CaseyClaud

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.  I am still trying to digest all of it, as you can imagine.  I am pretty much reduced to tears at this point, with mixed feelings of frustration and confusion and anxiety.

If we file for a K-1, will this automatically invalidate her current B1/B2 visa and make it impossible for her to visit me while the K-1 application is on file?

An attorney just wrote back to me and said that it will take a year for a K-1 application to go through.  Is this true?  It goes against the 5-6 month timeline I am hearing elsewhere.  

Not understanding why a CR-1 would be preferable to a K-1, as it seems to require 8-11 months of processing.  Could you clarify?

Would she be able to file for AOS + AP + EAD after arriving here on a B1/B2 visa, and then essentially stay here legally?

I am presuming a 2017 backlog at INS in the Trump era.

My fiancé is Mexican and I am a US-born citizen.  We plan to marry in late July in the US, almost exactly 5 months from now.  It is the only opportunity we have to hold a ceremony that both of our families can attend.  She currently holds a B1/B2 visa that is set to expire July 1.  

The timing is regrettable, and K-1 paperwork might not get through in time.  The safest bet would be to renew B1/B2 visa (which takes her a few weeks to do) and file for K-1 concurrently, but we don't know if that is possible. 

Here are three outcomes (numbered), each with a set of means (lettered):

1) (less desirable) My finance enters the country on her renewed B1/B2 visa, we have the wedding ceremony in July, but we postpone the legal formalities until the K-1 visa comes through

      a. If concurrent filing IS possible but the K-1 doesn't process in time

      b. If concurrent filing ISNT possible and, to be safe, she renews her B1/B2 first and then we file K-1 paperwork

2) (most desirable) My fiancé enters the country, for a legal July wedding, on a K-1 visa that processed in time because

      c. we got lucky without legal assistance thanks to zero red flags in the application

      d. we hired legal assistance that could expedite the process and streamline the application (for a legal retainer of how much???)

      e. we went with a web service like rapidvisa.com

3) (wish to avoid!) My fiancé is unable to gain entry after the expiration of her B1/B2 visa because we gave precedence to filing for the K-1 visa, which didn't process in time. 

Can I achieve outcome 2, using options c-e, while avoiding outcome 3?

If I have to settle for option #1, is it better for her to be in the US (on her B1/B2 visa) or in Mexico when we process the paperwork?

Thanks,

C