K1, K3, or Direct Consular Filing with Costa Rican

[vermontcostarica 0]

Hello all,

Of course this is an incredibly valuable resource I imagine.

I'm engaged to an amazing young lady from Costa Rica. We've been together 2 years. We met in the U.S. 2 years ago she was on a J-1 visa. She returned to Costa Rica. I've since been there 3 times, and she's been back to Vermont to visit me twice. She returned home 1 month ago after five months in the U.S. during which time we were engaged. She returned just prior to her 10 year tourist visa expiring- it is now expired.

We are tired of living long distance. We are absolutely in love and are ready to take this step. We are both completely comfortable in eachother's respective countries.

Does anyone have any practical advice on where we should marry? I've heard it can reduce wait time in her US immigration process to marry in Costa Rica which we are tentatively planning on doing next month. We are working with a lawyer there to establish my naturalization process there so I can live there legally. I have authenticated my birth certificate, criminal record and statement of being single and am on a plane for there in 2 weeks.

I'm wondering how soon after marriage I could start my naturalization process to Costa Rica so that I could go the Direct Consular Filing route. I've seen conflicting info on this forum dealing with whether you need to prove legal residency (i.e. naturalization) in Costa Rica for 6 months or if you need to prove that you have been in that process of getting naturalized for 6 months before you go DCF. And I imagine I would need the marriage license in hand to start that process and I'm trying to understand how long that might take to get. We have a notary who is a family friend who would potentially marry us and procure that license.

I guess another I could file for a K-1 finance visa - but this could take a lot of time too? Does anyone know how the processing time goes? Since I have no real commitments in the states right now - I'm ready to go there and get married if this seems like a good decision.

I realize there are some other people on this forum who have dealt with Costa Rica whom I'll try to be in touch with. In the meantime if anyone has 2 cents to offer on anything related to my queries- I would much appreciate hearing from you.

In the meantime I'll be researching more...

Thanks.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

CR-1 would be a good route.

[Anh map 2,098]

If you are going to live there in Costa Rica then you don't need anything from the US government. You would need to find information on you immigrating/residing in Costa Rica.

If you, along with your then wife (and maybe kids), later want to come back to the US and live you would most likely want to go the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) route. You can read about it in the guides here on VJ.

[vermontcostarica 0]

CR-1 would be a good route.

The only issue that I foresee with this is that since we want to be living together while awaiting this process - it says CR-1 is only if I'm living in the US? Maybe I don't really have to as long as I have 3 consecutive years showing tax returns in the US?

And I guess with this also - she would have an interview by herself as opposed to DCF might be both of us?

Thanks!!