K1 vs marry in Colombia

[nicadj 0]

OK. I really appreciate all of the responses to my last post. Not to take advantage of everyone's good nature, I will ask again in a different manner.

IF IF IF, I need to move to Colombia because my fiance's daiughter's father will not allow the child to leave Colombia, AND we get married in Colombia.............. what process and how long might it take for her (my wife) to be allowed to enter the U.S to visit (and have another ceremony.)

The B2 is not going to happen. She tried last year and was roundly rejected.

The K1 works, I think, if we want to marry in the U.S. first, but we will likely both have to go back and live in Colombia.

Priority is her getting to The States, even just for a visist to meet my parents (75 and 70 years old) before time starts dragging on.

Thinking 90% chance the father of the child will say NO to her daughet living in The U.S. Planning on that discussion with him in a few weeks.

Thanks again for any past experience.

I love this web-site and hope I can help someone else in the near future after I go through the gauntlet!

[pushbrk 12,569]

OK. I really appreciate all of the responses to my last post. Not to take advantage of everyone's good nature, I will ask again in a different manner.

IF IF IF, I need to move to Colombia because my fiance's daiughter's father will not allow the child to leave Colombia, AND we get married in Colombia.............. what process and how long might it take for her (my wife) to be allowed to enter the U.S to visit (and have another ceremony.)

The B2 is not going to happen. She tried last year and was roundly rejected.

The K1 works, I think, if we want to marry in the U.S. first, but we will likely both have to go back and live in Colombia.

Priority is her getting to The States, even just for a visist to meet my parents (75 and 70 years old) before time starts dragging on.

Thinking 90% chance the father of the child will say NO to her daughet living in The U.S. Planning on that discussion with him in a few weeks.

Thanks again for any past experience.

I love this web-site and hope I can help someone else in the near future after I go through the gauntlet!

Once she is your wife and you have resident status and a job in Columbia, it should be easier to obtain a visitor visa for her. Showing strong ties to return to Columbia is fortified by the child she's leaving behind during the visit. There are no guarantees.

[Craig_Karina 0]

OK...I will try to give you another response...in a different manner.

IF you get married in Colombia, you are married. And, you CANNOT enter on a K-1 visa because she is not your fiance'...she is your wife. Your only option is the K-3 visa. Once she is here in the USA, you can marry her again ...if you want to go through the expenses of another ceremony for your family and friends. Having the daughter here...that is the $60,000 question!

Other than the reason of loving your wife, WHY would you want to live and work in Colombia where an average worker earns less than $1,000 per month? True, the cost of living is less there but...look at the conditions that these people have to live in. UNLESS your GF/wife is of SUBSTANTIAL means and has substantial ties to Colombia, she is NOT getting out on a Visitors Visa. She must own property, have assets, bank accounts with money in them, own a business, have a great job and then MAYBE the Colombian Government will give her a visitor's visa. But, UNLESS this is the case, do NOT count on her getting a Visitors Visa...ever!!!! You are not dealing with the United States of America...you are dealing with Colombia where the government does not issue visas UNLESS they are certain the person will return to Colombia. There are thousands of people who would leave Colombia IF given the opportunity. For that reason, their government denies visas routinely. There is NO TRUST in their government and for that reason, there are many Colombian nationals...and other nationalities...living illegally in the United States. Once they get here...they do not want to leave...can you blame them?

Your parents are Americans, I presume...and if you want her to meet them, why not fly them down to Colombia to meet her? We, Americans, do not realize the great freedoms that we have been given. We can work, travel and enjoy the highest standard of living in the world!! And, we are (basically) free to come and go as we please!! US Passport in your hand...you can buy a plane ticket to almost anywhere (except Cuba) and just GO!!!

It seems that you are hinging everything on the father of the daughter?

Depending on his relationship with your GF/future wife and his child, the guy can be two things: 1) A big jerk and keep his daughter in a repressive country with little future for her. OR 2) He can be a nice guy and realize that there is a great opportunity looking his daughter in the face...an opportunity to grow up in a country where life is good!!! For your sake, your gf/wife's sake and most importantly for your daughter's sake, I hope Option #2 is chosen. A good man and responsible father would make the correct choice. But, remember...you are dealing with a Colombian man...a "macho mentality" is in place. So, my thoughts to you is: Appeal to his good sense to do what is best for his daughter. Tell him that he is welcome to visit his daughter any time in the USA...HE IS WELCOME!!! (The Colombian government may not let him leave for a visit...But, YOU welcome him!!!!! Get the idea?) Maybe he will do it...likely not. But, I wish you the very best of luck in this situation. We are all here to help each other...and remember, you are getting OPINIONS...not legal advice. What I say may not be in agreement with others on this site. And...opinions are worth exactly what you are paying for them.....

Sincere Best Wishes,

Craig (& Karina)

PS I am in the same situation BUT, my wife has already discussed and taken care of this situation with the father. He has NO problem with it. Thank God he is a good and reasonable man.

[paisita411 0]

NIC,

As a USC you must live in Colombia for 6 months and be married to your fiance in order to qualify for Direct Consular Filing. That means you can process her immigrant visa directly at the US Embassy in Bogota. You ONLY other option is to file for the K1, go through the process and have her travel to the US without her child, get married in the US and then both of you return to Colombia (a 6-9 mos process).

As far as LIVING in Colombia....Well, Colombian wages are lower than US wages, but depending on your profession and what you want to do in Colombia, as a USC you have more options than the average Colombian. And LIVING in Colombia is WONDERFUL. Its a different culture, but if you are considering marriage to a Colombian, you must not be too averse to it. And of course, living there would allow you to forge a relationship with the childs father. Its a tough situation but not inconvievable for you to live there and be happy. TAKE ME!!!

I hope this answers your question.

