Spouse visa / getting married in US on travel visa

[millefleur 5,037]

15 hours ago, Annevilwill said:

So when the borders are open, we were thinking to get married in Russia

Getting married in Russia with a US citizen can take time (roughly 2-3 months for all the prep and waiting) and given Covid and the fact that you're both living in China, I'm not sure how feasible it is for your situation but if you're curious, see my post about it here:

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by millefleur

[pushbrk 12,127]

5 hours ago, Adventine said:

Given that they can't get married in China and any attempt to leave mainland China now will mean a one-way trip for OP and fiancé, this does sound like one of those rare situations where a K1 visa is a better choice than a spousal.

It sounds like it MIGHT be, depending on their priorities.  K1 means the visa holder will need to stay in the USA without working for approximately 9 months.  That's a deal killer for some.

[pushbrk 12,127]

35 minutes ago, millefleur said:

 

Getting married in Russia with a US citizen can take time (roughly 2-3 months for all the prep and waiting) and given Covid and the fact that you're both living in China, I'm not sure how feasible it is for your situation but if you're curious, see my post about it here:

I've also seen US Citizens completely fail to get married in Russia and other FSU countries even after staying several months.  It's not a sure thing at all.

[millefleur 5,037]

14 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I've also seen US Citizens completely fail to get married in Russia and other FSU countries even after staying several months.  It's not a sure thing at all.

I've known multiple US citizens who got married in Russia without issue (including myself.) I've never heard of anyone having a problem. It could be different in really remote areas of Russia though, where things are less modernized than in the cities.

[pushbrk 12,127]

5 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I've known multiple US citizens who got married in Russia without issue (including myself.) I've never heard of anyone having a problem. It could be different in really remote areas of Russia though, where things are less modernized than in the cities.

Yes, it may be a bigger issue in more remote areas, and most of the issues I've heard about are FSU countries like Ukraine etc. not Russia proper.

[millefleur 5,037]

Just now, pushbrk said:

Yes, it may be a bigger issue in more remote areas, and most of the issues I've heard about are FSU countries like Ukraine etc. not Russia proper.

The biggest issue with marriage in Russia is 1) the obligatory "document collecting" trip to Moscow and 2) the 32 day wait period before the wedding. In cases where the US citizen already has a Russian visa, all the other paperwork required is really standard and would be required for the CR-1 visa anyway (divorce docs, translations, etc). Thankfully Russia does not require a special visa to get married, any valid visa will do. Now, getting a Russian visa during Covid is whole other story...if the OP's fiancé doesn't have a visa already, it could be an issue.

 

Not sure about Ukraine and other former Soviet countries but it seems like it might be a little more complicated in those countries based on what I've heard here on VJ.

[Adventine 3,187]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

It sounds like it MIGHT be, depending on their priorities.  K1 means the visa holder will need to stay in the USA without working for approximately 9 months.  That's a deal killer for some.

 

You're right, it does depend on their priorities and how comfortable they are with a long wait to work and travel internationally after entering the States.

[Annevilwill 2]

15 hours ago, Coco8 said:

 

This timeline works for a marriage visa. I'm sure you can find a quick place to get married in China, Hong Kong, or a country nearby; then apply for the visa while you are living in China.

 

If you read the forum more, you'll see that everyone will recommend the CR1 visa over the Fiance visa. The CR1 (marriage) has a lot more advantages. 

 

 

Thank you! I also tend to lean to spouse visa, but I don't know when can we get married, this is the main issue. Now China doesn't allow foreigners to return, we have to wait when it will open borders. maybe than just quickly fly somewhere to register. But again, people say spouse visa can take years now to finish. in this case, we wont be able to move to US. 

[Annevilwill 2]

6 hours ago, Coco8 said:

What if they get married via proxy in Montana, is it? I know it was said that it wasn't a good option in other cases, but I would think that this would be an exception and this couple has been living in China for a long time (and presumably together or in a relationship for a while) .

sorry, what is proxy in Montana?

yes, we live in China over 8 years, now together for 6 and half and lived together like for 6 years.. 

