Going Abroad after K1 Marriage

[Lara826 2]

Hello everyone,

My fiance and I just got out NOA2 for the I 129F last week and are anxiously awaiting for everything else to start moving along. My question is related to after we are married with the K1 visa, we are guessing the wedding will be around Christmas or January. He is looking to start his Masters degree, but after researching the phenomenal cost of degree in the US, he thought about going to Germany (where he did his undergraduate). I told him to start it while he was waiting, but that he needed to come here and stay once the visa got approved, and then we would look into going back. I also found a scholarship for my area of study for Americans who want to masters in Germany, and want to apply for it (obviously no guarantee of getting it). If by some miracle I did get it, I would go in Oct 2013 (about 9 or 10 months after getting married). And of course, since we have already been apart for so long he would want to come with me to finish up his masters there. A few questions that I have looked on USCIS and different pages but have not found exactly the answers I am looking for are this (I would call them, but I don´t feel like waiting just for someone to read information to me I already read online to me).

How long after the marriage will the AOS take/he be allowed to leave the US without having problems with re entry? How much time would he be allowed to be outside or the US without risking his residency getting taken away? Since we would be over there for studies would that make a difference? We plan on living in the US once we finish with our masters, and living together over there. Now I know it may seem like a better idea to just wait until we are ready to stay here permanently, but if I am able to go depends on a scholarship (about 1/3 get it), which I obviously can´t depend on at all. In the mean time, we would like to follow through with the K1 in case that plan doesn ´t work out. And if we do both go abroad and his residency does get taken away, how hard will it be for me to apply for him to come back since he will then be my spouse of over 2 years? Or, if my scholarship doesn´t get approved, and he continues with his masters (he will do part online if I can´t go to Germany), would him having to go over there for a semester without me affect his residency? Will having previously filed a K1 affect our ability to do a K3? Any advice would be much appreciated. I know it sounds like I´m all over the place, and I kind of am.... I just hope someone can make enough sense of this to advise me

[amykathleen2005 441]

He can leave after doing AP which can take 90ish days after filing for AOS concurrently. With this he can leave but only for shorter amounts of time. If he is planning on being away for a long time you should wait until the green card is approved, which can take 6 months or more from filing. With a green card he can leave but if it is for more then 6 months at a time he may need a reentry permit and this may cause problems later down the line when wanting to become a citizen.

If he does abandon his greencard you would have to do CR1 which would be a little bit longer then a K1 and he would enter with a 10 year green card (if you were married more then 2 years at the time). K3 is defunct, CR1 is the way to go.

It would be easiest for AOS and Removal of Conditions to show that you lived together throughout your marriage so I would suggest remaining together if you can if you are doing K-1 and moving on from there.

He can leave after doing AP which can take 90ish days after filing for AOS concurrently. With this he can leave but only for shorter amounts of time. If he is planning on being away for a long time you should wait until the green card is approved, which can take 6 months or more from filing. With a green card he can leave but if it is for more then 6 months at a time he may need a reentry permit and this may cause problems later down the line when wanting to become a citizen.

If he does abandon his greencard you would have to do IR1 which would be a little bit longer then a K1 and he would enter with a 10 year green card (if you were married more then 2 years at the time). K3 is defunct, IR1 is the way to go.

It would be easiest for AOS and Removal of Conditions to show that you lived together throughout your marriage so I would suggest remaining together if you can if you are doing K-1 and moving on from there.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hello everyone,

My fiance and I just got out NOA2 for the I 129F last week and are anxiously awaiting for everything else to start moving along. My question is related to after we are married with the K1 visa, we are guessing the wedding will be around Christmas or January. He is looking to start his Masters degree, but after researching the phenomenal cost of degree in the US, he thought about going to Germany (where he did his undergraduate). I told him to start it while he was waiting, but that he needed to come here and stay once the visa got approved, and then we would look into going back. I also found a scholarship for my area of study for Americans who want to masters in Germany, and want to apply for it (obviously no guarantee of getting it). If by some miracle I did get it, I would go in Oct 2013 (about 9 or 10 months after getting married). And of course, since we have already been apart for so long he would want to come with me to finish up his masters there. A few questions that I have looked on USCIS and different pages but have not found exactly the answers I am looking for are this (I would call them, but I don´t feel like waiting just for someone to read information to me I already read online to me).

How long after the marriage will the AOS take/he be allowed to leave the US without having problems with re entry? How much time would he be allowed to be outside or the US without risking his residency getting taken away? Since we would be over there for studies would that make a difference? We plan on living in the US once we finish with our masters, and living together over there. Now I know it may seem like a better idea to just wait until we are ready to stay here permanently, but if I am able to go depends on a scholarship (about 1/3 get it), which I obviously can´t depend on at all. In the mean time, we would like to follow through with the K1 in case that plan doesn ´t work out. And if we do both go abroad and his residency does get taken away, how hard will it be for me to apply for him to come back since he will then be my spouse of over 2 years? Or, if my scholarship doesn´t get approved, and he continues with his masters (he will do part online if I can´t go to Germany), would him having to go over there for a semester without me affect his residency? Will having previously filed a K1 affect our ability to do a K3? Any advice would be much appreciated. I know it sounds like I´m all over the place, and I kind of am.... I just hope someone can make enough sense of this to advise me

First things first. After obtaining the K-1 visa and arriving in the US, he cannot leave until he receives AP or the GC. It is currently taking about 6 months or so--for us it was 3 months but that was last year. Once he has the GC he must maintain residency in the US. Going to college would help as long as he shows that he will return to the US after studies. There have been a few who have done this successfully for an immigrant child. It is just a matter of documentation. If he should be outside the US for more than 1 year I would file for a re-entry permit before he leaves to maintain his residency status. It is doable but you must make certain to have all documentation and follow the rules. Just remember that CBP is the one that will determine if he is abusing his GC and revoke it at POE, so being able to show them why he is outside the country for more than 6 months but less than a year is very important.

