Is K1 interview in US possible???

[vistawateraz 27]

Was curious if anyone has been able to have their K1 interview in the US instead of the foreign consulate?  My fiance' is here on a B2 visa until February 2019, and our I-129 was just approved by USCIS on August 16th. I have a feeling that going back to her country for the interview will be mandatory, but was just wondering.

 

Dan 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

No.

 

The whole point of any visa is that it is used to legally enter the US for a specific purpose. You can't be granted a visa and you can't use it to enter if you are already in the US. The government needs to control from outside the US who gets to enter, why they are entering and when they get to enter. There is no way to skirt the way this process works.

 

Getting a green card (different from a visa) from inside the US is called adjustment of status, which will be the second part of the overall K1 process after the K1 fiance(e) enters the K1 and marries the US citizen petitioner within 90 days. If you have not already done so, please read the guide on adjustment of status on this website as your journey is not over when the K1 visa is approved.

 

I also just wanna add that since she is here on B2, she is required to go back to her home country anyway.

Edited September 14, 2018 by mushroomspore

[Roel 7,191]

16 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

Was curious if anyone has been able to have their K1 interview in the US instead of the foreign consulate?  My fiance' is here on a B2 visa until February 2019, and our I-129 was just approved by USCIS on August 16th. I have a feeling that going back to her country for the interview will be mandatory, but was just wondering.

 

Dan 

Just use common sense -

You can't get a visa in the US for the purpose of entering the US...

 

She also need to do medical exam in her country.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

No. There are no US embassies inside the US. 

[TM92 527]

39 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

Was curious if anyone has been able to have their K1 interview in the US instead of the foreign consulate?

No; the K-1 interview can only be done abroad.

Assuming she entered the US without prior intent to AOS, you can legally marry and file AOS; below is an analysis of B-2 AOS vs K-1 AOS:

B-2 AOS

• Will need to pay $535 I-130 fee (I-485 can be filed concurrently with the I-130)
• Civil Surgeon medical tends to be expensive (usually a lot more than medicals abroad)
• Will not be able to receive a Social Security Number at the beginning (an ITIN might be possible)
• In theory, will get green card faster than process below. But, the I-130 will have to be processed, so this could be a wash

K-1 AOS

• Will need to pay embassy fees (way less than $535)
• Will be able to receive a Social Security Number after US entry with K-1

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

Edited September 14, 2018 by TM92

[geowrian 22,335]

As stated above, visas are for entering the US. Visas are issued by a consulate or embassy. There are no US consulates or embassies within the US.

[mushroomspore 3,043]

4 minutes ago, TM92 said:

No; the K-1 interview can only be done abroad.

Assuming she entered the US without prior intent to AOS, you can legally marry and file AOS; below is an analysis of B-2 AOS vs K-1 AOS:

B-2 AOS

• Will need to pay $535 I-130 fee (I-485 can be filed concurrently with the I-130)
• Will not be able to receive a Social Security Number at the beginning (an ITIN might be possible)
• In theory, will get green card faster than process below. But, the I-130 will have to be processed, so this could be a wash

K-1 AOS

• Will need to pay embassy fees (way less than $535)
• Will be able to receive a Social Security Number after US entry with K-1

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

I guess technically OP could do this but their K1 petition has already been approved and they're waiting for the K1 interview and will have to file AoS later on. Marrying now and filing AoS now would only complicate things as they would have to cancel the K1, which takes time and probably cause questions and scrutiny.

[TM92 527]

7 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

I guess technically OP could do this but their K1 petition has already been approved and they're waiting for the K1 interview and will have to file AoS later on. Marrying now and filing AoS now would only complicate things as they would have to cancel the K1, which takes time and probably cause questions and scrutiny.

Of course, I agree. That's why I was nudging the OP to continue the K-1: "the K-1 AOS is superior, imo." I also edited my post late to mention the usually expensive US Civil Surgeon medical.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,369]

17 minutes ago, TM92 said:

No; the K-1 interview can only be done abroad.

Assuming she entered the US without prior intent to AOS, you can legally marry and file AOS; below is an analysis of B-2 AOS vs K-1 AOS:

B-2 AOS

• Will need to pay $535 I-130 fee (I-485 can be filed concurrently with the I-130)
• Civil Surgeon medical tends to be expensive (usually a lot more than medicals abroad)
• Will not be able to receive a Social Security Number at the beginning (an ITIN might be possible)
• In theory, will get green card faster than process below. But, the I-130 will have to be processed, so this could be a wash

K-1 AOS

• Will need to pay embassy fees (way less than $535)
• Will be able to receive a Social Security Number after US entry with K-1

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

I'd disagree over K-1 AOS being superior. It will take longer, for one. They need to be separated again. What about the cost of air ticket to come back to the US if they choose to continue with the K-1?

[TM92 527]

11 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

They need to be separated again. What about the cost of air ticket to come back to the US if they choose to continue with the K-1?

Yup; my analysis is a work in progress(In the future I might omit the "All-in-all, the K-1 AOS is superior, imo" part)

A B-2 AOS will also not require a plane ticket to South Africa (i.e. they can try to cancel her ticket, if she has one). So that's a potential savings of 2 plane tickets per traveler.

Edited September 14, 2018 by TM92

[vistawateraz 27]

Since our K1 is already in process (on it's way to NVC), getting married on her B2 and filing an AOS sounds kinda risky...  Should probably just stay the course and have her fly home after interview is scheduled.  I was just hoping there was a way for her to not go back to SA.

 

Thanks for all the insight and responses!

 

Dan

[TM92 527]

5 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

getting married on her B2 and filing an AOS sounds kinda risky...

I don't see a risk, it's 100% legal; she will have "authorized stay" allowed by the US Attorney General when she files for AOS (either B-2 or K-1). It is illegal when there was prior intent at POE to AOS with B-2. For example, CBP asks the purpose of visit at entry and omitting prior intent to AOS is willful misrepresentation. But choosing to AOS when already in the US is 100% legal.

[vistawateraz 27]

We filed out K1 back in April when she was here for a Feb-August stay.  She had to leave a month early and returned late August with a leave date of Feb 2019 (we told immigration that she was my fiance, he saw her B2 visa), so they knew why she was here. We never planned on submitting an AOS because we were waiting for the K1 to be approved. So if we get married now, would it look like visa abuse, or is the fact that a K1 is already in process proof that we're serious? How long is "authorized stay"?  We're close to finishing this off (maybe a few months away), but I'd just like to avoid the trip back to SA and all the associated hassles.  

[TM92 527]

20 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

So if we get married now, would it look like visa abuse, or is the fact that a K1 is already in process proof that we're serious?

Again, only illegal if she lied or omitted material facts to CBP at POE.

20 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

How long is "authorized stay"?

Begins when USCIS accepts her I-485 and sends her a receipt (NOA1) and ends when USCIS makes a decision on the I-485 (either approval or denial). The NOA1 is proof of her "authorized stay."

Edited September 14, 2018 by TM92

[geowrian 22,335]

I'll just add this for consideration as well, as a potential consequence of doing AOS instead of completing the K-1 process.