Dilemma

[adamjan 1]

Hi everyone! I am back with more questions. But first i want to share our situation with all of you again. This was my first post:

Hi Everyone, my fiance and I got engaged 4 months ago. He already filed for a k-1 visa on the 30th of October. Our plan is to get married in my country (not the U.S.) for many reasons. So once we get the visa (praying everything goes as planned), i will head over to the States, get married in court, file for all things necessary to be filed (SSN, Advanced Parole, AOS, etc) and then finish the wedding preps. Once we get approved for advanced parole, we will head back to my country and have the church wedding and honeymoon there. So, my question is, is this even possible and do we have enough time to do all this before we do the interview for the adjusment of status? we wanna be married in church before that. How long does it usually take to get the interview date for AOS from the time of filing. and is there a chance that advanced parole will get approved AFTER AOS interview? I'm a newbie here so I need all the help i can get. thanks a lot : )

We really want to get married in a church in my country (because it would be cheaper and easier for people from the US to go there for the wedding than the other way around) before we live together. Having two church weddings (first in the states, then my country) would make things easier but not cheaper. So that's the reason why we are going through the trouble of going back to my country to get married, then return to the states, hopefully in time for the AOS interview (in case we do have one).

A lot replied and the suggestions helped us so much especially when they said that it usually takes 90 days to approve the AP request. So if we figure out how long it will take to get married at a court in the states and get the marriage certificate, then we'll just count 90 days for our time frame and then we could set the date for our church wedding in my country.

But although this is helpful we still are worried because for sure the time frames above are just estimates and all cases are different. We know that living together is a requirement to get approved for and AOS, but like I said above it is very important for us to get married in church first before we do this. For us the worst thing that could happen is if we are not in the U.S in time for the interview for AOS, so we have been considering staying until my status has been changed. Which leads me now to my questions: Has anyone here ever been denied of AOS? What happens? And do you guys have any comments and suggestions for us? It would help a lot, thank you so much!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

First, you need to comply with the process. Your desires come 2nd or even 3rd. It is not negotiable and no one is going to adjust the time frames to meet your desires. That is the process of a US citizen marrying a foreign citizen.

If you have applied for a K-1 visa your "first" marriage needs to occur in the United States. There is no option on this. There actually is only ONE marriage, the other is a "ceremony" with no legal basis. YOU can consider it anything you want, the government that issues your visa and AOS does not consider it at all.

The best thing is to come here, get married and file for your AOS and AP. When you have the AP IN YOUR HAND, then make plans for the ceremony elsewhere. Doing it any other way is very risky and very likely to result in disappointment.

The thing you need to do first is to stop considering what is better for everyone else and their travel plans because the government controls the time table and they could not possibly care less. If a church wedding in your country is the most important thing to you, then do that. Plan it and do it. Then file for a CR-1 and abandon the K-1...withdraw it.

If you continue with the K-1 then follow that path and be happy with it. You are not in a "normal" relationship and cannot act as if you are. Everything about your marriage will be controlled and examined several times for the next 4-5 years until you become a citizen.

You need to prioritize your desires and understand that neither visa is going to allow you to do everything you want in the order or the time frame you want. Decide which one BEST meets your needs and go that way. The best time to do that would have been before you filed the K-1 but there is nothing stopping you from withdrawing it and going another route. Everything is fixable with time and money.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

**** Moving from K1 to AOS from Family Visa forum as OP's question is about whether AOS can be denied ***

In short- yes, AOS can be denied. It doesn't happen a lot of K1 cases (sometimes you don't even have an interview!), but it can happen, especially with major red flags such as being married (By US standards) and not living together. More likely are lengthy delays. If getting married in the church in your country is so important, the best plan may be to cancel the K1, get married and then go for a CR-1 spousal visa.