I am a dual citizen (USA-UK) and my fiancee is Venezuelan. We were planning to do the
K1 thing mid 2001 and have her be here in the States while the AOS was being
processed, but she has just been offered an 18 month job in Madrid (lucky her!). Of
course she wants me to be with her, and as I have the EU passport I will have no
trouble entering or working in Spain. The slightly OT poser is, if we get married in
Spain can we apply for an adjustment of status for her there or do we need to be back
in the US and go throught the usual (I-130 I think) channels. There is always the
possibilty that we would want to come back to the States to live when her 18 months
is over. So what do the experts of the group suggest? Get married there or wait until
we come back to the US....any thoughts will be greatly appreciated... Doug

Almost certainly if you are living in Spain the US consulate in Madrid / Barcelona
would allow you to file directly there (DCF) which is generally one of the most
preferred ways to go. In fact their website doesn't seem to mention any residency
restrictions on the part of the US citizen:

http://www.embusa.es/cons/immigren.html

Of course after 18 months of Sangria you might not want to come back!

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
in
    >
for
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >

Even if for some reason you don't qualify for DCF, you plan ahead and file the I-130 at a service center, and do the visa in the consulate. 18-months is plenty of time for this, and is usually only an issue for a couple if one is in the US and the other abroad. But DCF shouldn't be a problem if you are a resident of Spain yourself (make sure you can document this properly).

If you marry before going to Spain, your wife will qualify for a different visa (because of your right to freedom of movement within the EU), which I think is called the EEA Family Permit, which might be easier than being tied to a work permit via her employer. This visa is free, and has a very easy application process.

Just wanted to say thanks to Andy and Ameriscot for the advice, as usual this group
comes through with the goods! Doug