The Brink

My fiancee, who is from Brazil, wants to marry at a church that is in
her home town. I am American and have just received the I129 & G325
forms to start the K1 process. If we marry in Brazil do I need to begin
the filing process here ? If we marry in Brazil can she return to the
US with me at that point in time or will she have to remain there for
months? Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brink

Rich Peacock

If you are doing the K1 process, you cannot be legally married when your
fiancee enters the U.S. Therefore, any wedding in Brazil would have to be
ceremonial only with no legal status.

Hope this helps.

Carl

If you are getting married in Brazil you don't want a K-1! This is only for fiancees - ie you have to stay unmarried until she enters the country and then get married. If you are getting married in a church I would suggest also having a civil ceremony to ensure legality - the laws vary by country, so do some investigation. After you are married you can file the immigration forms along with your proof of marriage.

My advice would be to bring her here on a tourist visa or whatever. Have a civil ceremony. File I-130 and I-485 along with a request for Advance Parole. Return to Brazil with her after you get Advance Parole and have the church ceremony. This is going around the system, but as far as I can tell it's legal and it will greatly reduce your waiting time because you avoid the National Service Centers and file with your local INS office.

Scarlett

if you marry in brazil you will need to apply for a spouse immigrant visa for
your wife - a K3.

these can take longer than K1s to process. a K1 is good only for fiancés
travelling to the US in order to marry a US citizen.

as the previous poster said, you can have a nonlegal ceremony in brazil before
the wedding in america with a K1 but you need to be sure what you do in her
home country has no legal standing as a marriage or you won't be able to go
this route.

best decide which you want to do before you file.

hope this helps.

regards
-=-
scarlett

Scarlett

also....

i note you've been advised to bring your fiancé to america on a tourist visa,
then marry and file with the INS in the US.

this would undoubtedly be quicker and i have heard people managing this sort of
thing successfully but you should know all the facts - this is technically visa
fraud. visa fraud is taken very seriously in the US and results in entry bans
lasting years.

i'm not trying to tell you what to do. i just want you to be aware of all the
facts, with no disrespect to anyone advising differently.

regards
-=-
scarlett

Girard Bourque

Maybe you can check with the consulate in Brazil and see if they allow
non-residence direct consulate filings (DCF). Some countries do and others
do not. I understand that Columbia and Peru are actually fairly quick. I
do not know about Brazil. Then you can marry there, file for her there, and
depending on their time frame, bring her back with you.

Jerry