Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Hello everyone. We are new to these forums but my partner and I have been trying to figure out the best way for us to be together. We have been dating for six months and have never met each other, but we spend so much of each day together. We are hoping to find an effective solution to be able to live together in the near future, hopefully before the end of 2017. We don’t care where we live but we have planned to either live in the UK or US. We have a some questions we would like answered and any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Context: My partner is an EU/EEA national who is on her last year of school in the UK and is about to graduate. She has permanent residency in the UK but doesn't have a permanent residency document to prove it. She isn't sure whether she will go to university in the UK or look for work in the UK/US yet. I am a US citizen who is currently in university in the US but would be willing to drop out and go work in the UK if need be, then study there in 5 years once I can get permanent residence (UK student loans are better). We are considering getting married in the US (she doesn't need a visa to come here for 3 months and get married) then apply for an EEA family permit while still in the US and move to the UK. We could also stay in the US. My partner has permanent residency in the UK but doesn't have a permanent residency document to prove it.

Here are our questions:


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3.She never had comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) while going to school. Does she need to have had CSI as a student during the last five years of school to be considered a qualified person for an EEA family permit? Would getting it for university be enough? If she becomes a jobseeker does she need to show that she had CSI during those last five years? What if she goes on to study in university?

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5.If we were to live in the US, what visa would be processed faster (K-1, K-3 or CR-1) and which one would be the most beneficial in our situation? Could she come here without a visa just to get married, with the intention of going back to the UK after applying for an EEA family permit, but remain and become resident here if the EEA application is rejected? We have read that this option may work if she comes to the US without a visa to get married with the intention to return to the UK but could apply for residence here in the case of an “unexpected” engagement. Otherwise, and also if the marriage takes place too early after arriving here, this could be suspected as visa fraud. Instead, we could get married in the UK if I got a marriage visitor visa, or she could apply for a K-3 fiancée visa for the US, but we are worried that this would take too long. How long would she have to wait before being allowed to stay in the US if she applied for a K-1 visa instead?

6.Another issue is proving that our relationship is genuine. We have never met before and haven't been in a relationship for very long. How could we show that it's genuine? I applied to the UK universities she got offers from but haven't received replies, and she applied to my university (US) but didn't get in. Could this be used to show that we just want to be together and aren't getting married just to gain residence in a particular country for other purposes? We could also provide FaceTime call logs and proof of transfer of money, and take dated pictures of us together in the US before and after getting married. She would also be living in the US with me for the duration of her stay (before and after marriage) but she can only stay for up to 3 months without a visa.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, we really appreciate it!

Shaihi and Ineida.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

1. The VWP only allows 90 days in the USA, not 3 months. They are not the same.

2. Many of your questions need to be asked in a UK immigration forum. This one is specifically for US immigration only.

3. There is no more K-3 visa.

4. If you are considering the US, please read our Wiki guide showing the comparison between K-1 (fiance visa) and CR-1 (spouse immigrant visa), then come back with specific questions.

The first thing to do is meet in person, spend some time together and then decide if you want to pursue marriage.

Rene

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Correct, but it's 90 days - not 3 months.


These are not appropriate questions for this forum - which deals with moving to the US... not to the UK or EU.


Forget the K-3... it is no longer a viable visa.

Both the K-1 and CR-1 visa take about 8-10 months start to finish. Right now, you don't qualify for either. For a K-1, you must have met face-to-face at least once within the past two years... so you won't qualify until you actually meet. You won't be eligible for a CR-1 until after you're married.


No. It is illegal to enter the US as a visitor with the intent to stay to adjust status - which is what she will try to do if the EEA permit is rejected. US immigration is not set up for your convenience.


How easy it must be to twist the language into something that you think will work for you. If she comes to the US to get married, then she is already engaged... so there's no such thing as an unexpected engagement. If she lies to gain a US immigration benefit and gets caught, she faces a permanent ban from the US. That'll quickly put an end to things.


You can get married the day she enters the US if you want. It'll make no difference.


The K-3 is not a viable visa. It was once - about 20 years ago, but not now. Forget the K-3.


It will take 8-10 months for her to get the visa. Once she has the visa, she can move immediately. After you get married, she must file the paperwork to adjust her status... and at that point, she is allowed to stay in the US until the adjustment paperwork is adjudicated.


You can't. Either you get married before applying for a CR-1 visa... or you meet face-to-face before applying for a K-1 visa.

Ian

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Some very odd statements in this posting:

We have been dating for six months and have never met each other,

My partner is an EU/EEA national who is on her last year of school in the UK

Something tells me that there is no point in answering the questions in any great depth, as the above indicates the poster would not qualify for any of the situations he is asking about.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

One trusts that he is using "school" in the US sense, e.g. College.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

It's just that he said she was deciding whether to go to University in UK or US so I naturally assumed he meant something like 6th Form College or a school 6th form.;)

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

If she's in college, one wonders if she is old enough to qualify for a marriage based visa.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Although we haven't met each other yet, we are planning to either meet/marry in the US before we can move to the UK together or meet/marry in the UK before we can live in the US together. We realise that this may seem suspicious because we would apply shortly after getting married but we are also considering moving to a country where we can start living together first. Also, my partner is 18 years old. We are taking this situation seriously so any answers would be highly appreciated.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

All the questions you asked were answered in post #3.

Ian

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Well I can see one major obstacle in your plan to move to the UK, as you say your girlfriend is contemplating going to Uni after school; and that is that SHE would need to sponsor you for a spouse visa; and that means meeting the financial requirements of either earning 18,600 GBP per annum OR having assets/savings of 62,500 GBP to offset no income. (not to mention the couple of thousand pounds for the visa fees)

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Thank you for your input, we appreciate your answers. However, the EEA family permit and CSI are for moving to the UK but I must apply for the permit from the US. Sorry for the confusion.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Yes we have looked into spouse visas, however because she is an EEA national I can apply for an EEA family permit instead (free) and there is no minimum financial requirement for this. If she is in the UK she must be a "qualified person" i.e. a worker, student, jobseeker or self-sufficient. If she is a student or self-sufficient she would need comprehensive sickness insurance, which she doesn't have.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Also, we are planning to meet before applying for any visa anyway.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Yes she is, she is 18.

Re: Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1
 

Yes, she is 18. Perhaps "dating" is the wrong word but we are in a committed relationship. My partner is capable of making decisions for herself. I understand why it may not seem "quite right" from an external perspective with no understanding of our relationship, but we know what we're doing :thumb: We are, however, worried about the application seeming suspicious due to the short timescale.