Easier? K1 or I-130

[SpanishSteps 0]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum, and happy to have come across it.

Background: I am from the US and live in Spain. I want to marry my boyfriend, who is Spanish, and then return to the United States. I've been here many years, and we've lived together a long time (proof of relationship). We even have a common law marriage in Spain. I am not sure that a common law marriage, obtained in Spain, would apply in the US?

As I look through our options I wonder, which process will be easiest? Is it faster/easier to marry in Spain and then file for a I-130 Green Card to bring him to the US? I've seen on here that this can take between 6 and 12 months, or as little as 5 months...is that correct?

The other option is of course the K1, which means we would get married in the US. However, this process seems to be more complex, require more paper work, and then require more work after the marriage in adjusting the visa...is this correct in other members' experience?

I don't want to choose the wrong option, and clearly we would like to choose a fast, easy, less expensive option. For us, it doesn't much matter if we marry here in Spain or in th US, we just want to be able to go to the US soon (for family reasons on my own part). I am legal in Spain, so there would not be any issue on my side here if we chose the I-130.

I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

SpanishSteps

[canadian_wife 1,822]

No, the US does not recognize common law marriages. You'll need to be legally married, with a marriage certificate and all.

First of all, this process is neither easy nor cheap.

See the guides for comparason

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

It may seem for your case to marry in Spain and then file with your foreign address

Good luck

[Hypnos 6,576]

Untrue, the US does recognise common law marriage for immigration purposes, provided that such a union was legal in the jurisdiction of residence.

Several US states in addition to some foreign countries recognise common law marriage and provided such a union was legally accepted to civil authorities then you can apply for immigration benefits (green card, citizenship, etc.) based upon on it.

http://bccvisalaw.co...rd-marriage.php

http://www.lawcom.co.../marriage.shtml

Edited October 10, 2012 by Hypnos

[C-ma'am 684]

Each visa has a purpose, and that's how you should go about picking one or the other. Find the one that fits your needs and intentions.

Here's a comparison chart between visas. Disregard the K3 option, as it's an obsolete visa.

http://www.visajourn...content/compare

I'm also moving your post to General Immigration Relared Discussion, as you have not yet decided on an immigration path and your question is not specific of a K1 visa process

Edited October 10, 2012 by Celeste & C

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Untrue, the US does recognise common law marriage for immigration purposes, provided that such a union was legal in the jurisdiction of residence.

Interesting, thanks for the clarification. I wonder what they submit in place of a marriage certificate and if it would just be easier to have a civil ceremoney overseas

Thanks, Good luck

[SpanishSteps 0]

Thanks to all. Looks like DCF would be the best way to go.

[SpanishSteps 0]

Turns out DCF is no longer available. Back to the drawing board....

[C-ma'am 684]

Turns out DCF is no longer available. Back to the drawing board....

Oh that's a shame

Well, you can always marry there, file for the CR1 regularly, spend as much time together as you can and then he'll follow you to the US.

[AandJ 3]

I can't speak to the fiance visa because my husband and I were already married when we decided to start, so took the i-130 route. We are the couple that did it in 5 months so it was definitley a quick process but might be from the fact that we submitted a ton of extra information so that we wouldn't get asked for any RFEs which delay the process. We tried to be as on top of our game as possible, submitting extra stuff, quadruple checking the packages to make sure we dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts so to speak but it worked out in the end. The only thing that could maybe draw the process out is the getting married in Spain part. I don't know what part of the country you live in or which city, but requesting a marriage date sometimes takes longer than 3 months after submitting your paperwork (which is uber easy) to marry there. We were married in my husband's small town, so got a date pretty quick, but if you are thinking of taking the i-130 route and need to marry (I am not sure how the domestic partnership thing works) I would look into getting that ball rolling quickly.

If you decide to go this route, feel free to reach out to me if you need any help and hopefully we can make your process a short one too!

Good luck!

Amanda

[Kajikit 65]

The US does not recognise common law marriages... Since you're over there with your fiance, a K1 visa would be a waste of your time. You'd have to file and come back to the US and sit around twiddling your thumbs for a year while they processed it. Better to marry him legally and then file for a marriage visa from there.

[Hypnos 6,576]

The US does not recognise common law marriages

You are mistaken.