DDL

Hi everyone,

I'm an American currently living in England with my partner.

I came here last summer at his invitation as a guest; we fell in love. He and I returned to the US over Thanksgiving so that I could show him where I lived, etc. We both returned to England in early December so I could experience London at Christmas. The Immigration Officer wrote "six months" in my passport, but she did not mark through either of the designations "until" or "for."

My partner proposed to me on New Year's Eve. He is single; I am still married, although my divorce will be final in April.

Our plan is to marry as soon as my divorce is final. It does not matter to us whether we marry in the UK, US or elsewhere. We intend to move permanently back to my hometown, in fact, we are currently working with a realtor, looking at homes to buy.


My question is: should I apply for a Fiance Visa now, and if so, how is that done? An immigration attorney at the local legal services suggested I apply for a Fiance Visa "outside the rules" via the FLR(O) form, but I'm not quite sure about that.

Should my partner apply now for a K1 visa, or should we just wait until my divorce is final, marry here in the UK, and then have my partner apply for the K3 visa? Can anyone tell me about the K3 procedure and approximate processing time?

Not sure exactly what the best route to take is. Bottom line: we just want to stay together! We are also not independently wealthy, so he'll have to be able to work ASAP once we're settled in the US.

Any suggestions, help will be most appreciated. Thanks.

D.

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 14:16:15 +0000, DDL wrote:


    > Hi everyone,
    >
    > I'm an American currently living in England with my partner.
    >
    > I came here last summer at his invitation as a guest; we fell in love.
    > He and I returned to the US over Thanksgiving so that I could show him
    > where I lived, etc. We both returned to England in early December so I
    > could experience London at Christmas. The Immigration Officer wrote "six
    > months" in my passport, but she did not mark through either of the
    > designations "until" or "for."
    >
    > My partner proposed to me on New Year's Eve. He is single; I am still
    > married, although my divorce will be final in April.
    >
    > Our plan is to marry as soon as my divorce is final. It does not matter
    > to us whether we marry in the UK, US or elsewhere. We intend to move
    > permanently back to my hometown, in fact, we are currently working with
    > a realtor, looking at homes to buy.

Unfortunately, that is quite premature, as you'll see when you read the
timeline.

    > My question is: should I apply for a Fiance Visa now, and if so, how is
    > that done? An immigration attorney at the local legal services suggested
    > I apply for a Fiance Visa "outside the rules" via the FLR(O) form, but
    > I'm not quite sure about that.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa until you are legally free to marry.
That is, you can't apply until April.

    > Should my partner apply now for a K1 visa, or should we just wait until
    > my divorce is final, marry here in the UK, and then have my partner
    > apply for the K3 visa? Can anyone tell me about the K3 procedure and
    > approximate processing time?

If you really want to get married immediately after the divorce is final,
that is your only option. Basically, to do the K-3, you would get married.
Then, you file a spousal petiton for him on form I-130 with the service
center that has jurisdiction over where you live. Once the I-130 is filed,
you can file a petition for his K-3 on form I-129.

As for timeline, it depends on where in the USA you live, but I would
expect, as a rule of thumb, about a year for the K-3 petition. This is a
bit generous, but I'd rather tell you a bit longer than it takes than say
"six months" and have you disappointed if it doesn't happen that quickly
(and, yes, six months by USCIS standards is lightning speed! For
comparison, if I wanted to bring a spouse to the USA, it would take six
years) The I-130 can take up to two years.

    > Not sure exactly what the best route to take is. Bottom line: we just
    > want to stay together! We are also not independently wealthy, so he'll
    > have to be able to work ASAP once we're settled in the US.

You should plan on three to six months for him to get employment
authorization. In the alternative, you can also forego the K-3 and wait in
the UK for the I-130 to be approved. It will take longer, but with the
I-130, he would get an immigrant visa in London. With an immigrant visa,
he would get a Green Card right at the airport, and a Green Card implies
full employment authorization.

--
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