scrubbedexpat099

1. I just said I was going to get married within the 90 days, never embellish.

2. I travelled on the VWP whilst we were waiting. Many do.

3. K3's often take longer, you can file a K1 now, you would also have to add the time to get married to the K3 timescale.

4 Most people here did it themselves, just a question of filling in tedious forms, have a look at the link I gave you. Some people prefer to use a Lawyer, you will in any event have to supply them with the information to fill the forms with.

janadeen

What do you mean by this - if you don't mind my asking??????

"Also, the nature of marriage is such that it's not the only plans you make together for the future."

scrubbedexpat099

El Presidente Bush has decried English as the language of the US, so if this is not understood now, I am sure it will be soon.

And they will have to call Football, Football and not Soccer.

Should be interesting.

meauxna

ha!

You *soooooo* wish!

Can you imagine what he'd do with the Queen's English after seeing what he'll do to bastard American English?


PS: someone should tell Alex he can read/post to his topic here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/forum...aysprune=&f=35

Noorah101

If you go the K-1 route, there is nothing to change about your letter of intent. The fact that you intend to enter the USA and get married within 90 days still stands. Having that in writing won't change what the consulate might think you did in the UK in the church ceremony. Others have said that's a common thing to do (i.e. have a church ceremony which is not a legal marriage), so perhaps there's no need to worry about that. Don't get paranoid about it...we are just suggesting that having a big to-do at a church, which looks like a wedding for all intents and purposes, might raise some eyebrows at your interview. All you have to say is no, it was only a blessing, and hopefully they will understand that.

Entering for a 2-week visit on the VWP is absolutely legal to do. It will not harm your chances of getting the K-1 (or K-3, or IV) at all. What you do run the risk of, is having someone at the POE turn you away if they think you have immigrant intent. Many people come visit their fiance/wife with no problems while their visa is being processed. Some get turned away if the POE thinks they have immigrant intent. It's just something you have to be prepared for.

If that's the only reason, then don't bother. Just start the K-1 process now, and get the ball rolling. You will most likely NOT get a K-3 visa by October 1. Getting the K-3 visa by Oct 1 will be just as likely as getting the K-1 by Oct 1. Not very likely. In fact, you have to add on the time it takes to come to the USA, get married, file the I-130, get the receipt notice,and then file the I-129F. Seems it would add about a month to the process, to me.

Oh, believe me, Alex. You are not alone on that one. Most of us on this board have spent a good time apart from our fiances/spouses while waiting for visa processing. My fiance and I were apart for 14 months until he got his K-1 visa. I didn't have enough money or time off work to go visit him in Turkey during that time, and as an Iranian citizen, it was impossible for him to get a tourist visa to come visit me. We remained apart for 14 months and our relationship grew stronger because of it. We learned how to cope with separation, stress, and planning. Although it's hard, it's not impossible. It's worth some separation in order to be with the one you love, forever.

That's an excellent idea. Hopefully you can find a compromise that works.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Noorah101

This is exactly the reason I was saying not to even do the church thing. First you called it a church blessing, and here you call it a wedding ceremony. This is the type of thing the consulate will also pick up on, and perhaps delay issuing you visa until they can look into the matter and see if you did indeed have a wedding ceremony, and are already married.

Rene

scrubbedexpat099

Senate agreed!, just have to get it past the House and we are good to go.

Alex Clark

Hi Rene,

This does make it a lot clearer, I misinterpreted what I'd read on the many
websites that I've been researching the K3 on. I'm trying to get advice as
to how long the I-130 would take to process in relation to the K1, as it
sounds as though it may take less time. If not, our best bet is probably to
still go the K1 route.

Thanks for your advice, you've been a great help :-)

Alex


    > Neither of those methods (nor the K-1) allows you to come stay in the
    > USA any earlier than the time it takes to process them and get the visa
    > in your passport....which as everyone has said, could be around 8 to 10
    > months or so for any one of them...the IV, the K-3 or the K-1.
    > You can try to come and visit again in the meantime, on the VWP again,
    > but you'd have to bring proof the you do NOT intend to immigrate. You
    > would have to show plenty of proof of your ties to the UK.
    > Nothing allows you to come to live and work *while you wait for your IV,
    > K-3, or K-1* to process back home.
    > I hope that sort of clears up the process.
    > Rene

Alex Clark

Once again Rene, thanks very much for your invaluable advice.

