what if a person is a citizen on one country but lives in another country?

[medved 0]

New poster here, but frequent traveler to Russia/Europe and some what familiar with the K-1/K-3 process, however here is my question.

I am a resident of Texas, she is a Russian citizen that is a university professor in Korea (for the last 8+ years). She has been to the U.S two separate times, when she last applied for the visa, the interviewer told her that if she paid an extra $100.00 she could get a two year multi entry tourist visa (which she did). I did a search but was unable to find anything dealing with the following items.

If she returns here on the B-2 visa (still over 1 1/2 years left) could she come here on that and we apply for a change of status from a B-2 to a K-3? or would she have to leave while DHS did their thing? Also if she did have to leave would she be able to do her interview in Seoul or would she have to fly back to her home country (Russia)? Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[JoannaV 174]

Her interview would be in the country in which she permanently resides, in this case Korea.

[marriedtomrg 141]

You may want to consult the guides: http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides

Does she intend to return to Korea to work? Or is she giving up the job?

K3 is no longer a viable option. You guys will either have to apply for a K1 fiancee visa (temporary resident visa, good for 90 days --- you have to be married within this period) or CR1 permanent resident visa for spouses of U.S. citizens (CR1 is a conditional green card, good for 2 years).

Option 1 - If your SO gives up her job in Korea:

You guys can get married while she is on B2 visa, and then apply for CR1 and adjustment of status at the same time so she can become a green card holder; the thing is, she cannot leave the U.S. while the application is in play. (The description for this process is under the Guides, US Citizen and Spouse both live/reside in the US)

In this case her interview would likely be at one of the local offices (not sure where).

Option 2 - If your SO returns to Korea to continue working:

You guys get married, she returns to Korea, then you file an I-130 petition, and proceed with a CR1 that way (The description for this process is under the Guides, US Citizen lives in the US & Spouse lives overseas, just ignore the K3 process.)

OR

She returns to Korea after visiting you (still single), then you file an I-129F petition, and proceed with a K1 that way (The description for this process is under the Guides if you are engaged.)

If you file either K1 or CR1 under option 2, she still has a B2 visa and she can visit you, but there is a chance she can be turned away at the Port of Entry (because they will see that there is a petition in play)...she just has to show strong ties back to Korea.

Since she has resided in Korea for more than a year, she can have her interview there for Option 2 K1 or CR1.

If there are any other considerations or plans you need to figure into your situation, you may want to bring those forward so a more specific solution can be applied in your case.

New poster here, but frequent traveler to Russia/Europe and some what familiar with the K-1/K-3 process, however here is my question.

I am a resident of Texas, she is a Russian citizen that is a university professor in Korea (for the last 8+ years). She has been to the U.S two separate times, when she last applied for the visa, the interviewer told her that if she paid an extra $100.00 she could get a two year multi entry tourist visa (which she did). I did a search but was unable to find anything dealing with the following items.

If she returns here on the B-2 visa (still over 1 1/2 years left) could she come here on that and we apply for a change of status from a B-2 to a K-3? or would she have to leave while DHS did their thing? Also if she did have to leave would she be able to do her interview in Seoul or would she have to fly back to her home country (Russia)? Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[medved 0]

You may want to consult the guides: http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides

Does she intend to return to Korea to work? Or is she giving up the job?

K3 is no longer a viable option. You guys will either have to apply for a K1 fiancee visa (temporary resident visa, good for 90 days --- you have to be married within this period) or CR1 permanent resident visa for spouses of U.S. citizens (CR1 is a conditional green card, good for 2 years).

Option 1 - If your SO gives up her job in Korea:

You guys can get married while she is on B2 visa, and then apply for CR1 and adjustment of status at the same time so she can become a green card holder; the thing is, she cannot leave the U.S. while the application is in play. (The description for this process is under the Guides, US Citizen and Spouse both live/reside in the US)

In this case her interview would likely be at one of the local offices (not sure where).

