K-1 Advice

[evilmonkey 2]

My situation is a bit complex ( I am sure you guys hear this all the time) but however here is my story:

I fell in love with a very dear friend of mine who now lives in UK. We have known each other for almost 7-8 years, 2 years back I proposed to her and she accepted. We have been keeping in constant touch with each other (infact its quite crazy, although she is away in a different country unless I talk to ehr everyday in the morning and in the night and sometime during the day me or her cannot do anything effectively, and btw this is not an infatuation as this has been going on for more then 5 years now). I visit her often whenever I get time off from work / school. Finally its about time that I graduate but she still has 1 more year before she finishes her bachelors. We have decided that we will get married in the states after she graduate however our parents also want us to do a traditional wedding in Pakistan, now here are my major dilemmas:

1) What would be the best way to bring her to the states, she is British citizen and I would be getting my American passport soon, I know K-1 / K-3 are the two possible options but which one is better considering the following

a) If I get a K-1 visa for her, she would have to come to states before our traditional marriage ceremony in Pakistan so we can get married in Atlanta legally and then all her paperwork can continue to process while she gets I-131 "travel document" to leave for Pakistan where we would have the traditional marriage OR

B) We can have a traditional marriage first in Pakistan (not legal mind you, just religious only) after getting her K-1 visa and then I can come from Pakistan with her to America, but will this be a cause of trouble at POE? will the IO be intrusive about as why we wnt to Pakistan together? or will this cause any problems?

c) I can get her a K-3 visa, but then there are 2 big problems with it, we have been already apart for 3 years(apart from 4-5 visits each year during my holidays and yes i saved every single boarding pass hotel reservations and train tickets) and this will cause us to wait atleast for 1-1.5 years more. Secondly her interview will then take place in Pakistan since the benificiary has to interview in the country of marriage? correcT? also it is a pain to deal with departments in Pakistan, they are corrupt and I do not want to spend money feeding them getting my fiances medical and police certifcates.

so my queestion to all of you is what should i do?

[Bobby+Umit 161]

1.

A: Yes this is what you would need to do.

B: If the marriage ceremony in Pakistan is legally binding, then you can't use the K-1.

C: The timeline for the K-3 is not that long, look at some of the timelines here. No - she will be interviewed where she currently lives (legal resident).

[canadian_wife 1,829]

1. K-1 is probably your best option at this point. You can file now and then when she is finished her bachelors she can join you in the US and marry there

2. Personally, I'd avoid ANY type of marriage while applying for K-1 since it is for fiance and regardless of the type of marriage, the CO may see it differently than you and cause you problems.

3. If you insist on getting married first then filing, I suggest you go for the CR-1 and forego the K-3.

Read the guides, it will help you figure out what visa is best for you.

Good luck.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

oops, sorry

Edited March 30, 2009 by canadian_wife

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Sorry! Triple response

Edited March 30, 2009 by canadian_wife