Tourist Visa

[nate fikkert 0]

So as of right now I am engaged to a wonderful woman in Uganda. I was looking into bringing her here on a tourist visa. What are your thoughts on this? Is it a foolish thing to do? I have been reading on this site that if you bring someone on a tourist visa with the intent to be married you can get in trouble...possibly even banned from reentering the US?

Would I be better off just leaving her be in her own country until everything is worked out?

Let me give you a little background on Philister and myself. So She and I are engaged as I said and we are trying to figure out what the fastest route to getting her to the US is...without being foolish!... So I am going to be going to Uganda for several years and I have heard through the grape vine that if we are married and live together for an x amount of years you can file other paper work in addition to the K-1 Visa and instead of two years it will take around 3 months? and the K-3 will only take 6-8 months.., So basically I'm wondering what the best way to go about all of this is...we haven't file any paper work at all yet because we didn't want to do something illegal or foolish...so if anyone is willing to fill me in that would be great!

Thanks so much!

Nate

[Bobby+Umit 161]

If you get married, you cannot do the K-1. (that is a fiance(e) visa only).

You can do the CR-1/K-3 (CR-1 is preferred) if you are married.

I would not recommend using the visitors visa - that is fraud and if caught - doom on you.

Timelines for the visas are shown on the USCIS site.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

So as of right now I am engaged to a wonderful woman in Uganda. I was looking into bringing her here on a tourist visa. What are your thoughts on this? Is it a foolish thing to do? I have been reading on this site that if you bring someone on a tourist visa with the intent to be married you can get in trouble...possibly even banned from reentering the US?

Would I be better off just leaving her be in her own country until everything is worked out?

Let me give you a little background on Philister and myself. So She and I are engaged as I said and we are trying to figure out what the fastest route to getting her to the US is...without being foolish!... So I am going to be going to Uganda for several years and I have heard through the grape vine that if we are married and live together for an x amount of years you can file other paper work in addition to the K-1 Visa and instead of two years it will take around 3 months? and the K-3 will only take 6-8 months.., So basically I'm wondering what the best way to go about all of this is...we haven't file any paper work at all yet because we didn't want to do something illegal or foolish...so if anyone is willing to fill me in that would be great!

Thanks so much!

Nate

Rule of Thumb: The grapevine is always wrong!

First, if you're going to Uganda for several years, what's the hurry to get the visa? You have plenty of time to do it properly and not risk having your fiancee/wife banned for life.

Ok, Bobby is correct - the K1 is ONLY for a fiancee - NOT for a wife. If you get married, forget the K1. You'll need either a K3 or CR1 (IR1 if you're married two or more years).

Before even thinking about a tourist visa from Uganda, bear in mind that getting a tourist visa at the embassy in Nairobi is difficult, to say the least. Your fiancee will need to show strong ties to her home country. This often requires a good job, ownership of property, and some money in the bank. Even then, the chances are slim she'll get a tourist visa. Sorry, but that's the way it is with foreigners who live in poor countries. My fiancee is in the same boat.

If you DO manage to get a tourist visa, it's technically possible to marry while she's in the US. Nothing illegal about that. If she goes back to Uganda then you can file for a CR1 visa for her. On the other hand, if you apply for AOS (the green card) while she's still in the country then you'll need to PROVE that she didn't enter the US with the intention of immigrating - it's illegal to use the tourist visa this way. If she's caught (which is likely) she'll be ejected from the country with a lifetime ban for immigration fraud. If this happens then you're stuck - your wife will NEVER live in the US.

Now, having said that, some people DO come to the US on tourist visas, get married, and then adjust status without leaving, and don't have any problems. Most of the people who manage to do this successfully are from visa waiver program countries (Europe, Canada, etc.), and did not know their new spouse before they arrived in the US. They met accidentally while here, and got married. Since you would be sponsoring your fiance for the tourist visa, it would be damn hard for you to claim that you met accidentally while she was here, and that the marriage and AOS weren't planned from the start.

