DCF and K1 - Marrying in the USA, filing in Ireland

[cmboothe 0]

After reviewing all the options for marriage visas, and the like - I think that the DCF sounds the best. It is offered in Ireland, according to the website (though I haven't called to confirm). The description says that we can already be married, and it doesn't matter where - USA or Ireland. I want to get married in America, file in Ireland. But if I do that, don't I have to get to a K1 just to get him to the USA? And then doesn't that mean that I can't then do the DCF?

Any suggestions?

I'm brand new to all of this. We met while I was in school in Limerick, and it's been almost a year since we've been together (except for visits back and forth) - the long distance thing is tough, isn't it? He wants to work and study in America but we'll probably move back to Ireland.

Oh - and can he get a K1 while also on a Student Visa?

Eek! It's so confusing. Thanks a million for your help!

[gag54611 1]

Hmmm, yes, you do sound confused!!

This page on the US Consulate (Ireland) web site says

To file the I-130 petition at the Embassy, both the petitioner and the beneficiary must be residing in the Republic of Ireland. Proof of residence is required for all petitioners.

Since you are in the USA, you are obviously not a legal resident of Ireland. Therefore, DCF is not an option for you.

That leaves K-1 (if you want to marry in the USA) or K-3 (if you want to marry in Ireland). And, yes, your assumption is correct, once you get your fiance a K-1/K-3, DCF becomes moot.

If you want to get married in the USA, here is what you need to do (I am assuming that you will be successful):

1. File the I-129F here in the USA.

2. Once approved, your fiance will be interviewed at the consulate and get his K-1 visa stamped in his passport.

3. He will have 6 months from the visa issuance date to enter the USA.

4. You will both have 90-days from his arrival to get married.

5. Once married, he will file for AOS.

6. A few months later, he will get his conditional green card.

For a K-3, you would need to get married in Ireland (you, as a US citizen might need special permission from the Irish authorities to do this - something for you to check on), then you file for the petition and wait for your fiance's consulate interview. During that waiting time, you could, of course, come back to the USA while your husband waits in Ireland for his visa.

K-1 seems to be your best course of action, given that you said that you want to marry in the USA.

Best of luck,

G

[Yodrak 7]

cmboothe,

A K1 visa is not the appropriate visa to enter the USA to get married but not take up permanent residence.

One cannot have 2 visas at the same time, and your fiance or husband might have a harder time than normal getting a student visa given his relationship with you.

Yodrak

After reviewing all the options for marriage visas, and the like - I think that the DCF sounds the best. It is offered in Ireland, according to the website (though I haven't called to confirm). The description says that we can already be married, and it doesn't matter where - USA or Ireland. I want to get married in America, file in Ireland. But if I do that, don't I have to get to a K1 just to get him to the USA? And then doesn't that mean that I can't then do the DCF?

Any suggestions?

I'm brand new to all of this. We met while I was in school in Limerick, and it's been almost a year since we've been together (except for visits back and forth) - the long distance thing is tough, isn't it? He wants to work and study in America but we'll probably move back to Ireland.

Oh - and can he get a K1 while also on a Student Visa?

Eek! It's so confusing. Thanks a million for your help!

[Kajikit 65]

If you just want to be married in the US and you have no intention of STAYING here, there is no need for your fiance to get a K1 visa. You're allowed to get married as a tourist, you're just not allowed to stay in the country. Your fiance would need rock-solid proof of his ties to Ireland so that the immigration people at the airpoort would be convinced that he was going to go back and he wasn't trying to sneak in under the radar.

But I'm not sure what's going to happen to you and whether that's really the best option. Are you going to move to Ireland to live with him immediately after the wedding? If so, then you can skip the K-visa for now. But if you want him to live in the US for more than a few months you'll have to get a K visa and then he'll have to stay here.