question about Photo, & miscellaneous

[Que Saudade 284]

God it gets so confusing when people are responding to posts other than the OP's questions.

The OP wanted a digital copy so he could email his fiance for her to see what was needed...... (make sure she does not cover her ears when the picture is taken)

OP tell your fiance she needs a 5X5cm... that is what she will ask for in her country. They have places to get those photos in many different shops unless she is in a rural area in Colombia.

As you have not filed anything. You can decide to choose between a IR1/CR1 or the K1. Here is a link to compare the differences and see what is best for you.

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

Be very careful about any kind of ceremony outside of the US and prior to wedding in the US (if you decide the K1 Visa). Get the advice of a Diamond/Platinum member or better unless someone can quote specifics and not opinions. It gets very tricky and may have disastrous results.

Good Luck

Edited June 5, 2011 by John & Mari

[CESep 4]

Money wise K-1 is cheaper than CR-1.

Not in the long run.. With the K-1 app you also have to file the AOS (around $1000) which adds up to be more than the CR-1.

[Que Saudade 284]

Not in the long run.. With the K-1 app you also have to file the AOS (around $1000) which adds up to be more than the CR-1.

Currently the K1 AOS is $1070.00

[worth_the_wait 12]

After reading this thread I have a few comments:

1- I made my own photos by cropping pics that were taken of myself and my finance. I then sized them and printed them out at Kinko's and used their paper cutter to make them the 2X2 size. I made myself the amount I needed for the petition and I am mailing him the ones he needs for the Visa application when I send him the supporting documents and a copy of the petition. (we are still waiting on our NOA2)

2- As far as the wedding confusion. As long as the Wedding Certificate is signed here in the US before 90 days is over then you should be fine wherever you choose to have the ceremony. You CANNOT have a Wedding Certificate done in a foreign country on the K-1 Visa because then it is void and you will have to start all over to apply for a K-3 Visa because your fiance is now considered your spouse. So the trick is, that if you have to have a wedding in Colombia go for it but be sure that you skip the part where you sign any documents and just enjoy the day. Then go to the Justice of the Peace here in the US and get that Wedding Certificate.

Just my 2 cents based on my own understanding.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Lots of guesses in this thread which makes things disorganized and often just wrong.

OP - You cannot marry in Colombia if you get a K-1 visa. The K-1 visa is to marry in the US and then file for AOS which leads to Permanent residency (Greencard). She must be legally able to marry when she enters the US.

Once you marry (must be within 90 days ), then you will file for Adjustment of Status. She cannot leave the country until she gets either the Greencard itself, or a temporary travel permission called Advance Parole (AP). AP usually takes 3 months to obtain. Plan that when she gets here, there will be time until the wedding, where she cannot work or travel, and after you file or AOS, there will be more time in which she cannot work or travel.

Some people advise non-official ceremonies to make families happy, but that is not the point of the visa. If you want to marry in Colombia, I suggest going there now and getting married and filing for a spousal visa. It may be possible to have a "non-legal" wedding, but in some countries, a religious ceremony COUNTS as a real marriage, so beware.

[I_Am_That_I_Am 46]

A wedding is a wedding, traditional or not, it is still a wedding.

K1 is for fiance(e) and K3/cr1 is for spouse. If you don't want to mess things up, engagement party is ok but NO wedding.

I think you can have traditional wedding back there even before the approval of the K-1 visa. However, after your fiancee comes to US, you should have to have LEGAL WEDDING as required by the USCIS. This could be signing the wedding certificate in front of an official with 2-3 witnesses from each side or a big wedding like the Royal one. USCIS requires you to have a legal wedding here in US before 90 days of the fiancee's arival. So that you can adjust the status of your fiancee.

[Mar_Wil 12]

Hi, I emailed my wife the photo Specifications which she took to a local photographer and she got her's the size as required.

I will attache a pdf document with the specifications which you can email to your fiancee.

Hope this helps

Good Luck

[TBoneTX 46,273]

OP: The post below is the answer to which you should pay heed. Had the sensible and knowledgeable Harpa not replied first, I would have opened my post with "You've received a lot of truly crappy advice in this thread so far." She was a lot more diplomatic.

The idea is to read (accurately) everything you can on here -- in the Guides first. If anything then confuses you or you wish further clarification, a goodly number of VJ members are extremely knowledgeable and clear in their answers, and you'll learn soon enough who they are. Harpa is one. I'll add to the last sentence of her answer: Also, even when a religious ceremony does NOT count as a real marriage, the consul who interviews your fiancee in Bogota may decide that the ceremony DOES count as a real marriage. In that case, the K-1 visa would be refused because of the perception that you are married. You would then be obliged either to fight the decision (not a profitable or high-percentage move) or marry for real and start all over with a petition for permission to apply for a CR-1 visa.

Thank you for your literate, understandable questions! Read all that you can in the Guides, perform searches in the Forums on questions that you have, and post questions on what you still wonder about.

Lots of guesses in this thread which makes things disorganized and often just wrong.

OP - You cannot marry in Colombia if you get a K-1 visa. The K-1 visa is to marry in the US and then file for AOS which leads to Permanent residency (Greencard). She must be legally able to marry when she enters the US.

Once you marry (must be within 90 days ), then you will file for Adjustment of Status. She cannot leave the country until she gets either the Greencard itself, or a temporary travel permission called Advance Parole (AP). AP usually takes 3 months to obtain. Plan that when she gets here, there will be time until the wedding, where she cannot work or travel, and after you file for AOS, there will be more time in which she cannot work or travel.

