K-1 or F-1

[jcg303 1]

my fiancee and i filed for a k-1 visa last march, and we are still waiting for the NOA2. according to the timelines, it could come any day now. however, my fiancee also wishes to pursue her degree, and she has applied and been accepted to her chosen school.

now for the dilemma. the school has issued her an I-20, which she could use to get an F-1 student visa. this would also allow her to come to the states sooner and start school in the upcoming fall semester. after a couple of months, we would get married (which is the ultimate goal) and apply for an AOS. can we cancel the I-129 and proceed with the student visa? or will this raise red flags with the government? we are patiently waiting and are willing to wait no matter how long it takes. but obviously, we would like to be together as soon as possible.

i think that canceling the I-129 and instead going for the F-1 student visa is completely legal, but i can also see how it appears that we are trying to bypass the system, and we don't want to do anything that will prevent us from being together. please chime in if you have any experience/advice.

much thanks!!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Since she has a K-1 in process; chances are she would be denied an F-1; since it is obvious she has intent to immigrate. Even if she obtained the F-1; her intention is to marry you, so it could get messy. My 2 cents: wait for the K-1. Although it will not allow her to study until she comes here, marries you and adjusts status.

Let's hope more experienced members chime in

[loonphang 0]

If you are not in the hurry, get the F-1 visa, and get married after 1 year or 2

, collecting the evidence while waiting , then adjust the status.....

My sister in law is on this route.

[Aniomaman 0]

my fiancee and i filed for a k-1 visa last march, and we are still waiting for the NOA2. according to the timelines, it could come any day now. however, my fiancee also wishes to pursue her degree, and she has applied and been accepted to her chosen school.

now for the dilemma. the school has issued her an I-20, which she could use to get an F-1 student visa. this would also allow her to come to the states sooner and start school in the upcoming fall semester. after a couple of months, we would get married (which is the ultimate goal) and apply for an AOS. can we cancel the I-129 and proceed with the student visa? or will this raise red flags with the government? we are patiently waiting and are willing to wait no matter how long it takes. but obviously, we would like to be together as soon as possible.

i think that canceling the I-129 and instead going for the F-1 student visa is completely legal, but i can also see how it appears that we are trying to bypass the system, and we don't want to do anything that will prevent us from being together. please chime in if you have any experience/advice.

much thanks!!

There is already an intention to immigrate as a result of the K-1, on the F-1 visa you have to prove that you intend to return to your country after your studies which is something you won't be able to prove now that you have an immigrant visa in the works. My advice would be to wait for the K-1 and do it the right way to avoid complications on your visa journey.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

my fiancee and i filed for a k-1 visa last march, and we are still waiting for the NOA2. according to the timelines, it could come any day now. however, my fiancee also wishes to pursue her degree, and she has applied and been accepted to her chosen school.

now for the dilemma. the school has issued her an I-20, which she could use to get an F-1 student visa. this would also allow her to come to the states sooner and start school in the upcoming fall semester. after a couple of months, we would get married (which is the ultimate goal) and apply for an AOS. can we cancel the I-129 and proceed with the student visa? or will this raise red flags with the government? we are patiently waiting and are willing to wait no matter how long it takes. but obviously, we would like to be together as soon as possible.

i think that canceling the I-129 and instead going for the F-1 student visa is completely legal, but i can also see how it appears that we are trying to bypass the system, and we don't want to do anything that will prevent us from being together. please chime in if you have any experience/advice.

much thanks!!

There is already an intention to immigrate as a result of the K-1, on the F-1 visa you have to prove that you intend to return to your country after your studies which is something you won't be able to prove now that you have an immigrant visa in the works. My advice would be to wait for the K-1 and do it the right way to avoid complications on your visa journey.

