galvatron

Hi,

I am in a relationship with a woman who is
from the Philippines, and is working abroad
in Denmark. Is it possible for her to receive
a Fiancee Visa while she is in Denmark, then
come straight to me in America once her
work contract in Denmark expires?

Thank you for your time.

galvatron

Hi again,

If anyone has information about this, your help would
be really appreciated as it's a serious matter with me
and my fiancee. Thank you again for your time.

meauxna

This sounds like a question specific to the Consular staff in Denmark. Why not write them and ask?

mcjimbo

Ummm, what would make sense is to apply for it, and time it so that your fiance(e) gets it near the end of there appointment in Denmark.

You can roughly figure out the timescales based on the INS centre you applying to... I think the whole process can take 6-8months. So if your fiancee appointment is only a year, apply for it now. When the visa is issued with a K1 they have 6 months to leave the country.

I am currently going through this process in the UK. I am timing my visa to roughly come near the end of my appointment, and near the time of my wedding. I suggest you do the same.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Jurisdiction on "non-immigrant" visas, which the K-1 is, lies with the consulate where the alien physically appears before the consulate. On "immigrant" visas, jurisidction lies with the country of RESIDENCE. However, the consulate are allowed to accept applications of non-residents in their discretion. Note, that I am saying "residence" and NOT "nationality." Practice varies in these discretionary applications, but I've never seen a case in my experience where a consulate will not accept the case of one of its nationals.

I am giving you both the NIV and IV rules beccuase the K-1 is a hybrid visa -- it is a NIV which looks towards immigration -- so in many procedural ways it is treated as an IV.

So, Copenhagen CAN take the case. However, we will not get into the whole issue of "TCN" application. Another string on this NG deals with an Indian applying in the UAE -- and I see it, in part, as running into problems as a TCN case.

galvatron

I have 2 questions in reply to the messages posted.

First, so she CAN get a visa while she is in Denmark so
she can come straight to America without going home
first?

Secondly, can anyone else give me an idea on the time
the process could take from submitting the application
to when she could get the visa?
Timing is VERY important, since my visit over there
will be in late November,
and her contract expires at the end of July. Is it really
going to take 6 to 8 MONTHS from beginning to end
for this process?

galvatron

One more additional question because HELP is really needed
from anyone here who can tell me something.

My Fiancee learned in Denmark through help from a
social services organization that her documentation
on file in Denmark was legal.
However, in her home country it was probably not
legal the way her employers got her there (and also since there is a law against working abroad doing her job - aupair).
We are looking into her status at home now, if
there are any problems and if so, then how to fix
them. Another part of this is that her employer
got her documentation actually from Thailand since
the employer said "the Danish Embassy in the Philippines was closed, and they would have a lawyer help fix this problem"
when she first tried to get her visa, work permit, etc.
(this added info could help give a clearer picture what
her documentation in Denmark could be, to understand
what my question will better mean, etc.)

Anyway, to make a long story short, my question is
will this affect our application for a Fiancee Visa for her
to come straight to America from Denmark (if someone can
come to another country while just working there)?

Would all these things, including if she has a problem from
her home country how she left, be backtracked through
our application for her to get the (Fiancee Visa) to come
from Denmark to America leading them to reject or
stop our application upon finding all this stuff?

Or will they not even look into her home country
information, etc. ? I assumed they would, and also
just seeing she is from the Philippines and working as
an aupair would cause problems itself (besides that,
not knowing the details of her documentation, if it's
from Thailand, would it say she is a Thai citizen or
something? Or is it normal for a Filipino citizen to
have this (I feel obviously it's NOT, but I still need to
ask this other side of it anyway, there could be something
I don't know about it)?

I sent a letter to the Philippines Overseas Employment
Administration to get to the bottom of everything, and
what they can say about her situation. POEA is a part
of the Filipino government that deals with overseas
workers and should be able to address this situation.
Her safety and situation comes before anything.

But for myself, I really want to know how this could also affect
our plans to file the Fiancee Visa while she is in Denmark to
come to America. Also, if results from any of this could affect
our ability to file in some way (whether she can stay in Denmark,
or if for some reason she had to go back home to the Phils). I hope she did not get some kind of record, or also that even if she didn't, that all this wouldn't wreck our chances because of her having immigration problems before as I have heard people in the Philippines (or anyone) have real problems getting the Fiancee Visa because of that.

Your help would really be appreciated, anyone who can help. Especially any of those members here who have legal experience and expertise. I know here I am just looking for replies to read and peoples' information, but at least it's a start to me of what I could expect as me and her pursue this.

