BibbyBear

Hi!

On 29th December 2011, my US fiance filed the K1-Fiance Visa petition and it is currently in the initial review stage. We know that this process takes on average, five months before it is "rubber-stamped" and then forwarded to the US Embassy here in London at which point, I will have a mountain of forms, medicals and interviews to go through before being granted a Visa (hopefully!)

We have been trying to make some loose plans for our wedding and it has come to light that his family are doubtful in a position to help with accommodating my two grown up children and my mum for the two weeks that they would come over for to see us get married.

With all the costs involved already, I am not going to be in a position to pay for hotels as well as their flights so, my fiance suggested tonight that, as he will be flying over here to "collect" me when I get my Visa, then why don't we get married here in that week and fly out to USA together as husband and wife, thus saving me the cost of flights for my children and also meaning that the rest of my family can attend also. (His family are perfectly OK with that as we would have a small "reception" over there afterwards).

My problem now is, can we just ask the USCIS to amend our petition from "not yet married" to "married" or would we have to file a whole new petition, incurring the initial cost again but worse still, lose the three months that we have already done?

I hope all of that makes sense?

Many thanks for your help and advice, in advance

Duncan Roberts

If you are married, your K-1 petition would be void since you would no loner qualify for that visa. Your then spouse would have to petition you for a spousal visa which would be about the same wait as a K-1, but starting after you're married. Have the party in the UK but don't actually get married and wait for the K-1 since it's already in the works.

Noorah101

You cannot.

This one. You'd start all over with an I-130 petition for a spouse Immigrant Visa, which takes 8 to 10 months to process (not 3).

You cannot switch to "married" in the middle of the K-1 process and continue on.

If you marry before you enter the USA using your K-1 visa, the K-1 visa becomes void and you cannot use it.

Rene

jeffreyhy

No, petition approval is not a "rubber-stamped" process. Your fiancé has suggested voiding the visa that he and you have just spent time and money obtaining. You have correctly identified the situation as a problem, and yes you will have to file a whole new petition incurring the cost again an losing the time you have already spent. Regards, JEff

BibbyBear

Thank you Duncan ... that was the simple "yes/no" answer I was looking for. It's not necessarily the answer I was hoping for, but at least I now know and we will have to look at alternatives for the family.

Noorah, again thank you for the response, however; I need to make it clear that I already know that the whole process takes on average 9 months, when I said 3 months, I was referring to the time already elapsed if I had to start the process again now

Thank you Jeff for your response but again, I must stress that I know it isn't a simple case of "rubber-stamping" the petition, I am fully aware that they take this time to do complete and thorough background checks on both of us for criminal records etc and to ensure that I will not be any threat to national security or a burden to society and so on hence, I used "quotation marks" to emphasise my words as a shortened version of what I wanted to say! And no, my fiance was not suggesting that we void the visa, he was simply trying to find an alternative solution to ensure that my family were able to see us marry..... neither he nor I would do anything to jeopordise what we have already spent time and money doing.

I must also emphasise that we have known each other for almost five years now, been dating for over two and a half of them and we got engaged at Christmas 2010. I have been over to visit him six times since we started dating and he's been here once but we video chat for at least and hour and a half or more EVERY night on Skype........ we are not taking this lightly, we were merely trying to explore all options so that everyone could be happy

Thank you all for your help..... we will continue on as planned and hope for a positive outcome in the Visa process.

ian-mstm

I just want to point out that 8-10 months, although not immediately intuitive, is not "on average 9 months".


Respectfully, you aren't fully aware - because that's not what happens during the petition stage of the process.

Good luck though!

Ian

jeffreyhy

And yet, your wrote "it is "rubber-stamped" "

We are not mind readers here, so we have to trust that people write what they mean and mean what they write. If you do not, how do you expect to get appropriate and correct information?

Regards, JEff

BibbyBear

Ian, I use the phrase on average to mean exactly that.... and from the information I have received from the USCIS website for the particular Service Centre that is handling our petition where they are stating that it is taking them an "average" of 5 months along with the 4 month validity stamp that they place on the application when they (hopefully) approve it and forward it to the US Embassy in London, that is how I have come up with an average of 9 months. Although, I am fully aware that this time could be less or, more likely, more.

