Deployment
 

Hello,

My partner is in the US Air Force, and had been in England for the past 2 years until November 2017, where he had to change stations (PCS) to an area near Chicago. He has done his 'time' in the Air Force and has decided to leave, meaning he can get out in March 2019.

Upon requesting to leave, they have decided to deploy him for 6 months to another country in July this year. (Not sure whether that was a coincidence or not).

We had planned for me to come over to the US through the fiance visa route next year for around Mach time but I'm now worried that we would have to wait until he is back to file for the i-129f, meaning I wouldn't be able to see move over until like end of 2019.

Also to add to the above, he doesn't like the area where he is stationed at currently which means we are looking to move to another state (possibly California, or New England area). He is giving up his flat lease, so he will not have a permanent place of stay.

Has anyone else been through this before? I feel it's quite complicated, but I'm hoping it's not. I also read a few recent thread posts and have seen that the processing times have gone up a bit.

Thanks.

Re: Deployment
 

Hi Lifer,

I haven't been in your exact position, but my wife is Active Duty Navy. You can still file the I-129F ahead of him deploying, or even while he's deployed, as long as he has access to a mailbox, either a FPO/APO or his permanent address of record (could be his parents for example), just make sure he checks his mail regularly if you do that, and keeps his address updated. We've made it this far without legal help, but he could definitely talk to the legal office on base if he wants any advice, we're currently in Japan and our base has a legal office with immigration experts.

USCIS might not officially expedite cases linked to military members, but in my experience it definitely seems to help. Our I-129F was approved within 5 weeks in 2015, and AOS only took 3 months in 2016, we did include a letter of support from my wife's CO in both cases. I'm currently going through the Removal of Conditions process, but too soon to tell if the military link will help there. I have no idea if this helped or not, it might just have been a coincidence that it all happened so quickly.

Given the situation, you might also want to consider popping over for a quick courthouse wedding, then returning to the UK and filing directly for permanent residency, rather than going K1 then AOS. You've got the time to do it, and it means that you'll be a permanent resident on the day you immigrate, able to work etc.

Hope this helps

Scotty

Re: Deployment
 

:goodpost:

Exactly what I was thinking. Virtually the same length of time to obtain the CR-1 visa as the K-1 visa and a hold lot more beneficial to you. Entering the US after CR-1 visa approval makes you a conditional permanent resident once you come out of secondary and you can work immediately and not have to deal again with USCIS until you need to apply to have the conditions removed 21 months after entering the US.

Rethink your decision to go the K-1 with your fiancé. The CR-1 visa is a good thing. :nod:

Re: Deployment
 

I agree with CR-1. Your USAF partner may be able to seek help from a JAG officer for some legal advice.