alliejourney

I can't 100% tell what you're asking. If you're asking if you can get married before she enters the US on her K1, the answer is no. Being married invalidates the K1, so she wouldn't be able to enter on it if you were married. If you were to get married and just not mention it at the border, that would be misrepresentation and you'd be in big trouble come AOS time. (So I'm really hoping by "big wedding ceremony" you just mean that you had a celebration with family that included absolutely no paperwork or culturally binding ceremonies.) If you're asking if you can use Utah online marriage after she enters the US on her K1, then sure, I don't see why not. As noted above it might be just as fast to get married at the courthouse in your own area.

It makes things easier if you apply for your social security card BEFORE getting married. The reason is that getting married nullifies the K1 visa, so after getting married your next opportunity to get a social security number won't be until you have a green card, which could be a year or more after marriage. Not having the SSN can be a hurdle for things like opening bank accounts, getting a driver's license, and otherwise establishing your life in the US. So that is why the advice is always to apply for your SSN before marriage when on a K1. Unfortunately you have left it pretty late - the usual advice is to apply for your SSN ASAP after arriving, because it does take a while to get an appointment and then for the card to get to you. You could in theory apply for your social security card on the same day you get married before your marriage ceremony, but that would be cutting it pretty close. It also may depend on the rules where you live. In my county, a social security number for both parties was required, so we wouldn't have been able to get married without it. Some areas allow marriage without an SSN, though. You'll need to look into that for where you live. It's not the total end of the world if you don't have your SSN before marriage so long as you live in an area where you can get married without it - do not put off getting married because of it. Number one priority is getting married within those 90 days. I can't speak on name change stuff as I didn't bother with that, but others can advise on that front.

Oh, that's good to know, thanks!

Oh good, then you should be okay. I believe you'll still be required to submit the prior tax transcripts but with your pay stubs and some employer verification you should be able to demonstrate your current income meets requirements.

I'm not 100% sure how they'll react to part of your income coming from a family member and not employer, so I won't speak to that. My gut says they may not like it since it's not quite as stable and reliable as income from an employer. But maybe others can weigh in on that. However, they will not consider possible future income - current income is king. They have to see that you can support your partner right now, as soon as they are in the USA. Pay stubs that demonstrate consistent income that will meet the requirements, bank statements, and a letter from your employer with salary listed are all things that can be used as evidence if past tax transcripts do not show the necessary income amount. FWIW, without your father's contributions you do make over 100% of the HHS poverty guidelines for a family of 2, which is currently $21,150. Once you get to the adjustment stage and the requirement is 125%, that would be $26,437 as of 2025. Note that I do believe these guidelines refer to take-home pay, not salary pre-tax, so bear that in mind - I wasn't sure based on your post if you're talking net or gross.

On the other hand of what the other commenter said, at the time we filled out the forms we did not realize Dublin was pre-clearance, so we put the actual US city he'd enter in (Cleveland) and also had no issues. I'm not sure if there's a correct answer here but just sharing my experience!

Do not do this!!! As part of the I-129F packet, you have to disclose any prior marriages you had and provide the divorce decrees. Imagine how suspicious it will look for them to see a fresh divorce decree for the same exact person you're petitioning for. That is only going to hurt your case and make your marriage look less legitimate. The ONLY option for you is to pursue a spousal visa. What kind of evidence do you have to show the legitimacy of your marriage? Any joint financials? Are you on each other's wills or power of attorney or beneficiaries for life insurance? Anything at all tying the two of you together over the last 10 years? I agree with others here who have said prioritize spending time together in person, but also think about anything you may have that could show a legitimate marital relationship in the last 10 years.

Okay, my husband is also from the UK so I can tell you they will request that you bring the I-134 with you, it is not submitted ahead of time.

This is correct, the I-134 requires 100% and the I-864 required during adjustment is 125%. As for your first question, I believe it varies by embassy whether you submit the I-134 prior or just bring it to interview. Filling out your timeline so that people can answer your questions most accurately would be helpful. In my experience the I-134 and all accompanying evidence was brought to the interview and given to the officer, but again, this can be different based on location.

