When do get started...?

[Andrew83 0]

Hi everyone! This is my first post, and probably the first of many in what is clearly going to be a stressful process. Here's some quick info to sum up our situation:

I'm an American citizen living in Spain with my fiancé who is Colombian (soon to be granted, and I mean it could be any day, Spanish citizenship). We'd desperately like to save any time we can in the visa process and not be apart for longer than we have to be. The options as I see them are: getting married in Colombia and then applying for the K-3 visa, or applying for the K-1, and getting hitched in the U.S. The man at the US consulate here in Madrid said that the K-3 would be faster, simpler, and less hoops to jump through-simply because we'd already be married.

So as of now, our plan is to get married in Colombia in September or October, but we'd like to start now or at the appropriate time with the visa process, so that after the wedding, she would essentially only go back to Spain for her interview and whatnot. Is this plausible? For example, could we send the I-129F in say July to get a jump start, then get married in September, and by that time, at least everything on the Stateside end of the visa process would be finished and we'd shave of a couple of months of the process before the wedding? Also, with her new Spanish citizenship, she may come to the States after the wedding and stay for the allotted 3 months with me while everything is getting processed her, and then she'd go back and do the medical check and interview and all that stuff.

Is it possible? Is there a better way? Or is the K-3 pretty speedy in general? If we end up only spending a month or 2 apart, it would be fantastic!

Thanks for the help and any insight. Thank god for forums and the internet haha

[LoveMyTico 999]

Just so you know.... You can't start the process without being married. For the K-3, you have to have a marriage certificate. Also, You can't file the K-3 without first filing the I-130. I just sat in an attorneys office yesterday for 3 hours. All my paperwork is finished, I just need to get married on Friday and give them the certificate when I get it. Then the paperwork gets sent in. Read the guides on this website. They are very easy to understand. It will really help you. You can also check the processing times to give you an idea of what kind of time frame you are facing.

GOOD LUCK.

Hi everyone! This is my first post, and probably the first of many in what is clearly going to be a stressful process. Here's some quick info to sum up our situation:

I'm an American citizen living in Spain with my fiancé who is Colombian (soon to be granted, and I mean it could be any day, Spanish citizenship). We'd desperately like to save any time we can in the visa process and not be apart for longer than we have to be. The options as I see them are: getting married in Colombia and then applying for the K-3 visa, or applying for the K-1, and getting hitched in the U.S. The man at the US consulate here in Madrid said that the K-3 would be faster, simpler, and less hoops to jump through-simply because we'd already be married.

So as of now, our plan is to get married in Colombia in September or October, but we'd like to start now or at the appropriate time with the visa process, so that after the wedding, she would essentially only go back to Spain for her interview and whatnot. Is this plausible? For example, could we send the I-129F in say July to get a jump start, then get married in September, and by that time, at least everything on the Stateside end of the visa process would be finished and we'd shave of a couple of months of the process before the wedding? Also, with her new Spanish citizenship, she may come to the States after the wedding and stay for the allotted 3 months with me while everything is getting processed her, and then she'd go back and do the medical check and interview and all that stuff.

Is it possible? Is there a better way? Or is the K-3 pretty speedy in general? If we end up only spending a month or 2 apart, it would be fantastic!

Thanks for the help and any insight. Thank god for forums and the internet haha

[Darnell 8,478]

I ask that you refactor your plan after reading:

Comparison on K-3 vs CR-1 - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/204324-wondering-if-i-made-a-mistake-marrying-in-us/page__view__findpost__p__3060767

K-3 administratively closed - http://www.visajourney.com/news/2010/02/07/department-of-state-to-close-k-3-visas-if-i-129f-and-i-130-petitions-approved-and-received-together/

and then, if you care to think further -

if'n you live in Spain for 6 months or more, you can file the I-130 , get some special queue processing, to the lockbox in Chicago (see http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/357465-usc-petitioner-living-abroad/ )

when yer done thinking and refactoring, please let us know of your new plan?

[canadian_wife 1,808]

Sorry dude, no more K-3. The guy at the consulate is wrong

Read the links Darnell gave you. The follow the guides for the visa that fits your lifestyle

Also, if you get married in Columbia you cannot file ANYTHING before you have the marriage cert. Filing in July will simply delay your case and be ultra expensive when you have to file everything again after the wedding

Good luck

[LoveMyTico 999]

I was just sitting with my immigration lawyer 2 days ago. He advised me to do the I-130 AND the K-3. He says they get processed together, but you never know if there will be a problem with the I-130, so he says it can't hurt to file both. It doesn't cost anything to file the K-3 and he says the K-3 doesn't slow anything down. They do still exist, but since they get processed together, it makes sense to go with the I-130.

Sorry dude, no more K-3. The guy at the consulate is wrong

Read the links Darnell gave you. The follow the guides for the visa that fits your lifestyle

Also, if you get married in Columbia you cannot file ANYTHING before you have the marriage cert. Filing in July will simply delay your case and be ultra expensive when you have to file everything again after the wedding

Good luck

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I was just sitting with my immigration lawyer 2 days ago. He advised me to do the I-130 AND the K-3. He says they get processed together, but you never know if there will be a problem with the I-130, so he says it can't hurt to file both. It doesn't cost anything to file the K-3 and he says the K-3 doesn't slow anything down. They do still exist, but since they get processed together, it makes sense to go with the I-130.