My suggestion to you is to go to Uganda as planned, establish residency there, get married, and file for the CR1 visa at the consulate in Nairobi (Direct Consular Filing, or DCF). This has the least risk and probably best chance of success.

[Old Dominion 26]

It will be almost impossible for a single woman from Uganda to get a tourist visa to the U.S., unless she has a good job, bank account, and a home to return to...that and even more.

[nate fikkert 0]

So as of right now I am engaged to a wonderful woman in Uganda. I was looking into bringing her here on a tourist visa. What are your thoughts on this? Is it a foolish thing to do? I have been reading on this site that if you bring someone on a tourist visa with the intent to be married you can get in trouble...possibly even banned from reentering the US?

Would I be better off just leaving her be in her own country until everything is worked out?

Let me give you a little background on Philister and myself. So She and I are engaged as I said and we are trying to figure out what the fastest route to getting her to the US is...without being foolish!... So I am going to be going to Uganda for several years and I have heard through the grape vine that if we are married and live together for an x amount of years you can file other paper work in addition to the K-1 Visa and instead of two years it will take around 3 months? and the K-3 will only take 6-8 months.., So basically I'm wondering what the best way to go about all of this is...we haven't file any paper work at all yet because we didn't want to do something illegal or foolish...so if anyone is willing to fill me in that would be great!

Thanks so much!

Nate

Rule of Thumb: The grapevine is always wrong!

First, if you're going to Uganda for several years, what's the hurry to get the visa? You have plenty of time to do it properly and not risk having your fiancee/wife banned for life.

Ok, Bobby is correct - the K1 is ONLY for a fiancee - NOT for a wife. If you get married, forget the K1. You'll need either a K3 or CR1 (IR1 if you're married two or more years).

Before even thinking about a tourist visa from Uganda, bear in mind that getting a tourist visa at the embassy in Nairobi is difficult, to say the least. Your fiancee will need to show strong ties to her home country. This often requires a good job, ownership of property, and some money in the bank. Even then, the chances are slim she'll get a tourist visa. Sorry, but that's the way it is with foreigners who live in poor countries. My fiancee is in the same boat.

If you DO manage to get a tourist visa, it's technically possible to marry while she's in the US. Nothing illegal about that. If she goes back to Uganda then you can file for a CR1 visa for her. On the other hand, if you apply for AOS (the green card) while she's still in the country then you'll need to PROVE that she didn't enter the US with the intention of immigrating - it's illegal to use the tourist visa this way. If she's caught (which is likely) she'll be ejected from the country with a lifetime ban for immigration fraud. If this happens then you're stuck - your wife will NEVER live in the US.

Now, having said that, some people DO come to the US on tourist visas, get married, and then adjust status without leaving, and don't have any problems. Most of the people who manage to do this successfully are from visa waiver program countries (Europe, Canada, etc.), and did not know their new spouse before they arrived in the US. They met accidentally while here, and got married. Since you would be sponsoring your fiance for the tourist visa, it would be damn hard for you to claim that you met accidentally while she was here, and that the marriage and AOS weren't planned from the start.

My suggestion to you is to go to Uganda as planned, establish residency there, get married, and file for the CR1 visa at the consulate in Nairobi (Direct Consular Filing, or DCF). This has the least risk and probably best chance of success.

[nate fikkert 0]

Hey everyone

Thanks for your input! So if I were to get married to her and be married I would file the IR1 does that speed the process up? or is it still around the two year mark?

The reason that I was considering having her file for a tourist visa is because I do not have the money to go over there and live...The last time that I was in Uganda we went through all the traditional aspects such as the introduction and things like that...I made promises to her and her family that I would be back in July based off from the job that I had when I left for Uganda and then when I got back I found out that I no longer had a job and I had been without a job for about 7 months. I finally have one but after 7 months of no money what little money one can save up no longer exists...at least in my account haha.

But that is also why I had been asking these questions on here because I don't want to screw anything up for her and I.

Eventually if I can get the money saved up or donated I will be planting an orphanage/boarding school/trade school/medical station somewhere in Uganda that will provide education and medical for the families that can't afford it.

