Confused in Hawaii

[Hawaii 0]

Hello all...

Very nice site, and very glad i found it!

I'm currently living in Hawaii and am a US citizen. My fiance' is a Canadian citizen and is currently here in hawaii with me. She is visiting and has to return near the end of July 06. We plan to marry but are quite confused in the options we have. We are both worried about being apart, due to me not able to leave the island. (new job)

Any opinions or possible time frames that are usually seen with this process. We are debating wether to go through the K1, or marry here in Hawaii and apply for the K3.

Aloha,

Kevin

[Ladylethal 12]

If she's there on a student visa or work visa and you've met and just want to get married, you can go right ahead and get married, but then for the AOS you'll have to prove your marriage was a spur of the moment thing, and that she didn't travel to US just to marry you.

If that's not your case, then you can either send her home and file for a K1, which takes around 6 months, or you can go and marry her in Canada, and apply for a K3. If you marry there you don't have to apply for either, just for AOS, but it's like I said above, will depend on how long she's been there and what's her situation.

[frednat05 0]

Hello all...

Very nice site, and very glad i found it!

I'm currently living in Hawaii and am a US citizen. My fiance' is a Canadian citizen and is currently here in hawaii with me. She is visiting and has to return near the end of July 06. We plan to marry but are quite confused in the options we have. We are both worried about being apart, due to me not able to leave the island. (new job)

Any opinions or possible time frames that are usually seen with this process. We are debating wether to go through the K1, or marry here in Hawaii and apply for the K3.

Aloha,

Kevin

I think I read here that some people applied for the K1 visa, and the foreign fiance just had to fly home for the interview..It seems to me like the best way not to be away for longer than necessary...

[Hawaii 0]

If she's there on a student visa or work visa and you've met and just want to get married, you can go right ahead and get married, but then for the AOS you'll have to prove your marriage was a spur of the moment thing, and that she didn't travel to US just to marry you.

If that's not your case, then you can either send her home and file for a K1, which takes around 6 months, or you can go and marry her in Canada, and apply for a K3. If you marry there you don't have to apply for either, just for AOS, but it's like I said above, will depend on how long she's been there and what's her situation.

She is here on niether... She is just here visiting me. We actualy met here about a year ago.

Hello all...

Very nice site, and very glad i found it!

I'm currently living in Hawaii and am a US citizen. My fiance' is a Canadian citizen and is currently here in hawaii with me. She is visiting and has to return near the end of July 06. We plan to marry but are quite confused in the options we have. We are both worried about being apart, due to me not able to leave the island. (new job)

Any opinions or possible time frames that are usually seen with this process. We are debating wether to go through the K1, or marry here in Hawaii and apply for the K3.

Aloha,

Kevin

I think I read here that some people applied for the K1 visa, and the foreign fiance just had to fly home for the interview..It seems to me like the best way not to be away for longer than necessary...

If that is really the case that would be great. For some reason though, i don't think it will be that easy. I've been doing alot of reading on this site and it doesn't look like we'll be able to get around not being with each other for at least a few months.

Aloha

Kevin

[Ladylethal 12]

That's the usual case scenario. All in all the couples have at least a few months wait appart, but it's worth it!

[daphne2109 0]

Hello all...

Very nice site, and very glad i found it!

I'm currently living in Hawaii and am a US citizen. My fiance' is a Canadian citizen and is currently here in hawaii with me. She is visiting and has to return near the end of July 06. We plan to marry but are quite confused in the options we have. We are both worried about being apart, due to me not able to leave the island. (new job)

Any opinions or possible time frames that are usually seen with this process. We are debating wether to go through the K1, or marry here in Hawaii and apply for the K3.

Aloha,

Kevin

Hello Kevin,

as soon as I read yr email, I just smiled because yr story is so similar to mine

& my fiance. He is from Hawaii, and I'm actually from Europe (Ialy), we met each oher

last year when I was on vacation there.......well .....me & my fiance have scheduled

to get married next September, he came to visit me in Italy last November, then

I was back to Hawaii last March, and now I'm back here in Italy waiting for

the docs and the interview to go to the American Consulate here ,in order to get

the K1 visa. It takes about 6 months and we'll be apart until September, but we didnt have

so many options............we thought that it was going to be the right path to take.

it's hard waiting & waiting, but we are not the only ones to do so........we'll be together

for the rest of our lives later, so actually 5/6 months are nothing, plus this website gives you

strenght because you understand you are not alone, there are so many people (I didnt

imagine) going through the same stuff like us.

I hope that my message can help you, good luck!!!

Daphne

[tvelasco 0]

Hello all...

Very nice site, and very glad i found it!

I'm currently living in Hawaii and am a US citizen. My fiance' is a Canadian citizen and is currently here in hawaii with me. She is visiting and has to return near the end of July 06. We plan to marry but are quite confused in the options we have. We are both worried about being apart, due to me not able to leave the island. (new job)

Any opinions or possible time frames that are usually seen with this process. We are debating wether to go through the K1, or marry here in Hawaii and apply for the K3.

Aloha,

Kevin

[Cygnet 0]

Hi, Kevin!

The K-1 would go faster. However, if you want to get married within the next couple of weeks in Hawaii, then the K-3 could also be an option since you can start the process right away (file the I-130, then the I-129F). Since your fiancee isn't going back to Canada until July, she can just stay with you for almost 3 months. If you get your K-3 application in by June, you might get your K-3 approved by September. However, if you are not getting married right away, then K-1 would be best... this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

[Hawaii 0]

Hi, Kevin!

