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Hi everybody, my fiance and I applied for k1 2 years and a half ago were approved and interviewed. Everything went well but was put on administrative processing for months with no apparent reason (Canada). We have been ready to get married for over a year now not knowing that this was gonna take forever… i am currently on a visit in the US to see him and we just found out we are pregnant. We both want to marry asap not knowing how long this administrative black hole is gonna take, can we marry spontaneously right now, abandon the k1 and adjust status instead? I had no intent of marrying on this visit i’m simply here to watch his sports season just like every fall, as he’s a professional athlete. I’m aware it will take months but atleast we will be together during these times. Please share your experience or knowledge on the subject! Thank you!

My fiancé (Argentina citizen) and I (US citizen) are planning to marry in Mendoza, Argentina on Dec 1, 2023. We’re trying to understand all the requirements for the marriage to be official and legal to get the marriage certificate in Argentina. I saw on another website that I need to obtain a certificate of legal capacity to marry from the US embassy in Argentina. And that we need to file “banns of marriage”.. does this apply for Argentina? Are there any US citizens here who have gone through this process and can point me in the right direction as far as the local Argentina legal requirements? We have a date with the casa gobierno 30 days before the wedding. We’re also planning to hire a licensed translator for the ceremony. We just want to make sure we don’t miss anything or screw anything up. Our ultimate goal is to apply for a CR-1 visa once we have the marriage certificate.

Hi everyone. I’m going to try and make this short but any help is appreciated. I’ve been living in the U.S. with my spouse after an unplanned elopement last July, we filed for my Adjustment of Status concurrently with my I-130 petition, as well as my I-765 EAD, and I-131 AP. I am Canadian and crossed via land border to visit my wife for the Canada Day & 4th Of July holiday week in 2022. So I was not issued an i94, as well as did not have any valid visa status. But since I am Canadian I did not need a visa to visit. when we got married and decided I stay, we contacted a lawyer and he said it would be no problem since our wedding wasn’t planned. Fast forward to a year from then, my EAD has been approved and i’m about to start my new job on this coming Monday, but I just got a letter in the mail saying my interview has been scheduled for this Wednesday. When it comes to Bonafide evidence of our marriage, my wife and I have affidavits from our family and friends (we even lived with my father in law for many months while we worked through this process), we just very recently signed a lease and moved into our own apartment in the city so we do have a lease. I am on her health insurance card as a dependent, as well as I am a named insured on our car insurance. We do not have joint bank accounts because we just use an online no-fee bank and they don’t allow joint accounts. however, we just downloaded my wife’s tax transcript from the most recent filing year (we filed her i864 with the 2021 tax year and she’s since filed for the 2022 year) and we realized that her tax agency filed her as “Single” and not “married filing separately” (as I did not work in the U.S. that year and have filed in Canada for myself.) we did not realize this error until today, which is one week from the date of my interview. will the other evidence we have as a married couple be enough that the IO won’t question it ? Or will this severely hinder our chances of a successful interview ? She is filing an amendment for 1040-X to change her marital status with the IRS tomorrow, but it takes about 3-5 weeks to receive that confirmation. It was an honest mistake, as she has been using this tax preparer for years and we truly didn’t realize until right this moment. many advice on next steps? Or if I should or should not be worried?? thanks xx

Well I hate to have to come here and say this, but after 8 months of marriage my wife and I are going to get divorced. Were going to do it here in Mexico then I'm going to take off once its finalized. Her I-130 is still in process. If it gets approved during the divorce process and I ignore the RFE's I assume nothing will move forward correct? If we don't go to the interview, if I dont sign the Affidavit of Support, if we don't go to medical I assume nothing will move forward? Therefore I don't have much to worry about in that regard? Should I write to USCIS requesting a withdrawal or something even though were not divorced yet? She has not been handling this process at all so she wouldn't be able to try to move anything forward anyway. Any advice is appreciated. Best

hello, my name is Graciela I entered the United States with a J-1 visa, duration of one year and I only have 3 months left until my visa expires. A month ago I married my boyfriend, he is American, who is now my husband, I met him 3 years ago. My program is in Arizona and he lives in Florida and now I am processing the status change papers to be able to stay here. Law 212 (E) does not apply to my visa, the two-year rule. I would like to know if I have to notify USCIS if I change my residence in 3 months or do I simply process all the documents as if I lived with him? I am very confused because if I say that I still live in Arizona and at 3 I move to Florida and I already handed over the documents to USCIS, I don't know if there are problems because of that. Thank you!