You could file for a CR-1/IR-1 should he loose his residency, but that will take time and money and he will have to be outside the US until the visa is approved--8-9 months or so. I would work on keeping his residency after he gets it. I would not worry about the impact on Citizenship at this time but pay more attention to keeping the GC.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited June 25, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[amykathleen2005 441]

Double post

Edited June 25, 2012 by amykathleen2005

[Peace.... 281]

Hi,

I see that your local office is Cincinnati, I am from Cincinnati as well and our case took 1 year after we were married here and filed for Adjustment of Status. Are you from the Cincinnati area as well or nearby?

My only question is and I am sure others will help here too, is how will you gather all the evidence required for Removal of Conditions in two years if your living abroad in another country? Once married, you have to start gathering evidence as a married couple and use this information once again for a possible interview in two years. It's hard enough to just get a visa from Morocco much less get here and marry and have the Adjustment of Status interview and then start all over again to prove we are really married and living together. The evidence, I am speaking about are things you have in both your names, like bank accounts, car insurance, bills in both names, home/rental apt in both names, 401K with spouses as beneficiary, and the list goes on and on. This is the stage where we are and we have been married over a year and the last thing we want is to be denied in two years as we could not provide enough evidence of living together.

I sent you a personal message as well pertaining to Cincinnati.

[Lara826 2]

Yes, I am in the Cincinnati area

When/if we live abroad, we would be living together, so I would assume we could get all the same evidence, we would just have to translate it into a different language. If we returned to the US at least every 6 months, and maintained a residence, credit card bills, etc here do you think that would be enough?

[Peace.... 281]

Yes, I am in the Cincinnati area

When/if we live abroad, we would be living together, so I would assume we could get all the same evidence, we would just have to translate it into a different language. If we returned to the US at least every 6 months, and maintained a residence, credit card bills, etc here do you think that would be enough?

Great! I live close to the west side near Cheviot, are ya close?

Living abroad is not my expertise but I am sure someone soon will give you some really good advice. What kind of evidence will you both have in your name while living abroad if I may ask, besides a lease agreement of where you will reside?

As far as U.S. evidence, add him to your car insurance plan, get joint bank accounts, home/apt/lease agreement with both names, health insurance plans together, bills like utility, cell phone, cable, etc., if you have any life insurance add his name as a beneficiary to the plan. You will also need to file taxes jointly as this is good proof too.

My husband's sister won the lottery visa last year and came to the States and stayed 4 months roughly. She didn't like it here and flew back to her country where she was living. She decided to come back as she knew she had to in order to maintain residence and keep her green card. At the POE in Chicago, she was given a really hard time for like 3 hours as to why she was not living here and trying to work and find a job and show some proof that she is living here. I would just have all my ducks in a row and have strong proof of everything you need for this living abroad and going to college. Like I said, someone hopefully soon will give you some strong advice and it doesn't seem to be impossible for you to travel and live abroad as long as you keep good documentation and show proof of a bona-fide marriage. It's sad, but I believe his sister is going to give up her green card, because during her last interview, the Border Patrol told her next time she may not be so lucky and may lose her green card if she continues to travel abroad and not reside in the US as this is one of the conditions she must abide by. She just didn't like it here and felt that Dubai was a better place to live and some of her sisters lived there too and she was giving up a great job as well.

So how often have you visited Morocco?

[Lara826 2]

Great! I live close to the west side near Cheviot, are ya close?

Living abroad is not my expertise but I am sure someone soon will give you some really good advice. What kind of evidence will you both have in your name while living abroad if I may ask, besides a lease agreement of where you will reside?

As far as U.S. evidence, add him to your car insurance plan, get joint bank accounts, home/apt/lease agreement with both names, health insurance plans together, bills like utility, cell phone, cable, etc., if you have any life insurance add his name as a beneficiary to the plan. You will also need to file taxes jointly as this is good proof too.

My husband's sister won the lottery visa last year and came to the States and stayed 4 months roughly. She didn't like it here and flew back to her country where she was living. She decided to come back as she knew she had to in order to maintain residence and keep her green card. At the POE in Chicago, she was given a really hard time for like 3 hours as to why she was not living here and trying to work and find a job and show some proof that she is living here. I would just have all my ducks in a row and have strong proof of everything you need for this living abroad and going to college. Like I said, someone hopefully soon will give you some strong advice and it doesn't seem to be impossible for you to travel and live abroad as long as you keep good documentation and show proof of a bona-fide marriage. It's sad, but I believe his sister is going to give up her green card, because during her last interview, the Border Patrol told her next time she may not be so lucky and may lose her green card if she continues to travel abroad and not reside in the US as this is one of the conditions she must abide by. She just didn't like it here and felt that Dubai was a better place to live and some of her sisters lived there too and she was giving up a great job as well.

So how often have you visited Morocco?

I am closer to Dayton, a little less than an hour north of Cincy. We haven´t really decided what we are doing yet as far as going abroad, and he is obviously going to be living here for a while after we get married so we will just have to make sure we have everything set up beforehand. His main concern and reason for wanting to go abroad to study is that he won´t be able to find a job with his degree, so he wants to get a masters. And masters are a fraction of the cost in Germany. I guess I will just have to play it by ear, I just hate not having a definite plan.

I have been to Morocco about 3-4 times. I am going to visit my fiance in mid August so I may be going back, I haven´t seen his parents for awhile. Or him, for that matter. We thought about living there briefly but finding good jobs there would be difficult. But I love going there, his family and friends are always so friendly and I love the food. Have you been there often?

[Peace.... 281]

Hey..I just left you a personal message for ya to read......