Fiancé visa or spouse visa for my fiancé in Morocco

[Soulfulliving 0]

Hi everyone, 

 

I appreciate all the information I’ve found on this site and thankful that we can all help each other. I met my boyfriend in July 2011 and we really connected. Ever since then, I have been going to visit him 2-3 times a year and we’ve gotten to the point where we want to settle down in the same place and have a family. He lives in Morocco and I’m originally from Morocco as well. I’m 26 and he’s 38. I’ve recently gotten a good job where I can finally support the both of us here. I just don’t know if I should go to Morocco and marry him or file for a k-1 visa. He lives in Casablanca and I heard about certain complications there and I just want to make sure we get approved as I’ve been on this journey with him since 2011. We met in 2011 and I had wanted him since but we didn’t start really dating until 2013/2014. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all and God bless.  

[RJandHamid 1,140]

My Moroccan husband successfully arrived on a K1 fiancé visa this past summer. With that said, I don't really recommend going the K1 route if the beneficiary is from Morocco. The Casablanca consulate is pretty tough when it comes to visas, especially the K1. The spousal visa is just the better option overall, as it is ultimately cheaper and the beneficiary can work and travel right away instead of paying an additional AOS fee and waiting months before getting the green card and work permit. Also, in case the beneficiary is denied/refused the visa, you have the option to reaffirm a CR1 petition, unlike the K1 where once it's denied, you need to start all over.

[Soulfulliving 0]

2 minutes ago, RJandHamid said:

My Moroccan husband successfully arrived on a K1 fiancé visa this past summer. With that said, I don't really recommend going the K1 route if the beneficiary is from Morocco. The Casablanca consulate is pretty tough when it comes to visas, especially the K1. The spousal visa is just the better option overall, as it is ultimately cheaper and the beneficiary can work and travel right away instead of paying an additional AOS fee and waiting months before getting the green card and work permit. Also, in case the beneficiary is denied/refused the visa, you have the option to reaffirm a CR1 petition, unlike the K1 where once it's denied, you need to start all over.

Thank you so much dear RJandHamid, I do believe the Moroccan consulate is very tough from what I’ve read and the spousal visa is the way to go. I just know it takes a little longer but ultimately it’s better to be patient and wait rather than be denied and have to start all over again. I’ll have to make plans to go to Morocco as soon as possible and marry him so that I can file for the spousal visa. 

I also forgot to mention that he’s my third cousin, I don’t know if that would complicate things.

 

 

 

[RJandHamid 1,140]

3 minutes ago, Soulfulliving said:

Thank you so much dear RJandHamid, I do believe the Moroccan consulate is very tough from what I’ve read and the spousal visa is the way to go. I just know it takes a little longer but ultimately it’s better to be patient and wait rather than be denied and have to start all over again. I’ll have to make plans to go to Morocco as soon as possible and marry him so that I can file for the spousal visa. 

I also forgot to mention that he’s my third cousin, I don’t know if that would complicate things.

 

 

 

Honestly the K1 visa is taking longer and longer these days anyway. K1 petitions are taking an average of 7-9 months for visa in hand, and CR1 is anywhere between 9-14 months. I'm pretty sure marriage between 3rd cousins is legal in all 50 states, so that shouldn't be an issue. 

[No-Where-Man 147]

59 minutes ago, Soulfulliving said:

Thank you so much dear RJandHamid, I do believe the Moroccan consulate is very tough from what I’ve read and the spousal visa is the way to go. I just know it takes a little longer but ultimately it’s better to be patient and wait rather than be denied and have to start all over again. I’ll have to make plans to go to Morocco as soon as possible and marry him so that I can file for the spousal visa. 

I also forgot to mention that he’s my third cousin, I don’t know if that would complicate things.

 

 

 

Actually being a 3rd cousin is an advantage not the opposite. US consulates abroad look to the norms within the culture. In MENA area, it is pretty common and actually the very normal for relatives to marry. Having reasonable age gap, same religion is also a plus and confine with what they assume normal. Usually issues arise when the petitioner, the US citizen, is a female who is much older than the male beneficiary. Also, not sharing same religion, and if the US citizen have kids raise doubt. Not to say that these are grounds of denial, but this happens. 

Edited November 26, 2017 by No-Where-Man

[Possiblymaybe 371]

I think you would be fine to apply for the K1. The Casa consulate is difficult because it sees a lot of unusual cases with large age gaps and people applying after spending a week together. Given that you are Moroccan, younger than your fiancé, and have known him several years, I don’t think you will have any issues with a fiancé visa. It would be important to front load your application with proof of the number of visits and their frequency. Best of luck to you!

Edited November 26, 2017 by jenafid

[Boiler 48,257]

Totally different to the usual case we see here so I would not pay too much attention to other cases.