Trev

I've just entered into the world of visas, forms and attempting to stay sane
while trying to be on the same continent with them man I love. I am a USC
and he is a Kiwi. We have been dating for nearly a year and became engaged
on Monday. I'm currently in New Zealand while taking a leave of absence
from my job and essentially my life as I knew it. We met while he was in
the United States for a couple of months and this is my second trip in the
last 6 months.

We are now at the juncture of deciding if the best route is to go via the
Fiancée K1/K2 route or to get married in New Zealand and attempt to file all
the appropriate paperwork, forms, etc. so that we can go back to the United
States already being married?

Any advice would be extremely helpful. We've gotten conflicting information
from various sources as to which is the best way to attempt our ultimate
goal which is to spend our futures together as man in wife in the United
States.

Thanks!
Amy from Wisconsin

Shannon

Hi Amy
Yours is a question commonly asked on this website. I am sure you'll get some informed responses but the pros and cons of each option are well documented on various websites. Eg. Doc Steens.

If you were to marry in New Zealand you should be eligible for Direct Consular Filing of the application (New Zealand offers DCF) which is generally the quickest route to go.

Good luck in your decision. New Zealand is a beautiful place, I am from Australia and miss it a great deal despite a happy home in Seattle, WA.

Shannon

Shannon

Here is the link that shows all the pro's and con's of the different types of visa.

http://k1.exit.com/dcf.html

Shannon

leszke.1

I can sympathise with your quandry -

My USC boyfriend and I (UKC) haven't even decided what we want to do - and he doesn't know the full spectrum of options yet (until I talk to him about them). But I too have been researching the differences between marrying before applying for Emigration to the USA (basically applying for a spousal Visa), or applying for the K1 Fiancee Visa.

The decision is not an easy one, and whichever you choose you can pretty much guarantee that you will run into a plentiful supply of pitfalls and hardships when you're talking about dealing with the INS and their "Emassies".

But, all in all, after researching it for over a year, I have just about come to the conclusion that the K1 may well hold the answers for us. I don't know, there's just something a bit.....well......."nicer" about it than the Spousal equivalent - don't ask me!!!

I think it may well be tht you are more likely to have a K1 granted in the first place because it is firstly classed as a Non-Imigrant Visa - until you go over, marry and apply for AOS.

Hope you figure it out!

Kaz.

meauxna

Amy, I just want to add my .02 and tell you that I just did DCF in Greece and we got our Immigrant Visa (becomes a greencard upon entry to the US) in 33 days. It's a HUGE time/money saver if you're in a position to use it, and you *are* in that position. I hope you'll read up on this option since you're one of the lucky few that can do it!

mrsstrickland

let me give you my experience and it may help u decide, im from the UK and my husband is a USC, we met online and spoke for a long time, and i decided to go and visit him to see if it would work out in person, i travelled to the USA instantly knew it was the right thing, i stayed with him for over my 90days becasue i couldnt bare to leave him, we got engaged, i should of come home and filed a fiance visa, but at that point didnt realize that this INS system was so rigarous, we sought the advice of a congressmans aide, she called Texas while we were sitting in the office, i even spoke to the woman on the telephone myself, she told me that because we intended to get married, to go ahead and marry and adjust status, which was great, but then i had to return back to the UK to take care of family business, by this time we had been married a week, thus nulling our choice of the K-1. Two weeks prior to us leaving for the UK we contact the congressmans aide again, and asked if i would have problems returning to the states, she called Texas again, and the woman on the telephone told me, no problem, go home and you will be able to come back with your husband, so i thought great, we got married shortly after and left for england, but on my return to the states, i was refused entry on the grounds i was married to a USC, so my husband travelled on home and i was on my way back to England with no home or no money, no job, nothing, thankgoodness for parents, so my husband went up to our local INS office asked them a few questions and left with a package of papers, we filed an I-130 who they told him would take 3 months max, well guess what, i have been waiting since Febuary, i know the fiance visa is a lot quicker, i guess it was niavety thinking because i was married that i would have no problem, but as these messageboards show filing for a K-3 is a much longer process, sorry about rambling on, but had to vent, the wait is a long time and very painful.


But good luck to you both and only you both can know which visa will be right for you, K-1 will be 3-6 months max, K3 is 4-8 months (missouri is heavily backlogged) and the I-130 takes heaven knows how long, although i have my approval with TSC, the NVC and all the rest of that junk have to play their part, but i wished i had filed a K-1 and i would be home right now.

Good Luck

meauxna

MrsS,
I'm terribly sorry to hear that you got bad advice and took it, resulting in your current wait. But a couple of things might help the OP:
First, She is overseas now with her beloved and able to do a Direct Consular Filing. She has the time off and has her fella in hand. I don't know the timeline for the NZ Consulates, but one quick phone call from her to them would net her the answer. I'm fairly confident that it will take less than 3-8 months and they will be able to stay together through the whole process (in NZ) and return to the States together, if they choose. (She can return early and let the husband complete his final interview alone. She only needs to appear for the I-130 filing after their marriage).

I know you *now* know this, but for the OP:
You could have filed the appropriate travel docs (Advanced Parole) with your Adjustment docs after your marriage which would've allowed you to go the the UK and return. You were refused entry because you were *immigrating* on your return visit, unlike your previous entries. Additionally, since you had overstayed your 90 days, you should've adjusted while in the country to avoid the penalties that have caught you out.

I think that the lesson for all of us is to cross check ALL information given. You did what the official bodies told you to do, but they. were. wrong. That sucks. There's the value of this NG, it is a resource for us to check and double check information.

meauxna

Well, I'm going to ask. Why is it "nicer"?

leszke.1

Eh? ........ oh, I see! :-P

Erm......well just considering the overall picture - and what I mentioned about it being a Nonimmigrant Visa - more likely to get it granted because there's nothing permanent apparently considered in going to the USA for 3 months to get married. I dunno - I haven't even started my process yet - just my general, psychically-oriented opinion, really!!!!!

MTW, I visited Rhodes in the summer of 1996. It was beautiful and the people SO warm and friendly. Took a day trip on a boat to Turkey - didn't like it as much as RHodes!!! ;-)

Kaz. -x-

meauxna

I'm not really clear on what you mean by 'the overall picture' and what I should consider there.
I don't think that the NI status of the K1 makes it more likely to be granted. My bias.

The 'Spousal equivalent' of a K1 is a K3, and it's a non-immigrant visa as well (AFAIR). And the visa that my husband just got is a CR-1 which took 33 days to get, was easy to obtain as we are a legitimate couple and is the end of our paperwork for another year and 9 months.
So really, I think *that* visa is the nicest