Expert Advice Needed

[mnmike34 0]

Hello everyone!! I am a new member who has never posted before. I have been studying all of the wonderful information on this site for about a month now (on and off), I have also been on other related sites. I have read the K-1 Guide and the Flow Chart. I guess, with the more I read, the more I am just getting confused with how I should proceed.

I was hoping I could explain my situation briefly, and get some opinions from you all about how I should proceed. I see that many members here have gone through the different processes, so their opinions and help will be very beneficial I believe.

I am dating a woman from Colombia. We are in love. She is 22 years old and has a 5 year old daughter. She is in the university studying to become a Foreign Language Teacher. She speaks Spanish, English and French fluently. I am 35 years old and live in the United States. We have both never been married. I have no children of my own. We have been discussing marriage and both of us want to pursue that. Although she has already said yes (she hates surprises), I will be officially proposing to her in July. Our plan was to after the engagement, to begin the K-1 Visa process. She would come here on that visa hopefully in the end of December 2010, and then we would get married in January or February 2011, here in the United States. After the marriage, the plan was to go back to Colombia together to live for 2-3 years while she finishes school and gets some more experience teaching there. I will get a job and have a decent savings for back-up.

So, what I am wondering is: Should we just skip the K-1 Finance(e) visa altogether, and just do the engagement in July, then marry in Colombia when I arrive in January?? Once we marry there, then we can begin the process for a Spouse Visa? I am just trying to determine the easiest route for us. It seems to me that we would have to repeat several things if we did the Fiance(e)Visa first. Since we are planning on living in Colombia first for a couple of years at least, does it just make more sense to go there and get married, then apply for a Spouse Visa? I am aware of some of the things I will need to do to marry her there. Also, if we marry there and during the 2-3 years of living there with her, will I be able to bring her back to the United States for holidays to visit my family?

I hope this was not too vague and I am willing to fill in blanks if need be. We just don't want to waste a bunch of time. She comes from a good (financially) family there and wants to try out living in the United States some time in the future, but I think we will mainly be living in Colombia over the long-run. Any useful help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Your timeline may not be as exact as you laid out.

Since you plan on moving to Colombia - I would suggest you move there, get married, then when it's time to leave, you can file for an DCF or CR-1 (DCF would be my first choice).

If you wish to travel to the US with your wife and family, they will need a visitors visa - not to easy to get in Colombia I've seen.

If you wish to go ahead with the K-1, get the greencard, then move back to Colombia, you will have the issue of being outside the country for more than the allowed time for GC holders. (you can request to leave up to 2 years prior to going though).

The K-1 route will probably take longer than your timeline - but the cost and wait along with just leaving to go back to Colombia seems like a waste of time/money to me, I would pursue the DCF - then come to the US as GC holders (you will, of course, try to get visitors visas - however, since she will be married to an USC, you may find it tougher than normal)

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I agree with Bobby on this one. It's unlikely you'll be able to do what you're planning on doing if you pursue a K1.

First, it's likely you won't get the visa by December if you don't submit the petition until July. You should allow for two or three more months, just to be safe. There also a possibility she won't be approved the first time.

Second, a K1 visa is good for one entry to the US only. She will not be able to leave the US and return again without some other form of entry permit. Normally, this means she'll either need to have a green card or advance parole. You can apply for the green card as soon as you've married in the US, but it may take 5 or 6 months (or longer) before she gets it. You can apply for advance parole at the same time you apply for the green card, but that takes up to 3 months to get (sometimes longer). If she leaves before getting either one of these then the K1 is a wash - you'll need to start the immigration process over again.

Advance parole should be used only for short trips outside the US because she may need to be in the US for some parts of the green card application process, such as biometrics, or if you are selected for an AOS interview. If she misses those appointments then the green card application will be considered abandoned - again, back to square one with immigration.

She can leave the US for up to one year if she has a green card. For absences between 1 and 2 years she'll need a re-entry permit. You have to submit the application for the re-entry permit AFTER she gets her green card, and BEFORE she leaves the US. She can leave the US once the re-entry permit application has been submitted, presuming someone in the US will forward it to her, but she's taking a risk that the re-entry permit won't be denied for some reason. For absences longer than 2 years she'll need to get a returning resident visa from the consulate in Columbia.

The validity of a re-entry permit is normally two years. However, since she'll be a conditional resident, the re-entry permit will only be valid as long as her conditional green card is valid. Which brings up another potential problem - she'll need to be in the US to apply to remove conditions on her green card in the 90 day window before it expires, which will be two years after your marriage.

Basically, once you've started this process, your timing is at the mercy of the consulate and USCIS. It's difficult to make any concrete plans because you don't know how long each step is going to take. However, there are some minimum times you can presume for each step, and those times are measured in months and years. It would be better to wait until she's ready to move permanently to the US before you begin any visa or immigration processing.

[mnmike34 0]

Excellent advice here guys, thanks so much!! This site is great!!

One reason we wanted to live in Colombia for 2-3 years after we are married is because we think we are going to run into issues with her daughter's Colombian father. My girlfriend's mother used to work in the equivalent of a family court here in the US, and she said that at age 7, a Colombian child can chose what parent she wants to live with and if she wants to go with a parent who lives outside of the country. We are figuring that with 2-3 years of living with me and the continuing failings of her father, she will want to be with us when we come back here.

Does anyone know how long it would take to file for the DCF or CR-1 with us both living in Colombia? I am just curious of the time line so once we have a target date for coming back to the US, we will do it properly.

I think it is obvious that starting the K-1 application is not worth it with all of the potential problems that could arise while we are back in Colombia. Now when I go there in January, I may not have the job yet, do I need to just go regularly on the normal 90 day tourist visa? If so, once we are married there.. do I apply for a spouse visa there in Colombia for myself? If I am there for 2-3 years I obviously will establish residency, but will doing that cause any potential road blocks for us when we apply for the DCF CR-1 visas to come back here?

Anyone know of a good link to a site with good reputable notaries in Cali, Colombia?

Thanks again!

[mnmike34 0]

SORRY! ...multiple post!

Edited April 19, 2010 by mnmike34

[Minya's wife 25]

do the parents share custody of the child, is that what you mean by anticipated problems with the father?

[mnmike34 0]

do the parents share custody of the child, is that what you mean by anticipated problems with the father?

No they do not. My girlfriend has complete custody. The father does pay a small amount in child support. In Colombia the law says that the child can not leave the country permanently/partially without both parent's permission. We feel that this would be an issue for him to give his permission.