Hello! Long time no see! So, I thought I would start a thread for those that are from Argentina going through the process of the ROC in 2022 based on a green card through marriage. To begin, here is the general guide at VJ: Then, here is what USCIS has: https://www.uscis.gov/i-751 Now, this is only a preliminary list, but I wanted to start something so we can get the discussion flowing. Evidence: -IDs -Bills -Statements -Insurance -Deeds -Leases -Birth certificate of children (if applicable) -Proof of traveling together -Photos Remember: The idea is to prove that you have cohabitation (living in the same address) and comingling financially (you have merged your finances both liabilities and assets). **Please note it gets much more detailed, I am only providing a simple general list so we can get some starting points.** I will soon share a typed up letter of what the cover should bee based on some other ones I have seen here.

We are an engaged Canadian and American who want to get married, obtain a spousal visa, and live together in the USA. We have a lot of flexibility in our lives for travel and want to be together as much as possible during the 1.5 to 2yr visa process. We are considering the following timeline and would greatly appreciate any advice about possible issues, hurdles, and/or other considerations. We get married in Fall 2023 in Canada, spouse then enters USA on tourist visa (as a tourist) for 6 months. Spouse stays at National's owned-home in those months and returns to Canada in early spring 2024. At which point National files for spousal visa and leaves for Canada for the summer, and Europe for the fall - winter- spring while the visa process runs its course. Spouse returns to Canada for visa interview at Consulate in Canada when requested Any experiences with: filing for spousal visa 6-7 months after marriage in Canada? is that enough of a marriage duration? National leaving the US during visa process? Spouse coming in to the US on a tourist visa while married to a national? Spouse coming in to the US on a tourist visa while visa process is in its final stages? Thanks and we appreciate any feedback and insight!

I'm the beneficiary spouse of a US citizen and we are based in Brazil. We haven't officially got married yet because the marriage procedure here in Brazil is long (takes 30-45 days to get the license) and requires a birth certificate from the US citizen issued within the last 90 days, which we also don't have and is a hassle to get. We're in a hurry because our baby is due in about 1,5 months. That's why we're now considering getting married in our neighbour country, Argentina, which apparently can be done within 7 days more or less. The idea would be to get married there and then transcribe the marriage certificate in the US consulate (since it needs to be "translated" officially to english) then apply for the IR1-CR1 visa. HOWEVER, as I, the spouse, am based in Brazil and I have no residency or ties whatsoever to Argentina, we're uncertain whether the Argentinian marriage certificate would be accepted in our green card application OR if it would just be flat out refused and ending up wasting us time at the end of the day. I have Brazilian residency so all the process will be done through Brazil. When researching online, I've found no peculiarities as to "the marriage certificate must be issued in the spouse's country of residency", but because the US government already doesn't recognize the online Utah marriage, we're hesitant to get married abroad. Has anyone had a similar experience? p.s: We have requested a new birth certificate for my fiance 2 months ago to be shipped from the US to Brazil, but it got stuck in customs and after 2 months waiting for this document specifically on top of 4 months wasted, we're looking for other options to get married asap after wasting 6 months. We also looked into online marriage from Utah but all the lawyers we talked to recommended against it. We might or might not be able to transcribe the argentinian marriage to Brazil depending if they request the updated birth certificate or not, which is a hassle to get.

