What type of Visa is best for me and my Brasilian fiancee?

[Journeyer 17]

Hi all,

I am new here, found this forum via a web search. There is a lot of good info here and I have learned a little, but it is a little overwhelming at this point.

I am engaged to a wonderful Brazilian lady and I want to make sure we do things right legally so that we can stay together. She has been coming here to the US for nearly 2 years now, first time in Nov. 2008, on a tourist visa, staying for several months and then returning to Brazil. We had planned on getting married next November on the 3 year anniversary of having first met, but we are starting to worry now that she may have a problem with immigration because she spends so much time here. She has never over stayed her time here, worked here, or done anything else that would violate the conditions of her Visa, but since we plan on getting married anyways, we have decided to try to do what is best for us in terms of her status here.

She is returning to Brazil the first week of September, and at first I thought maybe I should just apply for a K-1. But after doing some reading here, I am a little uncertain whether that is the best plan or if it is better to just get married now and apply for a K-3. We are not worried about getting quick citizenship for her, and she does not need to work here. All we are concerned about is just being able to stay together and unlike my fiancee, I still have to work at a steady job here in the US, and so I cannot move to Brazil right now, . If anyone has any advice to point us in the right direction, it will be so much appreciated. In the meantime, I am reading through posts to see what insight I can gather.

[Dan J 277]

Hi all,

I am new here, found this forum via a web search. There is a lot of good info here and I have learned a little, but it is a little overwhelming at this point.

I am engaged to a wonderful Brazilian lady and I want to make sure we do things right legally so that we can stay together. She has been coming here to the US for nearly 2 years now, first time in Nov. 2008, on a tourist visa, staying for several months and then returning to Brazil. We had planned on getting married next November on the 3 year anniversary of having first met, but we are starting to worry now that she may have a problem with immigration because she spends so much time here. She has never over stayed her time here, worked here, or done anything else that would violate the conditions of her Visa, but since we plan on getting married anyways, we have decided to try to do what is best for us in terms of her status here.

She is returning to Brazil the first week of September, and at first I thought maybe I should just apply for a K-1. But after doing some reading here, I am a little uncertain whether that is the best plan or if it is better to just get married now and apply for a K-3. We are not worried about getting quick citizenship for her, and she does not need to work here. All we are concerned about is just being able to stay together and unlike my fiancee, I still have to work at a steady job here in the US, and so I cannot move to Brazil right now, . If anyone has any advice to point us in the right direction, it will be so much appreciated. In the meantime, I am reading through posts to see what insight I can gather.

K-1 is probably not going to be completed before your targeted planned wedding date.

K-3 is no longer an option. It just gets closed and you end up taking the CR-1/IR-1 path anyway.

She can travel to visit while the visa is processing, however, she will probably face more questions and need to show greater ties to Brazil, or be denied entry.

[Journeyer 17]

K-1 is probably not going to be completed before your targeted planned wedding date.

K-3 is no longer an option. It just gets closed and you end up taking the CR-1/IR-1 path anyway.

She can travel to visit while the visa is processing, however, she will probably face more questions and need to show greater ties to Brazil, or be denied entry.

Thanks for your reply.

So, if I apply for a K-1, it will take more than a year to complete?

Thanks for letting me know that K-3 is not an option. So now I know that it is either CR-1 or K-1. It would be really nice if she could keep visiting during the application process, but we are going to do whatever we need to do, no matter how long it takes. I am a little confused now, because I just read somewhere on the site that K-1 takes around 5 months?

I'm not sure what type of ties she will need to show to Brazil, but she has income there, owns property, has bank accounts, all of her family there, and many other things.

[Dan J 277]

Thanks for your reply.

So, if I apply for a K-1, it will take more than a year to complete?

Thanks for letting me know that K-3 is not an option. So now I know that it is either CR-1 or K-1. It would be really nice if she could keep visiting during the application process, but we are going to do whatever we need to do, no matter how long it takes. I am a little confused now, because I just read somewhere on the site that K-1 takes around 5 months?

