australian engaged to US marine anyone in similar situation?! pls help

[Tia26 0]

We are planning to marry this march... he is due to pcs back to the states at the end of this year can anyone recommend the best to do .. apply for spouse visa and expedite the process? We have not filed any forms yet until we marry than we will.. what is the wait like meaning how long it would take for me to get my visa so over this distance already lol pleaseee help

[Girl from Celebes 588]

You both can get married and file for I-130. You can ask for an expedite as long as he has an order and it is very urgent. My husband is in the military as well but we chose K-1 visa instead. Actually K-1 visa much faster but if you both have planned to get married on March, a spousal visa might be a good option. I heard a spousal visa can take up to a year whereas K-1 visa is about 6 months in average time.

[NatashaMaryland 1]

Hi! I am active duty and we too decided to apply the K1 route. We did not meet through miliary service, rather during my fellowship in Australia nearly 8 years ago (prior to being commissioned)... so we did not get assistance through the military. As incredibly stressful as it all is... we stayed one step ahead of eveyrthing (for example, we had the package 3 prepared way before it was asked for) and everything worked out. He is in the US and the process did go quickly. I presume this is because we didnt have to waste anytime in gathering materials. I found this website very helpful and took everyones suggestions and lessons learned. I think that the K1 visa is quicker than other routes from Australia (at least). I wish you the best!

[Tia26 0]

I thought that the spouse visa would be faster as your technically an immediate relative? Is that not the case at all

[NikLR 13,220]

No. A spouse visa is quicker to green card, but a K1 visa is quicker to visa. K1 costs more. If the spouse is used to working then sitting at home for about 90 days waiting for their work authorization to arrive may drive them a little crazy. It's best to go through all the pros and cons of both visas and decide which is better for you as a couple.

For example, in our case, I could not wait 90 days to be able to travel. I needed to be able to leave asap if necessary for family. I wanted to be able to work right away. It was my first wedding and my husband's second, so he wasn't concerned about who was there or where it was held. I wanted my mom to be my minister, and I wanted important family members to be able to attend (some still couldn't.) For them, travelling outside of Canada was not an option financially or health wise.

Things like that can be important to discuss and decide. In the end however, it's the couple who needs to decide what works best for them because it's the marriage that counts most, not the wedding.