AL&Becky

Hi people,
I am totally new to this and i need some advice asap. I finally managed to muster enough courage to pop the question to my American girlfriend last weekend at Niagra Falls! We were onboard "Maid Of The Mist", both drenched and i happened to have the ring in my pocket!(grin) so i thought what better place to propose then under the falls!!! Anyways, we are over the moon and want to get married as soon as possible. The problem is, i don't know where to start? How does K1 compare to K3 or applying for immigrant visa after we get married, in terms of timelines? Moreover, if we decide to go for K1, do i have to be in the country of my permanent residence or i could apply at any consulate?

Any help and advice will be highly appreciated!
Think this forum is doing a splendid job.
Cheers
AL(one happy puppy)!!

Shannon

Congratulations on your engagement. IT sounds very romantic.

Some questions to help answer yours:
1) When do you want to marry
2) where do you want to marry?
3) What country are you from?
4) How did you enter the US / what visa?

Shannon

Pallyn

Congratulations on your engagement! This is my observation, based on what you have posted so far. I am kind of assuming that you are outside the US at this time.
If you are going to be residing somewhere other than your country of origin when it comes time for consular processing, your fiance needs to indicate that when she files the initial petition, whichever one that may be. I just feel like it would be a lot to ask to have the service center and/or NVC switch the embassy routing midstream. It starts me visualizing your file floating around the planet without a clear orbit.

AL&Becky

Thank you Shannon and pallyn. Your replies are very much appreciated. To ans your questions shannon, I am not in the US tho i did visit 2 years ago and thats how i met my fiancee. We want to marry as soon as possible and would be great to do that in the US since we both have family there. I am originally from East Africa!

Once again thanks for taking time to answer my questions!
Cheers
AL

Shannon

Ok

I presume you are not in East Africa now (my mother was born in Mbeya, Tanganika, and lived in Zanzibar till she was 12) because you say "originally". Anyway, you are not in the States..!

The best option to marry in the US is to apply for a K1 fiance visa. This is done in a few steps.. I would look at various information pages in the FAQ of this newsgroup to see relevant nfo.

Basically, your fiance must be a US citizen and has to show that she has income to support you at 125% of the poverty line. If she has less income and assets than that she can ask the help of a co-sponsor - friend, family etc. to ensure you will not be a welfare recipient.

K1 visas take different lengths of time.. but all in the order of 3+ months (can be a year in dire situations). It seems to depend where you are resident and specifics of your case.

Shannon

AL&Becky

Thanks a lot Shanon. Mbeya huh? Have been to mbeya a few times and Zanzbar too. My uncle used to reside in Mbeya few years ago!

I am in Visiting Canada and was wondering if it was at all possible to apply for K1 while here as a visitor? Can u shed any light on that?

Once again thank you for all your help!
Cheers
AL

Shannon

Sorry, I don't know for sure. I thought it had to be in country of residence but I may be wrong.

I would post a seperate thread for the question