Hi all,

I have a question regarding the K1 visa.

I have a girlfriend in the States and am trying to get out there with a job (or a postdoc) towards the end of the year. I think I have a decent chance as I've been in touch with a couple of Uni's and they seem interested, but nothing is set up officially yet.

My question is, would there be any problem with us applying for a K1 now (which we would get in about 10 months (start of 2012) and which would allow us to marry any time in the 2 years following) and using that as a safety net? So if I literally still cant find anything by the start of 2012 we could just get married?

In simple words, would the fact that there was a K1 pending prevent me from getting another visa in the summer (H1B, J)? Also, if I were to get another visa (meaning we didn't need to marry to get me into the country) would I be able to use that K1 in say 1.5 years time to get married and file for PR straight away even though I would already be there on a different (non-immigrant) visa?

I'm not sure I've explained it the best way, but hopefully you get the gist?

Rob, your plan won't work. The K1 visa expires after six months, and you must marry within 90 days of entering the US. On the other hand, the fact that you have a pending K1 petition does not rule out you getting another visa type (H1B, for instance). That said, the Consular Officer may take into account teh fact that you intend to immigrate to the US when you interview for a non-immigrant visa. It will be up to them to decide if your purpose of travel matches your visa type.

Hi IR1 alumni,

Thanks for your input. I thought I had read somewhere that the K1 allows you to get married any time up until 2 years after it was issued, not 6 months. I was aware of the 90 day thing and would, of course, ensure that we were married within that time frame if I couldn't get a non-immigrant visa.

I thought that the fact that a K1 was pending might be a stumbling block when applying for a H1B... But supposing I did, and then allowed the K1 to expire as we didn't want to marry (yet!), would that affect my situation when we eventually marry 2-3 years down the line?

You were mistaken. The K-1 visa itself is good for 6 months after issue. Once you use it to come to the USA, you must marry within 90 days of your arrival.

You might have been thinking of a K-3 visa, which is for a spouse. It's an outdated visa, but it allows the spouse to come to the USA for up to 2 years to live and work before adjusting status. You can't get one of those because you're not married (and, it's outdated so they aren't issued very often anyway).


No, having previously had a K-1 and not using it would not affect your situation if you wanted to marry at a later time. But you'd lose all the fees and expenses you put towards it (roughly $2,000).

Rene

Ahhh... OK, it may have been the K-3 I'd seen the info for. I absolutely wasn't trying to suggest I was right in my assumption.

So just to clarify, do you need to marry within 6 months, or start the 90 day period within 6 months (giving a total of 9 months before wedding)?

I realise that there are costs to doing that, and the 6 month cut-off may mean that if I get an H1B I end up allowing it to expire. But I think it seems like a good idea in order to ensure I absolutely have a way into the country (by early-mid 2012) should ALL my other efforts fail. If you think about it, the $2000 would probably be less than I would spend if I were to just wait around and have to pay ~$1000 per airfare 3 or 4 times in 2012.

Does anyone else have an opinion as to whether a pending K-1 would affect the issuing of a H1B, if got a job? I know IR1 alumni said it might but...

The K1 visa is good for six months, so you can enter the US any time from the day you get your passport back until the visa expires. You then have 90 days to get married. Once married, your new spouse files for an adjustment of status for you (which results in you acquiring a green card and the right to work). You cannot leave the US until you have either the green card in hand or an approved advance parole from the Department of Homeland Security.

Once the visa is issued, you must enter the US within 6 months - that's the period of the visa's validity. Once you've entered the US, you then have 90 days in which to marry. So, yes... you could have 9 months if you enter on the last day of validity and get married on day 90. Personally, I wouldn't recommend doing that, because if you haven't yet filed for AOS, then after day 90 you no longer have any status in the US.


It won't.

Ian

Correction... he files his own adjustment of status. All the USC spouse does is provide the I-864.


Correction... he most certainly can leave the US. However, he won't be allowed to return - which is probably what you meant.

Ian

Hmmmm... so it actually is starting to look like a fairly feasible (albeit expensive) idea.

I see what you mean about the AOS so it would make sense to leave a good amount of time for filing etc.

Thanks for your replies... really useful!

Thanks Ian, good clarifications.

Feasible how?

They won't issue you both visas during the same time. If you have a legitimate H-1B opportunity, and you are not going to get married for two years, I don't understand why you'd apply for the K-1 now at all.

The H1B and J1 (if no home residency requirement) visas are dual intent. Therefore it would be much easier and cheaper to marry her while in the US on those visas and file for adjustment of status. Typically it takes about 3 months after filing to get your EAD and/or your green card in hand.

I don't think the J-1 is considered 'dual intent'. H-1B and L-1 are specifically mentioned as being such.

Sorry, my mistake but it appears legal to get married and adjust status on a J1 visa without the home residency requirement.

Just as it's legal to get married and adjust status on a B visa, or other non-immigrant visa, under that certain circumstance that is permitted by the INA.

The operative part being "adjust status". It's "legal" to get married in the USA no matter how one managed to get here or what their current immigration status is.

Regards, JEff