[Annevilwill 2]

4 hours ago, millefleur said:

Getting married in Russia with a US citizen can take time (roughly 2-3 months for all the prep and waiting) and given Covid and the fact that you're both living in China, I'm not sure how feasible it is for your situation but if you're curious, see my post about it here:

 

thank you! I am, I will read about it. so if Russia is not a good option, I have no idea if in other countries it will be even bigger problem to get married. 

[Coco8 1,039]

2 minutes ago, Annevilwill said:

sorry, what is proxy in Montana?

yes, we live in China over 8 years, now together for 6 and half and lived together like for 6 years.. 

 

There is a way to get married in Montana by proxy, but only if the US citizen is in the military. By proxy means that you send someone else to sign the paperwork.

[Annevilwill 2]

3 hours ago, pushbrk said:

It sounds like it MIGHT be, depending on their priorities.  K1 means the visa holder will need to stay in the USA without working for approximately 9 months.  That's a deal killer for some.

if I am moving to US on fiancée visa to US, there is no option to apply for petition that will allow me to work, after several months?  

[Annevilwill 2]

2 hours ago, millefleur said:

The biggest issue with marriage in Russia is 1) the obligatory "document collecting" trip to Moscow and 2) the 32 day wait period before the wedding. In cases where the US citizen already has a Russian visa, all the other paperwork required is really standard and would be required for the CR-1 visa anyway (divorce docs, translations, etc). Thankfully Russia does not require a special visa to get married, any valid visa will do. Now, getting a Russian visa during Covid is whole other story...if the OP's fiancé doesn't have a visa already, it could be an issue.

 

Not sure about Ukraine and other former Soviet countries but it seems like it might be a little more complicated in those countries based on what I've heard here on VJ.

he doesn't have visa now, it expired several years ago.. and considering satiation nowadays I have no idea how easy it would be to travel around. so I guess, the plan on getting married in Russia is cancelled for sure. 

[Annevilwill 2]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

 

You're right, it does depend on their priorities and how comfortable they are with a long wait to work and travel internationally after entering the States.

but it seems we don't really have any other choice, do we? and also, maybe we wont be even able to apply for fiancé visa as another member said "There is currently a backlog in Guangzhou. Ever since the President's Feb 2020 mainland China proclamation only a select few K-1 visa applicants that met listed exemptions to the proclamation (or were Plaintiffs in the K-1 lawsuit) got their visas. We'll have to see if Biden ends that proclamation."

 

so I am not even sure if its feasible. 

[millefleur 5,037]

16 minutes ago, Annevilwill said:

he doesn't have visa now, it expired several years ago.. and considering satiation nowadays I have no idea how easy it would be to travel around. so I guess, the plan on getting married in Russia is cancelled for sure. 

It seems like they aren't issuing new Russian visas right now except in "emergency situations"...more here in Russian: https://www.mid.ru/ru/informacia-dla-rossijskih-i-inostrannyh-grazdan-v-svazi-s-koronavirusnoj-infekciej/-/asset_publisher/UUDFpNltySPE/content/id/4157104

 

It's also a huge problem for all of the others waiting right now with Russian fiancé(e)s because they'll only issue the "emergency" visas to family members/spouses. If you want to stay together with your fiancé during the process, it might make sense to just stay in China if you can and wait for the K-1. With Covid easing in some places, also a new presidential administration coming in, things might start to change...but we can't predict how soon that might be. Otherwise, if you were to relocate back to Russia and switch the K-1 to Moscow, there's also a backlog there as well and then your fiancé would have a hard time getting a visa to Russia...so it could mean waiting out the entire process far apart (or at least until Russia finally starts issuing visas again.) With your US tourist visa, you could visit during the wait but you would have to go back to Moscow to get the visa.

Edited January 19, 2021 by millefleur