Option 2 - If your SO returns to Korea to continue working:

You guys get married, she returns to Korea, then you file an I-130 petition, and proceed with a CR1 that way (The description for this process is under the Guides, US Citizen lives in the US & Spouse lives overseas, just ignore the K3 process.)

OR

She returns to Korea after visiting you (still single), then you file an I-129F petition, and proceed with a K1 that way (The description for this process is under the Guides if you are engaged.)

If you file either K1 or CR1 under option 2, she still has a B2 visa and she can visit you, but there is a chance she can be turned away at the Port of Entry (because they will see that there is a petition in play)...she just has to show strong ties back to Korea.

Since she has resided in Korea for more than a year, she can have her interview there for Option 2 K1 or CR1.

If there are any other considerations or plans you need to figure into your situation, you may want to bring those forward so a more specific solution can be applied in your case.

Thanks for the quick response. Her contract for the university is up in 2011, so idealy she would be moving here to the U.S. So the best we can hope for is for her to apply for the CR-1 status while she is here.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Option 1 - If your SO gives up her job in Korea:

You guys can get married while she is on B2 visa, and then apply for CR1 and adjustment of status at the same time so she can become a green card holder; the thing is, she cannot leave the U.S. while the application is in play. (The description for this process is under the Guides, US Citizen and Spouse both live/reside in the US)

In this case her interview would likely be at one of the local offices (not sure where).

NO!!!! SCARY!!

This is dead wrong for many reasons, sorry. You cannot come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent to immigrate. People DO adjust from a B-2, like my husband did, but we did not have that plan when he arrived on his visa for an extended visit. The fact that you are contemplating this before she gets here makes it an unviable option and potentially illegal/fraud bad thing. Bad advice!

You can come here on your tourist visa and get married and then go home and file for CR-1.

Secondly, the AOS that you describe is not called "CR-1 and adjustment of status." That wording makes it very confusing. It is called a concurrent I-130/I-485 Adjustment of Status. Might seem small, but when people start looking for something called "CR-1 AOS" they will be looking at a lot of conflicting information!

I am very shocked by this misinformation and dangerous advice on here...

Edited October 1, 2010 by Harpa Timsah

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I will reaffirm Harpah Timsah's post- you can only apply to adjust status while in the US as a visitor if you had no intention of getting married and remaining in the US when you entered. To enter on a visitors visa with the intent to get married and apply to remain in the US is considered immigration fraud and can lead to significant - even life time - bans from entering the US, depending on the degree of fraud determined by USCIS. If she were legally here already and her circumstances changed (eg met someone, fell in love, got married) then she would be allowed to follow that option. Since you are already talking marriage, this option is not available for you.

A CR-1 visa (spousal visa) is only issued outside of the US, generally by the US Consulate responsible for the country where the foreign spouse resides, so you could certainly pursue the visa through Korea and she would not have to return to Russia. Visas are basically permissions given to a foreign national to enter the US for the purpose specified by the VIsa.

You basically have 2 options: applying for a fiancee visa (I-129f) and then when she moves to the US, get married within 90 days and she then applies for a green card (Adjust status from the K-1); or you can get married - either in the US or elsewhere - and apply for a CR-1 spousal visa by filing an I-130 petition with immigration. Interviews for both the K-1 and the CR-1 are held outside of the US and are processed at the US Consulate and not inside the US. When the CR-1 is approved, she becomes a Permanent Resident (green card holder) when she crosses the US border and is eligible to work and travel right away.

K-3 used to another option for spouses when CR-1s were taking much longer to process. It allows the foreign spouse to come to the US and then apply from within the US to adjust status. The problem is, the K-3 now takes almost the same length of time to process as the complete CR-1 and you still have to apply for the green card and permission to work after entering the US - so it is now a longer and more expensive process. USCIS is basically administratively closing K-3 applications and continuing them as CR-1s.

Edited October 1, 2010 by Kathryn41