Need advice for me & foreign GF

[AndranikB 4]

So my girlfriend is from Brazil & I intend to propose to her around this coming August when I visit her. I figure we could get married here in the US when she comes to visit me (she does have a tourist visa) the following December. I want to know what you all think would be the best path in terms of logistics and legalities for us.

 

Option 1

If and when I propose, should we hold off on the marriage bit and only apply for a fiance (K-1) visa?

Because this takes normally like 6 months to a year, would she be allowed to visit me on her tourist visa while we wait for processing? I assume we'd apply right after I propose in August, but I'm not sure if that would jeopardize our plans for her to visit me the following December. 

 

Option 2

Should we get married here when she visits me in December, then apply for a spouse visa after she returns to Brazil (since she has a tourist visa, and evidently the government doesn't like it when people get married on tourist visas)?

 

Incredibly Hypothetical & Unlikely Option 3

Is it possible at all (legally) for us to get married here and her be able to stay here and then we apply for change of status and all that? I know she can not enter the US on a tourist visa with the intent of being married, so let's assume I never tell her that idea, and I kind of like surprise here with a small wedding or something when she comes. Therefore, she wouldn't know beforehand until she came here, and by virtue of that it wouldn't be illegal. I know this idea can be pretty far fetched, but I just want to be with her.

 

Additional question:

She used to have a student visa for here, does that mean she likely has all the medical and vaccination requirements for these visas beforehand and could be exempt because of that?

 

What do you guys think? 

Thanks!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

One or two only.  She doesn't know about 3 beforehand but you do, still illegal.  I'd go with the k1.  She will need a new medical but not likely new vaccines.

[KierenHby 899]

Option 1 yes

Option 2 yes (no issues getting married on a B2; the issue is overstaying)

Option 3.. don't 

[AndranikB 4]

Thank you for you opinions.

KierenHby, would we be able to apply for spousal visa while she is still here on her trip, and she goes back to Brazil at a different time? Her visa allows her to stay for 90 days. So lets say we went with option 2, and lets say we got married after like her being here for 20 days. Would we be able to apply for the spousal, she stays here for some time, and then she goes back before the 90 days are up? 

[KierenHby 899]

4 minutes ago, AndranikB said:

Thank you for you opinions.

KierenHby, would we be able to apply for spousal visa while she is still here on her trip, and she goes back to Brazil at a different time? Her visa allows her to stay for 90 days. So lets say we went with option 2, and lets say we got married after like her being here for 20 days. Would we be able to apply for the spousal, she stays here for some time, and then she goes back before the 90 days are up? 

Absolutely 

[Ryan H 3,813]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum.

[nightingalejules 678]

My opinion would be that you'd be best off getting married and applying for CR1. The K1 will probably get her to the US a little faster but then she can't work or leave the country or (most likely) get a driver's licence until the adjustment of status (after getting the marriage certificate) is complete. That can be really stressful. 

 

She can, theoretically, come to visit you during either of those processes, but it's by no means guaranteed. Lots of people with pending K1s and CR1s are denied visitor visas.

 

So my suggestion, like most of the above, would be to plan the wedding, have all the rest of your paperwork ready, get married as soon as possible after she arrives, then file the I-130 to start the CR1 process. She stays as long as she can with her tourist visa, then returns home to wait, and maintains as many ties (job, apartment, etc, etc) to her home country as possible, to make it as obvious as possible that she won't try to immigrate until her visa is approved. This is the best way to be approved for tourist visas while your CR1 is processing.