K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Hi all Ex-Pats!!!

Im brand new to this forum!! (signed up today :D)

Basically, i am in a serious relationship with my girlfriend who is a USC and i am UKC. We met on the internet over two years ago and have been together since. I met here for the first time last summer (2007) and was there for 2months on VWP. Came back as i started uni last year. I am 21 in october and she has just turned 21 this august. I go too see her in sunny Orlando,FL three times a year for roughly 3weeks at a time and longer in summer and she comes here roughly the same too (we take turns during time off studies). She is studying and will not be done for another 4 years, where as i will be done by this time in 2010!!! :D i have been doing research for the last 10months on options for moving out there to be with her after my studies finish in a couple of years. I don't want to get married for the sake of it just to move out there but marriage could definately an option by that time. i would just like to hear your feedback from your experiences on what visa to apply for and when to start it all!!! i love my girlfriend very much and her family are just amazing people, but we dont want to rush into marriage for the sake of me living there!!!

Thanks alot for your advice and help in advance!!!

Take Care

Chris

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Hi and welcome to the forum :)

You have basically two options:

K-1 fiance visa - you come over here, get married within 90 days and apply to adjust status to a permanent resident

Get married on a visit here (or there) and apply for to immigrate as a spouse. You will be a permanent resident when you arrive.

Either one takes around 8-9 months - you will need to be in the UK during that time (you can visit the US, but can't live here until the visa is approved).

K-1 advantage - not seperated after you're married
Immigrating as a spouse - can easily work right away (but you're separated while you're married.

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Thanks very much for your reply!!!

OK, so i understand what your saying. But.... i just would like to know also if we get married in the K1 visa period of 30 days is it? then i will overstay my 30days time period to get married and surely it takes longer to apply for a status change than 30days??? so for example we get married in october 2010, i would only be allowed to stay 30 days to have the marriage then have to fly home before the status is changed?? maybe im just confusing myself and everybody???

Thanks for all your help

Chris

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

No, once you get the K-1 visa in hand and come to the USA, you have 90 days to get married. Once you get married, you then apply for your adjustment of status to permanent resident and get your green card (AOS). Once you apply for AOS, you are allowed to stay legally in the USA until you have your adjustment interview. That could take anywhere from a few months to a year....but you're OK to stay in the USA during that time...you won't be overstaying as long as you get married within your first 90 days after arriving on the K-1. It's also preferrable to file AOS within those 90 days as well.

Rene

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Thats great news!!!! thanks alot!!!

Just in your opinon, when should we start applying for the K1 if we decided to get married in october 2010??

Also, i have a completley clean record over here and a law abiding citizen. But i have seen posts on the internet of people being refused K1 and K3 visas!!!!! :s what are the possible reasons for this and how can you avoid them if there are any small bits of advice you can give from your experience!!!

Thanks a million

Chris

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Start applying about a year before you plan to move to the USA. It takes about 8 to 10 months to receive the visa, and then the visa is good for 6 months.

If you have NO criminal past, no communicable disease, and your relationship is real, there's no reason you shouldn't get the visa.

Rene

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Fantastico!!!!

Well just one small problem........... 2 years left of University to go here before i can even think about doing anything which is highly annoying as i want to be out there with her ASAP!!! :D

Also while i have this opportunity, once you get married and apply for a change of status, how long does it take for you to get your citizenship and greencard or passport etc basically so you are legally an american. Also...... can i work during the time i am in the USA when we are ingadged!!! what i mean is am i legal to work from the day i arrive on a K1 or can i only live and work once i have applied for the K3 is it or is that not relevant in my case??? sorry for the umteen number of questions and no doubt poor spelling. :s

Thanx again

Chris

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

OK Chris, you need to do more research. You are mixing up the K-1 and K-3 visas which are totally different things.

You are also mixing up green card and citizenship/passport.

I already answered you about how long it takes to get your green card, see my previous post. As for citizenship, you will be eligible 3 years after becoming a PR (i.e., from the time you get your green card). You ARE legal to stay in the USA on your green card.

Along with your AOS paperwork, there is a form to apply for work authorization. It takes between 60 to 90 days to get this in hand. If you come through JFK, you can get a temporary work authorization stamp in your passport which is good for your first 90 days here.

You're not going to have THAT much time together as an engaged couple in the USA. You need to get married within 90 days, and the sooner the better so you can get your work authorization going. So at the most, you'll only be here together as an engaged couple for several weeks.

I suggest during the following year, you become more familiar with the K-1 process. Did you read the K-1 article on the Wiki here on this site?

Rene

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Yea had a good read of it :(

I think i wil have another read as im getting all confused about!! ok this what i understand from what you have said (thank you for clearing things up by the way)

1. 8-10months to apply for K1 Visa
2. Enter US within 6 months of K1 being issued
3. Get married within 30days
4. Try and apply for green card (AOS) / Change of status within that time if possible
5. Stay in the USA until the interview comes around (*1)
6. Get green card (*2)
7. 3 years later apply for Citizenship

Ok so thats what i think i know so far but two small things to ask.. *1 = Will i be able to work during this time (i read they give you temp SSN) *2 = How long will it take (once we get married) to get the green card through did you say 6months to a year??? and again can i work during this time???

