General Question as to which method is faster.

[BigCityDave 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this community and I am really looking forward to participating in the forums.

Currently, me and my sweetheart are separated and are searching for the best method for us to be together. (Meaning Marriage) Right now I am an American citizen living in Utah. My sweetheart is Hungarian and is living in Budapest Hungary. We know that our options are either I go over there and we get married, or I petition for her to come to America and we get married here. Where I get tied up with is which route would be the easiest to take? I know things are very complicated when it comes to getting married to someone international.

If I go over there and get married, then what are the steps I need to take? From what I understand she cannot come back home to America with me. Instead I need to do some paperwork, and I believe that would be the K3 form.

So to get down to my question, which would be easier, me going to Hungary and getting married there. Or staying here in America and doing the K1 petition for her to come here.

Any thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely and with thanks.

-Dave

[Sprailenes 47]

K1 seems to be the most popular choice and is usually the quickest.

[BigCityDave 0]

Even if we are already married? We would still have to wait such a long time before we could be together?

[Tanjay 0]

No method is faster guaranteed than another.. patience must be a virtue...always.... Your love for each other will surpass time itself....It will all come in His time....Good Luck...to you both...!!!!

[Zee Bee 61]

Unfortunately yes.

[miamiwife 0]

I wish I had gone the K-1 route, instead of getting married internationally. It was so hard to leave and come back to living alone again after getting married. I wish we had just waited for the K-1 in the first place, without waiting to get married, and then having to wait after we are married as well. Now I don't even know when I will be together with my husband again. At least if your fiance comes to the U.S. they can be with you during the immigration process rather than denied entry to visit you!

[Jasman0717 9]

Take a look at the Immigration Timelines at the top of the page. There are stats for your service center and embassy for each visa type so maybe that will help

[pushbrk 12,570]

Even if we are already married? We would still have to wait such a long time before we could be together?

Counting the days from now until you are together in the US, you can probably expect marrying abroad will mean you'll wait longer to be reunited in the US. No small part of the reason is that if you can prove you already met in person, you can start the process now instead of losing all the time between now and when you could marry abroad.

The fiance visa process is undoubtedly "easier" in many ways. However, when these questions come up, I usually suggest people make their life plans based on their own priorities and values with regard to when and where to marry, then choose the visa process that fits with their life decision.

Based on my/our own values, priorities and circumstances, my wife and I weren't willing to go through the visa process unmarried, so we married in China and then started the visa process. Part of our decision was that based on the fact that most of her family will never be able to come to the USA for a visit, we elected to have our marriage occur where her family could participate in the celebration. My family was not as important a consideration for us. All this and more will vary with the couple. Perhaps your family could be present for wedding abroad but hers could not come here. K1 visa requires the legal and lawful marriage occur in the USA.

We did go the K3 route but if I had it to do over again now, I would have just gone the CR1 route because the process has changed enough that would have been the better fit for us.

I suggest you study the Guides and visa comparisons as well as finding out what is involved in marrying your sweatheart in Hungary. Start by simply googling "Marriage in Hungary". The Hungarian Embassy to the US will have good information on their website. Perhaps you would choose to marry in a third country, Switzerland, Germany or Ukraine etc. You have a lot of options.

[BigCityDave 0]

Thank you all for the very helpful information. I really do appreciate it and I hope there is and will be a way I can help you all back.

Honestly, I just want the route that will be the fastest. If it is faster for us to wait for the fiancé visa, then that is going to be our choice. If it is faster for us to get married and then wait, then we would take that route. However, from what it sounds like, the fiancé visa might be the quickest. From the timelines I was viewing, it showed data representing average waiting times. If I understood them correctly, then it is average for a couple to wait about half a year. Am I correct?

[pushbrk 12,570]

Thank you all for the very helpful information. I really do appreciate it and I hope there is and will be a way I can help you all back.

Honestly, I just want the route that will be the fastest. If it is faster for us to wait for the fiancé visa, then that is going to be our choice. If it is faster for us to get married and then wait, then we would take that route. However, from what it sounds like, the fiancé visa might be the quickest. From the timelines I was viewing, it showed data representing average waiting times. If I understood them correctly, then it is average for a couple to wait about half a year. Am I correct?

Whatever you and your fiancee wish to do will take longer than you want. The average timeline doesn't really mean much to you. You need to know about timelines from Hungary. The stateside portion doesn't vary much based on the beneficiary's country but the timeline from NVC complete to interview can vary widely. At each point in the process, there can be unforseen delays or surprising speed, so be prepared for surprises.

[BigCityDave 0]

Thats part of the pain involved with this, but its all we can do and with our Love we are willing to put up the fight.

[bora bora 1]

It's SO hard having a boyfriend/fiance living in another country - so for me, I couldn't imagine having a husband living miles and miles away. I never wanted to be apart from my husband (when we were dating) - but now we're married - I don't even want to think about it...

But that is just my opinion.

I'm pleased with how the K1 visa went for us - it's the AOS that is getting on my damn nerves - but hey, at least he's here and has his work permit.

[BigCityDave 0]

It looks like I will take the K1 route, now I just need to focus on getting everything put together properly. Also sooner the better in my case.

[rebeccajo 14]

There's more to consider than speed - at least from where I sit.

A CR1 spousal visa comes complete with greencard. As soon as your wife lands in the US, and the card arrives (a couple of weeks later) she can begin assimilating herself into American life.

It's hard to think about the immigrants' future when we are apart and longing to be together. But part of lovingly planning for marriage is taking the other persons' day to day life into account. CR1 avoids the stateside AOS process because it's done before the immigrant arrives.

[BigCityDave 0]

There's more to consider than speed - at least from where I sit.

A CR1 spousal visa comes complete with greencard. As soon as your wife lands in the US, and the card arrives (a couple of weeks later) she can begin assimilating herself into American life.

It's hard to think about the immigrants' future when we are apart and longing to be together. But part of lovingly planning for marriage is taking the other persons' day to day life into account. CR1 avoids the stateside AOS process because it's done before the immigrant arrives.

Don't the CR1's take even more time than the K1 and the K3 combined? According to the charts on this website, it would usually take over a year.