rach1015

Ok here we go ...

I am a single mum of 3 girls.. i live in uk.. i am in love with my american boyfriend and im wanting to get married and move over there with my children..

i have a esta visa and have just come bk from america, im hoping to go in january and possibly get married, i understand that i will have to come home again after and put in for a k-3 ? and a k-4 for the children ?

if anyone could help please id be very grateful

babybyrd

edited out cause i was wrong

ian-mstm

Just so you know, you will likely need written permission from the children's father to remove them from UK jurisdiction.


In the coming months ahead, it will be very important for you to start to use the correct terminology. ESTA is not a visa, it is part of the Visa Waiver Program... in fact, there is no visa.


Nothing wrong so far.


You don't want to do a K-3/4. If your intent is to get married and live in the US as soon as possible, the quickest way would be for your US fiance to file form I-129F to petition you for a K-1 visa. The children will receive K-2 visas. Once you enter the US with the K-1/2 visas, you will have 90 days in which to marry your fiance and apply to adjust your status from K-1/2 to US permanent residents (PR). The reason it's faster is that your fiance can file the forms today!

If you don't mind a few extra months wait, once you get married, I recommend your fiance file form I-130 to petition you as an immediate relative... this will result in immigrant visas for you and the children. The day you enter the US, you will immediately become PRs.

All the forms and instructions can be found at www.uscis.gov. You've got a steep learning curve ahead of you... learning immigration is like learning a whole new language!

Ian

rach1015

hi ian ,

yes im aware a esta is not a visa i was just stating i had that and thats what i travelled on ..

i know ill have to have the fathers permission and that is one of my main issues im going to have to deal with ...

i read also that as from 1st feb 2010 if a I-130 and a k visa are both put in the k visa will be administrativly closed and the I-130 will be acted apon.

ill be going over end of january hopefully and get married then so ill need to put in for a k-3 and k-4's for children when i get back . whilst im waiting for my k-3 i can live in usa but not work , im sure this is what i found ...

please let me know if anyone has been down this road?

ian-mstm

Don't confuse a K-1/2 fiance visa with a K-3/4 spouse visa - they aren't related. The only connection is form I-129F which will result in a K-1/2 visa if you are NOT married, and a K-3/4 visa if you ARE married.

Even so, you really don't want to do a K-3/4 visa. It takes the same amount of time to process as a CR-1 visa (which is the result of filing form I-130 = immigrant visa) and the CR-1 is a LOT less expensive. You will enter the US and immediately become a PR. If you follow the K-3/4 path, you will enter the US and then have to adjust your status to PR... and you won't get to the US any faster!


That is absolutely wrong. You can NOT live in the US until you receive the K-3/4 visas. This is one reason why the K-3/4 is a crappy visa. It offers no benefits whatsoever. The CR-1 is a superior visa.

Forget the K-3/4. You've somehow got it into your head that this is a good path to follow. I can assure you, most emphatically, that it is NOT.

Ian

rach1015

i will be married when i put in for my visa.. so i cant get a k-1 ?

How do i go about getting the CR-1 visa after january when i am already married ? when can i put forms in and how much will the first forms cost?
thanks again for your help im so lost right now, i understand its going to be lengthy progress but if i had the right steps to follow and knew what i was doing it wouldnt be half as bad and i have read so many different statements its driving me mad

babybyrd

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/CR-1

ian-mstm

True... if that's the route you want to take. I only threw it out there as a suggestion IF getting to the US ASAP was your prime concern, since the paperwork could be filed immediately.

Once you have your marriage certificate, your (then) husband will file a form I-130 for you and again for the children. The I-130 is a petition and establishes the relationship between you and the USC. Once the I-130 is approved, it will make its way to London and you will be invited to apply for the actual visa based on the approved I-130. So, you don't actually do anything for several months... the first part of the process will be entirely in your (then) husband's hands.


Current fees are all on the USCIS website.


We'll try not to steer you wrong! Most of us here, myself included, have successfully navigated the US immigration process.

Ian

Rete

Please note, he also needs to submit an I-130 for each of the children. They cannot tag along on your I-130.

BTW how old are your children.

rach1015

so i get married in january..
come home...
my husband applies for a I-130
then what?

Noorah101

The fee for filing the I-130 is on the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov). There is also a fee for the I-864 once the case moves to NVC. Then there are fees to be paid at the interview (again, I believe), which are probably listed on the US Embassy London's website.

Rach...don't forget, each person immigrating needs an I-130. Each person immigrating needs to pay the visa fee. So you'll have to do some calculation...whatever fee is on the websites x 3.

Rene

Noorah101

Did you read the link in Post 7 on this thread?

Rene

rach1015

yes hun i keep re reading it , im just getting it all together in my head , bear with me lol

what does the interview involve?
thanks

rach1015

does each child need a I-130 ? i thought as they al under 18 they are put on mine so i only need to put in one I-130 ?

Rete

No, as both Rene and I pointed out they all need their own I-130's. If you went the fiancee visa route it would only be one fee for you and the kids tag along as K-2's. BUT ... and it is an expensive but ... they still need to have medical as is the case with either the I-130's or the K-1/K-2's, and with the case of the K visas, you all have to file individually in the US for adjustment of status which is again 4 x the fee for the petitions. So the costs are about the same regardless of which way you plan it.