What are my options?

[angelus17 0]

Hi,

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you might give.

I'm a US citizen and my girlfriend of 4 years is not. I recently returned to the US and she will be arriving here on a F-1 Visa to study. Marriage is a future step (maybe 2 or 3 years later) for us, but that was and is not her intent for getting the F-1 Visa. With that said, what would be our options for marriage and allowing her to become a permanent resident?

Below is my understanding of the options from browsing these forums:

Option 1 - Marry in the US, then apply for K3 Visa or CR-1 Visa.

Option 2 - Marry in the US, then apply for AOS.

Are there any other possible options?

Below is my understanding of the pros/cons for each option.

Regarding option 1, would she still be able to study in the US during the application process? I believe she has to return to her own country for an interview, but what about the remainder of the process?

Regarding option 2, it may be difficult to prove she had no original intent to immigrate, but she wouldn't have to leave the US at all.

Sorry for the wall of text. Thanks again for any help.

Edited October 15, 2011 by angelus17

[Little_My 464]

If you are really not planning to marry for another 2-3 years, then it is a bit premature to plan these things now - a lot can change in that time in terms of your situation, and what makes sense to you now might not make sense then.

However, that being said - if she comes here to study, and a few years from now you continue to marry and are still in the US, she can apply for adjustment of status in the US. There's no way to tell what the costs will be then (probably a bit higher than now) and what the average processing times will be, but currently filing fees are around $1,500 plus cost of medical check, and average processing time is around 4-6 months.

If she is living in the US under a non-immigrant status at the time of your marriage, CR-1 doesn't make sense unless she specifically wants to / has to return to her home country. You can file the CR-1 while she is in the US, but this visa is issued to foreign spouses abroad - so usually, for example, people come here on a tourist visa, marry, then file the I-130 for CR-1, and then the foreign spouse leaves when his/her tourist status expires and waits out the rest of the process in their home country. She could also do this if her F1 status was about to expire and she wanted to/had to go home in between finishing her studies and moving here permanently. CR-1 is notably cheaper than AOS.

K-3 is a dead visa, so to speak, so don't waste time researching that. It's either CR-1 or AOS, if you are married when you file.

Intent is a funny thing. It is obvious from your post that she does have intent to immigrate - you are planning to marry, and at least now you are planning to reside in the US. However, it is unlikely this would ever really come up or become an issue for you, unless she is for some reason pulled to a secondary inspection and asked some more detailed questions at POE that actually go to a permanent record. The chances of that happening? Unlikely, but possible.

If what you are saying is true, and you are not planning to marry for another 2-3 years, then I would leave the immigration planning alone for now - things can chance in that time, and the less you plan it, well, the less planned - i.e. intentional - your future immigration endeavors will be.

[angelus17 0]

Hi Little_my, thanks for the reply.

A few questions to your response:

1. How long might a CR-1 take and how much of that time is she required to be back in her country?

2. Regarding intent, it is actually my plan for our future to live in the US. Her plan is to finish her studies and then both of us go to her country to build a life together. I don't think this would count as her having intent to immigrate, would it?

3. I believe during her student Visa application process, there was a question regarding whether or not she knew anyone in the US. At the moment, I'm not sure if it was regarding only relatives or friends included, but she may have answer No to that question. I'm pretty sure she wasn't asked the question at the interview, but it may have appeared on forms somewhere. If she did answer No, might that pose a problem?

I know it's a long way off, but I just want to be prepared. Thanks.

[angelus17 0]

Sorry, one more question:

If we did go the path of CR-1, would there be any possibility of the intent issues? Or would it be completely seperate from the F-1 visa she already has.

I know you said that intent might not pose a problem, but I tend to worry about all the little possibilities. Better safe than sorry, haha.

[Little_My 464]

There is no intent-issue with the CR-1, since it is a spousal visa specifically issued for foreign spouses of US citizens who are immigrating to the US - so people who apply for the CR-1 obviously do intent to immigrate, and it is a visa meant for that purpose. She will have to leave the US and then re-enter with the CR-1 visa once it is issued. The intent-problem is only relevant with non-immigrant visas, such as tourist and student visas.

However, like I said - if you are thinking of getting married maybe 2-3 years form now, I would not start stressing about this right now. She should come here with her student visa, obey the requirements attached to that status, enjoy her time in the US, and not violate the visa or overstay it. Cross the immigration-bridge when you get to it.

Edited October 16, 2011 by Little_My

[angelus17 0]

Ok, I understand what you're saying. Sorry to bother you more, but I promise this is the last post!

How long might CR-1 take?

Also, is it possible to do K-1? I know you mentioned K-3 is not worth researching. What is your opinion on K-1?

[Little_My 464]

I am not as familiar with the CR-1 process as I am with AOS, but my understanding is that the current average time from filing the I-130 to getting the visa is somewhere around 9 months or so. If you visit the CR-1 forum, you can get more up-to-date info on current processing times from people who are in the proccess of applying for that particular visa.

I think you are getting a bit ahead if yourselves. K1 is a fiance visa, meant for US citizens who wish to bring their foreign fiances to the US to then proceed to marry them and file for AOS. Your girlfriend is coming here on an F1 visa to study, and based on what you said, marriage is not in your near term future. If she comes here now with an F1, and let's say 3 years from now you decide to get married and she is still here with the F1 visa at that time, her leaving, traveling home, waiting 9 months for the K1 visa, coming back, marrying and then filing for AOS would not make any sense, not time-wise or financially. If she wants to go back home at that point before permanently relocating to the US, CR-1 is still more sensible option in my opinion as it is much cheaper and there's no waiting around with the AOS process, as there is with K1.

If three years from now she is here on an F1, you decide to get married, and she does not have to go home in between marrying you and becoming a permanent resident, then AOS will most likely make the most sense for you.

However, as I said before - things can change in three years and what seems sensible now might not be the best option then. Start researching these things when marriage becomes relevant to you. There isn't really that much you can do in terms of preparation for immigration three years before it actually becomes relevant - besides reading up on different processes and staying updated with possible changes that might affect you down the line.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Ok, I understand what you're saying. Sorry to bother you more, but I promise this is the last post!

How long might CR-1 take?

Also, is it possible to do K-1? I know you mentioned K-3 is not worth researching. What is your opinion on K-1?

A CR-1 takes about 6-12 months on average. It can be longer if your spouse goes into administrative processing (intense background check). You must be married to pursue the CR-1 route as it is for petitioning a spouse.

The K-1 is possible if you are not married. It takes about 6-12 months also. However, the K-1 is a non-immigrant visa which requires your spouse to adjust status after marrying you. This is an additional cost and your spouse cannot work until after the marriage and she has either an EAD or a green card.

You cannot pursue both at the same time; the CR-1 is for a married person while the K-1 is for a single person who intends to marry once in the US.