The K-1 would go faster. However, if you want to get married within the next couple of weeks in Hawaii, then the K-3 could also be an option since you can start the process right away (file the I-130, then the I-129F). Since your fiancee isn't going back to Canada until July, she can just stay with you for almost 3 months. If you get your K-3 application in by June, you might get your K-3 approved by September. However, if you are not getting married right away, then K-1 would be best... this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

hmmm... So she can be in the states while i apply for the K3, huh!? sounds interesting... I'm going to do some more head hurting research. lol

We've actually had talks about getting married sooner than later. My parents are coming out to the island in the middle of may and it would be perfect timing. Thanks for the info, and pointing me in some kind of direction. Is there any more important info or tips using the K3 route you mention?

Aloha

Kevin

[happyimmigrant 0]

Hi, Kevin!

The K-1 would go faster. However, if you want to get married within the next couple of weeks in Hawaii, then the K-3 could also be an option since you can start the process right away (file the I-130, then the I-129F). Since your fiancee isn't going back to Canada until July, she can just stay with you for almost 3 months. If you get your K-3 application in by June, you might get your K-3 approved by September. However, if you are not getting married right away, then K-1 would be best... this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

hmmm... So she can be in the states while i apply for the K3, huh!? sounds interesting... I'm going to do some more head hurting research. lol

We've actually had talks about getting married sooner than later. My parents are coming out to the island in the middle of may and it would be perfect timing. Thanks for the info, and pointing me in some kind of direction. Is there any more important info or tips using the K3 route you mention?

Aloha

Kevin

Because she is Canadian, she can visit for 6 months at a time. If she wants to stay as a "tourist" while you apply for the K1, she can, returning to Canada only for the actual interview - as long as the process takes no longer than the 6 months she is there. If it takes longer than 6 months, she will have to return to Canada.

[Hawaii 0]

Hi, Kevin!

The K-1 would go faster. However, if you want to get married within the next couple of weeks in Hawaii, then the K-3 could also be an option since you can start the process right away (file the I-130, then the I-129F). Since your fiancee isn't going back to Canada until July, she can just stay with you for almost 3 months. If you get your K-3 application in by June, you might get your K-3 approved by September. However, if you are not getting married right away, then K-1 would be best... this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

hmmm... So she can be in the states while i apply for the K3, huh!? sounds interesting... I'm going to do some more head hurting research. lol

We've actually had talks about getting married sooner than later. My parents are coming out to the island in the middle of may and it would be perfect timing. Thanks for the info, and pointing me in some kind of direction. Is there any more important info or tips using the K3 route you mention?

Aloha

Kevin

Because she is Canadian, she can visit for 6 months at a time. If she wants to stay as a "tourist" while you apply for the K1, she can, returning to Canada only for the actual interview - as long as the process takes no longer than the 6 months she is there. If it takes longer than 6 months, she will have to return to Canada.

understood. Thats actually why she has to go back to Canada by the end of July. Tough part is she's from the east coast of Canada, which ='s expensive plane tickets.

Aloha,

Kevin

[Hawaii 0]

Ok...

I've run into another issue that i may need some guidence with. (or at least some opinions)

Now after some of the comments in this thread, i thought we were going to get married and file for the K3. I recently checked the timelines though. Do to living in Hawaii, i have to go through the USCIS California Service Center.

Processing times are as follows:

I-129F -- Feb. 03,2006 (Processing Cases with receipt Notice Date)

I-130 -- Oct. 17, 2006 or Jan. 01, 2005

Can't make determination of I-130... between "US citezen filing for spouse, parent, or child under 21" or "US citezen filing for spouse or child under 21"

iether way it seems that processing the K1 will be faster... Should i go K1 instead?

Aloha,

kevin

[jen&darcy 0]

Kevin,

I feel your pain about being on the other side of the country. I live in Ohio and he lives in British Columbia.

This is a tough decision but our feeling was we would rather be apart in the beginning than to have to be apart once we were married. This is how we made the decision between K-1 and K-3.

Good Luck!

[Kajikit 65]

Your fiance can also stay in the US after you file for a K1 visa, and that might be the best way to go... K1s seem to process a lot faster than K3s for some reason. You could apply for the K1 visa right now and she could stay with you right up until the interview, or until she has to go home, whichever comes sooner... given that it's the end of April now they might be just about simultaneous.

[Cygnet 0]

Yes, tough decision to make... K-1 or K-3. Jen& darcy and Kajikit make really good points.

Kevin,

I feel your pain about being on the other side of the country. I live in Ohio and he lives in British Columbia.

This is a tough decision but our feeling was we would rather be apart in the beginning than to have to be apart once we were married. This is how we made the decision between K-1 and K-3.

Good Luck!

I was just telling my husband a couple of nights ago how much harder it is to be apart from each other now that we're married. We had a long distance relationship for 3 years, visiting each other every 2 or 3 months. Back then, we missed each other a lot and felt bad about being apart, but now it feels even worse.

Your fiance can also stay in the US after you file for a K1 visa, and that might be the best way to go... K1s seem to process a lot faster than K3s for some reason. You could apply for the K1 visa right now and she could stay with you right up until the interview, or until she has to go home, whichever comes sooner... given that it's the end of April now they might be just about simultaneous.

That's a great idea.

By the way, even though we sent our I-130 to the California Service Center, we had to mail our I-129F to an address in Chicago, I think. Chicago then forwarded it to NBC in Missouri. You can probably check on this, too -- see where you have to send your I-129F if going through the K-3 route. If you go through the K-1 route, I think it's the California Service Center. Take a look at my signature below to see how our I-129F/K-3 is going.

I don't know if you've been reading other threads but if her case happens to be forwarded to the Montreal consulate, things will go even slower. Things there are apparently backlogged... even the K visas. Vancouver, which also processes K visas, is faster.

Good luck!