Filing K1 From Abroad

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

43 minutes ago, missileman said:

Your attorney was possibly very wrong........

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US (currently about 3 months sooner)

Just a minor nitpick, as for couples currently living together abroad a spousal visa is almost always the better choice, especially if the beneficiary is from a VWP country, but ... the end to end times on VJ are about 4.5 months different right now (and they're trailing indicators, as they don't get new data until people actually have their interview), and CR-1/IR-1 processing times are trending up while K-1 processing times are trending down.

[Crazy Cat 39,600]

2 minutes ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Just a minor nitpick, as for couples currently living together abroad a spousal visa is almost always the better choice, especially if the beneficiary is from a VWP country, but ... the end to end times on VJ are about 4.5 months different right now (and they're trailing indicators, as they don't get new data until people actually have their interview), and CR-1/IR-1 processing times are trending up while K-1 processing times are trending down.

Noted....I'll modify my list.....I agree that if a couple is going to be together during the process, then choosing a CR-1 is a no-brainer for most couple, I would think.....

[payxibka 10,044]

It's all about making an informed decision 

[ineedadisplayname 443]

Could they do Direct Consular Filing in Ireland?

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/united-kingdom-uscis-london-field-office

 

[ineedadisplayname 443]

17 hours ago, Murphy1994 said:

Hi! 

 

My situation is a bit different to most of the situations I’m reading about online so I’m hoping someone here can help!

 

To cut a long story short, I was engaged to my fiancé for a while (a dual Irish and American citizen living in Ireland for the past number of years), he then got a job offer in America and we thought we would go ahead with our wedding as normal and do the spouse visa. After seeking legal advice, we were advised on delaying the wedding and applying for the K1 visa.

 

We are applying for a K1 visa from Ireland as he has not been able to move yet. My question is for people in a similar situation what evidence did anyone supply along with your application? As we are living between our two homes in the same town we don’t have a lot of the typical evidence such as proof of visits to each other’s home countries.  I have a lot of photos with us in them and I have hotel/flight/bus tickets from  holidays we’ve been on and various show tickets. 

 

Should that be enough? Also does your intent to marry/your statement on how you met have to signed by a solicitor? 

 

Thank you all so much!

Not sure if that would work, but might be worth a shot to reach out and ask if you qualify for Direct Consular Filing since you currently reside in Ireland.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/united-kingdom-uscis-london-field-office

[payxibka 10,044]

50 minutes ago, ineedadisplayname said:

Could they do Direct Consular Filing in Ireland?

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/united-kingdom-uscis-london-field-office

 

Not available 

[treppenwitz 78]

2 hours ago, ineedadisplayname said:

Could they do Direct Consular Filing in Ireland?

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/united-kingdom-uscis-london-field-office

 

2 hours ago, ineedadisplayname said:

Not sure if that would work, but might be worth a shot to reach out and ask if you qualify for Direct Consular Filing since you currently reside in Ireland.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/united-kingdom-uscis-london-field-office

Not likely; must meet strict criteria:

Quote

U.S. citizens residing in this field office’s jurisdiction but outside of the United Kingdom may file with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate having jurisdiction over the U.S. citizen's place of residence if the USCIS London field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances.

https://www.uscis.gov/content/nativedoc/process-responding-request-dos-accept-locally-filed-form-i-130-petition-alien-relative

[treppenwitz 78]

19 hours ago, Murphy1994 said:

Really? It was initial plan to apply for the spousal visa however an immigration attorney advised us this would be a better way. 

Spousal is better. I don't know how straightforward and/or quick the marriage process is in Ireland. But alternatives include:

• Gibraltar - http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/getting-married
• Denmark - https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/how-get-married-copenhagen
• Iceland - https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/getting-married-in-iceland

[ineedadisplayname 443]

10 minutes ago, treppenwitz said:

 

Not likely; must meet strict criteria:

https://www.uscis.gov/content/nativedoc/process-responding-request-dos-accept-locally-filed-form-i-130-petition-alien-relative

You are correct. It was too early for my brain LOL. Sorry about it. 

[Ash&Jaye 159]

I lived abroad in England when my husband and I filed for the K-1. And thinking back to it now, it probably would have made more sense for us to do a spousal visa because we have been in California since August and he hasn't been able to work the whole time. I would honestly go with your initial plan. Immigration lawyers are not always the best source of truth!  

[Ck207 35]

20 hours ago, Murphy1994 said:

Hi! 

