K-1 Visa Tijuana

[yenom34 1]

First of all thank you for reading my question. Once my fiancee gets her K-1 visa approved and she can enter the US, we get married and put in for "adjustment of status". Can she go back to Mexico immediately and finish the rest of her immigration paper work there to get her "Resident Alien Card"? She has 2 daughters that are bound (for now) to stay in Mexico without a visa because the biological father abandoned them and we have to gain custody through the Mexican Courts. She needs to go back until family gets settled in and we can get settled with the situation. I am afraid that if we were to have her go back to Mexico after getting married in the US, as she only has one time entrance to get married, that immigration will say..."now you have to stay here in the US or else loose your (Resident Alien Status). Any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you

[lost_at_sea 995]

First of all thank you for reading my question. Once my fiancee gets her K-1 visa approved and she can enter the US, we get married and put in for "adjustment of status". Can she go back to Mexico immediately and finish the rest of her immigration paper work there to get her "Resident Alien Card"? She has 2 daughters that are bound (for now) to stay in Mexico without a visa because the biological father abandoned them and we have to gain custody through the Mexican Courts. She needs to go back until family gets settled in and we can get settled with the situation. I am afraid that if we were to have her go back to Mexico after getting married in the US, as she only has one time entrance to get married, that immigration will say..."now you have to stay here in the US or else loose your (Resident Alien Status). Any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you

No. You can't leave the US until you get AP (advance parole) which will take 2 - 3 months from filing for AOS assuming you include the paperwork for AP (it's optional, not everyone bothers). Check the AOS guides (http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos). If you leave after getting married (by entering on a K1) without waiting for AP, you have to start all over and file for a spousal visa.

Edited February 25, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Done--Really 331]

First of all, have everything ready to file for AOS as soon as you are married, including the all important Advance Parole paperwork which is absolutely necessary for her to leave the country and reenter before the AOS process is complete. If she leaves without the AP in hand, she will likely be refused reentry, and it is possible that the entire AOS process will be thrown out the window. Read everything in the guides above...

[Grant PDX 183]

Given your situation it might be best to get married first and apply for the CR-1 visa. That would give her the ability to travel almost immediately after entering the US. Alternatively, you could apply for emergency AP after her entry into the US and your marriage. It might not be granted, but it's possible it could be and that could shorten the time that she'd have to wait before leaving the US after marriage.

Good luck!