klhughes28

19 hours ago, Dee elle said:

A USC can start the process for CR IR 1 from anywhere in the world. As an Australian citizen you will usually have your interview in your home country or a country in which you are currently legally a resident at the time of interviesw, and for more than 6 months..... and for us Aussies NZ fits that as you say... So he can start the process no matter where he is living, as a resident or tourist doesnt matter, once you marry. 

It will be 12 months approx from when the I 130 is first filed until you will attend your interview... so think about where you will be then... if you will still be living and working in NZ legally..... he can be in NZ as a visitor and it wont matter.. its your residency, citizenship that dictates the location....  then use that consulate, otherwise plan to take a hop back over the Tasman and interview in Sydney 

Understand the impact of him being not earning or resident in the US at the time of your interview... he will need to provide evidence of his intention to establish do icile in the US when you get your visa, and unless he has sufficient liquid assets, he wil, need to arrange a joint sponsor for the application.  Both common occurrences and very do-able. 

Just be very well read.... I like this resource

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/family/immediate-relative.html#9

 

Thanks for your response Dee elle! We don't plan on being in NZ for another 12 months, but at least if we file here and I have to fly over to Auckland for a week or two it's no big deal from Melbourne. I think we'll now try to swap Cory to a partnership visa so that we can stay longer, if possible, then he'll go back to California and me to Melbourne, and if we have to be apart for a month or two it's not the end of the world. 

I'm fairly sure that Cory will need his parents to co-sponsor us, shouldn't be too big of a deal I hope. He has a job to go back to (working for his dad's company) and an apartment that we can rent off his parents, but because his folks are clearly already quite involved in this then they may as well co-sponsor in case it looks "dodgy" because he works for them?!?!

1 hour ago, cdneh said:

I didn't file for the same Visa, but I did the interview for the K1 from NZ. I was a returning resident at the time from Canada.

Have you had a read of the Consulate info her on Visa Journey?  I've used the mail and the phone number form that page in the past with success.

How long was his working visa for, and when does it run out?

 

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=New Zealand&cty=Auckland

 

I have read a loooootttttt of stuff on Visa Journey but no I hadn't seen that page, thanks for the link! Definitely very helpful.

The number supplied was the one we called, but I didn't know about the extension, we'll give them another call tomorrow. When we first called, we didn't fit the criteria for the options given (no emergency visa or safety issues or whatever) so we just emailed the address that the recording said to email. We received an auto-response 3 minutes later but have heard nothing since then.

Cory's visa is for 12 months, it expires on March 5th 2018. We'll be switching him to a tourist visa so that we can stay two more months, but obviously we can't apply for my CR-1 whilst he's on a tourist visa. Hopefully we've left ourselves enough time, but we had to wait to be here 6 months first!

Thanks for your help cdneh!!

Hello! My partner and I live in New Zealand, he's the USC and I'm Australian. We are interested in filing for CR-1 whilst we're here in New Zealand, to expedite the process before his working holiday visa is up. We are hoping to get married next month, so obviously I know that we can't file just yet, we're just trying to get organised. 

Does anyone have any experience filing in NZ as a non-NZ citizen? The US consulate website for Auckland says the petitioner/benefactor need to be NZ residents for 6 months, does this count for a working holiday visa? Note that it does not say permanent resident, it just says resident, which I'm hoping we fulfil seeing as we, y'know, live here. As an Australian I do not need a visa to be here in NZ, so I'm automatically a resident.

We have been emailing the consulate but they only send us generic FAQ auto-response emails in return, which don't completely answer all of our specific questions.

If there's someone out there who has been or is going through a similar experience in NZ, please let me know!

41 minutes ago, JFH said:

So is he living with you in New Zealand now? If so, the spousal visa is a no-brainer. Get married anywhere. He can stay with you whilst the paperwork is in process. The two of you then move together to the USA, you become a green card holder immediately upon arrival and have the full rights (employment, driving, etc) of a permanent resident right there and then. Honestly, the K-1 has few (if any) advantages for people from VWP countries anyway and no advantage whatsoever for couples already living together overseas. 

Yes my partner lives with me in NZ! He is on a working holiday visa here, we plan to leave in May 2018. So if we get married in New Zealand in November 2017, for example, we can still file the paperwork/start the petition whilst abroad? Then he'll go back to the USA in May 2018 and I'll go back to Australia to maybe earn some more money. It seems the CR-1 visa usually takes 12-14 months, so I could be allowed to move to the USA by December 2018 maybe?! I can also probably visit him during that time on a visa waiver, or of course we can meet in a third separate country. That means we'd really only be living apart for like 7-8 months.

18 hours ago, broppy said:

And it gets worse - some states won't even let you have a driver's licence until you get EAD - and have laws that require new residents to get a state license within 30 days. You might be out of work and stuck at home for 6-8 months. The only benefit of K-1 is that you spend less time apart - you could move to the US after around 6 months, but then get stuck in limbo waiting for EAD for another 4-6 months or so. 

 

Thanks so much for your response!! I really appreciate it. 

I don't have a drivers licence (weird for a 31 year old, yes yes I know), but I know I would need to get one in the USA because they're a driving obsessed culture. So if we went the K-1 route does that mean I may not even be able to get driving lessons?! And because I don't even have a comparable Aussie licence, there is obviously no possible way that I could even get a state licence in 30 days. Gahh.

My partner and I have been long distance our whole relationship until we moved to New Zealand together this year, so I know I can survive without him, even though 12-14 months apart would be hard. Good excuse for holidays!

Thanks for your reply TearsOfBabylon!! Much appreciated. 

What do you do with your time whilst you can't work and can't really leave the US on holiday? I know my partner's family would support me, but I am independent and would hate to rely on them. I currently have AUD$30000 saved which is obviously a good start, but I don't want to burn through my life savings when that money could be put towards better things. But maybe this is what I have been inadvertently saving for?!?!

Hi all, I'm just starting the overwhelming process of trying to join my boyfriend in the USA. Originally I was planning engagement and the K-1 visa, but now after pouring through these forums all afternoon I'm comparing to the IR1/CR1 visa. 

If we go down the K-1 route, and after we marry and adjust my status, how long does it usually take for the EAD to be issued? I have heard 3-6 months. There is no way in hell that I could afford to stay in the USA for 3-6 months, and then another 2-3 months on top of that between me entering the country and legally marrying my partner. How do people do it?! Do the non-US partners really not work for like 6-8 months?! I would go insane with boredom! This alone makes me want to marry ASAP!

Also I can't find much info on how long it takes to adjust status after marriage to become an LPR. Does anyone have any hints?

Thanks in advance!!