Fastest way to bring my wife here from Brazil

[perritonegro 4]

Greetings community!  I have not posted in many years, so I'm glad to see that this forum is still here.  Many things have changed for me.  Namely, after my marriage ended (very quickly, and badly) in divorce, I thought I'd be single the rest of my life.  UNTIL... I met an amazing woman in Brazil.  She is everything I've prayed for for 35 years, and so much more.  I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August.  We're planning to do a virtual wedding through Utah County (https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerk/marriage/faq.html) BEFORE my scheduled trip to Brazil, then file for a CR1 visa.  Therein lies my question.  Many things have changed regarding the visa selection and process, since I married the shill from Ukraine. 

1) is CR1 our best option?  Her son is 8.  She is a widow

2) I'm in Washington State.  Which US embassy is moving fastest?  I ask this because we have a timeline that we're dealing with, and we need them to be here before the end of the year...  Nothing criminal, just some personal reasons.

3)  Any HELPFUL advice is welcome. 

4) I am a US Citizen

5) This will be my 2nd marriage to an overseas woman

6) I've heard that they have done away with interviews. Can this be confirmed?

Edited June 26, 2023 by perritonegro

[Mike E 11,740]

1. Yes

2. you do not an embassy choice

3. be patient. Marrying someone you have not met is a bad idea. I suggest spending months together in total before marrying

4. good. 2 years vs 6

5. Expect more scrutiny

6. All cr-1 cases get interviews 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Mike E

[Crazy Cat 41,980]

5 hours ago, perritonegro said:

Greetings community!  I have not posted in many years, so I'm glad to see that this forum is still here.  Many things have changed for me.  Namely, after my marriage ended (very quickly, and badly) in divorce, I thought I'd be single the rest of my life.  UNTIL... I met an amazing woman in Brazil.  She is everything I've prayed for for 35 years, and so much more.  I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August.  We're planning to do a virtual wedding through Utah County (https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerk/marriage/faq.html) BEFORE my scheduled trip to Brazil, then file for a CR1 visa.  Therein lies my question.  Many things have changed regarding the visa selection and process, since I married the shill from Ukraine. 

1) is CR1 our best option?  Her son is 8.  She is a widow

2) I'm in Washington State.  Which US embassy is moving fastest?  I ask this because we have a timeline that we're dealing with, and we need them to be here before the end of the year...  Nothing criminal, just some personal reasons.

3)  Any HELPFUL advice is welcome. 

4) I am a US Citizen

5) This will be my 2nd marriage to an overseas woman

6) I've heard that they have done away with interviews. Can this be confirmed?

You haven't actually met, yet you are planning on marriage??  I would never recommend doing that.  That is not a good idea at all.

1.  Imo, a CR-1 is the best option. as she will be a legal resident with employment authorization upon entry.

2.  Your timeline is not realistic.  It will take closer to 2 years.

6.  You heard wrong.  There will be an interview.... in 18-24 months. Your miles may vary a little.

Good luck.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Boiler 45,661]

Think 2025.

 

Just to be clear you intend to marry someone online who you have never met?

[Ellie_7 103]

"Until I met an amazing woman in Brazil"

"I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August"

 

Making the acquaintance of someone via Internet is not meeting him or her.

 

Not only do I chime in with others' advice about meeting in person, embassy location, etc,  I'd say make extra sure, because there is a child. I've lost count of the threads on VisaJourney through the years about the challenges and stresses that a child entails when the child is only the man's or woman's child and not the mutual child. (Not to mention there's stresses when the child is the offspring of both immigrant and U.S. citizen.)

[.yana 597]

So you were scammed before yet you are committing to marrying a woman having never met her in-person?

You know what they say - fool me once... 

[Fe.Ta 874]

1 hour ago, perritonegro said:

Greetings community!  I have not posted in many years, so I'm glad to see that this forum is still here.  Many things have changed for me.  Namely, after my marriage ended (very quickly, and badly) in divorce, I thought I'd be single the rest of my life.  UNTIL... I met an amazing woman in Brazil.  She is everything I've prayed for for 35 years, and so much more.  I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August.  We're planning to do a virtual wedding through Utah County (https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerk/marriage/faq.html) BEFORE my scheduled trip to Brazil, then file for a CR1 visa.  Therein lies my question.  Many things have changed regarding the visa selection and process, since I married the shill from Ukraine. 

1) is CR1 our best option?  Her son is 8.  She is a widow

2) I'm in Washington State.  Which US embassy is moving fastest?  I ask this because we have a timeline that we're dealing with, and we need them to be here before the end of the year...  Nothing criminal, just some personal reasons.

3)  Any HELPFUL advice is welcome. 

4) I am a US Citizen

5) This will be my 2nd marriage to an overseas woman

6) I've heard that they have done away with interviews. Can this be confirmed?

