American/Nigerian Marriage in Italy app for K3 in Italy

[What Happened? 4]

I have read that the K3 or CR1/IR1 visa application must be filed in the country in which the marriage took place. Is this so?

We we married in Italy but my husband is from Nigeria. Has anyone applied for or know of instances where the person applied for K3 visa outside of the spouses country of citizenship?

Will this create any problem for us?

I have read through many threads in Italy and Nigeria...but it seems those filing in Italy are Italians and those filing in Nigeria are Nigerians.

We have decided to list the embassy in Naples for his visa application and interview. Our assumptions are that we should file in the country the marriage took place in and where his current residence is.

We are a little worried about having to be transfered to an embassy in Nigeria for processing. Does this happen?

Any input appreciated. Thanks

[canadian_wife 1,827]

Are you currently in the U.S. now or are you in Italy?

You do not have to file in Italy. We were married in Toronto, Canada and filed in the U.S. But you can send the documents from Italy if you like.

Is your fiance legally in Italy (sorry to ask)? You may want to send his legal status in Italy in order to facilitate a Naples interview but in all honesty, they can schedule the interview where ever they like (sad but immigration does not ask us what we want)

Good luck.

[What Happened? 4]

Are you currently in the U.S. now or are you in Italy?

You do not have to file in Italy. We were married in Toronto, Canada and filed in the U.S. But you can send the documents from Italy if you like.

Is your fiance legally in Italy (sorry to ask)? You may want to send his legal status in Italy in order to facilitate a Naples interview but in all honesty, they can schedule the interview where ever they like (sad but immigration does not ask us what we want)

Good luck.

Thank you for the reply.

We are just beginning the process, by the way,

I live in the US so we do not have the pleasure of a direct consular filing. We will file the petition here but I am concerned that he will have a problem when it comes time for him to apply for the visa.

My husband arrived in Italy from Nigeria legally, but did not obtain a residency permit after being there. Italy requires that anyone there over 90 days have a permit of stay and then a residency permit and register their residence with the police. He recently obtained legal residence. My thinking was that this will not be a problem at all for the filing of the I130 and I129F etc on the US side. But when he applies for the visa, his recent residency permit may come into question.

But I'm still worried that he will be made to go to Nigeria to apply for the visa.

We are expecting our first child......I hope we have a nightmare visa experience......beyond the usual.

I guess all we can do is go through the process and hope for the best.

Sorry by we will file here...I meant we will file the petition in the US

[pushbrk 13,058]

Are you currently in the U.S. now or are you in Italy?

You do not have to file in Italy. We were married in Toronto, Canada and filed in the U.S. But you can send the documents from Italy if you like.

Is your fiance legally in Italy (sorry to ask)? You may want to send his legal status in Italy in order to facilitate a Naples interview but in all honesty, they can schedule the interview where ever they like (sad but immigration does not ask us what we want)

Good luck.

Thank you for the reply.

We are just beginning the process, by the way,

I live in the US so we do not have the pleasure of a direct consular filing. We will file the petition here but I am concerned that he will have a problem when it comes time for him to apply for the visa.

My husband arrived in Italy from Nigeria legally, but did not obtain a residency permit after being there. Italy requires that anyone there over 90 days have a permit of stay and then a residency permit and register their residence with the police. He recently obtained legal residence. My thinking was that this will not be a problem at all for the filing of the I130 and I129F etc on the US side. But when he applies for the visa, his recent residency permit may come into question.

But I'm still worried that he will be made to go to Nigeria to apply for the visa.

We are expecting our first child......I hope we have a nightmare visa experience......beyond the usual.

I guess all we can do is go through the process and hope for the best.

Sorry by we will file here...I meant we will file the petition in the US

A "petition" is not a visa application. You file the I-130 with the appropriate service center in the USA. That starts a CR1 visa process, where the visa interview and application are later done in your choice of the country of citizenship or residence. The K3 visa, not a good choice at this time unless there are extenuating circumstances, requires a second petition, I-129F be filed. K3 visas must be interviewed for and issued in the country the marriage took place.

[lucyrich 20]

The two separate visas have two separate requirements for the interview location.

A K-3 visa interview must take place in the country where the marriage took place (unless the couple was married in the US). The consulate in Italy won't have the authority to redirect the K-3 package to another country. They would have to accept the case and judge it on its merits. Hypothetically, if the case somehow got sent to the US embassy in Nigeria, they wouldn't be able to issue a K-3 visa there; they'd have to send it to the US Consulate in Italy.

