Fiance or Spouse visa if traveling?

[sku 0]

I'm a bit concerned. We currently live in Colombia and I (USC) have a job lined up for January of 2017. We're going to go travel in the mean time but need to get her residency for Jan/17.

The waiting time to process these visas really concerns me. We have discussed it and can rush the wedding and get married tomorrow and file the I 130 but we're leaving Colombia in August.

What in the world do we do so that we can move to the US together? It took me 2 days to get permanent residency in Colombia. I never dreamed our immigration process could take so long.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

not going to happen, the process takes around a year

you will have to reestablish and prove domicile, that you didn't abandon the US

[Unshakable Faith 493]

K1 will probably be your fastest route, she will need to interview in the country of her current residence.

You will need to prove that you plan to domiciled in the US and go with her or before her.

You'll also need to make sure you meet the poverty guidelines or have a US sponsor that does.

I can't promise that you will meet your deadline but you could go ahead and come over right before you begin work and she can follow after approval.

Edited May 22, 2016 by FN&KO

[sku 0]

Well I pay my taxes, have a 6 figure job lined up, and have been together with her for over 3 years. What would even constitute abandoning the USA? I've lived overseas several times in my life in different countries.

[sku 0]

K1 will probably be your fastest route, she will need to interview in the country of her current residence.

You will need to prove that you plan to domiciled in the US and go with her or before her.

You'll also need to make sure you meet the poverty guidelines or have a US sponsor that does.

I can't promise that you will meet your deadline but you could go ahead and come over right before you begin work and she can follow after approval.

Does savings count and a future job lined up? I can get my work to write a letter if needed and I have plenty of money in the bank. My income has been zero here.

Can we file the paperwork, do the interview in January in Colombia, and then get the visa in a timely enough fashion that she can move to the US almost immediately?

[B and H 18]

Does savings count and a future job lined up? I can get my work to write a letter if needed and I have plenty of money in the bank. My income has been zero here.

Can we file the paperwork, do the interview in January in Colombia, and then get the visa in a timely enough fashion that she can move to the US almost immediately?

No one can say in advance when your interview will be. That depends on the completion of the steps prior to interview. And after the interview, no one can guarantee when she will have the visa in hand.

Research your visa options, but plan on having and working with many unknowns along the way.

Good luck.

[NikLR 13,227]

Savings help, future jobs do not.

Decide where you want to get married.

Decide if she doesn't mind waiting 90 days to work, drive, travel etc... after arrival

A CR1 is faster to green card but a K1 is faster to visa. At this rate, your fiancee, even if you got married tomorrow and you submitted all the paperwork immediately, still likely wouldn't be able to immigrate for about a year. It's about 6-10 months with the K1.

Domicile is the issue where you have a home and a job in the USA. Since you have a job lined up, I'm sure a place to live won't be far to follow by the time you're ready to move back.

[JFH 12,190]

And they will want to see that you have been filing tax returns even though you have been overseas for some time.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

And they will want to see that you have been filing tax returns even though you have been overseas for some time.

OP stated his ncome had been zero while living abroad.

[Unlockable 7,315]

Yeah, looks like he will need to set up domicile and get a sponsor due to no previous income. Unfortunately, USCIS don't care about future income as it is not guaranteed.

As for as timelines. The K1 is the fastest. But it would be extremely close. However, you can file the K1 as soon as possible. If the visa isn't ready by Jan 2017 then have your fiance wait in her country. It should not be that much longer. When the visa is issued she can then join you here.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Others have addressed many of your concerns- as to spousal or fiance visa:

The CR-1 spousal visa takes about a year, so that is out of the Jan 2017 is a hard deadline. The K1 fiance visa often only takes around 6 months, so is just about doable within your timeline.

During the process, simply have someone at home who can check your mail, as you will be sent things by regular post. She can do her medical and interview anywhere she is legally resident; however, as it sounds like you are trasvelling from place to place as tourists, likely she would need to return to Colombia for that.

[lacolinab13 86]

I just did a similar thing with my fiancé. I filed the I-129F right before we left for a long trip in November. The case was ready for interview at the embassy by the end of January, and we simply scheduled the medical and interview for May when my fiancé returned home. We were able to track the case from a distance and schedule the medical and interview from a distance as well, so that everything happened quickly as soon as he got home. I think it would be quite easy to file now, and then schedule the medical and interview for January. She could travel to the US as soon as the visa is issued; no one can say how fast it will be issued for her, but you can check what's standard for Colombia on the country forum.

