mpd131

Got a bit of a complicated situation.

My fiance (UK citizen) and me (US Citizen) are currently living and working in New Zealand for a year. We are getting married this December and are about to start the K-1 process.

I know that I have to file at the service center that had jurisdiction over my last place of residence (Vermont Service Center).

However, we are confused as to what addresses we need to use on the I-129F and the G325A?

We have an address in New Zealand, but it is only for the next 6 months, and we therefore do not want correspondence sent to it. We would rather have any correspondence sent to our permanent addresses in the US and the UK, where our parents can forward it to us.

Do we need to list our New Zealand address as our 'present' address? What address do they go off of to send correspondence? Should we just include a cover letter requesting where they send the correspondence?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

lpdiver

Sounds to me like you would qualify for DCF as a resident of N.Z. Check it out!

whistlestop01

Hi there,

Just to let you know that the K-1 Visa is for USC bringing their fiance/e's to the US. If you are marrying before she/he arrives into the country then you need to apply for a K-3 visa. This takes a considerate amount of time and from what I hear (and what IPdiver has mentioned) you possibly can apply for a visa through DCF as you are living in New Zealand for a time. This is the quickest way usually and the best way is for you to enquire through the American Embassy in that country.

Good Luck!

meauxna

mppd,
as other mention, you likely qualify to marry in NZ and file your petition I-130 directly at the Consulate. Your (new) spouse can then apply for an Immigrant Visa and enter the US with immediate Green Card status: work, travel, no AOS etc. Total time: typically 3-4 months (check your Cosnualte for info). This process is informally known as DCF and is available to USCs resident abroad.

My husband and I did just this, my: USC, him UKC and both living in Greece. Our total filing---> visa time was 33 days. This is seriously worth investigating and you can always have your fancy wedding celebration once you're both in the US with his Green Card.

Bluegrass Lass

The K1 is for you, the US citizen, to bring your fiance into the US for the intent of marriage. Where were you intending on getting married? If the US, then you will need the K1 as you have mentioned. In your cover letter you could state a mailing address and a residential address. When I called the USCIS helpline once before, they asked me if my address was a postal or residential one. However, the issue is this. Do not trust USCIS to send your correspondance to the correct address. They could just get confused as to which address to use. I basically had 2 addresses as well, though they are both in the States. I live in an apt that is basically temporary, but did not give them that address. I entered my address as my grandmother's address - which was my address before I moved to my apt. That's the only address I entered on all the forms. I rec'd all my correspondance with no probs. But you are in a slightly diff situation.

If you are planning on getting married in the UK or NZ, the K1 doesn't do you any good. She would need the K3 in order to enter and remain in the US. In this situation, as others said, you should look into going the DCF route. If you get married in NZ, you need to make sure that you can file the I-130 directly with them - she could then enter the US with Resident status with the ability to work right away. However, if the plan is to get married in the UK, you will need to be a Resident of the UK in order to do DCF and file directly with the US Consulate in London.

Your best bet is either marry in NZ and file the I-130/DCF directly with the NZ Consulate (if you're allowed) or marry in the US after filing for the K1. Your post is a bit ambiguous so that's why you're getting some answers and questions that you probably weren't expecting. More info is sometimes required.

Good Luck!
Jamie

mpd131

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I'm sorry I was a bit ambigious...basically me and Stuart are here in NZ on a working holiday. Our plan is to get married in the US on December 11th (that is the time of the fancy wedding celebration, etc...). Our original plan was to file for the K-1 while we were here in NZ and hope that it goes through in time (he will be returning to London before the wedding so will be able to be in the country for an interview at the embassy).

However, we will now also think about DCF. We first need to find out whether or not we are even eligible. My question is, you said they get a green card, work permit, etc-- does this mean they are given automatic permanent resident status, or are they still a conditional permanent resident for 2 yrs? (not that that is a problem...). It certainly seems like a great option if its available to us.

As for K-1, if we do end up filing for it, I think I will use my parents permanent address in the US as our 'main address'.

meauxna

Dollars to Donuts you will qualify if you are legally in NZ. This service is designed for people in exactly your situation.

Conditional PR is for anyone who gets their PR status when married less than 2 years at the time they get the status. The "conditions" are no big deal; just really one extra form to complete at some point. As a K1 AOS, he would likely get this conditional notation also.

Conditional in no way restricts your PR status w/regards work, travel etc. The Conditional Green Card holder is a Permanent Resident, period. The "conditions" are for being married for less than 2 years when you receive status, and were a mechanism to reduce Green Card fraud (marrying for the GC).

Filing directly has made our lives so much easier that I recommend it for USCs living abroad.

mpd131

Well Stuart called the Consulate up in Auckland. He explained the situation and she said that she didn't see why we wouldn't qualify!!! So this is great news.