An IR-1/CR-1 interview can take place in any consulate that will accept the case. Consular rules vary somewhat, but most consulates will only accept cases from people who have citizenship or some sort of legal permanent resident immigration status in the country where the consulate is located. So the US Consulate in Italy probably wouldn't accept an IR-1/CR-1 case, and would send the package to Nigeria. You should check with them to confirm this if it's important to you. The consulate in Nigeria would accept the case, since he's got citizenship there.

Once an approved I-130 package is sent to a consulate, the K-3 visa is unavailable, since it's supposed to be a shortcut for the immigrant visa. So if it's important to you to have the interview held in Italy, you may want to delay the I-130's progress through the NVC, to make sure it doesn't arrive to Nigeria before the K-3 visa is in hand.

[What Happened? 4]

A "petition" is not a visa application. You file the I-130 with the appropriate service center in the USA. That starts a CR1 visa process, where the visa interview and application are later done in your choice of the country of citizenship or residence. The K3 visa, not a good choice at this time unless there are extenuating circumstances, requires a second petition, I-129F be filed. K3 visas must be interviewed for and issued in the country the marriage took place.

Thank you. I'm aware that the petition is not a visa application. We are filing both the I130 and the I129F and the G325 stateside. My concern is with what will happen after either the I130 or I129F is approved and he has to apply for his visa either K3 or CR1 in Italy.

My understanding is that if the I130 is not approved first the I129F allows the spouse to come to the states even though we will have to adjust status soon there after. We are just concerned with getting here as soon as possible. We have seven months left in our pregnancy.

Thank you for your help

[What Happened? 4]

The two separate visas have two separate requirements for the interview location.

A K-3 visa interview must take place in the country where the marriage took place (unless the couple was married in the US). The consulate in Italy won't have the authority to redirect the K-3 package to another country. They would have to accept the case and judge it on its merits. Hypothetically, if the case somehow got sent to the US embassy in Nigeria, they wouldn't be able to issue a K-3 visa there; they'd have to send it to the US Consulate in Italy.

An IR-1/CR-1 interview can take place in any consulate that will accept the case. Consular rules vary somewhat, but most consulates will only accept cases from people who have citizenship or some sort of legal permanent resident immigration status in the country where the consulate is located. So the US Consulate in Italy probably wouldn't accept an IR-1/CR-1 case, and would send the package to Nigeria. You should check with them to confirm this if it's important to you. The consulate in Nigeria would accept the case, since he's got citizenship there.

Once an approved I-130 package is sent to a consulate, the K-3 visa is unavailable, since it's supposed to be a shortcut for the immigrant visa. So if it's important to you to have the interview held in Italy, you may want to delay the I-130's progress through the NVC, to make sure it doesn't arrive to Nigeria before the K-3 visa is in hand.

Wow. I see. Thank you for the info. That helps clear things up so much.

Best wishes

[pushbrk 13,058]

The two separate visas have two separate requirements for the interview location.

A K-3 visa interview must take place in the country where the marriage took place (unless the couple was married in the US). The consulate in Italy won't have the authority to redirect the K-3 package to another country. They would have to accept the case and judge it on its merits. Hypothetically, if the case somehow got sent to the US embassy in Nigeria, they wouldn't be able to issue a K-3 visa there; they'd have to send it to the US Consulate in Italy.

An IR-1/CR-1 interview can take place in any consulate that will accept the case. Consular rules vary somewhat, but most consulates will only accept cases from people who have citizenship or some sort of legal permanent resident immigration status in the country where the consulate is located. So the US Consulate in Italy probably wouldn't accept an IR-1/CR-1 case, and would send the package to Nigeria. You should check with them to confirm this if it's important to you. The consulate in Nigeria would accept the case, since he's got citizenship there.

Once an approved I-130 package is sent to a consulate, the K-3 visa is unavailable, since it's supposed to be a shortcut for the immigrant visa. So if it's important to you to have the interview held in Italy, you may want to delay the I-130's progress through the NVC, to make sure it doesn't arrive to Nigeria before the K-3 visa is in hand.

Wow. I see. Thank you for the info. That helps clear things up so much.

Best wishes

So, with all that in mind the smart thing to do is simply file the I-130 and go the CR1 route. The K3 doesn't save time anymore in most cases. If the beneficiary is staying in Italy anyway, simply indicate they'll apply for the visa there.