I 130 and K 3 Visa for resident in london

[KayEss 4]

Hi,

My wife is a usa citizen and she needs to apply I-130 for me. I am a resident in UK and we got married in Pakistan. Now after reading saveral different guides, i am bit confused about requirements etc.

For K-3 it says that application for K-3 needs to be filed from country where we got married. Is it a joke or what? do i have to go back to pakistan n file for K-3 and wait there till they call me. I have a job in the UK and its litterly impossible for me to follow it like that. Am I understanding it wrong? also a stupid kind of medical test is there?

Also if i dont apply for K3 , then what do i need to get Green card? How long does it take?

Is it possible some one can guide me through the process.

Regards,

[canadian_wife 1,822]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

No more K3. Please follow the guide above for a Cr-1

Good luck, welcome to VJ

[marriedtomrg 141]

The I-130 is a USCIS form that starts the K3 or the CR1 process. It may be filed in the US, or (if to be filed abroad) at the US Embassy governing your place of residence (provided your USC wife can prove residency in the foreign country for at least 6 months). So don't worry about it, your wife files the I-130 in the U.S.

Your choices used to be 2: K3 visa or CR1 visa.

A K3 visa is a temporary resident visa for spouses of US citizens. Once you arrive in the US, you have to file a separate application for adjustment of status, and only then will you receive a green card. This entails an additional cost of $1,070...and while adjustment of status is in play, you cannot work in the U.S. without authorization nor are you advised to travel outside the U.S. without an approved advance parole (the adjustment of status fee covers both these, but it's the wait that can drive you batty). And since you guys have been married for less than 2 years, you will receive a conditional green card; you will also need to apply for removal of conditions within 90 days before your card expires (another expense and wait).

If you file for CR1 visa, it is a permanent resident visa for spouses of US citizens. Once you arrive in the US, you will be eligible to receive your conditional green card a few weeks after arriving; you'd still need to apply for removal of conditions, but at least there is one major step (and expense) out of the way. The process takes about 9 months on the average; while waiting, you may visit your wife in the U.S. but to be admitted you must show strong ties to the U.K. (your job and proof of approved leave, as well as previous visits to the US without overstays would be one way of showing this)

The K3 visa was introduced several years ago when the CR1 process was taking too long to complete. Now they have about the same processing time. Last February 1, 2010, they introduced new rules for K3...since you need an I-130 and and I-129F to apply for a K3 (for CR-1, you only need to file an I-130 to start the process) --- if USCIS approves them both at the same time, once your case is transferred to the National Visa Center, your I-129F will be administratively closed (so even if it was approved, NVC will close it and you both will have to undergo CR1 anyway).

You guys may just want to forget about K3...just look at the CR1 process, especially if you would like to hit the ground running.

The Visa Journey Guides, Wiki and Forums are an excellence source for you and your husband to do this process yourselves.

Good luck on your journey!

Hi,

My wife is a usa citizen and she needs to apply I-130 for me. I am a resident in UK and we got married in Pakistan. Now after reading saveral different guides, i am bit confused about requirements etc.

For K-3 it says that application for K-3 needs to be filed from country where we got married. Is it a joke or what? do i have to go back to pakistan n file for K-3 and wait there till they call me. I have a job in the UK and its litterly impossible for me to follow it like that. Am I understanding it wrong? also a stupid kind of medical test is there?

Also if i dont apply for K3 , then what do i need to get Green card? How long does it take?

Is it possible some one can guide me through the process.

Regards,

[JoannaV 174]

also a stupid kind of medical test is there?

How long does it take?

Your wife will file the I-130 in the US. You will interview in London. From sending off the I-130 to receiving the visa in the mail can take from 4 to 12 months. (Or indefinitely, if there is some complicating factor.) Right now you are looking at 8+ months, probably. So send off the initial forms as soon as possible!

You will indeed have to have a medical, in London, some time before the interview. It really is nothing crazy, very straightforward

[KayEss 4]

@canadian_wife : thanks for guide the guide . i ll have a look at it.

@marriedtomrg : thank you very much for detailed information. we are married for almost 3 years now and we got kids too (they've already got american passports). Will that make any difference? also i have got valid visit visa for usa and i have got secure job here in the UK but i have heard that when you apply for visa (like k3) they revoke it, but its wrong perhaps.

f

@JoannaV : thanks for exsplaing about the medical and telling about interview. thats a big relief to have it in London rather than some where else. Also is it like she will apply for I-130 in usa and ill wait till it gets approved over thered and then I have to apply DS-230? or once she files i-130 , then i can file for ds-230?

thanks for your replies and great help.

regards,

[marriedtomrg 141]

@canadian_wife : thanks for guide the guide . i ll have a look at it.

@marriedtomrg : thank you very much for detailed information. we are married for almost 3 years now and we got kids too (they've already got american passports). Will that make any difference? also i have got valid visit visa for usa and i have got secure job here in the UK but i have heard that when you apply for visa (like k3) they revoke it, but its wrong perhaps.

Since you've been married 3 years, what you should apply for is the IR1 visa It's also a permanent resident visa for spouses of U.S. citizens, but the main difference is that after you arrive in the U.S., you will be eligible for the 10-year green card instead of the 2-year conditional green card. No need to remove conditions. Even better for you! You may apply for U.S. citizenship after you meet the 3 year residency requirement.

@JoannaV : thanks for exsplaing about the medical and telling about interview. thats a big relief to have it in London rather than some where else. Also is it like she will apply for I-130 in usa and ill wait till it gets approved over thered and then I have to apply DS-230? or once she files i-130 , then i can file for ds-230?

thanks for your replies and great help.

regards,

[Darnell 8,478]

ya, sorry, technically correct, to apply for the K-3 visa, ya file to the embassy in that country -

but - one isn't allowed to file for a K-3 until an I-129F petition is approved, and in this scenario,

an I-129F isn't allowed to be filed UNTIL the USCitizen spouse has received a receipt notice on the I-130 petition.

Confusing as heck, ah?

----

Going forward, suggest your USCitizen spouse file the I-130 to the Chicago lockbox, but before that, have her read the guides here at VJ.

Good Luck !

*** moving to IR-1/CR-1 forum ***

Edited February 4, 2011 by Darnell

[JoannaV 174]

@canadian_wife : thanks for guide the guide . i ll have a look at it.

@marriedtomrg : thank you very much for detailed information. we are married for almost 3 years now and we got kids too (they've already got american passports). Will that make any difference? also i have got valid visit visa for usa and i have got secure job here in the UK but i have heard that when you apply for visa (like k3) they revoke it, but its wrong perhaps.

f

@JoannaV : thanks for exsplaing about the medical and telling about interview. thats a big relief to have it in London rather than some where else. Also is it like she will apply for I-130 in usa and ill wait till it gets approved over thered and then I have to apply DS-230? or once she files i-130 , then i can file for ds-230?

thanks for your replies and great help.

regards,

marriedtomrg is right, because you have been married for over 2 years you will get an IR1 visa and a 10 year green card. That means you won't have to pay to remove conditions after 2 years!

Your wife will file the I-130 (with which she sends G-325a forms and various documents, read the instructions and the online guides!). It is only after that has been approved that you will be asked for other forms. You will have to pay some money then send off the I-864 (proof of financial support) and then pay some more money and send off the immigration visa stuff, which includes the DS-230 and all your documents. But one thing at a time, get the I-130 sent off first!