DRE

[parkpapa 0]

Unless I'm missing something here, you do have options but they depend on when and where you want to live together. I married my Colombian wife in Bogota at the end of September 2006. She and her sons were finally able to move here in mid-June this year. The process of getting married there is not terribly complicated and there are several sources on the Internet that can outline the process.

One of our major concerns was whether or not the boys' father would give permission for them to come here. In our case, the boys' father was not so much interested in the boys as he was in trying to have some kind of control over their mother. She suggested to him that if he didn't want the boys to live in America then he should prepare to take them and raise them, as he should have helped do in the first place. He wasn't prepared (or interested) in doing that. I do think he loves his sons, however. In the end, he wanted assurance that I was a good guy and that his boys would be taken care of and have a good life here. Perhaps that is the reassurance your SO's ex needs.

If you end up getting his approval, be sure to use a format for the approval letter that DAS will accept. They have very specific requirements.

Your only other option is for your fiancee to start a custody process in family court. She would need to prove to the court that the child would be better off with her (and you) and that the father is not doing his part. Of course, if this is not true, you will never get court approval. It can get ugly and it can take time - a minimum of four months is what I hear from a lawyer friend in Colombia.

I agree with the other observation regarding the wedding. Your Colombian wedding/marriage will be recognized in the US, so if you want a second wedding, it can only be assumed that you want it for your family who cannot attend the ceremony in Colombia. From the USCIS standpoint, I would think, since your fiancee was denied a visa before, it might be easier to get a visa as a K-3 than as a K-1. That is up to you, of course.

As for living in Colombia, there are lots of pros and cons (politics and safety concerns aside). The cost of living is certainly less, but your ability to get a job there, unless you are relatively fluent in Spanish, could be problematic. There are bureaucratic and social issues to consider, life-style, culture, etc. Much depends on which city you choose to live in. My wife's home is in a moderate sized city far from Bogota. The life there is pleasant, simple, and inexpensive. What you give up to live there, however, is the certainty that the water system will work every day (sometimes down for a week at a time) or that the electricity will be on (often out for days at a time). Many of the common small extras we don't even think about are unavailable or very expensive. Personally, I would love to live there, even with the inconveniences, but the overriding issue for me with her town is safety. FARC has operated routinely within 30 minutes of the town. White skin like mine is still a real novelty there. Shoot, I still draw stares in some parts of Bogota when I visit! Things have changed greatly in Colombia in recent years, but a move there still requires a LOT of thought and planning.

There is no "fast" way to get your fiancee here. You can look at the timelines for both the K-1 and the K-3 (the CR-1 takes longer) and there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference. You can expect a six to nine month process in either case - at a minimum.

Best of luck and keep plugging away with it!

Charlie

[payxibka 10,045]

Other than the reason of loving your wife, WHY would you want to live and work in Colombia where an average worker earns less than $1,000 per month? True, the cost of living is less there but...look at the conditions that these people have to live in. UNLESS your GF/wife is of SUBSTANTIAL means and has substantial ties to Colombia, she is NOT getting out on a Visitors Visa. She must own property, have assets, bank accounts with money in them, own a business, have a great job and then MAYBE the Colombian Government will give her a visitor's visa. But, UNLESS this is the case, do NOT count on her getting a Visitors Visa...ever!!!! You are not dealing with the United States of America...you are dealing with Colombia where the government does not issue visas UNLESS they are certain the person will return to Colombia There are thousands of people who would leave Colombia IF given the opportunity. For that reason, their government denies visas routinely. There is NO TRUST in their government and for that reason, there are many Colombian nationals...and other nationalities...living illegally in the United States. Once they get here...they do not want to leave...can you blame them?

I beg to differ here... the Columbian government does not issue visitors visas to the USA, the US government does

[parkpapa 0]

Other than the reason of loving your wife, WHY would you want to live and work in Colombia where an average worker earns less than $1,000 per month? True, the cost of living is less there but...look at the conditions that these people have to live in. UNLESS your GF/wife is of SUBSTANTIAL means and has substantial ties to Colombia, she is NOT getting out on a Visitors Visa. She must own property, have assets, bank accounts with money in them, own a business, have a great job and then MAYBE the Colombian Government will give her a visitor's visa. But, UNLESS this is the case, do NOT count on her getting a Visitors Visa...ever!!!! You are not dealing with the United States of America...you are dealing with Colombia where the government does not issue visas UNLESS they are certain the person will return to Colombia There are thousands of people who would leave Colombia IF given the opportunity. For that reason, their government denies visas routinely. There is NO TRUST in their government and for that reason, there are many Colombian nationals...and other nationalities...living illegally in the United States. Once they get here...they do not want to leave...can you blame them?

I beg to differ here... the Columbian government does not issue visitors visas to the USA, the US government does

hahahaha.... glad you caught that! I would also disagree with the implication that Colombians distrust their government more than we distrust ours. The reasons why any given person would choose to leave the land of their birth is almost always a lot more complicated than we are willing to think about. Frankly, I don't think the Colombian government (in general) cares all that much one way or the other whether people stay or go. WE are the ones with the ####### complex about peoples' motives for wanting to come here.

I also disagree with the implication of the statement: "the conditions that these people have to live in". What conditions specifically? The Colombians I have met are courteous, pleasant, hard-working, and generally happy. Can you say the same of most Americans? Those "conditions" sound pretty darned good to me. If, however, the conditions referred to are those in the slums south of Bogota (as an example), then I would suggest taking a look at some of the thousands of homeless folks and abused women and children in THIS country before throwing stones at another country. The conditions in Colombia vary depending on location and economics, just as they do here.

The only general, sweeping, and over-simplified statement I would ever dare make is that it is unwise to make general, sweeping, and over-simplified statements. They have a way of turning out to be grossly in error.