New to this K3 or IR-1

[neonrain 1]

We've just started this whole process and so far it is bewildering and frustrating to the extreme.

My husband is a US citizen, and I am a South African and we are both currently living and teaching in South Korea.

We filed our I-130 a week ago (4 September 2008) at the US Embassy in Seoul. We are leaving Korea at the end of January 2009, that's in 5 months.

The estimates of how long the process takes vary so drastically I've started to worry. So we are leaving Korea for South Africa in February, but I don't want to have to stay there for months when my husband has to return to the US in April.

So my essential question is what should I do? What is the big difference between the K3 and IR-1? Which one should be quicker? Do I have to be in South Africa (where we got married) to apply for it?

Reading the websites and these forums is terribly overwhelming and confusing with all of the acronyms and definitions and different agency names.

Any advice would be appreciated or even pointing me to a site that would be concise and simple to understand.

Thanks

[haimanotalan 0]

We've just started this whole process and so far it is bewildering and frustrating to the extreme.

My husband is a US citizen, and I am a South African and we are both currently living and teaching in South Korea.

We filed our I-130 a week ago (4 September 2008) at the US Embassy in Seoul. We are leaving Korea at the end of January 2009, that's in 5 months.

The estimates of how long the process takes vary so drastically I've started to worry. So we are leaving Korea for South Africa in February, but I don't want to have to stay there for months when my husband has to return to the US in April.

So my essential question is what should I do? What is the big difference between the K3 and IR-1? Which one should be quicker? Do I have to be in South Africa (where we got married) to apply for it?

Reading the websites and these forums is terribly overwhelming and confusing with all of the acronyms and definitions and different agency names.

Any advice would be appreciated or even pointing me to a site that would be concise and simple to understand.

Thanks

have u legally been in south korea more than 6 months living if so u file dcf with the embassy and the process takes about 3 months married more than 2 yrs ir-1 less than 2 yrs cr-1, k-3 visa has to be done in the country u got married due to life act cr-1 can be filed anywhere get the police certificate from everywhere u been since 16 yrs old

[neonrain 1]

Yes we have been in Korea for more than 6 months, we are alien residents here so we filed with the consulate. The point is we are leaving Korea for South Africa (2 month vacation) in Feb 2009 and want to go on to the States together.

Ok so am I actually just being paranoid? Should I just sit tight and wait it out?

I don't want to be stuck in South Africa for months and months on end. The marriage took place in South Africa and we will be there for two months, so getting the K3, won't physically be a problem.

I just want to know if it's worth it, do I need to stress about it right now or can I worry about applying for that later on, if the IR-1 option is taking too long.

[haimanotalan 0]

Yes we have been in Korea for more than 6 months, we are alien residents here so we filed with the consulate. The point is we are leaving Korea for South Africa (2 month vacation) in Feb 2009 and want to go on to the States together.

Ok so am I actually just being paranoid? Should I just sit tight and wait it out?

I don't want to be stuck in South Africa for months and months on end. The marriage took place in South Africa and we will be there for two months, so getting the K3, won't physically be a problem.

I just want to know if it's worth it, do I need to stress about it right now or can I worry about applying for that later on, if the IR-1 option is taking too long.

do the ir-1 doing the visa through the consulate is a snap it takes about 4 weeks or so for the i-130 to get approved then u pay the fees to the embassy do the interview got to dcf thread to learn about the process its 10x faster doing it the dcf route direct consulate filing

[neonrain 1]

Fantastic. Thank you for make it simple to understand, I'm starting to feel better.

[pushbrk 12,894]

Fantastic. Thank you for make it simple to understand, I'm starting to feel better.

There's a good chance you'll complete the DCF process within 5 months but if not, you'll probably need to adjust your plans accordingly. Only the interview for K3 must occur in the country the marriage took place.

You will need the police reports for countries in which you have been a "resident" for more than six months and the USC, needs to establish Domicile in the USA if it has not already been maintained. A bank account, driver license and tax returns plus at least a promise of a place to live will need to be evidenced.