Just pointing out things about immigration here:

You will have an interview, regardless, and you will be scrutinized more for it being your second marriage to an international woman.  Additionally, when they see that the wedding took place prior to the actual requirement of meeting in person, that might also be considered a red flag - not to mention other factors like your age gap, how long you have been together, etc.  While some embassies/consulates/offices/service centers across the whole immigration journey move faster than others, in today's world, the difference between them are smaller than they used to, so for a CR1, it will still be around two years (you are looking at 2025) no matter which consulate or embassy gets your case.

If you have personal reasons for wanting/needing to be together in USA prior to the end of the year, you will need to adjust your expectations and consider other options that are not in the USA and DO NOT involve immigration fraud.

Best of luck and I hope it works out!

[Lemonslice 4,886]

Did you ever file for your fiancée from the Philippines, or only for your Ukrainian wife? 

[Boiler 45,661]

Third time lucky?

[Lemonslice 4,886]

1 hour ago, perritonegro said:

Greetings community!  I have not posted in many years, so I'm glad to see that this forum is still here.  Many things have changed for me.  Namely, after my marriage ended (very quickly, and badly) in divorce, I thought I'd be single the rest of my life.  UNTIL... I met an amazing woman in Brazil.  She is everything I've prayed for for 35 years, and so much more.  I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August.  We're planning to do a virtual wedding through Utah County (https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerk/marriage/faq.html) BEFORE my scheduled trip to Brazil, then file for a CR1 visa.  Therein lies my question.  Many things have changed regarding the visa selection and process, since I married the shill from Ukraine. 

1) is CR1 our best option?  Her son is 8.  She is a widow

2) I'm in Washington State.  Which US embassy is moving fastest?  I ask this because we have a timeline that we're dealing with, and we need them to be here before the end of the year...  Nothing criminal, just some personal reasons.

3)  Any HELPFUL advice is welcome. 

4) I am a US Citizen

5) This will be my 2nd marriage to an overseas woman

6) I've heard that they have done away with interviews. Can this be confirmed?

 

"Many things have changed regarding the visa selection and process"

 

Most things are exactly the same, just longer delays.

 

If her son is not the son of her late husband, she will need permission/documented agreement to leave the country with him. 

 

...

Marrying before meeting each other is a bad idea.  Utah Zoom marriage is also feasible after meeting, when you're together.  How long are you planning to visit them?

....

 

The state where you reside has, usually, zero effect on the duration of the process.  "Which embassy is moving fastest?" is also not relevant, unless she has multiple citizenships, or she currently lives abroad [from your post, I understand that she's a Brazilian, living in Brazil.  Is that correct?]

[Fe.Ta 874]

48 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Third time lucky?

Tale as ol' as time.

[carmel34 3,639]

4 hours ago, perritonegro said:

I'm in Washington State.  Which US embassy is moving fastest?  I ask this because we have a timeline that we're dealing with, and we need them to be here before the end of the year...  Nothing criminal, just some personal reasons.

Here's my advice, hopefully you will find it to be helpful.  I won't say anything more about the importance of meeting multiple times prior to getting married, to see if this is really something you want, and to know if the chemistry is there before making such a big commitment.  Others have done enough of that already, and you know the risks from personal experience.  If she resides in Brazil, the required visa interview (in 1-2 years if all goes well) will be in Rio de Janeiro at the US consulate.  There is no other option for Brazilians.  From the date of filing the initial I-130 petition with all required documents (including marriage certificate and evidence of spending time together in person), the process could take longer than two years, so plan for that and hope it goes a little faster.  Each case is different and there are many unknown details that could come up.  Given what you have shared so far (have not yet met in person), I strongly suggest that if you decide to file the I-130 after only meeting once in person, that you visit her as often as you can while waiting for the I-130 to be adjudicated (12-18 months), and submit documents (original boarding passes, passport stamps, hotel receipts, a few photos) to support those additional visits at the NVC stage of the process, after the I-130 has been approved.  Continue to visit her in Brazil while waiting for the visa interview.  She can take that new evidence with her, to show the interviewing officer.  I made periodic trips to visit my husband in Brazil seven times before his spousal visa interview.  We also did some co-mingling of finances (shared credit card, IRS tax transcripts as married filing jointly, look up W-7 form).  You will also need to file a separate I-130 for her child and have legal documents to show that the child's father has given the wife permission to eventually take the child out of Brazil.  You have a long, frustrating, expensive process ahead of you.  Patience is key.  Good luck!

[Marieke H 2,519]

Slow down. You haven't even met this woman in person. You can't file anything until you have met her, and then it will not be months but years until she can move here.

[pushbrk 12,974]

Good advice already, but assuming her son will come with her, you'll need a CR1 visa and a CR2 visa.  You'll file petitions for each of them.

[Redro 4,611]

4 hours ago, .yana said:

So you were scammed before yet you are committing to marrying a woman having never met her in-person?

You know what they say - fool me once... 

He has a son with the first wife. I’m thinking it wasn’t all a scam… 

One thing that will be different is the amount you need to sponsor your future wife and stepson… @perritonegro did your ex become a citizen? Is your son still a dependent on your taxes?