Some people advise non-official ceremonies to make families happy, but that is not the point of the visa. If you want to marry in Colombia, I suggest going there now and getting married and filing for a spousal visa. It may be possible to have a "non-legal" wedding, but in some countries, a religious ceremony COUNTS as a real marriage, so beware.

[souleymon 27]

Oh man...okay.

Well what about this....

Once the K-1 is approved, I fly to Colombia and we have a non-legal/non-official wedding ceremony in her church. Then together we fly to the USA and have a legal wedding (or say our vows in front of a Justice of the Peace). Is there any problem with that?

The K1 Visa requires that she gets married to u within 90days.after which she request for status change to a GC.

She shouldnt make the mistake of leaving US without having

[Ryan76 46]

Thanks for all the advice. Now I need to talk to my fiance & continue researching what is best for us. I'll probably be back sooner rather than later with more questions.

Sometimes it feel like the more I try to learn, the more confused I get. My mom is a college professor and last night she happened to be at a work party where she met a colleague who immigrated from Colombia. My mom talked to her and told her about our situation and that we were considering the Fiance/K1 visa. Her response was: "no no, tell her not to do the fiance visa...do the tourist visa, I have an attorney...we'll do lunch this week". Also, a few weeks ago my fiance talked to an attorney in Bogota who also recommended a tourist visa. Why on earth are people recommending a tourist visa when they know we are in a serious relationship? Do a lot of people just come to the US on the tourist visa, get married and get an attorney? As I said before, we don't want to break ANY rules. I'm just confused why these smart, educated people who have been through the process are suggesting a tourist visa.

[CESep 4]

Thanks for all the advice. Now I need to talk to my fiance & continue researching what is best for us. I'll probably be back sooner rather than later with more questions.

Sometimes it feel like the more I try to learn, the more confused I get. My mom is a college professor and last night she happened to be at a work party where she met a colleague who immigrated from Colombia. My mom talked to her and told her about our situation and that we were considering the Fiance/K1 visa. Her response was: "no no, tell her not to do the fiance visa...do the tourist visa, I have an attorney...we'll do lunch this week". Also, a few weeks ago my fiance talked to an attorney in Bogota who also recommended a tourist visa. Why on earth are people recommending a tourist visa when they know we are in a serious relationship? Do a lot of people just come to the US on the tourist visa, get married and get an attorney? As I said before, we don't want to break ANY rules. I'm just confused why these smart, educated people who have been through the process are suggesting a tourist visa.

I'm not sure why they are suggesting that. The tourist visa is a valid option, but it is only legal if you go to the US on the tourist visa not intending to get married (e.g. they're here for valid touristy stuff, but then get swept away and marry). This obviously doesn't apply to you. If your fiancee entered the US on a tourist visa now, she would have the specific purpose of getting married to you and then adjusting status. That is considered deceiving the US, since she would have the intent of immigrating using a visa specifically for temporary visits.

Maybe your mom's friend doesn't realize it is deception to enter on a tourist visa with the intentions of getting married and adjust status. The attorney, maybe s/he was just trying to make some money, because a K1 application with no special circumstances does not really need a lawyer. Hard to say for sure..

Good luck with your decision on the K1 vs CR1 route. I like that link John & Mari posted to compare your options, its the most straight forward I've seen.

[PachucoBro 3]

My mom is a college professor and last night she happened to be at a work party where she met a colleague who immigrated from Colombia. Her response was: "no no, tell her not to do the fiance visa...do the tourist visa, I have an attorney...we'll do lunch this week". Also, a few weeks ago my fiance talked to an attorney in Bogota who also recommended a tourist visa.

(DISCLAIMER: My tongue in cheek style of writing sometimes comes off as being an A-hole. LOL)

1. Yeah... love it when really smart people are sometimes very dumb. Advice thrown off the cuff without knowing all the circumstances should make you very cautious. A tourist VISA is not easy to get when you are coming to the US from a less developed country. Lots of requirements from the foreign tourist and as you mentioned she really isn't a tourist she actually is your girlfriend/fiancee and you guys want to get married already so...

2. Wedding ceremony in Colombia... agree with all those that say don't do it regardless of whether it is ok or not. I'm not a gambler and doubt you are if I tell you the stakes are have your fiancee here in 5-6 months vs 12-14 months. That is what you might go through if you mess up your K1 petition and have to start over again with a K3 because somebody felt your ceremony was legit and you are now spouses not fiancees.

ALSO

3. Good luck in trying to get any kind of official wedding person perform a wannabe wedding in a latin american country ESPECIALLY in a church. If you do somehow find a way to make this happen let everyone know on VJ because it is a common desire and most times it ends with the foreign fiancee and family learning the crazy rules us Gringos have in the US. You have to wait to be 'married married' in the US... THEN come back and it is much easier to have a 'renewing of your vows' ceremony AKA your wedding once you are already husband and wife.

4. Photos... lots of great responses on that one. Ummm send your finacee a PDF, a link to an official website, write it in a book or sing it in a song, but just tell her the required dimensions and if necessary let Google help ya with the metric conversions. Usually in most metropolitan areas photo studios and other paper sales shops that can do the passport photos just need to be told that these photos are for a US VISA. Those who do these kinds of services know the bigger size needed compared to the Colombian Passport Photo Requirements.

5. As others have said... READ VJ GUIDES! They are awesome... and so are all the posters on these forums. They have helped me successfully complete TWO 129F petitions. If you are totally confused and seem very lost in this whole immigration process then maybe an attorney assisted route is the way you should go. For me, I like to say that if you file your own taxes or have done some accounting for you own business, you probably can read these forums, VJ guides and form instructions and do it yourself.

Good luck to you guys and glad you found the VJ website!

Edited June 13, 2011 by PachucoBro