K1 Visa - Getting married before the visa comes through

[D & Luv 0]

I know where everyone is coming from about telling you not to get married before having your K1. There is no harm planning it tho'. We got engaged June 2012, sent in our I129 in July and 'planned' for the wedding for March '13. We told everyone the tentative date and made sure that people understood that it could be moved back if the visa didn't come through. We started making arrangements - there are a lot of things that you can work out without having a date locked in (my fiancé works at the church where we're getting married so we reserved the venue, i found a caterer, ordered my dress, found flowers on Costco etc.). We kept people updated about the progress and gave them indication of when we expected to have the visa approved with increasing accuracy as time went on. We talked about a 'pull-the-plug' date ... i.e. work out at what point you will postpone the wedding if your visa is only up to a certain point. e.g. postpone if you don't have NOA2 by 1 July. (we didn't need to resort to that)

If you are pressed for time, you can have all your documents ready (medical, police check ... note - these are often only valid for 1 year ... I-134, second letter of intent etc. - check the VJ guides) for when you receive your NOA2 to send back packet 4 to the Consulate to get the earliest possible interview.

Do not book flights 'til after you get the visa ... but you can usually get a flight within a few days (may involve paying more but at that point, you really don't care!)

All the best.

[D & Luv 0]

possible ... her timeframe for moving the the UK will be dependent on the stipulations of the UK visa process (student visas usually aren't too bad) ... can you find something starting summer semester? I don't see anything wrong with it in theory. However, just be aware that you're both going through a lot emotionally so be careful about how much more you add to your plate (moving countries, starting postgrad, adjusting to being in a 'real-life' relationship from a virtual, long-distance one can be hard on her ... it would be harder still if she hasn't lived/traveled outside of the US)

in terms of visa, you can take your time sending in your 'readiness to be interviewed' documents after the consulate send you packet 3 (so after NOA2, after it gets sent from NVC to consulate) ... not sure if there's a maximum time but a few months should be fine ... then there's the waiting for an interview ... and your visa would be valid for 6 months anyway.

Ok rather than start a new thread we had a further thought we just wanted to check with anyone:

Our existing scenario is we are applying for the K1 Visa for me to go to the states. We filed our 129F in December 12, but we have now had a further idea to consider. We are thinking she could come to the UK first under a student visa to do her masters as its cheaper here, and would allow me to save more money for the move too.

Rather than cancel our application, would it be possible to delay it so that we get interview in 2014 and i move over then, effectively one year later?

Is this insane/not possible? I have heard you can ask the embassy to extend the duration of the 129F approval...

I know where everyone is coming from about telling you not to get married before having your K1. There is no harm planning it tho'. We got engaged June 2012, sent in our I129 in July and 'planned' for the wedding for March '13. We told everyone the tentative date and made sure that people understood that it could be moved back if the visa didn't come through. We started making arrangements - there are a lot of things that you can work out without having a date locked in (my fiancé works at the church where we're getting married so we reserved the venue, i found a caterer, ordered my dress, found flowers on Costco etc.). We kept people updated about the progress and gave them indication of when we expected to have the visa approved with increasing accuracy as time went on. We talked about a 'pull-the-plug' date ... i.e. work out at what point you will postpone the wedding if your visa is only up to a certain point. e.g. postpone if you don't have NOA2 by 1 July. (we didn't need to resort to that)

If you are pressed for time, you can have all your documents ready (medical, police check ... note - these are often only valid for 1 year ... I-134, second letter of intent etc. - check the VJ guides) for when you receive your NOA2 to send back packet 4 to the Consulate to get the earliest possible interview.

Do not book flights 'til after you get the visa ... but you can usually get a flight within a few days (may involve paying more but at that point, you really don't care!)

All the best.

p.s. at my interview, he asked me whether i'd planned a wedding and my wedding date (which i answered) ... and also when i was planning to fly to the US. he seemed ok with the fact that i had dates in mind and made preparations