Exactly right. Why jeopardize your whole life? Wait a few months. Oh! And I found that K-1s are apparently allowed to go to school

[Bobby+Umit 161]

my fiancee and i filed for a k-1 visa last march, and we are still waiting for the NOA2. according to the timelines, it could come any day now. however, my fiancee also wishes to pursue her degree, and she has applied and been accepted to her chosen school.

now for the dilemma. the school has issued her an I-20, which she could use to get an F-1 student visa. this would also allow her to come to the states sooner and start school in the upcoming fall semester. after a couple of months, we would get married (which is the ultimate goal) and apply for an AOS. can we cancel the I-129 and proceed with the student visa? or will this raise red flags with the government? we are patiently waiting and are willing to wait no matter how long it takes. but obviously, we would like to be together as soon as possible.

i think that canceling the I-129 and instead going for the F-1 student visa is completely legal, but i can also see how it appears that we are trying to bypass the system, and we don't want to do anything that will prevent us from being together. please chime in if you have any experience/advice.

much thanks!!

There is already an intention to immigrate as a result of the K-1, on the F-1 visa you have to prove that you intend to return to your country after your studies which is something you won't be able to prove now that you have an immigrant visa in the works. My advice would be to wait for the K-1 and do it the right way to avoid complications on your visa journey.

Exactly right. Why jeopardize your whole life? Wait a few months. Oh! And I found that K-1s are apparently allowed to go to school

concur - once they find out you have a K-1 in the works, doubtful they would issue the F-1. (but you never know what they will do)

[payxibka 10,045]

F-1 is not a dual intent visa....

[conny 0]

F-1 is not a dual intent visa....

What does this mean?

I think everyone posting here about K1 and F1 conflict is plain wrong. First off, K1 is US Citizen's petition until NOA2 is received, therefore double petition situation doesn't apply here. Even if beneficiary stated the intent to marry within 90 days it's still contingent on the approval. What if it doesn't come through? You can't be denied any non-immigrant visa just because of USCIS bureaucracy. Second, F1 is for studies only, if your studies are over before K1 is approved you might in fact come back, which is exactly what you should say to the CO. And finally, who told you that denial of F1 due to pending K1 might affect K1 itself? It doesn't make sense - it's either one or another, not both. Remember, application for visa is not an expression of intent, using it is, which in case of F1 shouldn't affect K1 anyway as staying on F1 or applying for F1 and getting denied doesn't violate any requirements of K1.

Edited July 1, 2009 by conny

[Chica Yeyé 41]

F-1 is not a dual intent visa....

What does this mean?

I think everyone posting here about K1 and F1 conflict is plain wrong. First off, K1 is US Citizen's petition until NOA2 is received, therefore double petition situation doesn't apply here. Even if beneficiary stated the intent to marry within 90 days it's still contingent on the approval. What if it doesn't come through? You can't be denied any non-immigrant visa just because of USCIS bureaucracy. Second, F1 is for studies only, if your studies are over before K1 is approved you might in fact come back, which is exactly what you should say to the CO. And finally, who told you that denial of F1 due to pending K1 might affect K1 itself? It doesn't make sense - it's either one or another, not both. Remember, application for visa is not an expression of intent, using it is, which in case of F1 shouldn't affect K1 anyway as staying on F1 or applying for F1 and getting denied doesn't violate any requirements of K1.

You can be denied any kind of visa for any number of completely ludicrous situations. We have seen some of those completely mean denials here on VJ.

Say the girlfriend gets approved for a student visa that has a 2 year back-home residency requirement. All nice, she comes, they get married. She HAS to go back after finishing school. And I am sure they as a couple would not like that.

F-1 visas are not dual intent visas. -- and ,if their K-1 is to be approved in a couple of months; why on earth would they risk it?

[conny 0]

F-1 is not a dual intent visa....

What does this mean?

I think everyone posting here about K1 and F1 conflict is plain wrong. First off, K1 is US Citizen's petition until NOA2 is received, therefore double petition situation doesn't apply here. Even if beneficiary stated the intent to marry within 90 days it's still contingent on the approval. What if it doesn't come through? You can't be denied any non-immigrant visa just because of USCIS bureaucracy. Second, F1 is for studies only, if your studies are over before K1 is approved you might in fact come back, which is exactly what you should say to the CO. And finally, who told you that denial of F1 due to pending K1 might affect K1 itself? It doesn't make sense - it's either one or another, not both. Remember, application for visa is not an expression of intent, using it is, which in case of F1 shouldn't affect K1 anyway as staying on F1 or applying for F1 and getting denied doesn't violate any requirements of K1.

