Marrying in Morocco or K1 Visa?

[Bouhlil 0]

Hello all,

I am new on here, but this website seems to be one of the best tools I have been able to find. I am looking into 2 different possible ways of getting married to my fiance, I just don't know which route would be better.

I have heard that getting married in Morocco can be horrible and take a month or so. Since I will only have 2 weeks with him in Morocco, is this enough time? Also, I have a slight misdemeanor from years ago on my records. Could this possibly cause problems?

Or, would it be better to start the K! visa process while I am with him in Morocco and marry him here in the US? Any information would be greatly appreciated and stories as well!

Thanks all~!

[Teffah 5]

I think the answer really comes down to you and what you feel is right. I have seen several couples who have tried for the K1 and were denied; they then got married in Morocco and applied for the K3 or the CR1. Others have applied for the K1 and were approved as well as for the K3 or CR1. I don’t know of any statistics that show which is approved more?! Maybe someone else can help you with that.

I am going for the K1, we had a nice engagement party in Morocco (without my family) and I would like to get married in the US with my family present.

I hope you figure out what is best for you and your fiancé. Good luck!!

[KarimaG 2]

Hello all,

I am new on here, but this website seems to be one of the best tools I have been able to find. I am looking into 2 different possible ways of getting married to my fiance, I just don't know which route would be better.

I have heard that getting married in Morocco can be horrible and take a month or so. Since I will only have 2 weeks with him in Morocco, is this enough time? Also, I have a slight misdemeanor from years ago on my records. Could this possibly cause problems?

Or, would it be better to start the K! visa process while I am with him in Morocco and marry him here in the US? Any information would be greatly appreciated and stories as well!

Thanks all~!

Im not sure of my facts... but, I will impart what I have heard. That if you marry in Morocco, and do a k3 or cr1, and if you get denied the first time around, theres a 2 year waiting period before you can reapply. You might want to check into that. We did the k1, and it actually went pretty fast. He had his interview the first week of December and he is in AP now. But when you file on k1, you can reapply immediately. A few friends that I have had gotten married in Morocco, and was not able to do it under three weeks. There is alot of paperwork involved, so I dont believe 2 weeks will be enough time.

The reason of our choice for going with the k1 was that 'if' we got denied we could go another route immediately vs' having a time period to wait before we could do anything else. Hope this helps somewhat.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

How long it takes can vary depending on whether you are in a small village or the big city, what contacts you have, if you are there during a holiday, if you have the right papers, transporation issues, and if you can bribe enough folks to move things along faster. I don't know about how a misdemeanor affects things, but I took an FBI background check report as well as a state report. Your SO should get a list from the court that tells what they require from you so you can know better what to bring before you go. If he knows anyone in with the police or any other relevent agency, make sure he recruits them for your effort, too. Preparation insures a better outcome.

[New Beginnings 32]

I agree with the above posts. It took us about 15 days to get married in a fairly big city so you might want to keep that in mind.

Your record may or may not increase it.

We applied for the CR1 and were approved right away.

[Bouhlil 0]

Thank you all...At this point, I am still unsure of what to do. My fiancee is checking on things in Morocco with a lawyer and also the family court judge. The papers that need to be translated, can we do them before I head to Morocco? Or do I need to have them translated there? As far as my record, it was a stupid night out with friends, and I was caught driving. But, I know how some look down at drinking, let alone drinking and driving, especially in Morocco. Like I said...STUPID mistake! Since 3 years ago, I have not even had a speeding ticket or anything. I just want to do what is best.

[maggieNomar 0]

With only having 2 weeks, I would go with the K1. Otherwise you might spend a majority of your time working on marriage stuff and not having time to enjoy with your SO. Maybe others who did it will chime in, but from the people I have seen posted here that did it, they went planning for a 3-4 week stay to be sure it got done. Everyone has had their own experience with the different visas so there is no way to say which one is best to persue. With both you are apart while you wait. At the time we did K1 it was possible to get a temp work permit at JFK, and he wanted to be able to work when he got here. Immediate travel was not an issue for us. K3s were taking longer at that time. Good luck with your journey whichever you choose. The people here a great resource.

[New Beginnings 32]

Thank you all...At this point, I am still unsure of what to do. My fiancee is checking on things in Morocco with a lawyer and also the family court judge. The papers that need to be translated, can we do them before I head to Morocco? Or do I need to have them translated there? As far as my record, it was a stupid night out with friends, and I was caught driving. But, I know how some look down at drinking, let alone drinking and driving, especially in Morocco. Like I said...STUPID mistake! Since 3 years ago, I have not even had a speeding ticket or anything. I just want to do what is best.

It will be much cheaper to have the documents translated in Morocco.

