Redro

It was a follow up question: why does she want to vote: 
Potential answers (that don’t require full sentences)
Choose my leaders
choose the president 
have my voice heard 
choose propositions
politics is important
and POLITICAL PARTICIPATION or 
Participate in politics 
 

To vote (as an answer) is a little too simple… work with your wife on the why… why does she want to vote? If she had given a more full answer first time the follow up question most likely wouldn’t have been asked… this is why going to citizenship classes will be advantageous.it will help her with giving and practicing great answers. 

Some people believe love is more powerful than $3000 AOS and the possibility of 1 year of beneficiary not working… 
I think our warnings fall on deaf ears. And the fact that some people are getting a GC 3 months after filing make K1 applicants believe they will be as lucky. 
As someone who thought I’d get my I130 approved in 3 months because I personally knew 2 people who had that luck… I know how hope changes your risk assessment… 
We had to wait 13 months before moving to the US instead of the 6 months we expected. To be honest my husband still jokes about how annoyed I was not being able to get a drivers license my first 2 weeks and how I was complaining about not having a job after 1… (I got one after 3 weeks)… 
Either way we discussed the pros and cons of K1 vs CR1 and my husband knew me well enough to know how important it was for me to have some semblance of independence after moving to a brand new country. 

Your partner arrived in the USA on a K1 visa and you married there… she then applied for a GC. OP is already married and her husband will obtain a different visa which upon entry to the US will be endorsed and serve as a temporary green card for 1 year. 

Your question is: will the K1 be denied because of the prior K1 my partner had? 
Answer: Most likely not but no one can tell you YES or NO either way because we are not the CO adjudicating the case.
The side note is: if it is denied you’ll have to go with the spousal. so, if you’re worried about denial GET MARRIED and then you got some extra (unwanted) advice on why spousal is better. 
It seems like you’ve already made up your mind and are going with K1 even if you’re told this second K1 would be denied 100% so not sure why you asked the question.
Anyway, I’ve said all I can and don’t feel I can contribute further.
I truly wish you good luck, a speedy process with no issues and a seamless transition to the US. And SA is amazing I’m sad you have no desire to move to my country. 

You complete I130 and I130a for your wife
and I130 for your stepson. 
 

You complete I130 and I130a for your wife
and I130 for your stepson. 
 

Past proof of income through tax returns is helpful (sometimes)--current proof of income is essential.  Collect three recent pay stubs and get a verification letter from your employer, attesting to your annual income (even if you are not salaried).

You will submit the I765 with the AOS package to apply for an EAD.  Once you get the receipt notice for the I765, you can request an expedite with a valid job offer.  Have your boss put together something formal saying they want to employ you for the expedite.  Also, apply for your SSN number a day or so after you arrive.
 
Good Luck!

Not so much of a job offer, more that my boss doesn't want me to go and has asked if I can keep doing what I am doing now but from another country. But it seems the answer is a resounding no, so I'll be delivering him the bad news on Monday. Thanks for the advice guys and gals, I'm glad I didn't go with my intuition and end up getting myself in trouble.

But in good news, I checked the consulate for updates on my visa application today and WooHoo, I have an approval status, I checked my courier bag and that is on its way to me too. Very exciting, but also scary.
 

Thank you, very kind words. 🙏

There's been a lot of great advice in this thread and I wanted to add my two cents, given I'm in the latter stages of a K-1 through Joberg:
 
Ultimately, I get the OP's sentimentality.  It was a big driver to get married in as traditional a sense as possible which, to me, felt like we needed to get engaged and get him permission to move here SO we could get married.  Online guides alluded to a spousal visa being more timely (as has been questioned a lot in this very thread) as well as, personally, less romantic a timeline.
 
That being said, if I had discovered these forums last summer I think my fiance and I would've taken an entirely different path.  Ultimately, the certificate itself is a process separate from a majority of the wedding rites in all cultures, and so being able to get paperwork done while focusing on having that ceremony after the visa would've made all the other pieces needed to put our life together, so much cleaner.  Once he can work we'll be in a good position, but it'll still be a long road to citizenship which I wish we could shortcut.  It is what it is.  And, if things DO happen to fall through, it might actually still be our contingent path.
 
my thoughts to you OP, is ultimately to do what is in the best interests of what both you AND your fiance want to do.  But if you are early on, like in the I-129 petition part of your journey, I'd have a long talk with your fiance about how to make traditions work alongside the spousal visa pathway, as listed prior to my post.  Because no matter how much money you have and how much love you have, there is always a sliver of a chance that the K1 petition will be rejected and then you have to start over.  Might happen to us too, even this late in the game.  Being open to that possibility means owning a flexibility that allows you two to be together and flourishing sooner than my fiance and me.
 
