Can I get married in a foreign country and file in USA

[say101 0]

I'm a bit confused. I live in England, my fiance lives in America. As i have travelled too often on my VWP (but not overstayed) I now cannot travel back into the states without a visa. I have applied twice to London Consulate but not got my visa as i could not prove intent to return. Despite having house, job, family, lived in england all my life etc but never mind.

So if i go to the Dominican Republic ,for example, to get married, can my fiance file for me in Washington or does it have to go through the US Consulate in DR?

Have got confliciting information on this and obviously it is important.

Thanks in advance,

SAY

[himher 634]

1. Your fiance can file for a fiance (K1) visa at any time. After approval, usually around 6 months, you can enter the country on your K1 visa and get married here within 90 days, then file for Adjustment of Status and get your green card in about 4-6 months.

2. You and your fiance can get married anywhere else in the world, and your spouse can return to the US and file:

An 130 immigrant petition (for an immigrant visa), takes about 7-8 months to approve and process

(OR)

An 130/I129F petition for a K3 visa which takes about 6 months to approve and process

If you enter the country on an IR1 visa, you will receive your green card and SS card in about 2-3 weeks. If you enter the country on a K3, you have to file for Adjustment of Status and wait another 4-6 months to receive your green card.

Either way, you will apply and interview for your actual visa in your home country, so unless you just want a vacation there is no advantage to getting married anywhere else.

Hope that helps. Please read the guides above for further information on your options.

[lucyrich 20]

1. Your fiance can file for a fiance (K1) visa at any time. After approval, usually around 6 months, you can enter the country on your K1 visa and get married here within 90 days, then file for Adjustment of Status and get your green card in about 4-6 months.

2. You and your fiance can get married anywhere else in the world, and your spouse can return to the US and file:

An 130 immigrant petition (for an immigrant visa), takes about 7-8 months to approve and process

(OR)

An 130/I129F petition for a K3 visa which takes about 6 months to approve and process

If you enter the country on an IR1 visa, you will receive your green card and SS card in about 2-3 weeks. If you enter the country on a K3, you have to file for Adjustment of Status and wait another 4-6 months to receive your green card.

Either way, you will apply and interview for your actual visa in your home country, so unless you just want a vacation there is no advantage to getting married anywhere else.

Hope that helps. Please read the guides above for further information on your options.

There's one error in the above. If you marry outside the US and file for a K-3, there's a statuatory requirement that the interview for the K-3 visa has to happen in the country where the marriage took place, regardless of the country of citizenship or residence of the beneficiary.

There's no such requirement regarding a K-1 or IR-1/CR-1 visa.

So if you get married in a country that's not your home country, and if you're considering a K-3 visa, be sure you're able to conveniently return to the country where you got married when it comes time for the interview. You can also use this bit of the law to force the interview to be in a country other than your home country, if for some reason you don't want to go to your home country for a visa interview.

[YuAndDan 153]

You may want to start here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Many marry overseas and file spousal visa petition later.

CR-1 tends to require visa interview at US Consulate of foreign citizen's residence (So if home country is UK, then LONDON), K-3 can interview in country where the marriage took place, (If marrage is in DR then interview can be in DR)

Note Dominican republic may take longer to get an interview at then UK though.

And if considering a spousal visa, then consider doing the CR-1 you will be happier for it.

For most consulate takes about same time to get, COMPARE timelines.

CR-1 has the big benefit of GREEN-CARD upon entry, NO ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. K-3 CANNOT get SSN, WORK, or Get driver's license until they have EAD or Green-card, EAD can take 90 days or MORE to get.

K-3:

I-130: $355

I-129F: NONE

Consulate: $131

AOS: $1010

($1496)

CR-1

I-130: $355

NVC I-864: $70

NVC Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($825)

I see many posts from K-3 holders stating, "Wow this sucks, I an stuck at home because I don't have EAD, DL, etc, or I am having hard time getting added to bank accounts because of NO SSN." K-3 has a 90 day or longer period of limbo while waiting for EAD or Green-card.

K-3 was developed at a time when CR-1 was taking much longer that today, NVC has greatly streamlined the CR-1 process to the point where K-3 becomes irrelevant.

[lucyrich 20]

So if i go to the Dominican Republic ,for example, to get married, can my fiance file for me in Washington or does it have to go through the US Consulate in DR?

The question isn't either/or, it's both. You can marry in the DR, and then your new wife can return to the states and file the petition by mail with the USCIS service center in the USA. When the petition is approved, it will be forwarded to a foreign consulate for a visa interview. If the petition is for a K-3 visa, the petition will be forwarded to the Dominican Republic, because that's where the marriage happened. They will contact you, and you will submit an application to them, and have your interview at the US Consulate in the DR.

If the petition is for an IR-1 visa, it will be forwarded to whatever consulate she designated when she filled out the petition. Consular rules vary, but most consulates will only accept petitions for beneficiaries who have some kind of legal residence status in their country. If your trip to the DR was just a tourist visit, it's unlikely that the consulate in the DR would accept your case for an IR-1 visa (but you should verify this by checking with them if this matters to you). Probably, she should designate the consulate in your country of citizenship, and then you'd have the application and interview there.

[himher 634]

That is my error and thank you for the correction (we married/K3 from the same country and I forgot the visa interview is in the country where the marriage takes place)

1. Your fiance can file for a fiance (K1) visa at any time. After approval, usually around 6 months, you can enter the country on your K1 visa and get married here within 90 days, then file for Adjustment of Status and get your green card in about 4-6 months.

2. You and your fiance can get married anywhere else in the world, and your spouse can return to the US and file:

An 130 immigrant petition (for an immigrant visa), takes about 7-8 months to approve and process

(OR)

An 130/I129F petition for a K3 visa which takes about 6 months to approve and process

If you enter the country on an IR1 visa, you will receive your green card and SS card in about 2-3 weeks. If you enter the country on a K3, you have to file for Adjustment of Status and wait another 4-6 months to receive your green card.

Either way, you will apply and interview for your actual visa in your home country, so unless you just want a vacation there is no advantage to getting married anywhere else.

Hope that helps. Please read the guides above for further information on your options.

There's one error in the above. If you marry outside the US and file for a K-3, there's a statuatory requirement that the interview for the K-3 visa has to happen in the country where the marriage took place, regardless of the country of citizenship or residence of the beneficiary.

There's no such requirement regarding a K-1 or IR-1/CR-1 visa.

So if you get married in a country that's not your home country, and if you're considering a K-3 visa, be sure you're able to conveniently return to the country where you got married when it comes time for the interview. You can also use this bit of the law to force the interview to be in a country other than your home country, if for some reason you don't want to go to your home country for a visa interview.

[say101 0]

Thankyou to all of you who took the time to answer. I'll definately go the IR1/CR1 route and look forward to all of the paperwork and pain involved!!

SAY

[pushbrk 13,067]

You may want to start here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Many marry overseas and file spousal visa petition later.

CR-1 tends to require visa interview at US Consulate of foreign citizen's residence (So if home country is UK, then LONDON), K-3 can interview in country where the marriage took place, (If marrage is in DR then interview can be in DR)

K-3 visa MUST BE, not "can be" interviewed for and issued in the country of marriage.