I've reached out to the consulate in Italy and was told that I need to have 2 notarized letters from people that know me stating I am able and free to marry in Italy. I also need to get my birth certificate and divorce paper translated then taken to the court (I don't know what this is called over there to make an appointment) for an appointment to get a document to allow me and my fiancé' to marry. They said no bans are required for me being the US citizen. My fiancé' is Nigerian, living in Italy, so I would assume that applies for him as well. He has already obtained his document to marry that's required, but he is having trouble at the commune with how to proceed. Did anyone marry in Italy that can provide me with the information I need to make this happen? Thank you in advance.

This is a story that was published in my local news. I know the family. Mexican National cannot legally return to US with Husband and kids Long story short: -She arrived in the USA at 4yrs old illegally and has lived here most of her life -At 22yrs old, she married a US citizen (2012) in the States -They have 5 children together -She wanted to file legal documents to become a legal resident, obtain a license, etc -She was advised to fly to Mexico to start the process - She was denied Re-Entry to the USA - Its been 18 months since her denial and she has been stuck in Mexico ever since -Family is desperate for solutions -Lawyer states she may have to stay in Mexico (separated from her husband 5 kids for up to 10 years) Does anyone have any advice? Any sort of help is appreciated! Thanks

Hello, I reside in Houston, TX. Fort bend county, and today my fiance and I went to our local county clerk to get our marriage certificate. I handed them my US passport along with my Fiance's Vietnam Passport, and they told me that they have to match the order of her name that is on her passport. So on our marriage certificate it shows her name in the following order (Middle Name, First Name, Last Name). Which is wrong. My name is shown in the correct order. They told me it has to be this way and that it can't be changed. I'm worried that we may have complications when we apply for ssn, greencard, us citizenship, buy a house, opening a joint bank account, etc that her name being in the wrong order will give us problems. Could someone please help me with this. I'm not sure if this is a normal thing and it can be somehow changed later and not to worry about it. Or is it something we must look into and get it resolved ASAP to avoid future complications? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hello, I'm J1 visa holder, my last day of the internship will be May 5, 2023, I'm subject to 2 years of residence in my country, so I'm applying to the J1 Waiver, my embassy just sent my No objection letter to the State Department. I'm also will get married. These are my questions: Should I get married before my J1 visa expired or can I get married during my 30 days grace period of the J1 visa? Can I apply right away when I get married, and apply for AOS (adjustment of status)? Do I need to leave the country or can I stay while I apply during the 30 days grace period?

I'm stuck in a job that's crushing my spirit and pays me next to nothing, and i finally have enough money to afford a two way ticket and an esta application. I really want to just drop everything and visit my partner in the US for two months with an ESTA. he suggested we could get married during my stay. Would this be okay ? We're just wondering if it's a possibility to be able to apply and be together sooner. Thank you for replies.

We have been dating for 7 years but haven't been able to meet yet due to financial issues and the pandemic. We're getting close to having enough to finally be able to meet in my home country and we want to get engaged during his visit here. Our plan was originally the k1/fiancé visa but i've been advised against it on reddit due to the long wait periods to get a work permit and ability to travel etc. But the problem about the CR1 is that we won't have any joint accounts/shared mortgage etc what is considered strong evidence of a bona fide marriage. We thought we could get married/elope in my home country, then my spouse would return home and file for me and give them the evidence we have (skype logs,messages,package and gift receipts, pictures) since we will likely have to live separately until i can move to live together in the US therefore can't share an account/car/etc like i mentioned above, but i'm worried it wouldn't be solid enough for the marriage visa. TLDR: we will be meeting in person for the first time and getting engaged but we don't know which visa would work for us.

