Should I start the process?

[mikeriza 0]

I am a newbie and was just reading through some of the posts. Lots of useful information. I am in California and my fiancee is in the Philippines. I have been legally separated from my ex-wife for more than 15 yrs. The divorce is in progress. I am wondering if I should start the k1 visa for my fiancee while my divorce is pending. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

No. You must be divorced and legally able to marry at the time your petition if filed. You must include a copy of your divorce decree with the I-129F petition.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Yeap, what KayDeeCee said. If you cannot prove you were single at the time you filed the petition you are just asking for trouble.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

You must be single and legally able to marry before you can file for a fiancée.

Your divorce must be finalized.

You will need a copy of the divorce decree to file the I-129f.

[Hank_ 9,171]

I am a newbie and was just reading through some of the posts. Lots of useful information. I am in California and my fiancee is in the Philippines. I have been legally separated from my ex-wife for more than 15 yrs. The divorce is in progress. I am wondering if I should start the k1 visa for my fiancee while my divorce is pending. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you currently LEGALLY FREE TO MARRY?? That is a requirement for filing the I-129F petition.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

[LykaMarc 19]

The above responses are certainly accurate. However, one thing you CAN do is gather and organize all the other needed evidence, such as pictures of you and your fiancee together, receipts from airlines and hotels, the G325a for both of you, letters of intent, passport pictures, birth certificates, etc. etc. etc. Then, once your current divorce is finalized, and you have your decree, then you're off and running

[Zedayn 485]

I am a newbie and was just reading through some of the posts. Lots of useful information. I am in California and my fiancee is in the Philippines. I have been legally separated from my ex-wife for more than 15 yrs. The divorce is in progress. I am wondering if I should start the k1 visa for my fiancee while my divorce is pending. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You need to wait for the divorce to be finalized before you can even begin. I can understand how eager you might be to want to get things started, believe me I was in that exact same situation. I was also waiting on my divorce to finalize before I could even file.

How long do you anticipate the divorce will take?

[baron555 934]

Just another additional thing to consider.....in some states there is a waiting period between being divorced and when you can remarry. If you live in one of these states, then the free to marry is not when you are divorced but when the state requirement says you are free to marry.

[kql1975 0]

STATE Waiting Period from "Date of Divorce" Alabama: 60 Days. Alaska: None. Arizona: None. Arkansas: None. California: None. Colorado: None. Connecticut: None. Dist of Columbia: None. Delaware: None. Florida: None. Georgia: None. Hawaii: None. Idaho: None. Illinois: None. Indiana: None. Iowa: None. Kansas: 30 days. Kentucky: None. Louisiana: None. Maine: None. Maryland: None. Massachusetts: None. Michigan: None. Minnesota: None. Mississippi: None. Missouri: None. Montana: None. Nebraska: 180 days. Nevada: None. New Hampshire: None. New Jersey: None. New Mexico: None. New York: None. North Carolina: None. North Dakota: None. Ohio: None. Oklahoma: 180 Days. Oregon: None. Pennsylvania: None. Rhode Island: None. South Carolina: None. South Dakota: None. Tennessee: None. Texas: 30 Days. Utah: None. Vermont: None. Virginia: None. Washington: None. West Virginia: None. Wisconsin: 180 Days. Wyoming: None.

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[Ontarkie 13,904]

~~One post removed for not contributing to the thread. Stick to the question or do not post.~~

[dmck 80]

If you filed your divorce in California, there is another option to speed up the legality to remarry and thus start your K1 process. In California you can get a bi-furcated divorce. This means that the legal binding between you and your ex is severed and you are legally allowed to remarry. This allows for other things such as property, alimony, child support to be settled at a later time. This is what I did so I could start the K1 process. I married my fiancé 1.5 years ago, and we still have a couple of non-settled items with my ex in California

[whysodifficult? 31]

Why not have her come and visit you in the States. Since you aren't able to marry her, no one can accuse you of fraud. But who knows, maybe your divoce will be finalized while she is here and you could make a quick decision...

[CowBoE 429]

All excellent advice.

1) Learning and preparing for K1 visa will take some time

as you need to gather information from both sides and

bona fide relationship evidence. So you can certainly start

this in parallel to your divorce proceeding.

2) Another potential good news is, many Filipinos have been

expedited to a point they can come to US in 2 months or so.

Therefore, look into expediting the process and see what's required,

and under what condition (like effected by hurricane) they allow this.

3) Lastly, though you have to complete your divorce first,

if you take the time now to bulletproof your application

she can be here much quicker than other country beneficiaries.

Good luck...

[mikeriza 0]

Thanks for all the good advice from everybody. I am in California, and there is a 6 month and 1 day waiting period. Divorce should be finalized in the next couple of months. I was just wondering how far I could go with the process, maybe complete the first few steps, so it looks like I should start getting together all the paperwork, then as soon as the divorce is finalized, then I can file. Appreciate everybody's help.

[dmck 80]

The divorce decree has to have a date that is before your NOA1 date (this is the date they give your application when you submit the first package). If you don't have a decree or judge's order indicating you are legally divorced, you will be rejected and waste the money you spent on the application. This is super important. If you submit your package knowing that your divorce is close, and the NOA1 date is before the decree, they will reject the entire thing and make you start over.