I'm not sure what type of ties she will need to show to Brazil, but she has income there, owns property, has bank accounts, all of her family there, and many other things.

Actually no, I thought you meant November 2010. It will take 4-6 months, and have 6 month validity for entry after its been issued. It does take longer in some consulates, even up to a year. You need to find consulate specific timelines on this site for more information.

[Journeyer 17]

Actually no, I thought you meant November 2010. It will take 4-6 months, and have 6 month validity for entry after its been issued. It does take longer in some consulates, even up to a year. You need to find consulate specific timelines on this site for more information.

Ok, thanks for the direction. I'll see what I can find out about the consulate in Brasil. They have sort of a notoriety there for being slow(the government in general), but it seems like it did not take long for her when she applied for her tourist visa.

[Dan J 277]

Ok, thanks for the direction. I'll see what I can find out about the consulate in Brasil. They have sort of a notoriety there for being slow(the government in general), but it seems like it did not take long for her when she applied for her tourist visa.

Your not dealing with the Brazilian government, unless you need some documentation from them. You will be dealing with a US embassy or consulate in Brazil. Speed at the embassy level depends on a lot of factors, from volume to incidence of fraud.

From my wife, the embassy in Jakarta took about a week to schedule the interview. Many other places have a 3 month wait, and others 6 months or more.

If you are planning to get married next year, you don't want to apply too quickly. But at the same time, you don't want to make too many concrete plans, in case something happens with your case and it extends the expected processing time.

[Journeyer 17]

Your not dealing with the Brazilian government, unless you need some documentation from them. You will be dealing with a US embassy or consulate in Brazil. Speed at the embassy level depends on a lot of factors, from volume to incidence of fraud.

From my wife, the embassy in Jakarta took about a week to schedule the interview. Many other places have a 3 month wait, and others 6 months or more.

If you are planning to get married next year, you don't want to apply too quickly. But at the same time, you don't want to make too many concrete plans, in case something happens with your case and it extends the expected processing time.

Right, I was just reading about that. If what I just read is correct, the wait in Brazil is typically 40-60 days. From what I have been reading in the forums, it is much less risky for us and perhaps even faster to go with the K-1 and not get married now and try for the CR-1(sounds a little risky). Would you agree with that?

Seeing as you have already been through this, would you recommend using a professional service, such as this one, http://www.easyfiancevisa.com, I found from a link on this site? Or would you advise that going it alone is just as good?

We aren't dead set on the wedding date, the thing that is really important to us is getting her back here as quickly as possible with the least risk of running into problems. We have not been apart for more than 4 months at a times since we met. But we will do what we need to do to ensure all is well in the end, no matter how difficult it is. She is a lawyer in Brazil and has connections, so I am sure she can figure out what needs to be done on that end. She actually already has all of her documents in order. It is the US embassy and the entire process I have to go through here that we are pretty clueless about at this point. Do you know if we both have to do consulate interviews, or is that just for her? Would I have to travel there before she can come back?

Lots of questions I know, I really appreciate your help.

[Dan J 277]

Right, I was just reading about that. If what I just read is correct, the wait in Brazil is typically 40-60 days. From what I have been reading in the forums, it is much less risky for us and perhaps even faster to go with the K-1 and not get married now and try for the CR-1(sounds a little risky). Would you agree with that?

Seeing as you have already been through this, would you recommend using a professional service, such as this one, http://www.easyfiancevisa.com, I found from a link on this site? Or would you advise that going it alone is just as good?

We aren't dead set on the wedding date, the thing that is really important to us is getting her back here as quickly as possible with the least risk of running into problems. We have not been apart for more than 4 months at a times since we met. But we will do what we need to do to ensure all is well in the end, no matter how difficult it is. She is a lawyer in Brazil and has connections, so I am sure she can figure out what needs to be done on that end. She actually already has all of her documents in order. It is the US embassy and the entire process I have to go through here that we are pretty clueless about at this point. Do you know if we both have to do consulate interviews, or is that just for her? Would I have to travel there before she can come back?

