Should this K1 turn to a K3?

[saracatherine 4]

Hey everyone, I've lurked around here for quite some time and gotten so much helpful advice from you all! I now need some advice...

I'm not too computer friendly timeline wise but as background knowledge my fiancé (the petitioner from the U.S.) filed the K1 for us (I am the beneficiary) back in November of 2014 and it was routed to Texas Service Center.

That being said, we knew it was going to be a terribly long wait but figured this was our best option. We waited a few months for his divorce decree and were so relieved to file. Our NOA1 date is November 5th one exact. I get hopeful every time I see a November NOA2 in the approved section but we have yet to see ours. We planned a wedding for August of this year and I, truthfully, don't think its enough time but he keeps trying to convince that we may get it in time. Pure speculation... even if we got approved tomorrow, is there any chance we could have the entire thing done before August 1? I know no one has the answer but people here are very knowledgeable on timelines.

That being said, if not, is it best just to go with a K3 visa and withdraw the K1 visa? We would suffer an $8,000 loss on our main venue which I'm not sure is something that is feasible or not yet. I told him my concerns about having a 'wedding' without actually getting married and what the implications could be- denial of K1 visa, lifetime ban, charge of misrepresentation and he still thinks I am overreacting. Has anyone gotten approved and done that beforehand? I know you can't have your cake and eat it too but I'm wondering what is the most sensible thing to do.

I heard that the K3 can take a bit longer then the K1 and you may not even be able to enter the States at that time. I couldn't imagine not being able to visit for a year or so. I live in Canada, so I can easily go down for the 'wedding' and come back to work until I have my visa in hand. That being said I don't want to take advantage of the fact that I am able to easily travel and get into the States

If you've read all of this THANK YOU so much, I appreciate anyones input and advice!

Sara

[Boiler 43,438]

CR1 not K3 which are effectively dead.

You can visit whilst in process, timeline say a year, difficult to know.

[saracatherine 4]

Thank you for the clarification!

[Fuji1978 33]

Its actually possible although highly inadvisable to make wedding plans without the visa in hand. You should, in my opinion, keep the k1 active and wait and see......if you get to 45 days out without an interview date, why don't you contact the venue and ask for a date change. It's highly unlikely they wouldn't try to work with you on this. Maybe a fee or loss of deposit, but if you commit to a later date they should apply your payments to that date.