I may be wrong, but I do not believe the intent to establish domicile applies to K-1 visas - it is an "immigrant intent" visa and not an immigrant visa, and you only need to state that plan to marry in the US within 90 days. I petitioned after living outside of the US for three years and never had to submit any proof of domicile, neither did several of my friends in the same situation. I believe the intent to reestablish domicile is only relevant to CR/IR.

[sku 0]

I just did a similar thing with my fiancé. I filed the I-129F right before we left for a long trip in November. The case was ready for interview at the embassy by the end of January, and we simply scheduled the medical and interview for May when my fiancé returned home. We were able to track the case from a distance and schedule the medical and interview from a distance as well, so that everything happened quickly as soon as he got home. I think it would be quite easy to file now, and then schedule the medical and interview for January. She could travel to the US as soon as the visa is issued; no one can say how fast it will be issued for her, but you can check what's standard for Colombia on the country forum.

I may be wrong, but I do not believe the intent to establish domicile applies to K-1 visas - it is an "immigrant intent" visa and not an immigrant visa, and you only need to state that plan to marry in the US within 90 days. I petitioned after living outside of the US for three years and never had to submit any proof of domicile, neither did several of my friends in the same situation. I believe the intent to reestablish domicile is only relevant to CR/IR.

Good to hear. We've been mulling it over and are going to go the K-1 route.

Concerns at this point:

1. Domicile? I have a US driver's license, US credit cards I've been using, a FICO score of 810+, no debt, I have a bank account I've been using, plus my investment account I've been using. All using my parent's address while I've been overseas. I'll have an employment letter. I can show all my US tax returns where I've been paying taxes on investment income. When I get back I'll get an apt until I figure out the housing market. Surely people meet overseas and then decide to move to the US together. Technically I might have the apt by the time she has her interview but the goal is for her to minimize her time in Colombia and get back to the US to find/move into an apt together.
2. My impression of the whole process is that they do not want to grant visas to people who have infectious diseases, serious criminal records, will be using the welfare system, or are committing fraud. So with respect to the domicile requirement I get the impression the only thing they're going to be concerned with is that she doesn't need HUD assistance.
3. The Bogota embassy has good reviews. Reading them it sounds like it can take 15 days from the approval of the visa until receipt. Plus up to a week for medical tests although most did it in a day or two. Does that sound about right? What that leads me to believe is that she'll have to fly home for a month after the trip to make sure everything is in order or we buy one way tickets and play it by ear depending on whether she needs 5 days or a month. What would be nice though is if the paperwork is sent back to the embassy if we can schedule the medical tests and interview a month ahead of time so that those happen immediately and we minimize the time spent apart. I suppose I'll have to ask them if they do that. Then it's just a matter of how fast they can get the visa in her passport after approval.
4. Did they contact you while you were away for additional paperwork? When it comes to getting some random piece of paper and the translations that's impossible if not in Bogota. Her family can receive the mail but in Colombia they will only give official paperwork to the person in question. No third parties. So our thinking is to compile a list of everything they can conceivably ask for and have it ready. Thoughts? Is there a good list of everything they might ask for?
5. Then once she gets the visa there's a few more things to file: I 485 after the wedding (within 90 days), I 765 at the same time so she can work, and I 751 within 90 days of the 2 year anniversery to remove the conditional status on the permanent residency.
6. Did you file I 765 for permission to work? How long did it take?
7. Am I missing anything? From my point of view there's nothing odd about my petition. I've lived overseas on investment income since I made a good living in the US. Surely people who don't have jobs get married too. Besides I will have a good job lined up. I could have my father sponsor me/us but that seems ridiculous considering my assets and how low the income requirement is.
8. Do I need to go to the interview? Everything I've read implies no, but some do go.

[lacolinab13 86]

Good to hear. We've been mulling it over and are going to go the K-1 route.

