Where do I start?

[ShanyK 0]

Ok, I am very new, I have been looking up stuff for 2 weeks now, but I can't decide what is the best choice. We are both in Chile right now, we aren't married yet because we don't know if its better to get married here then get the K3 visa, wait and get the K1 visa, or to get married then do the DCF. We want a choice that is fairly fast, and that will allow us to be with each other as much as possible. What should we do???

[wizardfitz 13]

Ok, I am very new, I have been looking up stuff for 2 weeks now, but I can't decide what is the best choice. We are both in Chile right now, we aren't married yet because we don't know if its better to get married here then get the K3 visa, wait and get the K1 visa, or to get married then do the DCF. We want a choice that is fairly fast, and that will allow us to be with each other as much as possible. What should we do???

well i am by far no expert. but reading the guides on VJ it seemed the K-1 was faster. Thats why my fiancee and i have waited to get married. it seems about 2 months faster.

just my 2 cents

[ShanyK 0]

Ok, I am very new, I have been looking up stuff for 2 weeks now, but I can't decide what is the best choice. We are both in Chile right now, we aren't married yet because we don't know if its better to get married here then get the K3 visa, wait and get the K1 visa, or to get married then do the DCF. We want a choice that is fairly fast, and that will allow us to be with each other as much as possible. What should we do???

well i am by far no expert. but reading the guides on VJ it seemed the K-1 was faster. Thats why my fiancee and i have waited to get married. it seems about 2 months faster.

just my 2 cents

how long did it take you??

[ShanyK 0]

I also want to know if I can file for the petition if I am not in the US. Is that possible?

[Iowaguy 0]

I understand that the K-1 is slightly faster than the K-3. My question is: How long are you going to be staying in Chile? If you are going to be in Chile for a while, you might be better off getting married and then trying for a Direct Consular Filing (you need to be living in Chile for 6 months, though) or the K-3.

Some other considerations: Does your fiancee want to be married with family around? Do you want to be apart while engaged or married?

Here are a couple websites from the Chile embassy that might interest you:

http://www.usembassy.cl/OpenDocs/asp/pagDe...horInicioPagina

Regarding Fiancee Visas:

http://www.usembassy.cl/_temporal/3480/Fro...sas/fiancee.htm

To answer your last question, yes...you can file while you are not in the US. You just have to file at the service center for the region you live in...or the region you were living in before you left the US. See the following website for where to file: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

You could try asking the embassy for their opinion on what you should do.

[ShanyK 0]

Thanks for all the help. I hope I can figure this all out.

I am in Chile and will be here until December, I am not a temporary resident though so I dont think I can do the Direct Filing.

I also want to pick a choice that isnt so expensive, actually I have no idea what to expect for the costs.

Can anyone help me out with that, I just want a general idea of what this is going to cost

THANKS

[squentna 0]

Thanks for all the help. I hope I can figure this all out.

I am in Chile and will be here until December, I am not a temporary resident though so I dont think I can do the Direct Filing.

I also want to pick a choice that isnt so expensive, actually I have no idea what to expect for the costs.

Can anyone help me out with that, I just want a general idea of what this is going to cost

THANKS

You might be able to DCF if you are living or staying in Chile. That's entirely up to the Embassy not the State side people. Chile is a VERY cooperative country. Make an appointment. It won't hurt to ask.

[bora bora 1]

I also want to know if I can file for the petition if I am not in the US. Is that possible?

Yes it is. The best thing to do is research K1 vs. K3. We opted for K1 because I wanted to get married in the U.S. and it seemed a bit faster. Also, having a fiance in another country is horrible, imagine a spouse...(that's IMHO though). I didn't want to spend the first 6 months of marriage apart.

A downside to K1 is that the non-USC cannot leave the country until s/he has AP, but that was not a worry for us as my husband has still not left the U.S.

Either way the AOS (becoming a resident) is expensive. But you don't pay for EVERYTHING at one time. We were lucky and received enough money from wedding gifts to pay for everything USCIS related.

Good luck.

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

Another thing that saves time, not just going through the process. Is, for the K1, you can file now. But for the K3, you need to wait until you are married. And to get married in another country, you are going to need to get certain documents from the US, then get them an Apostille. All this takes time. So you will save time right away by filing for the K1.

[DaniDimo 0]

I would suggest DCF if the USC is more then 6 months in same country as the beneficiary or for more info about DCF you can go and ask US Embassy. DCF is the fastest way for beneficiary to get visa, my brother in law got his visa for a month.

Other visas can apply depend of financial status, we did CR1, we wait a bit longer then K1/K3 visas, but now everything is done, we got visa and my husband is coming in 2 weeks, wooo hoooo.....

[DaniDimo 0]

Thanks for all the help. I hope I can figure this all out.

I am in Chile and will be here until December, I am not a temporary resident though so I dont think I can do the Direct Filing.

I also want to pick a choice that isnt so expensive, actually I have no idea what to expect for the costs.

Can anyone help me out with that, I just want a general idea of what this is going to cost

THANKS

You might be able to DCF if you are living or staying in Chile. That's entirely up to the Embassy not the State side people. Chile is a VERY cooperative country. Make an appointment. It won't hurt to ask.

I agree with squentna, if you are staying in Chile until December even better, go to embassy and ask everything about which visa is better for both of you.

Last year I was in Peru only one month(we got married) and we went to embassy to get more info for visa, we have been told that I (USC) have to stay there for 7-8 months and after that apply for visa for my husband, so we decide for me to come back to US and start all process from here, counting it took for us almost the same amount of time for me being there or here in US.