Same sex couple - Should we apply for K1 now or wait?

[Mark1973 0]

Hi. My boyfriend is Chinese and I'm an American working in China. My boyfriend applied for a tourist visa last summer (June 2017) and a student (F1) visa this month (May 2018). Both times he has been rejected. We would like to apply for the Fiance (K1) visa but have been advised by friends that we should wait. (Maybe a 1 year!) Their rationale is that if he applies for another visa so soon it might be looked at that he is so desperate to get into the USA and is "visa hopping" so our application will be held up or denied. As we're a same sex couple applying, I'm afraid that alone might raise a red flag!  I'm leaving China this summer to return to the USA and don't know what to do. Can we apply immediately for the K1 visa or is it advisable to wait?

Thank you in advance for your advice :-)

[Roel 7,191]

Get married in China and apply for spouse visa - CR1 . Imo that's a better option. He would be able to work and travel upon arrival to the US. 

 

And waiting times for k1 and cr1 are both long anyway. 

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

Applying for other visa's will usually not affect your K1 or CR1 chances. All you need to do is make sure you can prove your relationship is legit, which isn't a big deal if it is. The fact that you are living in the same country makes things easier as you can easily prove that you have been together. Maybe you have both your names on a lease or bank account.

So no need to wait filing.

On the other hand, I agree with Roel. A CR1 is probably a better option due to the timelines and the ability to travel and work (and study!) upon arrival in stead of waiting for the EAD/AP.

Check out both of them here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

 

 

[Crazy Cat 39,561]

I agree with @Roel.  Get married in China, submit CR-1 paperwork. 

 

K-1

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until he receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

Edited May 28, 2018 by missileman

[teppanyaki1 27]

5 hours ago, Roel said:

Get married in China and apply for spouse visa - CR1 . Imo that's a better option. He would be able to work and travel upon arrival to the US. 

 

And waiting times for k1 and cr1 are both long anyway. 

 

If they are a same sex couple.. they won't be able to get married in China. China does not recognise same-sex marriage. Your best bet may be finding another country (i.e Argentina) where your boyfriend can get a visa to, and then get married there, then apply for CR1.

[Crazy Cat 39,561]

8 minutes ago, teppanyaki1 said:

 

If they are a same sex couple.. they won't be able to get married in China. China does not recognise same-sex marriage. Your best bet may be finding another country (i.e Argentina) where your boyfriend can get a visa to, and then get married there, then apply for CR1.

Oh, I missed that........well, Taiwan is close by......

[Peot 134]

6 hours ago, Mark1973 said:

Hi. My boyfriend is Chinese and I'm an American working in China. My boyfriend applied for a tourist visa last summer (June 2017) and a student (F1) visa this month (May 2018). Both times he has been rejected. We would like to apply for the Fiance (K1) visa but have been advised by friends that we should wait. (Maybe a 1 year!) Their rationale is that if he applies for another visa so soon it might be looked at that he is so desperate to get into the USA and is "visa hopping" so our application will be held up or denied. As we're a same sex couple applying, I'm afraid that alone might raise a red flag!  I'm leaving China this summer to return to the USA and don't know what to do. Can we apply immediately for the K1 visa or is it advisable to wait?

Thank you in advance for your advice :-)

The bigger red flag would be the previous denials for visa, depending on what they were denied for, not that it's a same sex marriage. 

Edited May 28, 2018 by Peot

[Mark1973 0]

7 hours ago, Roel said:

Get married in China and apply for spouse visa - CR1 . Imo that's a better option. He would be able to work and travel upon arrival to the US. 

 

And waiting times for k1 and cr1 are both long anyway. 

Unfortunately in China, same sex couples can't marry. The fiancee visa is our last hope.

[Diane and Chris 651]

2 hours ago, teppanyaki1 said:

 

If they are a same sex couple.. they won't be able to get married in China. China does not recognise same-sex marriage. Your best bet may be finding another country (i.e Argentina) where your boyfriend can get a visa to, and then get married there, then apply for CR1.

I was thinking the same thing. That’s too bad. How long does it take to get a visa from China to one of these other countries?  Any idea?  

[bakphx1 785]

You may want to see if you can do  Direct Consular Filing.  I did a quick check and it  looks like China is a country where it can be done.

 

You also have to be married. The ability to do that depends on how long you will stay in China. And your residency status.

 

My husband and I got married in Iceland, because it allows same-sex marriage and you can also file all of the paperwork ahead of time as opposed to having to arrive 2 weeks ahead of time in person. A lot of countries with same-sex marriage still have the regular marriage requirements which in many countries is that one of the participants be a citizen of that country.

[jlc201 47]

Don't worry about the "visa hopping" issue. All of that is ignored when applying for a K1 (or CR1) visa. Assuming that he applied for the Tourist and Student visas so that he could visit you in the US, it may even make your application look stronger. The most important thing with the K1 application is presenting proof of a true, committed relationship. If you are able to provide photos together, notarized affidavits from friends/family attesting to your relationship as a couple, and (best of all) proof of financial interdependence (joint bank accounts, joint lease, etc.) then you will be fine. If you don't have the latter items, don't worry about that either, as the K1 visa is for people planning to join their lives together so if you have not yet been able to accumulate any of those things (and can offer reasonable explanations, for example that you are living together but local restrictions prevent you from listing your boyfriend on a lease, opening a joint account, etc.) you are still fine.  As far as I know, China is not considered a high-risk country for marriage fraud so if you are able to attend the interview together, show that you are a true couple, can talk reasonably about how you met, your life together, etc., you should have no problem. Also, it's a long process, so don't delay in getting started.

[geowrian 22,336]

I wouldn't say visa shopping is ignored, just that it doesn't apply here with only a tourist visa application and a student visa application. If the CO believes one is desperate to get to the US, it will likely raise scrutiny of the relationship. But again...I don't see it as an issue here.

 

Affidavits carry very little to no weight. If you have little other relationship evidence, then it's fine to include them as it's better than nothing. Otherwise, I'd say focus on things the CO can actually verify (time spent physically together, regular communications, communications with family, etc.). The issues with affidavits are 1) the CO cannot verify if the statements are true, and 2) no rational person submits a negative one.

 

Regarding the K-1 vs CR-1, it seems like the same sex issue is the limiting factor with getting married in China. You can get married outside China, although I'm not aware if there are consequences for doing so once you return to China (it's fine for the US, but you still need to deal with China in the meantime). If so, this may be a situation where the K-1 is the better option.

[mcdull 474]

I would be curious to find out the reason why your bf’s visa applications were rejected.  US issues Mainlanders visa very generously, I believe the B visa refusal rate was 7-9%ish. And F visa approval rate there is very high as well. 

 

You can can apply for K1 if you are going to marry him. 

[Coco8 1,039]

I will add to the spousal visa advantage. If for any reason it gets denied at the consulate, it will go back to USCIS, then back to the consulate were you get a second chance. The K1 does not have this advantage. Also, if you are living in China yourself, then you probably can still work and live there while waiting for the spousal visa. The other advantage of the spousal visa, as said above, is that it is cheaper and he will get a green card immediately. With a K1 you still have to apply for a green card once you marry in the US and it is taking longer and longer. 

 

With DFC the spousal visa will be super fast as well.

 

 

[EandH0904 1,184]

1 hour ago, mcdull said:

I would be curious to find out the reason why your bf’s visa applications were rejected.  US issues Mainlanders visa very generously, I believe the B visa refusal rate was 7-9%ish. And F visa approval rate there is very high as well. 

 

You can can apply for K1 if you are going to marry him. 

Uscis reports China refusal rate of 12.35%