Hi, I just found out about this website through Reddit and they said it was a great help when looking to get a GC for a spouse. I have a question and I’m hoping someone can help me out. So I want to marry someone I’m pretty serious about and being her to the US. We’re both currently in Korea, Im active duty military stationed here while she is originally from Mongolian and has been in Korea off of a Visa. So if we get married here in Korea and not in Mogolia, does anyone know how this will affect our CR-1 process? Please any information will help. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I'm US citizen and my fiancé is Canadian H1B visa holder, we plan to get marry in September and start the green card process asap. I have a few questions, hoping someone can clarify. We are currently in 2 different states due to work (CO and MN) but I will move to MN by end of this year or early next year at the latest. All these questions mostly for if we file before the move happens: 1. Do we use different addresses or should we use just the MN one? Will either scenario cause any problems later on? 2. We will file I-130, I-485, I-765 (I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is the EAD) and advance parole together. In that case, can we leave the US before getting advance parole or will we have to wait? Does filing for EAD affect his H1B status? 3. If we file immediately after getting married, does it look suspicious to USCIS? 4. When will I have to file Affidavit of Support (This is the income proof, right?), as well as other proof of our marriage? I'm worried that if we file before the year ends & have to send those at the beginning, we won't have proof of tax joint. We are currently living apart so we have very limited proof (no joint lease nor tax), mostly just health insurance and joined bank account. Thank you in advance for your help

Hello I'm an italian woman, my boyfriend is america, we want to marry and live in usa so he asked the k1 for me. I heard something about all the vaccines you have to do before to enter in usa, can anyone explain me better and which one? I am a bit scared. Thank you!!

Hey, I just received and RFE from local FO saying "Submit evidence [my name] and [my wife's name] share a marital life together. It should cover the time period from [Marriage Date] to the present etc." But the thing is we have been married for over 2.5 years and also submitted bunch of evidence when we filed in December 2021, such as lease, credit card statement, bank account statement, renters insurance, photos, jointly filed tax return and such. So, I am not sure why would USCIS will need evidence from the day we got married rather than the day after we filed which was a year ago. Should I resubmit all the documents already sent again and just add updated bank statement and leases and stuff? Thanks for your help

Hi there, I am going to Morocco next month to marry the love of my life. We have been seeing each other for more than 2 years now and we think now is the time to tie the knot. I am an American and my partner is a Moroccan. I was just reading the requirements to get married and it says that you need a medical fitness certificate issued by a Moroccan doctor to get married. I am actually diagnosed with oral herpes and my partner knows about it from a long time. Will it disqualify me from marrying her? In other words, does Moroccan medical certificate test for STIs, STDs? If yes, will having oral herpes disqualify me from marrying her? Any information on this would be highly appreciated because I am so stressed due to this.

I’m curious how the evidence of a relationship before intent to marry materialized is looked upon by USCIS as part of I-130 application. Here is our short, but intense timeline. My as of recent wife is an Australian citizen. She “paused” her Australian life earlier this year and decided to travel the world for half a year. I met her on 5/7 this year in Boston, MA and we became instant friends. I decided to join her in her travel and since then we went to May – NYC June/July – Turkey August – Iceland September – Turkey September – Germany In between trips she visited other cities in US on her own, stayed with her mom in Turkey, travelled on her own to Belgium and Germany and also stayed with me in Massachusetts. While I loved her company and travelling together was a lot of fun, we never thought about it evolving into anything more serious and she fully intended to leave back for Australia (she has a return ticket for 10/14 purchased on 7/20). She came back to US last time on 9/21 and got a good amount of scrutiny at the border due to her frequent back and forth travels and staying in US for weeks at the time, but they let her in anyway. She mentioned me and my address as we never tried to hide anything since we were just travelling friends, albeit with benefits. The plan was for her to stay with me for 3 weeks and go back to Australia. But having spent 4 months together and learning a lot about each other we realize that we can’t be apart anymore. The proverbial “life happens” event. Here is the crazier portion of the timeline Shortly after 9/21 we decided to stay together and get married 9/26 – she sent her resignation letter to Australian department of defense which was huge deal for her since it was an amazing job and she jumped thru hoops to put it on hold so she can come back to it later. She still holds another Australian job, but it’s fully remote at the moment. 9/29 – we found out she was pregnant 10/12 (yesterday) – we got married 10/14 (tomorrow) – her original non-refundable return ticket to Australia will expire Earlier in October I started researching option moving forward and currently I’m looking at I130 process and bonafide marriage evidence specifically. Here is what we have when it comes to documents: Marriage certificate Proof of health coverage for her (pending) Money transfers from her Australian bank to mine to comingle $$ She is an authorized user on some of my CC now I will add her as beneficiary for my financial accounts Documentation about being pregnant Recent pictures after her latest return (nothing significant, there was no wedding for now, just town hall official ceremony) Here is what we have from our friends days – tons of pictures from all the places we went, boarding passes, passport stamps, pictures with her friends and family in Turkey, pictures from the wedding of her friend in Germany. While all of this shows that we spent a lot of time together, I’m afraid it somewhat implicates us since it was all before we really decided to stay together and get married. So I don’t know if all that is helpful or harmful. I’m not sure what the best course of action is right now - file I-130 now or wait longer and accumulate more evidence. It would be nice to get EAD and AP sooner rather than later.

