meauxna

Yes, all Immigrant and K visa interviews will be in Sydney.

#1: Make sure Marc completes his Aus citizenship. That much I have gleaned from you.

For your graduation, he can always come for a visit, you know. The thing about deciding to pursue a K-1 or a DCF case now is that DCF requires you to be married. You've raised at least one objection to that, that you will have to weigh.
Even though many of the members here used the K-1 option, I'm biased against it because we did a DCF and I think the transition to US life was that much easier, we were together during the entire time and it was the most cost effective. But our situation was ours, so I dont' want to slam the K-1. It's just that if one's partner is going to immigrate to the US, and they have the option to DCF, it just seems like a lot of pfaffing about to do anything BUT the DCF.
This does not take into account your financial aid thingie or the (important to some) issue of where to get married.

Whatever you do, I encourage you to not rush your decision. There is still a lot to learn.

marcsred

Yes, NUMBER ONE is him obtaining his Australian citizenship.

He himself suggested that he could come to visit, but there are two complications with that:

• The cost of the extra flight (which I know seems silly, but we're struggling and saving just to get the first set of costs together).
• Him being able to prove (because I've heard it takes more than just a return plane ticket) that he has reason to return to Australia. When I move back to the States, he'll move back to Perth (from Brisbane) and live with his family during the transitional period. That means no lease/mortgage to be obligated to go back to, and leaving the only thing tying him to Australia his job. Is that enough? His car is paid off, he has no other debts (yay!), so it might be a stretch to convince them he will return to Australia.

I don't give a hoot where we have our courthouse wedding, so that's definitely not an issue. Everyone will get to see us on the Big Day when we can arrange it.

DCF (I-130, right?) DEFINITELY seems like the way to go, but I'll have to call and see if I qualify, since I HAVE been in Australia for longer than 6 months, but I've been on a Student and then Visitor Visa. Is the DCF any faster than the K-1? When you say you were together the entire time, what does that mean? If we apply, and I am in the US, and he is waiting in Australia, is he allowed to come over as soon as the application is submitted since we are married? Or does he have to wait for its approval? I've heard several people say, "We got to be together the entire time," but would that be the case ONLY if I were to stay in Australia until we could BOTH come to the US?

Cheers for the great responses, meauxna.

Noorah101

Yes, correct.

Personally, I wouldn't call, I would just apply. Include a compelling letter as to why you believe you DO qualify. Don't give them the chance to say no ahead of time. Act as though you DO qualify, and apply anyway. From what I hear, they are pretty lenient. But you don't want to give them a reason to say no up front before even trying.

YES, much faster! The K-1 takes about 8 to 10 months to process, while DCF is only a few months.

It means meauxna and her man both stayed in Greece until he obtained his Immigrant Visa, then they both returned to the USA together.

No. He needs to wait to get the Immigrant Visa in hand first.

Yes, he must wait for the Immigrant Visa approval and have the visa in hand before he can move to the USA. The people who got to be together the entire time, are the ones who could remain in the country until the Immigrant Visa was finished processing. If you need to leave Australia earlier than that, then there would be a short period of separation for you guys.

Rene

meauxna

Please read the first link to explain what 'DCF' is. Typical cases in Australia conclude in 1-3 months. There are probably up to date estimates on the Embassy webpage in the 2nd link.