Help! after meeting for the first time, should we do the k1 or k3 visa?

[JFH 12,189]

Did we ever find out if the boyfriend is even a citizen?

[NikLR 13,220]

You have to meet at least once for either the K1 or the CR1. Look through the comparison chart and figure out which one is better for you.

• Is working right away important?
• Will you need to travel sooner vs later?
• Do you need to drive right away?
• Where do you want to get married?
• Who do you want to be there?
• Is if better to live together faster or can you wait longer?
• Is the idea of not living together after marriage okay with you or not?
• Do you have any children that would also need a visa?

Answers to some of these types of questions are important to picking the right path for you as a couple.

Along with - do you want children? Is religion a big deal? How will you deal with day to day finances? Who will work? Where will you live? How do you feel about sex and intimacy? How do you show someone you love them? What household expectations do you have? Who cleans? Who cooks? Who does laundry? Are you neat and tidy or don't really care?

These are more personal in nature and not immigration related but questions I think people don't tend to have with significant others who live out of country (and sometimes who do.)

Edited June 24, 2016 by NLR

[Anitafeliz 1,133]

Did we ever find out if the boyfriend is even a citizen?

No nada zilch

[loraanth 0]

If the marriage is less than two years old they would be getting a CR-1 and would still have to file additional paperwork to remove the conditional status of that visa.

Oh yea, thanks for adding that! I forgot to mention it

what additional paperworks will that be?

[loraanth 0]

Since money is an issue, OP should also take into account that the K1 to GC route is more expensive than CR1 to GC route.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

money is not an issue anymore since he already has a job , so we can choose either K1 or CR1

[loraanth 0]

Is the boyfriend a US citizen? You mentioned him being Filipino but living in California. If he's not yet a citizen and just an LPR then you can't do a K-1 visa. Only US citizens can file a K-1. LPRs can only bring spouses into the country, not girlfriends.

Did we ever find out if the boyfriend is even a citizen?

yes guys, he's a citizen, he was born there, parents and family are all there.

[loraanth 0]

IMBRA = International Marriage Broker Regulation Act

OP If your fiance does not have a job or only a recent job, how does he expect to qualify for the fiance/spousal visa requirement of having an income above 125% poverty for minimum 2-3 years?

If you are in Saudi then where do you plan to meet your fiance? You most likely cannot get a visitor visa to the US since you are from Philippines unless you have a large bank account or high value house in Philippines as proof you have monetary ties to your country to out-weigh the risk you will over stay your visa, so meeting in the US is most likely not an option for you. regardless if you choose a fiance visa or spousal visa, you will be required to meet!

I highly suggest you plan to meet in Philippines for minimum 1 week together, take LOTS of pictures together and some of him with your family, save all identifying receipts such as airline boarding passes, bus tickets, hotel reservation/receipts, retail receipts with names or debit/credit card last 4 numbers. Wait till he has at least 1 full year of income tax statements above 125% poverty level before he files your visa petition!

Fiance visa is much less complicated and faster to process it takes only 3-5 months start to finish on average, i have seen some Manila embassy processed in 9 weeks.

Spousal visa takes much more time because there is a lot more investigating USCIS need to do for your case and more documents they need to prepare, especially if you marry outside the US because USCIS will not have direct access to your marriage records in another country.

I would suggest K1 fiance visa, because its much less complicated and faster than a marriage visa.

Best Wishes, Good Luck!!

OP If your fiance does not have a job or only a recent job, how does he expect to qualify for the fiance/spousal visa requirement of having an income above 125% poverty for minimum 2-3 years?

- does he need to be employed for a year? if youre going to compute his hourly wage, he will have an income above 125%

I highly suggest you plan to meet in Philippines for minimum 1 week together, take LOTS of pictures together and some of him with your family, save all identifying receipts such as airline boarding passes, bus tickets, hotel reservation/receipts, retail receipts with names or debit/credit card last 4 numbers. Wait till he has at least 1 full year of income tax statements above 125% poverty level before he files your visa petition!

-We will meet in the Philippines and yes we plan on doing all of those you've mentioned, what if he doesnt have a full year of income tax, is there any other option we can do?

[NikLR 13,220]

what additional paperworks will that be?

K1 requires an Adjustment of status. Both k1 and CR1 will need the removal of conditions you gain LPR status before your 2 year wedding anniversary.

[YoungRL 4]

what additional paperworks will that be?

See this guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/751guide

Edited June 24, 2016 by YoungRL

[Meg&Andrew 297]

I'm in the same situation. My boyfriend is Filipino, and I'm an American woman (whom can not enter Saudi) First, if you are living in Saudi you will not be interviewing at the embassy in the Philippines. You will interview at the embassy in Riyhad. Also, due to me not being able to travel to Saudi, we instead spent time in Bahrain which is about a 30 min drive from Saudi. This could save you a lot of money if you have a re-entry visa for Saudi. Considering you are planning on going to the Philippines, I'm assuming you do.

[Meg&Andrew 297]

OP If your fiance does not have a job or only a recent job, how does he expect to qualify for the fiance/spousal visa requirement of having an income above 125% poverty for minimum 2-3 years?

- does he need to be employed for a year? if youre going to compute his hourly wage, he will have an income above 125%

I highly suggest you plan to meet in Philippines for minimum 1 week together, take LOTS of pictures together and some of him with your family, save all identifying receipts such as airline boarding passes, bus tickets, hotel reservation/receipts, retail receipts with names or debit/credit card last 4 numbers. Wait till he has at least 1 full year of income tax statements above 125% poverty level before he files your visa petition!

-We will meet in the Philippines and yes we plan on doing all of those you've mentioned, what if he doesnt have a full year of income tax, is there any other option we can do?

Can't he just get a co-sponsor for the I-134f and I-864?

[Kastrs 723]

ok so cr1 it is. thanks!

@Kastrs the thing is, after the marriage, he wants to file it right away... is that a red flag too?

****

okay, revising my post from K3 since this is obsolete to CR-1 (thanks for telling me this)

As I stated if you are planning to meet once and only once, you are safer filing a K1, but if you will get married now and then have a few more visits prior to your interview this should be ok

just as an FYI I married my husband about a week after we met in person after having chatted online for about a year and a half, I had 3 visits total before our interview going through Islamabad, we had no issues , and I filed the petition about a month after we were married (when I returned to the US)

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

I agree with the rest, you need to meet to know the person especially with the differences in culture (even though he is pinoy)