LiefKH

Oh, well... OK. I just was looking for some more positive outlooks. So many have said it should be irrelevant so we can have a little piece of mind. Thank you for all that was said so far, and I'll read over that link that was posted.

Sorry about posting it in the wrong forum! Thank you much! I am hoping to have her packet completed by Monday.

She came to see me on the VWP and we honestly did not intent to get married, but after the 2 and a half months of trying to make it work with me being in the military... it become too difficult. They would not recongnize my relationship at all meaning I am not allowed, or alloted money to get my own place. I was stuck in the barracks, and it would not work as I need an official place of residence when we were going to originally apply for a fiance visa... so a week before she was about to leave, we got married by my Army chaplain.

Three days before we left, we went to an immigration consulant, called USCIS, and emailed a few lawyers who heavily implied that it would be a lot easier to have her stay here while we file paperwork and have her overstay her visa... so we did. We refunded her tickets, and have started putting our packet together... opinions have been divided on reddit and a few other people.

The biggest thing is people saying as long as we had NO INTENT to get married on the VWP then we should be good to go... and honestly? We had absolutely no plans to get married but the Army was just making it too complicated and for a relationship that is as serious as ours? It was our best course of action financially. I needed my own place for whenever she came back.

How do y'all feel with what we did? Any advice from here? We have already made the decision and acknowledge the risk of her overstaying her visa... but I would like some more opinions.

Thank you.

Just had to stop by and say that your profile pics are cute!!!!

Thank you very much!

it isnt normally a problem for a UK citizen to visit the US while an application is being processed but she will need to take proof of ties to the UK with her just in case she gets questioned at the airport. even if she gets denied entry though it shouldnt have any effect on your petition.

if you are in the military then you should look in to getting your case expedited. i dont if it will be possible but it is always worth asking about

That is great news, and the fact that you say I should look into getting it expedited? I mean I know being in the military helps you in A LOT of areas... didn't expect it to work in this process as well? I will definitely mention it, my current deployment too! Thanks!

On your other point - yes she can visit you during the process but needs to be aware that in some cases the immigration officers might refuse entry if they suspect someone is not going to return home - it's rare for UK travellers but it does happen. The best way to proceed is to bring strong proof of your intent to return back to the UK. (Lease agreements, letter from employer etc)

I visited the US both before, during and after we had sent in the visa petition - I came over about 5 times after we had sent the petition in, from a weekend trip to a 2 month trip - I never had any issues getting in, I always brought loads of evidence that I intended to return to the UK, but I was never asked for it.

This was my biggest worry. She is going back home to South Africa to wait for me to leave Afghanistan. She's also looking for Au Pair jobs as a back up. I just want to start this process as early as possible.

EDITED TO ADD: Ahh - I just noticed from your other post that you are not married so that answers the point above but also that your fiancee is from South Africa and when you say she is going home you mean she is going there while you wait out the visa. I don't know if this would make a difference. I'm assuming that it's the same for everyone when travelling on a British passport no matter where they are travelling from but I don't know for sure.

How it will make a difference is that your fiancee will not be doing her in country processing in the UK so for the best help on this site you should link your profile here on the site to the country she comes from and lives in rather than her UK citizenship to get the best results from the timeline trackers etc. And also to get the best information about the Embassy specific stage / medical etc.

Yeah, as far as the process goes for our K(1) visa, the UK citizenship doesn't matter. I guess the most important thing is that she can leave her country while we do this, if we don't get it approved in time. I get back from Afghanistan this summer, and then a few weeks later go on vacation. We intend on her being there to meet my family, whether she is over her on a fiancé visa or a holiday one. I just don't want the fiancé visa process to be disrupted if she leaves.

I'll link the profile now! Thanks for that tip!

When you have a new question then you should start a new thread so others who want an answer to the question can do a search and find your thread and then they do not have to pos a question themselves.

Good Luck

Makes sense! I'll keep that in mind for future questions. Thank you much.

I want to start this process as early as possible... I am currently in Afghanistan, and she is in South Korea until April 16th. She is going home afterwards and sitting around until I get back in America.

Some questions:

• Can we start this process now, considering she is moving countries soon? As will I?
  
• She is a U.K citizen, if we do not finish this entire process and get her in the United States by the time I get back (highly unlikely, it seems!) Will it impact our petition if she randomly came here on a holiday? As a U.K. citizen, she can come for up to 90 days without a visa.
  

We're new to this website and have only just started pouring over the guides, forums, and any older thread that might be relevant. I just want to get an answer to these questions as quick as possible so if it turns out being impossible... I can know now, and not get my hopes too high. I am also just going to use this thread to post further questions I might have to my individual case.

Thank you very much all!

Immigration is a long and frustrating process, but the good news is that it gets easier once you can spend more time together. With a UK passport that shouldn't be too tough (except for the cost, of course). Good luck to you both.

I am exicted to start this process, even if frustrating it is progress! Also, yes... it makes me very thankful. Many of her friends in SA have more issues since they're only from SA... but the UK makes us feel better.

Thank you very much!

She was teaching English in South Korea, and I was stationed there with the United States military. We didn't start dating until a few months after we met but it was pretty much love at first sight. We were both in awe of each other after our first conversation and it wasn't revealed until 4 months later when we actually started talking to each other.

<3

Thank you for your service!

Thanks for the support!

When it was said we didn't want to rush into anything... we meant rushing into getting married because it would be the easiest way for us to be together! We know this process is going to be long and arduous!

Yeah, that's what I meant. Which is why I found this website NOW with months left until the immigration will actually take place which gives us plenty of time to prep... hopefully. I know it will be said "Smooth and Immigration" don't mix, but I'm trying to make it as smooth as humanely possible.

Hello everybody,

I am LiefKH! My love and I have found this website from a thread in the subreddit r/longdistance and after browsing it a bit, it seems like the perfect resource and at the perfect time!

I am a Soldier currently deployed to Afghanistan, and my fiancé is in South Korea (born and raised in South Africa with a very convenient UK citizenship as well!) finishing up her two years of teaching English. We originally met in Korea, when I was stationed there, prior to Afghanistan. It's been an amazing relationship. Unfortunately, too much of it has been over Skype! TOO MUCH! So she's closing the books with the kids, going home to South Africa while I finish up this deployment and meeting me in the United States of America!

It's February now, she is done in April and I can't say exactly when but I finish my job over here sometime this summer. We're not really sure where we are planning to go with immigration. My family having never even met her have already completely opened up their hearts; arms and homes to her when she comes over her... guess my word carries with them a little more than I thought!

We have no idea where we want to go with getting our relationship to have a little more permanency in our locations. I don't get out until 2013 (and I am getting out!) and we don't want to wait until then! Not an option. Neither do we want to resort to 4-6 weeks a year when either of us would have paid vacation. I'm so glad I found this website so we can figure it out, and start as soon as possible. We're thinking of a Fiancé visa but don't really want to RUSH into anything so we're still researching! If we could get her over here some way on a Tourist or Employment visa, and have her close to me... we're doing it! We are already researching Au Pair positions close by, setting up possible temp-jobs with my family and their friends.

Hopefully in the next couple of months, it all comes together with a lot of research, prep and dedication. This website will definitely help us! So thank you and we're so glad to be a part of the community.