paperwork for a CR-1 visa. You can also get started on the paperwork while she is still here as long as you have the marriage certificate and all of the necessary paperwork here. OR you could wait to get married and file for the K1 visa. With this second option, you can either start the paperwork now (providing you have seen each other in the last 2 years and have proof of that), wait to start the process when she arrives here, or file after she returns to Brasil. Some of the forms require original signatures, so make sure to have her sign those before she leaves so that you don't have to send them to her and have her send them back. The only thing that you might want to consider is that she may be more scrutinized when she enters the USA if she has a K1 pending. Whichever option you choose, make sure she brings evidence of strong ties to Brasil and is completely honest in answering any questions she may be asked when she enters the USA. Good luck with your process! Hope that helps with your decision.

[smgilley1 0]

Thank you so much Menina for you help! I am definitely leaning towards the CR-1 option after getting married here with her while she's on her tourist visa. One question I did still have however, we could start the process for these forms and stuff here to speed up the process but wouldn't that increase the chance of her (she is leaving the Usa after being here for about a month then returning to Brasil) being banned from returning to the USA under any type of visa again because of a possible "visa fraud" allegation? I assume that wouldn't happen but regardless my only real concern is about how long would it take for her to receive the CR-1 there in Brasil? It's going to suck being away from her while I am working here in the USA but realize sometimes it's necessary and she needs to take care of some things there in the next few months, so it might be a good plan as long as it doesn't take years for the CR-1? Thanks a a million again!!!

[M&G 6]

Things may have changed in the last few months, but the last time I checked the wait for a CR-1 visa was a lot longer than the wait for a K1.

Now I don't know if she can visit you while the CR-1 visa is pending, but she can definitely come to the US if she's waiting for a K1 because she already has a tourist visa. I did that myself in December.

[smgilley1 0]

Thanks again, would that still be the same if I married her here in the Usa in May then we applied for a k3 visa for her to return back to me in the Usa? (After she will be back in Brasil afterwards obviously)