Kind Regards,
Alex



"Noorah101" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    >> Hi Rene,
    >> > Just curious why you would want to reword the statement? From your
    >> > previous post, it sounds like you stated the right thing already.
    >> > What
    >> > would you change it to say?
    >> I was basically spooked by the fact that they may see it as us having
    >> already wed outside the US, and therefore complicate the K1 visa. If
    >> we
    >> change it, I'd simply remove that part from the plans and leave it as
    >> "we
    >> intend to legally marry 2 weeks after my entry into the US and hold a
    >> reception for friends and family".
    >> > I don't know what is "right" for your case. Both the fiance visa
    >> > and
    >> > the spouse visa allow you to be together. I don't know which one
    >> > will
    >> > work better in your big picture.
    >> As I understand it though, we won't be able to be together until the
    >> K1 is
    >> actually in my hand - up until then, I'm essentially stuck here
    >> waiting for
    >> my interview & approval. I may be wrong, but I understand it's also
    >> not a
    >> good idea for me to enter the US even under the VWP for a 2 week
    >> vacation
    >> while the K1 is being processed, as this could harm my chances of
    >> getting
    >> it?
    >> > But why change now? What is making you want to change from
    >> > K-1 to K-
    >> > 3/IV? As someone else asked....what's the rush? The K-1 might be a
    >> > little faster for you to enter the USA, as opposed to the IV
    >> > spouse
    >> > visa. It all really depends on whether you want to spend your
    >> > time
    >> > apart as an engaged couple or a married couple.
    >> The only thing that's making us want to change to K3 is the possibilty
    >> of me
    >> being able to return to the US with my fiance on October 1st. I
    >> appreciate
    >> that someone else asked what the rush is, but when you're apart for
    >> lengthy
    >> periods of time it starts to get harder and harder. Also, the nature
    >> of
    >> marriage is such that it's not the only plans you make together for
    >> the
    >> future. I can wait it out if necessary, it would just be a lot easier
    >> on
    >> the both of us for many reasons if that didn't have to be the case.
    >> I've emailed a law firm asking for guidance, as I believe that the
    >> best
    >> thing to do regardless of timescales is to hand off the application to
    >> someone who's experienced with it just in case either of us misses
    >> something
    >> which would cause further delays. It's frustrating that some of the
    >> information is so ambiguous on the web.
    >> Many thanks,
    >> Alex
    > If you go the K-1 route, there is nothing to change about your letter of
    > intent. The fact that you intend to enter the USA and get married
    > within 90 days still stands. Having that in writing won't change what
    > the consulate might think you did in the UK in the church ceremony.
    > Others have said that's a common thing to do (i.e. have a church
    > ceremony which is not a legal marriage), so perhaps there's no need to
    > worry about that. Don't get paranoid about it...we are just suggesting
    > that having a big to-do at a church, which looks like a wedding for all
    > intents and purposes, might raise some eyebrows at your interview. All
    > you have to say is no, it was only a blessing, and hopefully they will
    > understand that.
    > Entering for a 2-week visit on the VWP is absolutely legal to do. It
    > will not harm your chances of getting the K-1 (or K-3, or IV) at all.
    > What you do run the risk of, is having someone at the POE turn you away
    > if they think you have immigrant intent. Many people come visit their
    > fiance/wife with no problems while their visa is being processed. Some
    > get turned away if the POE thinks they have immigrant intent. It's just
    > something you have to be prepared for.
    > If that's the only reason, then don't bother. Just start the K-1
    > process now, and get the ball rolling. You will most likely NOT get a
    > K-3 visa by October 1. Getting the K-3 visa by Oct 1 will be just as
    > likely as getting the K-1 by Oct 1. Not very likely. In fact, you have
    > to add on the time it takes to come to the USA, get married, file the
    > I-130, get the receipt notice,and then file the I-129F. Seems it would
    > add about a month to the process, to me.
    > Oh, believe me, Alex. You are not alone on that one. Most of us on
    > this board have spent a good time apart from our fiances/spouses while
    > waiting for visa processing. My fiance and I were apart for 14 months
    > until he got his K-1 visa. I didn't have enough money or time off work
    > to go visit him in Turkey during that time, and as an Iranian citizen,
    > it was impossible for him to get a tourist visa to come visit me. We
    > remained apart for 14 months and our relationship grew stronger because
    > of it. We learned how to cope with separation, stress, and planning.
    > Although it's hard, it's not impossible. It's worth some separation in
    > order to be with the one you love, forever.
    > That's an excellent idea. Hopefully you can find a compromise
    > that works.
    > Best Wishes,
    > Rene
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Noorah101

It's impossible to predict the exact processing time of any of them....but, a general rule of thumb is probably 8 to 10 months during the summer. It could be faster than that, could be slower. That goes for both the fiance and the spouse visa. The fiance is probably a bit quicker in terms of getting you here faster....but still probably not by Oct. 1.

By the way, my fiance and I had wanted to do a similar thing. We had wanted to travel visit a few countries in Europe after he got his K1 (since we were already in Turkey, nearby), and them come home to the USA. Well, since we couldn't make the plans in advance (good thing, too, as his visa took 6 months longer than what our attorney said it would!) we ended up scrapping the idea - would have been too expensive to get flights to Europe last minute, and he would have needed to apply for visa to them, etc. We just flew directly to the USA and will have to visit Europe another time.

Rene