And respectfully, I AM fully aware from the information I have, again from the USCIS website, where they quote
"During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation. USCIS reviews the applicant's/petitioner's criminal history, determines if there are national security concerns that need to be addressed, and reviews the application/petition for fraud indicators."
If in fact this isn't the case, then I apologise, but I take what they say as fact considering they are the ones who are painstakingly going through each and every application/petition.

But I thank you for your wishes of good luck

Jeff.... My apologies for abbreviating my initial query. I didn't think I needed to explain every little detail that was not directly required for the actual question I asked. I didn't for one minute expect there to be mind readers on this forum, but most people reading my post did seem to understand what I was asking, plain and simple, as it was answered in a plain and simple manner initially by Duncan and Noorah.

I didn't expect a petty slanging match to ensue when I posed this question and should I have any further issues that require clarification during the whole Visa process or thereafter when applying for US citizenship in a few years time (yes, I'm generalising on time scales here!), then I will be sure to just go directly to USCIS and ask them instead of coming on here and being made to feel stupid - which I most certainly am not!

Thank you to all who have advised without non-constructive criticism

jeffreyhy

You did not need to explain every little detail, and I never said or implied that you did.

What I was trying to do was correct what appeared to be a misimpression on your part for the benefit of both you and those newbie readers who have a tendancy to read things like that and then later on write things like "I remember reading somewhere that the petition is just a rubber stamp process."

Regards, JEff

Duncan Roberts

General advice, don't. As ruled by the US supreme court.

ian-mstm

You'd be wise to not take what they say as fact. It is a web site; it is very general in nature; and more often than not, it does not reflect either the actual process or the law. We know what the web site states - we've been through the process... and the reality of the situation is different from what you've read.

The US Supreme Court has upheld that you can not rely on, as accurate, anything gleaned from a US government employee... and that includes their web site. I certainly do not think you're stupid, but you do have a way to go before you better understand the reality of the process. That's why this forum is a great help to many. I hope you will allow us to help you on your journey. Despite our approach, we do want you to succeed.

Ian

BibbyBear

Thank you Ian but now I feel completely blind! If what they state is in fact not accurate, then why? How are we supposed to know what they are checking and why don't they tell us?

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to hide from them; I have no criminal history, I actually served Queen and country in the Armed Forces and have worked hard all my life. Yes, I've had a couple of financial hurdles in recent years due to redundancy, but then, who hasn't? My relationship with my fiance is real and not just a means to enter the USA and if it wasn't for the fact that he is in a fairly well-paid job and has been for the last 24 years, then we would probably marry and reside here in the UK as I have two grown-up children whereas he has none.

But, I am now left wondering whether I should be concerned or not? I have found out (from these forums) that my history of depression may pose a problem at my medical (should our petition be approved and get that far) but at least I am now prepared for that and will seek a psych evaluation prior to my medical so that there will be no further delays. I am just wondering if there are any other issues that I should be worried about.

I don't understand why they can't be totally transparent in what they check for, what information they are going to be looking into etc, beforehand, so that we can ensure that everything is in order before we spend money on applications only to have them rejected or delayed?

I guess I will never understand all the red tape - I just know that I'm in love with a man who happens to live over 3,000 miles away in a different country and our future happiness is being decided for us, and we'll probably not have much say in their final decision

Again, thank you for your advice, I take it on board and will wait to see how this all pans out, with far less hope than I originally had, but at least now I have a more realistic view on things.

BB

Noorah101

Bibby,

I think you're stressing over nothing right now. You're still waiting for the I-129F petition to be approved. So far, I don't see anything in your posts that shows a K-1 visa would be denied. Your depression will probably be OK as long as you show them at your medical exam that you're dealing with it, and as long as you aren't harmful to yourself or others.

Your only big issue or question was whether you can get married ahead of time, before entering the USA on the K-1 visa, and the answer is no. Just continue on with your current K-1 plan, and get married in the USA. If your family from the UK can make it to the US wedding, great. If not, they will have to just settle for a party either before you leave the UK, or on your next visit back there after you get married.

So there's nothing to stress or worry about.

Rene

jeffreyhy

I think you've pretty much answered your own question in the asking - so that people whose record is not so clean aren't given a roadmap to covering their tracks.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

I agree with JEff's response, but it also helps to understand that US immigration law is written specifically to keep non-US citizens out of the US. A transparent process would conflict with that mandate.

No worries though... you've got us! We won't steer you wrong.

Ian