Congratulations!! The idea for the school stuff for the kids is a great one, I tend to overlook that since we just have our fur kids 😅 Sounds like you have a great plan. Good luck!

Re: your concern about not having many pictures, we didn't either. I included a couple random pictures from date nights and family events, like you said, but those kinds of things aren't as strong as evidence like others above have mentioned. I think officers are generally understanding that when you're applying for AOS from a K1, the initial packet may be a little sparse. It is really hard to get established financially before the EAD comes; we basically weren't able to do anything without that. What I did was send in anything I had to start with, and then once I had the NOA and online access, I started throwing everything onto the Unsolicited Evidence portal. As we started a joint bank account, collected mail in both our names, added him to things like health insurance, car insurance, bought him a car with both our names on it, etc, I would upload the evidence there. It created an ongoing narrative of things we were doing to establish our life together as soon as we were able to, and then the officer had access to all of it when we were at the interview. During the waiting period we took a vacation so I uploaded some pictures from that as well to show us continuing to have a social life together. I know it's nerve-wracking but, seriously, don't overthink it. Follow the instructions to start and then upload the evidence as you get it. Your relationship is in good faith so there's no need to struggle to fabricate things. All the things you'll collect are things you'd be doing anyway as a married couple starting a life together.

As others have said, not a red flag at all. Obtaining a K1 visa supposes a commitment to get married. There is no need to have a "honeymoon period". The process will be: land on US soil, go apply for an SSN ASAP (now that I-94s are digital, we were able to apply for my husband's SSN the next day after entering the US), and then get married as soon as you possibly can. In my county, we needed to wait for his Social Security Card to arrive before we could apply for our marriage license and then schedule our courthouse wedding, so we got married on Day 45, which is longer than we would have liked to leave it. Many other places do not require the SSN for the marriage. In the meantime, we prepared the AOS packet so that we got married August 1st, and sent off the AOS packet August 2nd. Timeliness is the name of the game when you're on a K1 visa, because as soon as those 90 days are up the visa is invalid and you're out of status without proof of a pending AOS. FWIW, I know your mind is made up but I'm another person who did a K1 and wishes we went the spousal route instead. You are still allowed to visit with a pending spousal visit so it's not like you have to go the entire processing time without seeing each other. AOS is a really frustrating process and him not having a green card really hindered our ability to buy a house and start our life properly as a married couple. Plus the stress and anxiety of him technically not having a status during that time.

Oh sorry - you won't have an agent assigned to you for the whole process. My husband mentioned it once he got to the actual K1 visa interview, and then we brought it up again during the green card interview, as the shared vacation was part of our evidence of our relationship in both cases. After you submit the I-129F, you'll be in a waiting period for a while - for us, it was about a year before we got an RFE (which won't always happen, I just made a mistake in the I-129F packet), and then a month after the RFE, our case was approved and we were able to start with the K1 visa process. We didn't actually speak to any agents until my husband attended his K1 visa interview. If you haven't found them already, the guides on this site are really helpful for you to get a feel for all the steps and the timeline of the entire process! Especially the K1 Visa Flowchart, I referenced that a lot while we were going through it.

Just as a note, we did tell officers about our trip during both the K1 interview and during AOS, but never mentioned to them that it was an "engagement honeymoon", specifically because we didn't want them to be alarmed by the word honeymoon when really it was just a semi-extravagant vacation/celebration, lol. Something to think about if you end up submitting pics/plane tickets/etc of your trip as evidence at some point!

Honeymoon celebration is a great idea, too! We did an "engagement honeymoon" the summer before we got married so we could still have a honeymoon, just not right after the wedding. Sometimes immigration just forces us to be a little creative!