Anyways, Thanks again for your input and whatever else you could give would be most appreciated!

Nate

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hey everyone

Thanks for your input! So if I were to get married to her and be married I would file the IR1 does that speed the process up? or is it still around the two year mark?

The reason that I was considering having her file for a tourist visa is because I do not have the money to go over there and live...The last time that I was in Uganda we went through all the traditional aspects such as the introduction and things like that...I made promises to her and her family that I would be back in July based off from the job that I had when I left for Uganda and then when I got back I found out that I no longer had a job and I had been without a job for about 7 months. I finally have one but after 7 months of no money what little money one can save up no longer exists...at least in my account haha.

But that is also why I had been asking these questions on here because I don't want to screw anything up for her and I.

Eventually if I can get the money saved up or donated I will be planting an orphanage/boarding school/trade school/medical station somewhere in Uganda that will provide education and medical for the families that can't afford it.

Anyways, Thanks again for your input and whatever else you could give would be most appreciated!

Nate

The amount of time it will take depends on many factors, and it's almost impossible to predict with any accuracy. Your petition first goes to the USCIS service center for the area where you live. The California Service Center is processing IR1/CR1 petitions in about 4 months, whereas the Texas Service Center is taking up to 14 months. After it leaves the USCIS service center it goes to the National Visa Center, where it can spend as little as a few weeks or as much as 6 months or more. Eventually, it goes to the consulate. The average time between USCIS and your fiancee's interview at the Nairobi embassy, according to the timelines here on VJ, is about 4 months, but there is currently only 1 record in the VJ database for an IR1/CR1 through Nairobi.

K3 fiancee visas are averaging about 7 months total through Nairobi. You must remain unmarried until the visa is issued and your fiancee enters to the US.

Bear in mind that you have to sponsor your fiancee, or wife if you decide to marry. You'll have to guarantee that she'll not become a "public charge" while in the US, and provide evidence that your income is sufficient to provide this guarantee. In most cases, you'll have to provide evidence that your income is at least 125% of the poverty level for your household size, which includes your fiancee/spouse. If it's just the two of you that you'll be supporting, then you'll need income (or sufficient assets to make up the difference) of more than $18K per year. If you don't enough income, you'll need a co-sponsor who does.

It would be a good idea to look at the guides (there's a link in the menu bar at the top of the page). The guides will help you decide which type of visa is appropriate, and what steps you need to take to obtain a visa.

[nate fikkert 0]

JimVaPhuong

Thanks so much for your info...it is helping a lot. Thank goodness that I'm in CA huh hopefully their turn over rate will continue to be that fast...or faster...haha! I think that Philister and I will get married and I will live in Uganda for at least two years. So what is the difference between the CR1 and the IR1? The IR1 is if you have been married for two or more years right? Is one known to be faster then the other or doesn't it really matter?

Then one last question about this tourist visa. If she were to come here and we got married then she could just go back to her country? or is that illeagal as well.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

JimVaPhuong

Thanks so much for your info...it is helping a lot. Thank goodness that I'm in CA huh hopefully their turn over rate will continue to be that fast...or faster...haha! I think that Philister and I will get married and I will live in Uganda for at least two years. So what is the difference between the CR1 and the IR1? The IR1 is if you have been married for two or more years right? Is one known to be faster then the other or doesn't it really matter?

Yes, the IR1 is for spouse's who have been married two or more years. The application process is the same, which is why they're often collectively referred to as IR1/CR1. I don't think there's much difference in the processing time between the two. The CR1 beneficiary gets a conditional green card, where the IR1 beneficiary gets an unconditional green card. The CR1 beneficiary can apply for an unconditional green card after two years.

Then one last question about this tourist visa. If she were to come here and we got married then she could just go back to her country? or is that illeagal as well.

It's perfectly legal for her to come here and get married on a tourist visa. The only risk is if she tries to adjust status while she's here, as I described in my previous post. As long as she goes back to her home country to wait for the spousal visa after getting married, there's no risk.