End K1 for H1B

[sir17 0]

Hi all, I'm new here and this forum has been incredibly helpful so far. My fiancee and I are about to start the K1 process and from what I read here, two things (besides others) are a major pain for planning and timing... The waiting times at CSC and that you have to wait so long to get a work permission once you are married and maybe not even getting the temporary EAD in the first place. I had two job offers for the end of the year (H1B cap is reached...), but I had to realize our K1 process is not gonna be this fast.

But, I might have another job opportunity at a university, meaning I could apply for a cap excempt H1B. As this still needs a lot of negotiation, I am wondering if we could start the K1 process now and once we figure out that I actually get a work visa, cancel the K1 process? I just want to be on a safe side, knowing if this job isn't happening either, that we haven't wasted a lot of time. And on the other side, am I risking my H1B, which is I think a non-immigration visa, if they know that I'm up for marrying in the US?

Any thoughts on how to best tackle this would be very much appreciated.

[zyggy 9]

Hi all, I'm new here and this forum has been incredibly helpful so far. My fiancee and I are about to start the K1 process and from what I read here, two things (besides others) are a major pain for planning and timing... The waiting times at CSC and that you have to wait so long to get a work permission once you are married and maybe not even getting the temporary EAD in the first place. I had two job offers for the end of the year (H1B cap is reached...), but I had to realize our K1 process is not gonna be this fast.

But, I might have another job opportunity at a university, meaning I could apply for a cap excempt H1B. As this still needs a lot of negotiation, I am wondering if we could start the K1 process now and once we figure out that I actually get a work visa, cancel the K1 process? I just want to be on a safe side, knowing if this job isn't happening either, that we haven't wasted a lot of time. And on the other side, am I risking my H1B, which is I think a non-immigration visa, if they know that I'm up for marrying in the US?

Any thoughts on how to best tackle this would be very much appreciated.

The H1B is a dual intent visa... meaning that the US Government realizes that it is your intention to apply for permanent residency based on work at some point in the future. Seeing that it's the only other non-immigrant visa that would not be pretty much DOA at the consulate due to your fiancee relationship.

In this case, it would be okay for you to have both irons in the fire and choose the iron that gets hottest the fastest. You can always withdraw the other petition... However, beware that you may piss off your prospective employer if you don't go through with the H1B. They go through some considerable expense to be able to apply for that visa for you...

Edited July 17, 2006 by zyggy

[sir17 0]

Thanks for your answer, that's great news. Would the consulate actually know about my application, when we withdraw it before noa2?

Don't worry, I wouldn't piss of my employer...