ajcmals

I see what you mean,

Well put it this way... when you get your K1 you have 6 months to enter the US and then 90days in which to marry... so in that respect you do have 9months. If you wanted to make sure it was good I suppose you could get married on the 89th day of getting into the US just to make sure. Then if it doesn't work out... GO HOME!

Good luck with your decision. The whole process is a pain in the arse but has to be done... looking back on it now it wasn't soooo bad. You are half way there though.

meauxna

That's always been a bit of a point of contention. Petitioner & beneficiary are supposed to have the intent to marry, not a try before you buy sort of thing.

I appreciate Steve's concerns, and things can be slowed down pre-visa, but it doesn't get him here & living with his USC.

Steve, I'm optimistic for you too.
Several years into this I can tell you the Big Secret: you won't always get along. But you've probably picked the person you can best not-get-along-with and sometimes, it's enough to not-get-along together.
Don't expect hearts n' flowers every day, because that's not reality. Knowing someone's got your back anyway? That is, and it's worth it. The commitment is scary-powerful.

Noorah101

Steve,

Just thought I'd share my own personal experience with long-distance romance and the K-1 visa. My now USC husband is from Iran, and was living in Turkey when we met. We met briefly by chance in 1997, just enough to know first names and where we were from, and to feel a spark. I followed my heart 4 years later and looked him up again, on another trip to Turkey, in 2001. The spark was still there, so I spent about 1 week getting to know him better. Then we spent 2 years on the phone getting to know each other even more. From what we could tell long-distance, we were a match and we loved each other, so I went to Turkey to get engaged in 2003, and spent 3 weeks living with him there at that time. Started his K-1 paperwork when I got home, and in 2004 I went to Turkey one more time to attend his K-1 visa interview with him. He got approved the same day, and I ended up spending 2 weeks there with him total on that trip. We flew back to the USA together, and he's been here almost 6 years now.

My point is, we took a HUGE leap of faith with going forward on the K-1 visa. He could not get a visitor's visa to come see me in the USA. I couldn't afford to go to Turkey more than I did. Basically we made our decision to marry mostly on 3 years worth of long distance phone calls and a total of about 6 weeks together in real life. Kinda crazy, eh? LOL

But we've been extremely happy together. When it's right, it's right. Sure, there are ups and downs...but thankfully during the past 6 years, way more ups than downs.

Rene

ian-mstm

I just want to point out that you have misquoted the actual saying. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil. No worries though, many people get it wrong.

Ian

Bluegrass Lass

I feel you Steve. If we had had our way, we most likely would not have chosen marriage either. Not because I don't love my husband, but because I didn't really want to enter into the institution of marriage. I'm a bit of a hippy that way. Not to mention, we basically had to take a very fast leap into marriage just to be together and I don't like being forced to do anything - esp by my own government!

I would have rather had the opportunity to have a normal dating relationship instead of being forced to jump straight into marrying. I (the USC) met my OH when I was 24 & studying overseas in Scotland. We were able to date for about 2months before I had to return back here to the US to finish my degree. We traveled back and forth as much as we could and after about 6mo, we pretty much decided that the only way we could be together was to get married. So we got engaged and started the K1 process (this was back in 2003). His visa was approved in Jan. 04 and married in May '04 - which was exactly 18mo after we first met and had only actually spent about 8wks physically together. Five and a half years later, we are still going strong. We have our rough days just as any other couple, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone else (yet!! )

Word of advice: don't let the stress of the immigration process come between you and your love. It's just a bureaucratic process that has to be completed. Just think of it as a long, drawn out job interview.

Rete

Here's a real old timer who married her Canuck when she was 50 and he was 57. Neither of us wanted marriage. I'm his third wife. Our ideal would have been as we first planned it before immigration got into the act was to live separately but distance wise close to each other and visit when we wanted. Yes, we wanted to have a relationship but didn't even want to live together. I'm Felix and he's Oscar. Guess what, we celebrated 11 years of marriage last September. Oh, man, do we have our ups and downs and many times I would have loved to hand him a suitcase and hold the door for him. But that's part of married life. Two people cannot always live together harmoniously 100% of the time.

NashvilleBrit

How long do people generally find that it takes to get the K1 visa (from start to finish)?

traceym

This question was answered by Rene in one of your other posts, 6-8 months.

NashvilleBrit

thanks, i hadnt seen the second page when I asked. Cheers!

Noorah101

Through the US embassy in London, approximately 6 to 8 months.

Rene

oops, thanks traceym, I didn't see your answer first.