Your lawyer is incorrect on a couple of issues:

- it can and often does slow down processing to also file for the K3, because it means the I-130 is being pulled out of line to be matched up with the I-129F

- It doesn't cost to file the K3 as such, but it costs more later on, even in the rare case where a K3 gets aproved (I have seen only one in the last 2 years), because the K3 cannot work for several months in the USA, and has to fiel and pay for Adjustment of Status.

[LoveMyTico 999]

How do you know for sure that the K-3 slows down the process? Whos to say they don't pair the two in the line with the I-130? My attorney said it is silly not to file both. I specifically asked him about the processing being slowed down because I read that several times on this site. I'm not paying him anything extra to file since the program they have populates the blanks for both petitions at the same time. He said he has had a few cases where the I-130 got caught up and the K-3 went through first. Yes... the fees are different and you do have to pay for the adjust ment when they come to the US, but some people aren't interested in fees, they just want to be with their spouse ASAP. When the I-130 gets approved, they just cancel the K-3.

Your lawyer is incorrect on a couple of issues:

- it can and often does slow down processing to also file for the K3, because it means the I-130 is being pulled out of line to be matched up with the I-129F

- It doesn't cost to file the K3 as such, but it costs more later on, even in the rare case where a K3 gets aproved (I have seen only one in the last 2 years), because the K3 cannot work for several months in the USA, and has to fiel and pay for Adjustment of Status.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

From experience of VJers here, it seems it is the I-130 gets pulled out of line.

Agree that some people care only about speed and not fees/ cost; You are the one who mentioned the K3 doesn't cost anything extra; I merely pointed out that it does.

[pushbrk 12,764]

How do you know for sure that the K-3 slows down the process? Whos to say they don't pair the two in the line with the I-130? My attorney said it is silly not to file both. I specifically asked him about the processing being slowed down because I read that several times on this site. I'm not paying him anything extra to file since the program they have populates the blanks for both petitions at the same time. He said he has had a few cases where the I-130 got caught up and the K-3 went through first. Yes... the fees are different and you do have to pay for the adjust ment when they come to the US, but some people aren't interested in fees, they just want to be with their spouse ASAP. When the I-130 gets approved, they just cancel the K-3.

At most, filing the second petition will create a delay of the time between filing the first and the second. Usually, that would be from 2 to 4 weeks. Otherwise, no harm done as long as you aren't paying an extra fee to the attorney for filing the second petition.

As for who is to say, this ain't our first rodeo. We've seen the difference in the timelines hundreds of times since USCIS started processing the petitions together in late 2006.

[Mononoke28 134]

How do you know for sure that the K-3 slows down the process? Whos to say they don't pair the two in the line with the I-130? My attorney said it is silly not to file both. I specifically asked him about the processing being slowed down because I read that several times on this site. I'm not paying him anything extra to file since the program they have populates the blanks for both petitions at the same time. He said he has had a few cases where the I-130 got caught up and the K-3 went through first. Yes... the fees are different and you do have to pay for the adjust ment when they come to the US, but some people aren't interested in fees, they just want to be with their spouse ASAP. When the I-130 gets approved, they just cancel the K-3.

After reading the thread I had to chime in and agree with the other members who said that filing both, the I-130 and the I-129F, in order to get a K3 will most likely delay the process by a few weeks, and all for nothing because about 95% (or higher) of people who file are only processed for the CR1/IR1 visa. It's not that we're trying to be difficult and go against everything an immigration lawyer has to say. This is all based on what other members have reported for years. Not only that, but going through a lawyer will also delay the process since it's a middle man between the USCIS/NVC and the petitioner.

Anyway, for those who DO care about costs, if for some odd reason you get to go for a K3 visa, you end up paying a lot more when you file for AOS after you arrive to the US. Not only that, but you have at least 3-6 months of waiting before you even get a work permit and even longer for a green card.

Diana

[Ryan H 3,812]

My attorney said it is silly not to file both.

IMO, it would appear your attorney is behind in the times; I say this because the attorney appears to be unfamiliar with current NVC policy which is when they have an approved I-130 on station, the I-129F that was filed to start the K3 path is administratively closed leaving only the I-130 active. An active I-130 would place the couple on the CR-1 visa path (IR-1 if married for 2 years or more).

[Ryan H 3,812]

Is it possible? Is there a better way? Or is the K-3 pretty speedy in general? If we end up only spending a month or 2 apart, it would be fantastic!

Don't bother pursuing a K3, instead if you marry overseas, only file an I-130 which will place your file on the CR-1 visa path.

[LoveMyTico 999]

He isn't behind the times. He just wants to cover all bases. He told me the K-3 gets processed with the I-130 and if the I-130 goes smoothly, the K-3 gets closed. He told me he has had a few cases where the I-130 got caught up and the K-3 got approved first. I sent him a message inquirering again about the I-130 processing time without the K-3.

IMO, it would appear your attorney is behind in the times; I say this because the attorney appears to be unfamiliar with current NVC policy which is when they have an approved I-130 on station, the I-129F that was filed to start the K3 path is administratively closed leaving only the I-130 active. An active I-130 would place the couple on the CR-1 visa path (IR-1 if married for 2 years or more).

[Ryan H 3,812]

Sorry dude, no more K-3.

Most of the time this is true. However, the provision in the LIFE act that created the K3 has never been repealed so the K3 officially remains on the books and once in a while, there is that rare case where a K3 ends up being processed.

I do agree that pursuing a K3 is pointless and usually join the chorus of informing others of what happens most of the time should they decide to pursue the K3 path.