Fiancée on J1

[n7andromeda 0]

Hi y'all,

 

I'm a US citizen, and met my girlfriend/fiancée last November, when she was visiting the US for a conference on her B1/B2. She's in the US right now, and I asked her to marry me. Including the time she's been in the US and being here now, and other traveling she needs to do for conferences, her J1 2-year requirement is up in Sept, and from my understanding, she can't file for any AOS until after then We talked to an immigration attorney, but the advice seemed to be a bit "coded" to me - she is coming back in Oct for another conference, on that same B1/B2. But, if we decide to get married then, even though she's coming for a conference, it would need to be after the 90 day advisory period because of intent... does this seem correct? Or in that case, does it even matter since the main reason is for something else? I know if she just leaves the country afterwards it doesn't matter, but if just decides not to and file for the adjustment, I'm guessing to be (relatively) safe, it should be after the 90 day?

 

Thanks!

Edited February 3, 2018 by n7andromeda

[geowrian 22,337]

If she leaves the country and returns on a tourist visa with the intent to AOS, that is fraud. There is no 90 day rule for AOS.

[n7andromeda 0]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

If she leaves the country and returns on a tourist visa with the intent to AOS, that is fraud. There is no 90 day rule for AOS.

Gotcha. So that leaves K1 basically?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, n7andromeda said:

Gotcha. So that leaves K1 basically?

Or marry and do a CR-1. She is allowed to marry and still visit.

[geowrian 22,337]

The other option is to apply for a waiver on the 2 year requirement.

 

Either way, she can start the process now and deal with the 2 year part later. Given current timelines, the 2 year requirement should be well over by the time her interview comes along.

Edited February 3, 2018 by geowrian

[n7andromeda 0]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Or marry and do a CR-1. She is allowed to marry and still visit.

Ah the lawyer did not mentioned that

 

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

The other option is to apply for a waiver on the 2 year requirement.

Yeah, we're looking into this, but it seems like it might not be possible, esp with so little time left on the requirement.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, n7andromeda said:

Yeah, we're looking into this, but it seems like it might not be possible, esp with so little time left on the requirement.

I edited my post above to point out something obvious that I overlooked in my response...both the K-1 and CR-1 process would go out past Sept anyway. So the 2 year part isn’t really an issue. You can file now for a K-1 or marry and file for CR-1.

Edited February 3, 2018 by geowrian

[n7andromeda 0]

Just now, geowrian said:

I edited my post above to point out something obviously that I overlooked in my response...both and. K-1 and CR-1 process would go out past Sept anyway. So the 2 year part isn’t really an issue. You can file now for a K-1 or marry and file for CR-1.

I was looking into that, it seemed a bit ambiguous to me - doing the application now doesn't 'harm' the J1 state at the moment? And is the K-1 time period relatively "fixed' - so we could plan a wedding date, etc and stuff with a somewhat fixed date?

[JFH 12,190]

5 minutes ago, n7andromeda said:

And is the K-1 time period relatively "fixed' - so we could plan a wedding date, etc and stuff with a somewhat fixed date?

No, most definitely not. Do not plan anything until the visa is issued. Timescales very hugely from one case to another to the point where it is as good as impossible to say when the visa will be issued. Have you considered the CR-1? It has many more advantages than the K-1.

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, n7andromeda said:

I was looking into that, it seemed a bit ambiguous to me - doing the application now doesn't 'harm' the J1 state at the moment? And is the K-1 time period relatively "fixed' - so we could plan a wedding date, etc and stuff with a somewhat fixed date?

It won’t harm it at all. Absolute worst case is the interview is before the 2 year period and the visa is refused until the requirement is met. Keep in mind 1) there’s no realistic way the process would move that fast without significant processing speeds, and 2) you can delay the process for up to a year after I-129F approval...so you can schedule the interview once she is good.

 

Current K-1 processing timelines are 9-12 months, but this has been shifting significantly over the past year. In late 2016, it was about 3-4 months total. In late 2017 it was up to 7-10 months. It’s unlikely to shift down that much so quickly, but anything is possible. A golden rule is to never plan for something that you are not willing to change until the visa is on hand. Most K-1 filers do not plan a big wedding because of this (or have to make costly change of plans as a result).

[n7andromeda 0]

It's a good thing we don't want anything big  This attorney we talked to seems to be have been almost completely useless.

 

I'm going to look into the K1 as well, thanks y'all!

Edited February 3, 2018 by n7andromeda

[geowrian 22,337]

Best wishes!!