Kapan

Dear fellow members,

I need some genuine help on options to settle in the US. Bit of background is that i am an British citizen and my fiance is a US citizen. We inted to get married this year. I have looked at many possible ways to begin the process however it has been a litlle overwhelming to decide which is the safest and quickest way to get there. So here are the questions:

1. I work for a company who have offices in US, if they send me there on a short term project (3 months), can I get married then and apply for adjustment of status to spouse visa?

2. If my company gives me L1 visa and once I am there on L1 visa, can i apply for adjustment of status to spouse then?

3. If my partner has filed for a fiance petition to process K1 visa, and my company then decides to send me to US for the project or L1. What will happen to my K1 applicaion? I mean can my company even send me on L1 if i have a fiance application pending

4. What is a better option: A. Get a fiance visa, land in US, get married and apply for settlement under spouse category whilst in US or B. Go to USA, get married, return to UK and apply for spouse visa from the UK?

5. Can i apply for adjustment of status after getting on K1 visa and how soon can i apply and can i stay in the US whilst my settlement visa application is being considered, even though my 90 day period would have expired on K1 visa?

Appreciate that there are a lot of questions but I am very hopeful I will be able to get good answers from all of you. Thanks in advance

ian-mstm

Since a visa is a travel document only, no. But you can apply to adjust status to US permanent resident!


As above! By the way, your company can't give you a visa... that is the exclusive purview of US immigration.


It will die a natural death if you do not act on it.


Yes. One has no bearing on the other, and you are allowed to have multiple, independent visa applications processing at the same time.


Look here. Only you can make that decision... but, all else being equal, plan B is superior. You don't need to marry in the US, you can get married anywhere in the world.


You can apply to adjust status as soon as you have a copy of the marriage certificate. Once you apply to adjust your status, you are allowed to remain in the US until such time as the application is adjudicated... however long it takes.


As mentioned earlier, a visa is a travel document. It becomes immediately invalid the moment you enter the US... which is fine, because you no longer need it after that.

Ian

Kapan

Thanks Ian,
What I meant by company giving me L1 visa was if they send me to work in the US on L1 visa, then can I get married in the US and apply for adjustement of status whilst there?

Also my faince visited me for a couple of months in the UK and we debated getting married here and found our that he would have had to apply for a "marriage visa" to get married in the UK so we didn't go with this option.

tom169

Yes

Noorah101

1. Maybe. Are you thinking they'd send you on a B-1 work visa, or are you thinking of the VWP? It would depend what tasks you'd be doing in the USA for 3 months. Would need more detail to answer this one.
2. Yes
3. Nothing will happen to it...when you don't follow up, it will be discarded. Yes, the company can send you on L1 even if you have a K-1 in process.
4. Neither is better. They both reach the same conclusion. The Choice is yours which one to do.
5. I'm sorry, I don't understand this question or scenario. When you arrive on a K-1, you MUST marry and file AOS. If you're doing a K-1, you won't be married, so there's no settlement visa involved. There's actually no such thing as a "settlement visa", so I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to ask.

Rene

ian-mstm

Yes.

I know you're new to all this, but if you move forward with your plans you're going to be involved with US immigration for several years - so it's best to start using the correct terms now. This will help you to avoid any confusion.


In comparison to its US counterpart, a UK marriage visa is a walk in the park. As with all visas, it has to be applied for - but it's easy paperwork, easy to get, and inexpensive.

Ian

Rete

The difference between a marriage visa for the UK and the fiancée visa for the US is that the K-1 to the US allows you to remain here after the wedding and apply for adjustment of status to permanent resident. Also for the sake of correctness, there is no such thing as a settlement visa to the US. That term only applies to the UK.

Kapan

Thanks everyone for all the help. Yes i am pretty new to this process hence the inappropriate jargon. Is there any where I can find about timelines. How long does it take to get a K1 visa
After marraige, How long does it take to the status ajusted after applying for AOS?
Thanks

tom169

Once the petition has been submitted it will be processed by a USCIS service centre. They publish some times on this website: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do

However, all petitons are unique and you have to take it with a very small pinch of salt.

Once the service centre is done it will be transferred to the NVC. This could take a few weeks.

Then its sent to the London embassy where you can apply for the visa. That all depends on how quickly you can get a medical booked and appointment. After visa interview it'll take a week or more for your passport to be delivered back to you.

So factor all this time in together to get the K-1.

For AOS, perhaps 5-6 months to adjust. Employment authorization documents are running about 3 months right now.

ian-mstm

There are several timeline threads in these forums... shouldn't be too hard to find them. A word of caution though... take all timelines with a pillar of salt - because someone else's timeline won't likely be your timeline.


Immigration is a 2-step process. First the I-129F petition must be submitted and approved... that takes about 4-5 months. Once the petition is approved, you are then invited to apply for the K-1 visa... another 4-5 months. So, 8-10 months total.

Concentrate on the goal, not the journey!


Usually 6 or so months.

Ian

Kapan

Thanks, I have been looking on here for guidelines on petition and unclear about two things:
Do I pay the fee with the form submission in the same post, if visa cheque? or after the submission?
When and where do you pay the fee for K1 petition?
Do i have to submit any evidence with the K1 petition? or just the form ?

Noorah101

Instructions for filing the I-129F can be found at www.uscis.gov.

Yes, pay the fee along with filing the I-129F. Yes, there are other documents and evidence that go in the I-129F package.

The K-1 visa fee is paid later, after the I-129F is approved.

Rene

tom169

It's also better to use personal checks throughout the process so it can be tracked easier. Many times the first knowledge of them receiving the package is the check has been cashed!

ian-mstm

Yes.


The instructions are at www.uscis.gov/forms.


Yes, there is evidence you need to submit. Read both the I-129F form and the I-129F Instructions.

By the way, don't refer to this as a K-1 petition - because there's room for error in interpretation. Always use the form numbers so people know exactly what it is you're talking about. In this case, the I-129F petition.

Ian

Kapan

Thanks again, found it from the instructions:

a. If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate.
b. If you were naturalized, submit a copy, front and back, of your original Certificate of Naturalization. c. If you were born outside the United States and you are a U.S. citizen through your "parents", submit:
(1) A copy of your original Certificate of Citizenship; or
(2) Your Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a United States Citizen
d. In place of any of the above, you may submit a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least 5 years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport.

Submit evidence that you and your fiancé(e) intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e)'s entry as a K-1. Evidence of your intention to marry may include a statement of intent to marry.

Submit evidence that you and your fiancé(e) have met in person during the 2 years preceding your filing of this petition. Such evidence may include a written statement from you and/or the beneficiary stating the exact dates on which you met in person, copy of airline tickets, passport pages, or other evidence showing you and the beneficiary have met in person during the requisite time period. If you believe you qualify for an exception to the meeting requirement, submit evidence in support of the exception.

Submit two completed and signed Forms G-325A, Biographic Information; one for you and one for your beneficiary. Except for name and signature, you do not have to repeat the information given on your Form I-129F

Submit a passport-style color photograph of yourself and a passport-style color photograph of your beneficiary, with both photos taken within 30 days of the date of filing this petition. The photos must have a white background, and be glossy, un-retouched, and be unmounted. The dimension of the full frontal facial image should be about one inch from your chin to the top of your hair. Using a pencil or felt pen, lightly print the name (and Alien Registration Number, if known) on the back of each photograph