Lots of questions I know, I really appreciate your help.

With K-1 you can file today, and get started in the process. It will be more expensive than CR-1/IR-1 in the end (after getting green card) if money is an issue.

A lot of people here do it themselves. If you take some time to study the guides and ask questions, you should have no problem. If you have a case where criminal records or other problems might be involved than consulting with a lawyer is a good idea.

Generally you would not have to attend the interview, and often times the US citizen wont even be allowed to sit in the interview. This is much more of a consulate specific question, as its sometimes very beneficial for the USC to attend the interview. There are some country specific forums further down the list.

[Journeyer 17]

With K-1 you can file today, and get started in the process. It will be more expensive than CR-1/IR-1 in the end (after getting green card) if money is an issue.

A lot of people here do it themselves. If you take some time to study the guides and ask questions, you should have no problem. If you have a case where criminal records or other problems might be involved than consulting with a lawyer is a good idea.

Generally you would not have to attend the interview, and often times the US citizen wont even be allowed to sit in the interview. This is much more of a consulate specific question, as its sometimes very beneficial for the USC to attend the interview. There are some country specific forums further down the list.

Thanks again for all the good info. I think we are going to do the K-1. Money is not really a big issue, time apart is more important to us than spending the extra money. Still not sure on doing it ourselves. There is not anything I can think of that would cause us problems, but I am worried about making a novice mistake on some form and causing the process to be delayed.

[Ladylethal 12]

If your case is a direct one with no complications (such as previous marriages with no divorce papers, convictions, visa overstays, etc), doing it yourself is a just a matter of carefully reading the instructions and filling out the proper forms and present the proper documentation. The guides here plus reading around the forums and asking questions is often more than enough for a successful petition. All these visa services do is fill out the forms for you, and often enough we hear about people who used these services and were delayed due to mistakes made on their forms (and even lawyers who gave bad advice, filed the wrong forms, etc that caused huge delays), although others were successful in using them.

I'd read the guides for the K1 all the way to the interview at Rio's consulate, so you know what will happen in the entire process and what papers and requirements you'll need to have/meet. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first but it really isn't too hard to put your application together. The whole process is all about patience, attention to detail, and more patience.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Ladylethal

[Fandango 1,439]

She is here now? TECHNICALLY since she came to the US this time not intending to stay, TECHNICALLY, you could get married, and file for AOS. Problem is, she wouldn't be able to leave the country until it's complete.

[Journeyer 17]

If your case is a direct one with no complications (such as previous marriages with no divorce papers, convictions, visa overstays, etc), doing it yourself is a just a matter of carefully reading the instructions and filling out the proper forms and present the proper documentation. The guides here plus reading around the forums and asking questions is often more than enough for a successful petition. All these visa services do is fill out the forms for you, and often enough we hear about people who used these services and were delayed due to mistakes made on their forms (and even lawyers who gave bad advice, filed the wrong forms, etc that caused huge delays), although others were successful in using them.

I'd read the guides for the K1 all the way to the interview at Rio's consulate, so you know what will happen in the entire process and what papers and requirements you'll need to have/meet. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first but it really isn't too hard to put your application together. The whole process is all about patience, attention to detail, and more patience.

Thanks for the reply. We were both previously married, but we have the divorce papers. No convictions, no visa overstays, nothing like that.

