Should we get Married in Taiwan or United States?

[solomon_hun 0]

Good evening,

Hopefully this is the right forum.

My girlfriend/future fiance hopefully and I have been discussing marriage. Our situation is delineated below:

My status:

I am a US citizen who resides and works in the United States.

Her status:

She is a citizen of the Republic of China, Taiwan, and resides and works in Taiwan. We met while she was in the States on a F1 visa which has since expired. We have been together a bit over a year now. Producing proof of relationship is certainly not a problem.

Our ideal plan is as such:

We hope to get married in Taiwan, then move to the US at some point. Being able to legally work/reside in the same country together is top priority, be it Taiwan or the States (e.g. we're trying to avoid having only one party being forced to leave the country once married). Minimizing form process time as well as time before she can work in the States are also priorities. The intent is to eventually grant her U.S./permanent resident status in the states without relinquishing her Taiwan citizenship.

Question(s) we have:

1. Which visa do we file for, fiance or spouse?

Given how long these things usually take, we hope to begin the filing process BEFORE the marriage ceremony, so that would imply fiance visa. However, she will be my spouse by the time we move to the states, so do we apply for the K3 spouse visa first while engaged in anticipation of the wedding, or begin filing the forms after we're married?

Advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

[Ryan H 3,812]

If you wanted to pursue a fiancee visa, then you could not marry until AFTER she arrived in the US using said visa. There is no switching in the middle of the process, if you get married while a fiancee visa is pending, the process immediately ends and you go back to the start by filing a new petition for a spousal visa.

You cannot start the spousal visa process until after you are married, one of the required documents that must be submitted when the petition is filed is a photocopy of the marriage certificate.

The spousal visa you would want to pursue is a CR-1, current USCIS and NVC procedures have rendered the K3 obsolete and virtually unobtainable.

Fiancee visa holders must go through the Adjustment of Status process after marrying in the US and cannot work until an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or the green card itself is issued (whichever comes first). An EAD can be applied for at the time AOS is filed for but your looking at a timeframe of months before it is issued.

Spousal visa holders receive a green card at entry and can work right away. The visa itself with a standard CBP entry stamp placed on the passport page next to the visa allows it to act as a temporary green card until the actual card is in hand.

[florida4life 29]

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

You can compare the time frame and how much you will have to spend roughly

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Where do you want to get married?

[solomon_hun 0]

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the responses.

@Ryan

We were unaware of the general obsolescence of the K3. It seems getting married out of the country, then entering is more feasible, assuming we can get the CR-1. This line in the CR-1 FAQ confused us:

"The couple may have previously been married either outside or within the US (the location does not matter as long as the marriage was officially recognized in the location in which it occurred)."

Wouldn't we need a fiance visa to get married "within the US" legally? So can we apply for the CR-1 after the K-1?

@florida4life

Thank you. We have already been to that page and have read it many times over. We were confused as to the precise timing, since we were hoping to start the rather lengthy filing process as early as possible. We also fail to see the advantages of the K-3 over the CR-1, unless one is a prerequisite for the other.

@Harpa

We're trying to figure out where, Taiwan or the United states, would be the best place to get married. We hope to live in the States, but given the bulk of our family is in Taiwan, we would like to have the ceremony in Taiwan if possible.

---

One course of action is to apply for the fiance visa, then get a court marriage in the States, and then have a ceremony in Taiwan, and then hold a reception back in the States. Exhausting! We're admittedly a bit unclear as to the exact regulations regarding such a plan, or if it would even be permissible.

Thanks again!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the responses.

@Ryan

We were unaware of the general obsolescence of the K3. It seems getting married out of the country, then entering is more feasible, assuming we can get the CR-1. This line in the CR-1 FAQ confused us:

"The couple may have previously been married either outside or within the US (the location does not matter as long as the marriage was officially recognized in the location in which it occurred)."

Wouldn't we need a fiance visa to get married "within the US" legally? So can we apply for the CR-1 after the K-1?

@florida4life

Thank you. We have already been to that page and have read it many times over. We were confused as to the precise timing, since we were hoping to start the rather lengthy filing process as early as possible. We also fail to see the advantages of the K-3 over the CR-1, unless one is a prerequisite for the other.

@Harpa

We're trying to figure out where, Taiwan or the United states, would be the best place to get married. We hope to live in the States, but given the bulk of our family is in Taiwan, we would like to have the ceremony in Taiwan if possible.

---

One course of action is to apply for the fiance visa, then get a court marriage in the States, and then have a ceremony in Taiwan, and then hold a reception back in the States. Exhausting! We're admittedly a bit unclear as to the exact regulations regarding such a plan, or if it would even be permissible.

Thanks again!

You have some really good choices - each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that Taiwan is a VWP country, and she can visit you without the need for a visitor visa.

Your 3 primary goals are 1) a marriage ceremony in Taiwan, 2) minimize the time where she can't work, and 3) minimize the time apart.

Here is how you do it and reach your goal.

It is illegal to enter the US with the intent to marry and adjust status. It is legal to enter the US to marry and leave.

This is the plan.

1. She enters the US to visit you on the VWP. DO NOT DISCLOSE THAT SHE WILL GET MARRY. The only reason for this is that CBP may think she will try to illegally immigrate and adjust. Don't volunteer information that will cause her grief.

2. You get your court room marriage. Now, you are legally husband and wife.

3. You file for a spousal visa.

4. She returns home to prepare and have your big marriage ceremony.

5. She gets her spousal visa and upon entry she has a green card and can legally work as soon as she gets a Social Security Number.

[Darnell 8,478]

Ya, keep in mind that recently Taiwan citizens enjoy ESTA and VWP - so she could jump on a plane , Monday, and come see you, irrespective of which visa you two are thinking to chase after.