Thank you again for your time.

meauxna

galvatron, I really recommend that you start correspondence with the US Consulate in Denmark. They are best equipped to help you with these questions and are probably aware of what happens with some of these 'employment agencies' like the one that your GF works for.
Cultivating a friendly relationship with the staffers at the Consulate can only pay off for you in the end. If nothing else, they may have other resources for you to follow up on.
I'm sure you're worried about exposing your fiance to them, but she's going to come to their attention sooner or later. You might even enquire about DCF in Denmark, which you could do if you went over and married her close to the end of her contract.

These are just random ideas; I am NOT a lawyer.

galvatron

Hi,

Thank you for your informative reply.

So if I correspond with the US Consulate in Denmark, you mean
talk with them about getting her to the United States?
Could you tell me more about what kind of things I could consider talking to them about regarding my fiancee?

Also, what is the "DFC" in Denmark? And if I am an American
citizen, and I live in America, how could I marry her in Denmark?
I don't quite understand the details on that one. But I'd be interested to hear what exactly you meant.

Thanks again.

meauxna

Yes, "correspond", as in (this is the 3rd time to say this) write to them and ask the Consulate questions about these complications, or perceived complications. As kent51 said on your other thread, your GF's situation may be 'the norm' and the Consulate may have dealt with it before. Clearly, few here have.

As you don't want to reveal her name (to protect her), don't. Write a clear summary of the FACTS and then your concerns. Then, ask specific questions, like "Is my fiance able to apply for a K1 visa through your Consulate upon an approved I-129F petition, even though she is a resident, not a citizen, of your country" or similar. Simple, see? They can tell you how it is.

As to DCF and some of your related questions, I have one or two for you. Have you met this woman in person? Do you plan on meeting her in November? If you've not yet met, why are you considering marriage, or is it only in the "maybe" stage right now? Are *you* positive you have all the facts of this woman's background? I ask because it's *you* who will (if you bring her to the US) put at least your financial ass on the line for a minimum of 10 years, whether you stay married to her or not.

You wonder how you, as an American, can marry overseas? Tens of thousands do each year, I'm sure. I'm one who did (last year). Each country has specific rules and paperwork requirements; you'll have to find out how to do it in Denmark. Obviously, this would require a trip to Denmark.

If you do marry her in Denmark, and she is legally resident there, you can file a petition I-130 for her at the Consulate there. On its approval, she can file for an Immigrant Visa there. Total processing time is 3.5 months, according to the Consul's website. You do not have to remain in Denmark this entire time, but she does. This is far and away the fastest way to a Green Card/marriage-based. Not every country offers it for USCs not resident in their country, but when they do, it is almost always the "best" choice for all involved.

You can read about the DCF process here: http://k1.exit.com/dcf.html

and about Copenhagen's Immigrant and Fiance visa process here: http://www.usembassy.dk/index.php?o=...99f634dc1dd5da

Be sure to read the Danish site thoroughly before writing to them; your questions may be answered there.

I recall that there are specific discussion groups related to Phill citz and marriage-based immigration. You might find more information from people discussing Phil-specific spouses as some of her countries rules are unique. Try Yahoo Groups, a google search, or ask Kent51 if he knows of one.

galvatron

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.
To answer your question am I serious and am I sure about
marrying her?

The answer is YES!!!

We've known each other for a year and a half, and
been together in relationship for a long time. We're
very long past the "maybe" stage, of course. If I
wasn't totally sure, I definitely wouldn't even spend
my time for anything on someone far away from me.
But she is the only one in my heart and I don't want
anyone else. That is why I have gone to such lengths
for her and for our plans to come true, and the along
with spending a lifetime together, without question
accept the long-term real responsibilities that come
with it.

Anyway, on to your advice. I thank you a lot for your
information. These are things I would not have even
known to consider or ask. After I can get information
from different places (like her country, from the
US Consulate in Denmark, etc.), I also am considering
talking to an immigration lawyer about this situation,
to try to put all the pieces together what we can
do. I want for our plans to come true. But I also don't
want her to be hit with some kind of trouble because
of things that happened in the past (and not to try and
ignore that kind of thing), so I really hope
even more that our trying to get her a visa for us
to be together will work out. I hope I can
find the workable solution to all of these things.

Thank you again, and thank you for the links you provided.
I will really look into this new information.

galvatron

Another thing I wanted to mention about your
last post, marrying my fiancee in the country
she is in.

I already stated a number of times that my fiancee (originally from the Philippines) is in Denmark on a Visa to work.
It expires next year. She's not a permanent
resident there. Since maybe I don't fully understand
how these things work, if an American who goes
(probably on a tourist visa) to Denmark marries
her there, and then leaves back to America again,
how can she stay in Denmark let alone come to the
U.S.? Or this is just an idea so she can come to the U.S.?
I want to understand this fully, but with her visa having
a time limit and her job contract running out next year too,
I don't want to complicate things more than they are. Please
tell me how this situation would work in our case.