Our situation is a little different than most I have read about. She has been coming here both to visit with me and experience things in the US, for almost 2 years now on a tourist visa. We were not decided on getting serious or marriage until recently. I have not been able to visit her in Brazil yet because I have been working as an hourly contractor and have had little to no time available for vacation. That is about to change as I have accepted a full time position and will start soon. During my fiancees recent visit, we decided that we are really in love and don't want to live without each other and so decided we should get married. She is a little scared now that the consulate will give her a hard time over spending so much time here with her tourist visa, although she has never overstayed it, and she is going back again before her stay is up, and then we plan on filing for the K-1 right away. We surely will not have any problem proving that we know each other. We have thousands of photos together, emails, phone calls, her plane tickets here. I have met her son and his fiancee already, and talk regularly with other members of her family. She has also met my mother and both of my sisters. We also have friends here that know we are a real couple. Both of us have good incomes and she does not need to work here. She is nearly 6 years older than me, I am 50 and she is 55 now, but I don't see that little age difference being a problem. She also has learned a lot of English and I have learned just as much Portuguese. Neither of us are fluent yet, but we are getting there and there is no communication difficulties between us at all now, although it was quite amusing for the first few months. so I guess the only thing we are concerned about is the consulate giving her grief over spending so much time with me on her tourist visa.

I don't think the consulate she will go to is in Rio, she got her tourist visa in Recife. I sure hope not anyways, Rio is 1112 miles from where she lives as the bird flies. Brazil is one huge country.

[Ladylethal 12]

@Happy Bunny - That is true, technically you can get married and apply for AOS now, since there was no intent when she entered the US on the tourist visa, you'll have to prove that on your AOS though, if I'm not mistaken.

@Journeyer - Your case is indeed pretty simple and similar to many here. About her visits, if she had the visa, had no problems getting through immigration on each visa, and never overstayed, I don't see why they'd give her a hard time about it, since she was using the visa as intended. She will be asked about how you two communicate, but if she speaks English (and you some Portuguese), that's just fine. The age gap should be no issue at all, we have a lot of couples here with bigger age gaps. And somebody from Brasil correct me if I am wrong but the K1 visa is only processed in Rio so she'd have to fly there from Recife to be interviewed.

[Journeyer 17]

She is here now? TECHNICALLY since she came to the US this time not intending to stay, TECHNICALLY, you could get married, and file for AOS. Problem is, she wouldn't be able to leave the country until it's complete.

Hi, thanks for the reply. She is here now, but she has to go back Sept. 1 to avoid over-staying her visa. We thought about getting married now and starting down the CR-1 path. I am glad you just told me if we did that she would have to stay until it is complete. That unfortunately is not an option. She has 2 weddings to attend to in Brazil, both her youngest daughter and her son are getting married. So, maybe the K-1 path is best for us since she needs to stay in Brasil for several months now anyways. I sure hope so. What do you think? Would there be a problem with her returning here on her tourist visa for a short visit while we are waiting? We don't want to do anything to put our plans into jeopardy. If waiting a little longer is less risky, we will just have to wait.

[Journeyer 17]

@Happy Bunny - That is true, technically you can get married and apply for AOS now, since there was no intent when she entered the US on the tourist visa, you'll have to prove that on your AOS though, if I'm not mistaken.

@Journeyer - Your case is indeed pretty simple and similar to many here. About her visits, if she had the visa, had no problems getting through immigration on each visa, and never overstayed, I don't see why they'd give her a hard time about it, since she was using the visa as intended. She will be asked about how you two communicate, but if she speaks English (and you some Portuguese), that's just fine. The age gap should be no issue at all, we have a lot of couples here with bigger age gaps. And somebody from Brasil correct me if I am wrong but the K1 visa is only processed in Rio so she'd have to fly there from Recife to be interviewed.

Her tourist visa is valid through 2013 and was valid the first time she arrived. She has never overstayed and had no issues getting through immigration. However, the last time she came, they asked her some questions about if she lives here and works here now, obviously because of the amount of time she has spent here in the last 2 years. She told them truthfully, that she has never worked here, and that she is a resident of Brazil and has proof of residence(she owns her own home there), which is also true. But that is the part that has her all worried. I hope that she is just being overly worried and that is not a real issue. I guess we will find out.

I just told her she has to go to Rio for the K-1, and she is hoping you are wrong on that one, . But if that is what needs to be done, then I guess she is getting a surprise trip to Rio.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Journeyer