Hello everyone. I need some help. I am a 10 year greencard holder (IR1). Since leaving my spouse (please refer to previous topic). I was able to file a divorce case with a court in CA. My spouse got served and this must have triggered him as he has reported me to USCIS (I'm not worried about this as he has no evidence since it’s all lies) but my concern here is that he told me he will be filing a response to my divorce by ticking the box “annulment based on fraud”. I appreciate that this maybe not be the right place to ask but I cannot afford a lawyer and wanted to know how I proceed if I filed for a divorce based on irreconcilable differences and he is responding with annulment based on fraud? He is doing anything and everything he can to spite me and I just want to move on.

I would like to get advice. Which route is faster ? Should I go for a K-1 visa for fiancée? Or should we marry in Lima and file I-130 for consular processing? The embassy would be Lima, Peru Which one has the best shot at processing faster?

Greetings, Any advice on how to get things moving. We had a 1 year ban due to marijuana (admitting to past use). Visa processing was scheduled to resume June/21. Hospital contacted spouse for 1st drug test in October/21. No communication has been received since then. I have made contact to the Embassy (responses redirect to hospital), contact made to hospital with no responses, spouse has went in person to explain situation and nothing. Any advice ?

So, this question tends to come up here a lot as people think about going the CR-1 route instead of the K-1. Here's a basic run down of how to get married in Russia. As state on the Embassy website, this applies to Russian and American citizens only, things could get trickier if the other party is not a Russian citizen. https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/ Time frame: Roughly 2-3 months Physical locations involved: Local Russian consulate closest to you for getting a Russian visa You can use a third party visa service to apply and it is possible to do via mail - check options in your area Local office where you can register the foreigner's Russian visa (post office, other bureaucratic office...options vary) https://www.visahouse.com/en/information/visaregistration/ US Embassy in Moscow - US Citizen Services Department Bolshoy Devyatinsky Ln, 8, Moscow, Russia, 121099 // Большой Девятинский пер., 8, Москва, 121099 https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/ - email and how to get an appointment Hours: Monday-Friday currently by appointment only, no walk ins. Department of Legalization of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Moscow 1-Y Neopalimovskiy Pereulok, 12, Moscow, Russia, 119121 // 1-й Неопалимовский пер., 12, Москва, 119121 Hours: Monday- Friday 10:00am-12:30 p.m. and 2:30pm-5:00pm (until 4:00pm on Friday) - walk ins allowed Legalization Department Official Site (in Russian only) Local ZAGS in your city in Russia ЗАГСы Российской Федерации (in Russian only) Step 1: Obtain a visa to Russia Type of visa is irrelevant as long as you'll be able to stay a few months, preferably multi-entry if you want the freedom to come and go while waiting. Ideally a 3 year visa with stays of up to 6 months would be the best bet (preferably a private visa). The entire paperwork to marriage process will take a least a few months. Ballpark it at 2-3 months of waiting to be on the safe side. Once you arrive in Russia, be sure to register your visa in the town where you will be staying ASAP and get the registration. Also always keep your migration card together with your passport and do not lose it. Step 2: Get the information page of your passport translated into Russian (the page that has your name and photo) Can be done anywhere as long as it is certified that the translator knows both Russian and English Technically, you can do it yourself but taking it to a professional will ensure certainty plus a nicer looking format Translations in Russian tend to be cheap so it's worth the money - turn around time is also very fast, usually takes only 24 hours This document will later be given to ZAGS when you go to get married, so they can read and verify your passport NOTE: If you have previous divorces, you need to go ahead and get those divorce certificates translated into Russian as well Step 3: US citizen completes the "free to marry" affidavit at the US Embassy in Moscow and get it notarized You must complete this form in Russian stating that you are free to marry. Must be completed in Russian - so