Fry24

So sorry, I know everyone starts a thread on here with the "I'm sorry for the repetitive nature of this post" post, but I really am sorry to be a pain in the bum!

See maybe I'm just having a funny 5 minutes but I'm freaking out reading through all the visa info. I just can't take any of it in and was hoping some lovely kind person might be able to explain the action needed in my specific case.

I'm a UK citizen and I met a wonderful American man a year and a half ago whilst on holiday in NY. I spent 3 months over there with him last summer on a regular VWP thingy! He came over here, I went back over there (all for holidays) and then he proposed to me at Xmas.

We had planned for him to move over here but decided it'd make more economic sense for me to move over there. All this was decided in the last 24 hours - hence the hectic message I'm writing here!

So, I'm heading over there for a 2 week holiday at Easter where we had planned to get married. We're both more than happy with a very quiet ceremony as we had a huge engagement party!

Firstly, do I need a special visa to go over there and marry him at Easter? I'm intending to come home for a month or so afterwards to finish my uni course - so this wouldn't be my move out there, just a holiday out there where I happen to marry him.

If we do get married at Easter, what procedure do I then go about to get a greencard to work in the USA? How long does this process take?

Or am I better off waiting to marry him until I'm done with my uni course at the end of May and going over there on a fiance visa? Then what's the procedure and how long would it take before I could work?

Basically, I can't really afford to be out there for more than a month or two without working, so. . errr. . any advice is very very very welcomed and appreciated!

Many Thanks.

ian-mstm

No... you are perfectly okay to do this on the VWP.


Your (then) husband would file form I-130 and a lot of supporting documentation, you'll have some paperwork to complete in the UK, and after about 6 - 8 months, you'll be interviewed and get an immigrant visa. When you enter the US with that visa, you will immediately become a permanent resident (PR) and will immediately be work authorized. They used to give you a stamp in your passport which was the equivalent of a green card (GC) but this is now the 21st century so your visa will be validated as such. At any rate, the physical GC will come in the mail a few weeks later.


The process is largely the same (although the paperwork is slightly different), but it takes the same amount of time.


With a K-1 (fiancee) visa you enter the US and marry your intended within 90 days of entry. Then you have to apply to adjust your status to a PR. It'll take another 3 months or so to get work authorization and it will cost you $1,000+ to get all the forms filed.


Do the spouse visa thing. It's less paperwork, less expensive, and has immediate benefits as soon as you enter the US.

Oh... welcome to BE!

Ian

meauxna

If you marry at Easter and return home, he can start the Immigrant Visa process for you. It will be 8-10 months before you have the visa to move to the US. That visa enters you into the US with 'green card' status, so you'll be employment authorized from the start.

If he petitions for your K-1 visa now, in 6-8 months, you could have a visa that gives you permission to move to the US and get married and stay. You'll have several months without employment authorization this way.

It doesn't seem like these answers will make you very happy, sorry.

Ignore or triple check everything you read about the K-3 visa if you do come across it; most of the info is not accurate as of today.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

No problem in being repetitive. However, I will restate what I have said in other threads -- what you "want" and what you "can do" can be quite different in the immigration context. And if you allow "want" to be the overwhelming factor rather than "can do" -- it may blow up in your face with no chance of living together in the US.

I am speaking from experience.

Good luck.

Fry24

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your replys. Can I just clarify a couple of things -

So, if we get married at Easter and I come back to England and file for the paper work, which is the only way to do it if you go over there on a VWP and marry - it's going to take anywhere between 6 - 10 months to have the paperwork complete?

How much will the above process cost?

And if I wanted to go over there and marry him on a fiance visa, this wouldn't be possible at Easter because it'd take approx 6+ months to obtain this visa. Then once married and in the US it'll take around 3 months to obtain something to allow me to work? And this process will cost around $1000.

So from door to door as it were, both visas are looking at taking over 6 months before I can live and work in the US?

Are there anyways of paying to speed up the visa process, she ask in an optomistic yet doubtful voice?

In particular is there anyway of speeding up the fiance visa, because I could afford to be out there for 3 or 4 months not working.

I think I can guess to the answers to all of these questions, but hey, I feel I have to ask!

Thank you again everyone, what a wonderful place where you can come and get answers to your questions. I hope soon I'll be well versed enough in all this to help other people too!

agentpeppermint

No you cant speed up the process unless it is a life or death matter and even then it's not likely to happen.

If you are coming back at Easter time, get married then, go home and do what the other posters said, it is the fastest ( albeit long ) way to get you back here.



PS it isnt all too expensive( my fiance is immigrating here while we are on a limited income ) I dont know how much the fees are for the k-3 visa but if you search US immigration fees on google, it will pull up the page....where in the uk are you?

ian-mstm

Your USC husband starts the process (not you) by filing form I-130 (and other stuff). He can do this before you leave the US.


Yes, barring any unforeseen difficulties.


Check for the current fee schedule at www.uscis.gov... the filing fees are all listed with the forms. It is far less than $1,000!


Yes.


Yes, and yes.


Yes... which is why the spouse visa is better! The timeline is about the same but with the spouse visa, you become a PR the day you enter with full permission to live/work in the US... no so with the fiancee visa.


None at all, I'm afraid.


Nope.

Ian

ian-mstm

NOT K-3.

Fry24... ignore all references to the K-3 visa... is it crap compared to either the K-1 (fiancee) or CR-1 (spouse) visa.

Ian

Fry24

Thank you again, you're all fantastic!

Still a few more questions. . just out of interest, what is a K-3?

Also, I found info about an I-765. . people have told me this could be applied for once you have a fiance visa to enable you to work for a short while.

I've also been told about an EAD that can be valid for 90 days on entering the US on a K-1. I read something about it being a case of your passport being stamped on arrival at JFK.

I'm sorry as I konw everyone is being very clear about my two opptions, but I just wanted to ask about these things I've read and been told.

I really appreciate the help as I have dyslexia and find it far easier to take in information that is directed to my specific situation. Thank you all for your patients!

Noorah101

Back in the days when an I-130 was taking YEARS to process, the K-3 was a visa which allowed a foreign spouse to come and wait inside the USA until the I-130 is approved. The K-3 takes about 8 - 10 months to process, which back then was much quicker than the YEARS it took for the I-130 to be approved. Now, the I-130 gets approved in a few months, and the whole Immigrant Visa process only takes 8 - 10 months, so there is no more need for a K-3.

Yes. If you enter the USA on a K-1 fiance visa, the I-765 is part of the adjustment of status application, which you apply for after getting married. The I-765 is for a 1-year Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

If you enter JFK using a K-1 visa, you *might* get a temporary, 90-day EAD. They are phasing this out, though, so don't count on it.

Rene