I'm glad you provided this clarification - I was just about to be another voice recommending that you do a CR1 if the ceremonies are very important to you both, but I totally get why you want to do K1 in your circumstance. You're right - unfortunately, with K1, legalities take precedence and being able to plan formal ceremonies is very difficult and risky. I think instead of doing pre-wedding engagement ceremonies (which will be stressful, planning around the unpredictable waiting times during process) maybe you do some sort of anniversary vow renewal, once the whole K1/AOS process dust has settled? Keep the actual marriage to a simple courthouse affair, and once everything is sorted out in a few years, you'll be free to travel and plan big events in both countries for everyone to enjoy. It's of course not traditional or ideal if you're wanting a Wedding wedding experience, but it may be a good compromise so you can still celebrate with your loved ones. Plus, it can be a green card celebration, too

Good to know, thanks!

My husband did a K1 visa. If you click on my profile you can see the details of our timeline, but we filed the initial petition in December 2022, my husband had his visa issued in May 2024 and immigrated here in June 2024, we married and filed for adjustment in August 2024, he received his work authorization in October 2024, and finally in July 2025 he received his green card. So, from filing to immigration it took ~18 months, and then an additional year on top of that until he had his green card. Personally, if I were to do it over, I would have done a spousal visa. However, like you, we wanted to be together as quickly as possible and we had the financial means to support him during the time he couldn't work, so things worked out for us. As far as what cases go to what offices, I don't know the details off the top of my head but that happens automatically. Certain offices handle certain types of visas and then once you're in the adjustment phase it's whatever your most local field office would be. If your case is straightforward I think it's DIY-able and you don't need an attorney. If you click on Guides at the top of this page, there are a wealth of resources to guide you through the process and get an idea of what each step looks like.

There are pros and cons to K1. Honestly, in your situation, if he came over with the intention to go back home but things have changed because you're engaged now, I would probably just get married and adjust status. The only thing to note is that if he stays and adjusts, he will not be able to work until he gets his work authorization, which could take even up to a year. Without work authorization, he may also struggle with things like opening a bank account and getting a driver's license - he will really have very little independence and will rely on you financially. The situation would be the same if he were to go back to the UK and you pursued a K1 visa - once he comes here on a K1 visa, you will have to adjust anyway and be in the same situation you're in now. The other option is to get married and pursue a spousal visa, which would also entail him going back to the UK. The big pro of a spousal visa is that once he has the visa, when he arrives in the US he will be a green card holder and therefore will be able to work right away and have much more independence. If you choose to adjust now through ESTA, you'll just need to be prepared to show that he did originally have the intention to go back home and that you did NOT commit fraud by coming on an ESTA with the intent to stay.

Good catch on the wording - I read it as though they were planning for him to travel here so that they could marry. But OP if he is already here and plans have changed, ignore what I said; what CrazyCat linked above is correct. Get married and then buckle in for the long adjustment process.

Yes, as CrazyCat said above, intentionally traveling on an ESTA with intent to stay, marry, and adjust is fraud. ESTA is meant for tourism. The correct legal pathways would either be to begin a K1 fiance visa now, or marry while he is visiting and then pursue a spousal visa. Neither pathway would allow you to be together during the entire process.

It came in the same USPS priority mail mailer as the EAD. We received it on July 3rd and our myUSCIS account still shows tracking not available lol. However I had signed up for USPS Informed Delivery so I could track it through there.

June 30th myUSCIS updated to Card Produced and USPS Informed Delivery says the green card should be delivered tomorrow, July 3rd.

Finally received the approval notice on MyUSCIS as of yesterday, June 25! 🎉 Now the waiting game for the green card.

I had the exact same situation. Interview on May 5, the interviewer told us he was physically clicking the "approve" button right in front of us. He even told us we could technically travel internationally as of that date, which we thankfully did not want to play with until we had green card in hand. He specifically told us we'd get an approval notice in the mail within a week and a green card within a month. We just got our approval notice on MyUSCIS yesterday, June 25. While I am very relieved, I do wish interviewing officers wouldn't make these kinds of promises, because it causes a lot of false hope and anxiety. I'm sorry that you're in the same situation. I hope these types of threads can give others peace of mind in similar situations!