get a Russian speaker to help if you can't write. You must state if you have ever been married before; if you've been married before and are now divorced (list date/place of divorces) Email US Citizen Services to request an appointment for notary services. Wait time for getting an appointment is currently unknown. Bring affidavit, your US passport and any divorce certificates with you (get translations into English if necessary) Pay $50 at the US Citizen Services unit at the Embassy in Moscow and sign the form in the presence of the notary there. Do not sign the form until you are at the window with the notary officer! The affidavit is only valid for 3 months after it is signed by a notary Step 4: Get the affidavit authenticated at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow Right after you get your affidavit notarized, take a short trip over to the Legalization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs You do not need a prior appointment for this, walk in is possible - but during Covid, that might be different now One you hand in your affidavit for authentication, there will be at least 5 day turnaround time to process it - NO EXPEDITES or fast processing are available! This paper must be picked up in person when it is ready, no mail option is available. So either plan 2 trips to Moscow or plan to stay there for a week. Cost is 200 rubles, pay nearby in the building at the cashier. According to website, it might be 350 rubles now? Step 5: Choosing a marriage date and place at the local ZAGS Contact the ZAGS office in your town or city in Russia where your Russian fiancée/fiancé's is registered/currently living. Walk ins are possible but again check in advance due to Covid if you can walk in still. Bring all above mentioned documents to ZAGS for review. If you bring any foreign documents such as divorce certificates, bring translations into Russian and Apostille if applicable. Note: you will need to get the Apostille in the country where the document originated, so take care of that ideally before entering Russia. There is a 32 day obligatory wait before you can actually get married. At some ZAGS locations they will have a calendar right there where you can pick an available date and time from an option of available slots. Some cities have more than one ZAGS location, so think about it in advance which one you want to get married at Some ZAGS offices have rooms where many guests can attend, some are bigger and more ornate than others. If you want, you can have a bunch of people attend the civil ceremony at ZAGS and make it quite formal, or you can just do a quick in and out style eloping with no fanfare at all. Some ZAGS offices are very elaborate and decorated and accommodate guests better, so think about it in advance which office will be good for your needs if there's more than one to choose from in your city. Talk to the staff at ZAGS which one might best fit your needs. Once you select a date you'll be given an invitation paper with your selected date. You can leave Russia during this time or you can stay and wait it out. If you choose to leave, just make sure to register your visa again when you re-enter. Step 6 Get married at ZAGS! Once your wedding day arrives, arrive to ZAGS with all the proper paperwork mentioned above Submit it to the office where you will go through a couple steps of signing papers and getting your documents checked and reviewed again Once you both sign all the necessary papers and the ceremony is complete, you'll get a marriage certificate in Russian with both your names on it. It's a good idea to get it translated while you are in Russia and also buy a plastic cover to keep it protected (it only costs a few rubles.) That's it - now you're officially married in Russia! Now you can start the CR-1 process if all steps go according to plan.

Hello, My girlfriend is a legal citizen of Venezuela, but currently lives in Peru with her 2 kids. I am about to start the process of moving her to the USA. I have already researched and understand the K-1 visa process, but I am lost on the passport requirements portion... My girlfriend has an expired passport and we need new passports for her children. She spoke with someone in immigration that quoted her $250 for her passport renewal and $350 each for new passports for her children. I thought that sounded really expensive so I thought the guy in immigration might be trying to pocket money. Is there anywhere online where I can apply for passports on my girlfriend's behalf? And do those prices sound correct?