 

My situation is a bit different to most of the situations I’m reading about online so I’m hoping someone here can help!

 

To cut a long story short, I was engaged to my fiancé for a while (a dual Irish and American citizen living in Ireland for the past number of years), he then got a job offer in America and we thought we would go ahead with our wedding as normal and do the spouse visa. After seeking legal advice, we were advised on delaying the wedding and applying for the K1 visa.

 

We are applying for a K1 visa from Ireland as he has not been able to move yet. My question is for people in a similar situation what evidence did anyone supply along with your application? As we are living between our two homes in the same town we don’t have a lot of the typical evidence such as proof of visits to each other’s home countries.  I have a lot of photos with us in them and I have hotel/flight/bus tickets from  holidays we’ve been on and various show tickets. 

 

Should that be enough? Also does your intent to marry/your statement on how you met have to signed by a solicitor? 

 

Thank you all so much!

My husband and I were both living in VN when we filed K1 visa. 

We submitted: 

- our picture 

- trip we take 

- letter from friends and family 

- plan to get married 

- he filed tax even though he was not in the US. You can still file it, if it is under 100k/ year, you do not need to pay tax. 

- and other evidence. 

 

We got approved pretty quickly. 

[Jessica Donahue 34]

22 hours ago, Murphy1994 said:

Hi! 

 

My situation is a bit different to most of the situations I’m reading about online so I’m hoping someone here can help!

 

To cut a long story short, I was engaged to my fiancé for a while (a dual Irish and American citizen living in Ireland for the past number of years), he then got a job offer in America and we thought we would go ahead with our wedding as normal and do the spouse visa. After seeking legal advice, we were advised on delaying the wedding and applying for the K1 visa.

 

We are applying for a K1 visa from Ireland as he has not been able to move yet. My question is for people in a similar situation what evidence did anyone supply along with your application? As we are living between our two homes in the same town we don’t have a lot of the typical evidence such as proof of visits to each other’s home countries.  I have a lot of photos with us in them and I have hotel/flight/bus tickets from  holidays we’ve been on and various show tickets. 

 

Should that be enough? Also does your intent to marry/your statement on how you met have to signed by a solicitor? 

 

Thank you all so much!

My wife and I were living in Mexico together when we did the K1 (we would have done the spousal visa if marriage in Mexico had been an option for us). We were living together, so we submitted those documents along with the documents you mentioned.

 

People have been approved with less, but I prefer to front load and suggest that you consider the following:

• Use word or photoshop to bring the documents for particular trips together and create a narrative. If you make it easier for the officer to grasp the narrative of your relationship, it helps them to navigate it.
• Consider section dividers that list contents and give a brief explanation of why you are including particular evidence.
• Use bank both statements to help prove trips together (highlight the important entries)
• Use phone records to prove constant communication
• Include a selection text messages that show regular communication
• If you have letters that were sent to the two of you, scan and include them
• We included things like art exhibit tickets and concert tickets along with pictures from the event.

In the end, I am sure we included way more evidence than was necessary, but it was helpful for later processes and it was a kind of celebration of our time together.

 

Good luck!

Edited May 9, 2019 by Jessica Donahue

[treppenwitz 78]

21 minutes ago, Jessica Donahue said:

My wife and I were living in Mexico together when we did the K1 (we would have done the spousal visa if marriage in Mexico had been an option for us).

Curious; has the following changed in CDMX? http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/21/mexico.gay.marriage/index.html

[wxman22 109]

On 5/8/2019 at 1:10 PM, Huckleberry&Koala said:

When we apply for K1, our main purpose was to be together asap, and there was like 6 months difference between CR1 and K1, so we didn't care about the fees, didn't care about me not being able to work or travel here for a while, or aos stage. However, now what I see is that the only advantage of K1 looks like not existing anymore, there are slight time differences in the visa stage. For sure, it is up to the current situation of couples, but if I applied now, we probably would go with CR1. Attorneys may not be aware of current timelines, and still assume K1 is faster. Just my two cents...

We too.

Missleman and all above have stated the case well.

 

Having said that, I was in your situation in that I was already in Vietnam when we decided to do the K-1.

 

I flew back to the USA to submit it. 

[Jessica Donahue 34]

On 5/9/2019 at 11:15 AM, treppenwitz said:

Curious; has the following changed in CDMX? http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/21/mexico.gay.marriage/index.html

Nope, you can still get married in CDMX if you are a resident of the city. There are a few other places too, but none of them are recognized outside of the areas where they are legalized.