Concerns at this point:

1. Domicile? I have a US driver's license, US credit cards I've been using, a FICO score of 810+, no debt, I have a bank account I've been using, plus my investment account I've been using. All using my parent's address while I've been overseas. I'll have an employment letter. I can show all my US tax returns where I've been paying taxes on investment income. When I get back I'll get an apt until I figure out the housing market. Surely people meet overseas and then decide to move to the US together. Technically I might have the apt by the time she has her interview but the goal is for her to minimize her time in Colombia and get back to the US to find/move into an apt together.
2. My impression of the whole process is that they do not want to grant visas to people who have infectious diseases, serious criminal records, will be using the welfare system, or are committing fraud. So with respect to the domicile requirement I get the impression the only thing they're going to be concerned with is that she doesn't need HUD assistance.
3. The Bogota embassy has good reviews. Reading them it sounds like it can take 15 days from the approval of the visa until receipt. Plus up to a week for medical tests although most did it in a day or two. Does that sound about right? What that leads me to believe is that she'll have to fly home for a month after the trip to make sure everything is in order or we buy one way tickets and play it by ear depending on whether she needs 5 days or a month. What would be nice though is if the paperwork is sent back to the embassy if we can schedule the medical tests and interview a month ahead of time so that those happen immediately and we minimize the time spent apart. I suppose I'll have to ask them if they do that. Then it's just a matter of how fast they can get the visa in her passport after approval.
4. Did they contact you while you were away for additional paperwork? When it comes to getting some random piece of paper and the translations that's impossible if not in Bogota. Her family can receive the mail but in Colombia they will only give official paperwork to the person in question. No third parties. So our thinking is to compile a list of everything they can conceivably ask for and have it ready. Thoughts? Is there a good list of everything they might ask for?
5. Then once she gets the visa there's a few more things to file: I 485 after the wedding (within 90 days), I 765 at the same time so she can work, and I 751 within 90 days of the 2 year anniversery to remove the conditional status on the permanent residency.
6. Did you file I 765 for permission to work? How long did it take?
7. Am I missing anything? From my point of view there's nothing odd about my petition. I've lived overseas on investment income since I made a good living in the US. Surely people who don't have jobs get married too. Besides I will have a good job lined up. I could have my father sponsor me/us but that seems ridiculous considering my assets and how low the income requirement is.
8. Do I need to go to the interview? Everything I've read implies no, but some do go.

1. As I said, I do not think this is an issue. When I sent the I-129F package I had been living abroad for three years. I did move back to the US right before my fiance's interview, but this wasn't reflected in any of the paperwork we presented at the interview, and no one ever asked about domicile. I strongly believe this only applies to spousal visa.

2. See 1 again. K1 visas are not generally hard to get from Colombia, so as long as you present a complete application and are attentive to detail during the process, you should have no problem. It's super important to follow instructions precisely and submit exactly what they want.

3. You need to check in the South American forum - Colombia is one of the more common and actively talked about countries on there so it should be very easy to get answers. How it works in many countries is that once the embassy receives the case, the beneficiary can start gathering the required documents, and schedule the medical and interview for whenever is convenient for them. It's very possible to move quickly with proper planning, but you need to look in the Colombia forum as this stuff is very country specific.

4. The only contacts you will get before the interview are:

- the NOA1, mailed to the US petitioner's address - no response/action needed

- an RFE, if applicable, mailed to the US petitioner's address. *This is a "Request for Evidence", if something is missing from your original petition packet that is needed to adjudicate the petition. A great way to avoid this is to be super meticulous as you put your petition together. If your family can receive mail for you, they can open the RFE letter for you, let you know what evidence they need, you can compile the evidence and mail or email (depending on whether original signatures are needed) it to the US for your family to mail to USCIS. Requires the cheerful and selfless collaboration of someone in the US. We did not get an RFE.

- the NOA2, mailed to the US petitioner's address - no response/action needed

- Notification by mail to the US petitioner from either NVC or the US Embassy in the beneficiary's country that the case has been received - not everyone gets these - no action needed

So there's really no issue about additional paperwork while you are gone, except for dealing with any RFEs. Best way to deal with that is to just get it right the first time!

5. Yes

6. I'm not at that stage yet!

7. Sounds like you will be fine, but the embassy makes the final decision.

8. Check with others who have processed through the Bogota embassy. This is also very country-specific.