Sorry if its getting a bit tedious im kinda new to all this apologies guys

Thanks again

Chris

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Get married within 90 days (not 30).

The rest of your list is correct.

You will be able to work right away IF you come through JFK. After you marry and file AOS, you will be able to work once you get your EAD (Employment Authorization Document) in hand. They do not give you a temp SSN. You apply for the real SSN about 10 days after you arrive on the K-1, and it takes about 2 weeks to get. It is the real one (not a temp), and it's yours for life.

Yes, I said a few months to a year. Yes, you can work while you're waiting, as long as you have an unexpired EAD.

If working immediately is an issue for you, you might want to consider just getting married on one of your visits, and then doing a spouse Immigrant Visa. That eliminates the need to do an AOS after you arrive. When you enter on the Immigrant Visa, you become a PR from Day 1, and are work authorized from Day 1. This option might be more attractive to you, since working and becoming a PR seem at the top of your list of priorities (which is fine, everyone's priorities are different).

Please note that the Immigrant Visa is NOT the K-3 visa. Don't worry about the K-3 visa, it's very outdated and serves no useful purpose nowadays.

Rene

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Ok... just rechecked your post and kinda re read it and got some of my answers to my questions... did i get all my info right on my previous post and am i right in thinking that once i apply for my green card i will get permission to work within 60-90days???

Thanks again and sorry for confusion

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

If you arrive on a K-1, you can work during the 90 days of the K-1.

The hitch is - you don't have the proof of that for an employer. So if you come through JFK, they give you a stamp that proves it.

You generally get the work permission (EAD) within 90 days of applying for it - you apply for it along with your AOS.

However - there could be a gap between the end of the K-1 and the EAD arriving. During that gap, you would technically not be authorized to work.

The thing we all might think about too is - you're talking quite a ways out in the future. We don't know if JFK will still give out the stamp by then... so I would not count on it.

You apply for a SSN after you get here on a K-1. It is not temporary.

If being able to work right away is a goal, you really might want to think about getting married on a visit, and coming in as a spouse - you'd be a permanent resident from day 1 and able to work.

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Point taken on that one!! :D

Working asap isn't really my main priority i would just like to be able to get a job somewhere to be able to support and fund the process and a small apartment for us. I understand that the immgration as a spouse visa would mean being married but apart for some time??? just how long would this be??? also this is something way in the future and we are not reall thinking about marriage at least for another couple of years and it is most certainly NOT going to be rushed into on anyones part as we both know the extent of marriage and what it means!!! although we are both young in life we are just getting some info to be aware of the issues and possible options that are available to us!! :D just out of interest what would you guys who have done this suggest i do when i come to this??? K1 and get married or married on a visit and go via immigration as a spouse???

Cheers guys

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Yes, you would be separated as a spouse - perhaps 8-9 months, with possible visits in there. That's the downside.

My now husband got a K-1. We were extremely lucky, everything couldn't have gone smoother. He did want to be able to start working, so he went through JFK and got the stamp. But we got the EAD in about 30 days, and AOS with no interview in less than 90. But that is unusual.

In hindsight - well I can't complain how it went of course. But I was saying, if I had it to do over I would have been tempted to do the spouse visa route. I would have just done a quickie courthouse wedding during a visit at least 9 months in advance of when he wanted to come over, made it "not count" in my brain, and done a "real" wedding once he was here. It just seems less hassle - fewer steps with USCIS, not worrying about work permission, etc.

Lots of people prefer the K-1 though.

Thing is - if (heaven forbid) you were refused a visa, you'd already be married. Not good. Of course, if someone came on a K-1 and got married, and somehow AOS didn't work - same problem.

Re. supporting you two - do be aware that your fiancee will eventually have to file out the I-864 affadavit of support - and she must be making the required amount (currently $17,500 for the two of you) per year. If she does not, you will need a joint sponsor (any USC living in the US).

Re: K1 Visa (planning for the future)
 

Thanx Tracy :D

Yea i see what you mean by you had a smooth transition LOL!!! very nice :D well i was a bit worried about the whole issue of DENIAL!!!! lol. i have never been in trouble with the law etc so i cant see a reason why things would go bad but i understand your point on that!!! not sure i could do the quick marriage then have a real marriage later!! good idea but i think that the K1 route is probably the way to go so i will be doing alot of researching on the K1 in the future!!!

If my girlfriend is stil a student in Higher Education at the time would she be exempt from the I-864 or would her parents have to make their contribution here :D

Also, once i have my AOS will i be able to do everything but vote?? i wont have citizen rights, correct?

Thanks again

Chris