I would marry with only 2 weeks you'll be much too stressed about the time and probably have to bribe everyone to hurry it up

[~kiyah~ 14]

Im not sure of my facts... but, I will impart what I have heard. That if you marry in Morocco, and do a k3 or cr1, and if you get denied the first time around, theres a 2 year waiting period before you can reapply.

Exactly where did you hear this? I don't know of any rule such as a 2 year waiting period after being denied a K3 or CR1. If you can share your source it would be much appreciated

~kiyah~

[~kiyah~ 14]

Deciding on which visa to pursue is clearly a personal choice.

When we refiled after our returned K1 was expired by the USCIS, we decided we were not going to pursue the K1, or even the K3. We married in Morocco and pursued the CR1 only. For us, the benefits of the CR1 were well worth it. My husband was eligible to work, received his greencard and social security card within 30 days of arriving here. We have had nearly 2 immigration free years before removing conditions. As far as we are concerned we deserved nothing less after everything we had been through.

As for marrying in Morocco, a lot can depend on where your fiance resides. Larger cities can be faster as where smaller cities can be slower getting through the court system. Some have done it in less than 2 weeks with and without legal representation. We had to grease some wheels to keep our file moving in the court system, and I refused to trust a lawyer there to do it for us. Personally, I think only having 2 weeks to attempt marriage in Morocco is a bit risky even though many have done it with success.

I took 1 month off from work to marry in Morocco, I am extremely happy I did because it ended up taking 21 days from the date I landed to the date our contract was finalized in court. We had an extra week for our honeymoon.

Regarding statistics on which visa type gets approved more...throw all of that out the window. Every single case is different and there are many factors that come into play, the visa type has less bearing than you might think on a visa refusal or approval by the US consulate in Casa.

I would weigh all of my options as you seem to be doing. If you decide marrying in Morocco is an option you want to pursue you may want to pad the time you have to get it done. Expect to stay on top of your paperwork daily during that process.

Regardless of which visa type you decide is best for you, file a solid petition with quality evidence and address any possible red flags you might have up front with the original petition. You definitely want the best to be presented to the consular officer before he even gets to the interview.

I wish you luck which ever path you choose.

~kiyah~

[hassan_debbie 4]

We did K1 visa and didn't have any problems at all. He was approved and here within 8 months. I know a couple of people who did K3, one had problems and it took over 2 years for her husband to get here. The other one didn't have any problems but it still took her husband longer to get here than mine. All in all I think it just depends on the consulate. Once it gets to them married or not they can hold you up if they think there is reason to.

[KarimaG 2]

Exactly where did you hear this? I don't know of any rule such as a 2 year waiting period after being denied a K3 or CR1. If you can share your source it would be much appreciated

~kiyah~

Honestly I cant remember anymore where I heard that. I have talked to so many ppl in the past and heard so many conflicting things. I wish I had a source to share,... lol

[Bouhlil 0]

Thank you so much everyone! You have all been a great help, and it is very much appreciated. After I discussed all this with my fiancee, and he did some more questioning on his side. We decided the K1 visa is probably the best route for us to go. Given that I only have 2 weeks in Morocco. Wish it could be more! Thank you all again! Can't wait to start the process in March!

[Olive♥ 2]

Yes I would file the K1 and take alot of pictures of you and his family etc while visiting for 2 weeks. Just enjoy the 2 weeks because if you did try to get married there chances are great that 2 weeks would not be enough (ours too all of 1 month) and you will be under enormous stress running around to all the various places for the marriage process. K1 definately. Olive

[casnab08 1]

I agree, It can take some time to get married and a lot of patience as well. It took us about 9 days. $$ can knock a week off of the process ask, your fiance what I mean by that! If you do decide to get married make sure you have everything you need with you. Also make sure your fiance has spoken with someone that has went through the process and knows exactly each place he will have to go to exactly so your not be surprised by anything last minute and that will also be your ticket to the front of every line (hint hint) As for the K-3 Visa it went very quickly for me ( I had an attorney). Even his interviews were pretty much back to back (within a week of each other). Our K-3 is also in "AP" though. It the the Consulate that is the problem really!

Hello all,

I am new on here, but this website seems to be one of the best tools I have been able to find. I am looking into 2 different possible ways of getting married to my fiance, I just don't know which route would be better.

I have heard that getting married in Morocco can be horrible and take a month or so. Since I will only have 2 weeks with him in Morocco, is this enough time? Also, I have a slight misdemeanor from years ago on my records. Could this possibly cause problems?

Or, would it be better to start the K! visa process while I am with him in Morocco and marry him here in the US? Any information would be greatly appreciated and stories as well!

Thanks all~!