We are still wondering whether we should write the consulate a letter explaining our situation and seek written confirmation. Do you think this is a good idea and are consulates likely to respond? We just don't want to file all the papers, and get up to the interview and have someone say 'you are not eligible to file for DCF', even though someone on the phone said that we could.

Meauxna- when you were in Greece, did you initially phone up the consulate and ask whether you were eligible? Did you have any kind of written confirmation before you embarked on the process?

I know that I am just probably being really paranoid...

Just Jenney

I'd previously looked into getting a working holiday visa to work in NZ myself, only to discover US citizens aren't eligible for them. What kind of NZ work permit do you have? Just curious...

~ Jenney

meauxna

At first reading, I made a pffft sound, you know the one? Then I cast myself back a couple of years ago and remembered *exactly* the paranoia! I just looked back on my early correspondance with the Consulate and realized, I didn't even want to use my 'real' email address, so yes, I understand

First, the USC "should be" the one communicating with the Consulate now. This is *your* case with them, as there are 2 parts to the process:
1) the USC petitions to prove that they are indeed married to an alien and want them to be able to apply for a visa.
2) the alien applies for an Immigrant Visa.

In some foreign posts, all this is done in one step/appointment/"interview". In our case, it took 2 visits, plus the medical, plus my initial trip to the Consulate for my 'no impediment to marriage' certificate.

When my initial research turned up the DCF option, I coincidently met, in person, one of the (2) Visa Unit staffers. She was on vacation on my island and I got chatting with her and her husband. I informally confirmed my plans with her. However, I had orginally started an email contact with the Info Lady in Athens regarding my marriage paper. I also called the INS desk at the Consulate (because Athens is a bit different from other posts) and asked the magic question. I did not get it in writing based on the answer I got from them, which was *very* straightforward.

Again, there is nothing 'hinky' about what you propose to do: it is a service designed for people in your circumstances.

So, I had spoken to the INS staffer, the Consular Info Lady and a Visa Unit employee (USC) and gotten the same answer: yes.

The reason for this narrative is that having those contacts made *me* feel more secure about my process. I included them in my group announcement of the wedding and was on greeting terms with a few people when I visited the Consulate. I credit those relationships with my *perception* that I had an easier time of it. Have you read some of the experiences at the kamya site?

Your concern is that you are going to marry, file papers, get an interview and be turned away. It would not get that far, because the 'unusual' part is the USC filing the I-130 abroad (normally this is done in the US). If you are not allowed to file the I-130, that's where the buck stops. This is why DCF is for "clearly approvable" cases. However, barring any complications in your case (illness, overstays etc), you are merely accelerating the pace of what any K1, K3 or I-130 spouse does.
1) you submit an I-130 (and its attending docs) and it is approved (in 1-7 days). Look at the I-130 and you see that its function is to prove that a) you are a USC and b) you are legally married.
2) your spouse applies for an Immigrant Visa. If he is "clearly approvable", he will be. If not, there's problems you have ignored (he's a terrorist, cheat, past criminal or druggie etc) and your case gets referred to the US to be adjucated. The visa decision takes however long it takes: 1-6 months would be my guess; what did they tell your BF?.

Hopefully this gives you a better framework to understand what DCF/IV is. It's far simpler than the other petition/visa combos I've read about here, as long as you get your paperwork together. Remember that my husband is a UKC, but was also abroad, so we collected everything we needed by mail. It was time-consuming, but not difficult. When we first went to file the I-130, we had all docs ready to go, and opened a provisional file of sorts. 33 days, baby

mpd131

Jenney,

I have a one-year work visa through an organization called BUNAC. www.bunac.org. The USA and NZ DO NOT have a reciprocal working holiday arrangement at the moment, meaning that you can not apply directly through the US embassy. However, there are a few organizations, BUNAC and I also think CCUSA that can apply for the visa for you. After some research, I found BUNAC to be the best option. They will issue you with a one-year work visa, and this is open to anyone that is 18-30. You have to pay them $495 for the visa and than also purchase your travel/medical insurance through them which is another $500 for the year. A bit expensive, but it was worth it! We are having a great time here!

mpd131

Meauxna,

Thanks for all the info, we really appreciate it. I do think Stuart's case is 'clearly approvable'- he has no criminal record, medical problems, etc.

So basically, it sounds kind of crazy for us NOT to take advantage of this option-- it seems so much more straightforward than any of the others and with so many advantages.

Bluegrass Lass

Definitely lots of advantages! It means your future hubby enters automatically with GC and work status, instead of having to apply for it! You suck! Not only is the DCF route faster, it may even be cheaper since you wouldn't have to file for Adj of Status.

PS: Sorry I assumed you were the "he" in the relationship!

meauxna

heheheh, *you* said it, not me

Best wishes,
mo