One thing money can't buy, is time.  And if you have the worry that this prior K1 might have a negative impact and others on this thread are considering it might too, it might be worth giving the spousal option another good, honest look: and to cut people some slack for telling you things you didn't want to hear, because it's all with good intentions.  You're not in a sunk-cost fallacy situation yet, no need to double down on your choices.
 
Best of luck.
 
 

To vote (as an answer) is a little too simple… work with your wife on the why… why does she want to vote? If she had given a more full answer first time the follow up question most likely wouldn’t have been asked… this is why going to citizenship classes will be advantageous.it will help her with giving and practicing great answers. 

Your question is: will the K1 be denied because of the prior K1 my partner had? 
Answer: Most likely not but no one can tell you YES or NO either way because we are not the CO adjudicating the case.
The side note is: if it is denied you’ll have to go with the spousal. so, if you’re worried about denial GET MARRIED and then you got some extra (unwanted) advice on why spousal is better. 
It seems like you’ve already made up your mind and are going with K1 even if you’re told this second K1 would be denied 100% so not sure why you asked the question.
Anyway, I’ve said all I can and don’t feel I can contribute further.
I truly wish you good luck, a speedy process with no issues and a seamless transition to the US. And SA is amazing I’m sad you have no desire to move to my country. 

That was the one that got her. We practiced the 400 questions over and over. I asked in different ways but we did not go over the possible surprise follow up questions except for the time spent out of the country.

It was a follow up question: why does she want to vote: 
Potential answers (that don’t require full sentences)
Choose my leaders
choose the president 
have my voice heard 
choose propositions
politics is important
and POLITICAL PARTICIPATION or 
Participate in politics 
 

This post merits enshrinement in the pantheon of All-Time Greatest VJ Posts.
The bolded parts are completely, 100%, utterly shared and understood.
Blessings to you both.

Doesn't have to be in SA.  They could meet and marry.  Or Utah online and meet after to complete the requirements.  

The fees for AOS alone make the K-1 a very undesirable option now, imo. (And this is coming from someone who chose the K-1 back in 2018) 

short answer: you aren’t allowed to work until you marry, apply for AOS and EAD and receive your EAD. so, you cannot work as soon as you arrive to the US. 
 
Long answer: 
You are not allowed to work any jobs including remote jobs/ jobs based in another country. 
Additionally, the job you are working now would have to go through a process to be compliant working with someone based in the US (and pay your U.S. taxes and  other costs) or you would have to be working as a contractor and pay taxes on the income you earned yourself.But you have to be authorized to work in the US. So, you will be sitting around the home waiting for the EAD Or green card before you can work. hopefully it will only be 3 months or so but be prepared to wait up to a year. 
 

As long as you follow the rules for consular processing and have no abuse of the ESTA with reasonable visits, you shouldn't have any issues.  
 
Good luck!

As long as he does not overstay or abuse the ESTA/VWP system (visiting for the entire authorized stay, leaving for a week/month, and then returning to the US for another 90 day stay) he should be fine.  Short visits during the process are fairly common with couples in your situation.
 
Good Luck!

Just updating that we got our NOA1 on the 17th.
 
Incase it matters to any future readers, they noted it was received on the 3rd, despite USPS tracking showing it delivered on the 4th.
 
Thank you all once again for your advice and support!  

Unless it's a dream job or position in very niche industry, I wouldn't bother continuing employment with the firm based in NZ.
 
Here are the reasons:
1) You cannot legally work until you get SSN + EAD (after marriage and filing AOS packet)
2) When you have SSN + EAD, is the pay competitive with what US employers offer? Coming from Europe I found salaries are higher in the US for skilled workers on average.
3) Are you ready to deal with tax implications related to working for remote employer in another country?
4) Don't you want to build US work experience to strengthen your employability in the future?
5) What timezone are you going to be working in? Is it worth it?
6) US employers provide medical insurance (very expensive). Are you going to pay it yourself?
 
Seems like you did a good job and your boss doesn't want to lose you, but sometimes it's just time to move on
 
When I was leaving to the US on work visa, my boss back in Europe was jokingly asking whether I can take him to the US 😂
 

short answer: you aren’t allowed to work until you marry, apply for AOS and EAD and receive your EAD. so, you cannot work as soon as you arrive to the US. 
 
Long answer: 
You are not allowed to work any jobs including remote jobs/ jobs based in another country. 
Additionally, the job you are working now would have to go through a process to be compliant working with someone based in the US (and pay your U.S. taxes and  other costs) or you would have to be working as a contractor and pay taxes on the income you earned yourself.But you have to be authorized to work in the US. So, you will be sitting around the home waiting for the EAD Or green card before you can work. hopefully it will only be 3 months or so but be prepared to wait up to a year.