You can be denied any kind of visa for any number of completely ludicrous situations. We have seen some of those completely mean denials here on VJ.

Say the girlfriend gets approved for a student visa that has a 2 year back-home residency requirement. All nice, she comes, they get married. She HAS to go back after finishing school. And I am sure they as a couple would not like that.

F-1 visas are not dual intent visas. -- and ,if their K-1 is to be approved in a couple of months; why on earth would they risk it?

Could you please explain what you mean by "dual intent" and "risk it" statements?

[Chris & Mara 0]

They will not approve her a F1 visa, she signed a piece of paper that stated that she intended to marry you within 90 days of entry to the USA and also assisted in putting together a package for your petitioning of her to immigrate to the USA. Whilst it might seem like a great idea to do it that way, you will be tried with visa fraud if she were even successful in receiving a F1 and then adjusting status to that of a US Spouse. And since the likelihood of actually being able to prove to the USCIS that you weren't committing fraud is about maybe 10% if your lucky the end result would be her being deported and banned and the US citizen receiving a $250,000.00 fine and up to 5 years in prison.

Nice people aren't they.

Conny - Duel intent means having two intents on one access, a K1 visa comes with the intent of marrying a US citizen and then immigrating to the USA. However a F1 is a single intent visa, having the intent to enter the USA to study for the period of time the course you are enrolled in is offered. Also by risking it len is referring to the consequences that visa fraud brings that i have mentioned above, and that he mentioned in his post regarding the home residency requirements

[conny 0]

I don't get it. Where is the fraud? My fiance and I are in similar situation - he's about to apply for F1 visa while we're waiting for K1 approval. He intends to marry me and to study here, yes, but if marriage is not possible due to delay in K1 processing, why not just come to study? Let's say he does come to study and later on we receive an approval on K1 and he leaves and receives K1 in the consulate and then comes back on K1 and we get married and he adjusts the status. Where in that process do we commit fraud in your opinion???

[alex and astrid 38]

I just came back home to Australia after studying for 2 1/2 years on an F1 visa in the US. At the interview for the F1, they specifically ask - "Do you intend to marry a US citizen while you are studying." They also want to see that you plan to return to your home country once you complete you course. Because your intent is to stay there and marry, that is seen as visa fraud, and you can be denied. I have seen it happen to friends at mine from my school in the US. My advice to to wait for the K1, as the benefits of that visa far outweigh the F1.

Remember, F1 students cannot do very much on their visa except study. They cannot work, unless they are offered a job on campus, and even then, only 20 hours a week.

If you wait for the K1, which you say should be approved any day now, once you are in the US, you can have a life, get a social security number, and start working once you get approved. A couple months wait to start school in nothing, and you won't have to stress about doing change of status from F1 to K1, which can take AGES.

One last thing, when you go to an F1 interview, they will be able to see you have a K1 in process, as you need to tell them what visas you have been previously issued or applied for. They will probably know about it when they check your files. They may deny you the F1 based solely on that. It probably will have zero effect on your K1 petition, but after investing so much time and money, why run the risk?

[Marina-Del 10]

Conny: As I think you have seen here, the plan you and your fiancee have in place is not only a plan that will almost certainly back-fire in the end, but also a plan that could end up with you being charged for visa fraud and getting either prison time or a large fine.

The fact is: They will not issue an F-1 visa to your fiance if he tells the truth. If he says that he intends to marry you (which is what he wrote down on the K-1 petition, letter of intent ring any bells?) then they will deny the F-1. I'm confused as to how you are misunderstanding this?

If you've already applied for a K-1 (which you can use to study, AFTER your marry your fiance int he US), why would you apply for an F-1 too??

Edited July 1, 2009 by Marina-Del

[payxibka 10,045]

I don't get it. Where is the fraud? My fiance and I are in similar situation - he's about to apply for F1 visa while we're waiting for K1 approval. He intends to marry me and to study here, yes, but if marriage is not possible due to delay in K1 processing, why not just come to study? Let's say he does come to study and later on we receive an approval on K1 and he leaves and receives K1 in the consulate and then comes back on K1 and we get married and he adjusts the status. Where in that process do we commit fraud in your opinion???

it does not matter what anyone here thinks or believes, the question is will the consulate officer believe your plan?