Which visa is better?

[Boiler 45,486]

yeah but my point is once I can assure the visa people of their main concerns which would be am I gonna just stay in USA or will I be working there, there isnt anything that will make me be refused.. As for assuring them.. I will be coming back as my wedding will take place at the end of this year in Ireland and I have a nice bit of money saved up. If the officers are satisfied with this what else can they refuse me for?

How come you can take so much holiday from your job? My guess is that is one of the first things they would be thinking.

[English Muffin 59]

Moving to General Immigration forum.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

hi all,

first post so if its not in the right place I am sorry.. Just would like some info on which option is best. I am from Ireland but am engaged to an American citizen. We want to get married in Ireland but I wanted to go over there for 6 months on the tourist visa before we got married and then after the wedding would apply for Spose Visa (cr-1 or k3). But after reasearching I finding it is going to take a lot longer than i thought to get back to America. The only other quicker way to get to America would be to apply for fiance visa now and marry in American but we really want the wedding in Ireland. Is just waiting the 8-10 months for my visa the only way forward?

Would really appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

Okay. So you want:

1. Visit for 5 months or so to get a "feel" for the US, then

2. Travel back to Ireland to get married, then

3. Wait in Ireland while she goes home to apply for the CR-1 visa

You are right. It will take a while to get the CR-1 visa (around 7 months, sometimes longer). You CAN visit your spouse in that time, but as with any visit to the US you need to show STRONG ties to your home country.

As for B visa, Ireland isn't a high-fraud country BUT again, you will need to show "strong ties". This isn't just a letter from your employer, it's owning a home, it's a lease, it's all sorts of things and I can tell you from experience, that family (except for kids or a spouse) doesn't count. I have an elderly father with leukaemia and THAT wasn't enough "proof of ties".

The person you've been conversing with is trying to tell you (I assume, they're rather small posts) that if you are denied a B visa, you will make your VWP void. You should no longer be allowed to register on ESTA and any time you want to visit your fiance/wife you will need to go and apply for a tourist visa.

The next issue is, living in the US for 5 months won't really give you an idea of what it's like. You will always have a "tourist" mentality (again from experience). You won't be open to difficulties because it's "not a permanent visit". Living in the US doesn't suck but it IS different and if you're constantly thinking "I will go home soon" and not "I need to adjust, it's just different". The US isn't a third country, so it's not like living here is risky, it's just different so I personally feel like you should make a decision WITHOUT needing to know the exact ins-and-outs. I was fine with leaving Australia but Tony wasn't okay with leaving the US just yet. he had obligations here so that's why we picked here. Australia is better in several ways, and the US is better in several ways too.

So honestly you're looking at a decent length of time until you can be together permanently. I would cancel the "5 month" visit and have her come to you and get married in Ireland ASAP, so you can apply for the CR-1 visa ASAP. Once you get to the US you need to be married for 3 years before you can get us citizenship by marriage so at the most you're looking at say 4 years until you can possibly move back to Ireland (without having to fly back to maintain residency requirements). If you TRULY hate living in the US you can just give up your residency and move back to Ireland and do the visa process there. 4 years though (I'm counting waiting time here) isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme.

Good luck with your decision!

[Boiler 45,486]

Being refused a B does not mean you can not use the VWP, just makes it potentially more complicated.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Being refused a B does not mean you can not use the VWP, just makes it potentially more complicated.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/...990.html#denied

[Boiler 45,486]

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/...990.html#denied

So I take it you now agree with my comment.