Is the K-1 really necessary? My boyfriend thinks it's a waste of money...

[Anny93 0]

My boyfriend and I have talked about getting married a lot and he wants me to come live with him because he can't move to Germany (he is in the military and just got stationed back to the states)

I told him about the K-1 visa and said that we should do it but he thinks it's a waste of money.

He thinks it's easier and better for me to just come visit him without a visa (the normal 90 days) and during the time I'm in Colorado he wants to get married. He said that after we get married I could stay with him.

I just wanna get some information and opinions on what would be the better thing to do. I mean can you get married without having a visa and then just doing all the paperwork? Cause that's what he's been telling me but I'm not sure so yea...

Also, he is getting deployed pretty soon. I read that the K-1 goes through a lot faster if you send them a copy of his orders but anyways that's not really part of my question.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Your boyfriend's plan...for you to arrive in the US on the VWP, marry and adjust status....is visa fraud. It can carry a lifetime ban

So wile your boyfriend sees it as a waste of money, it is the legal pathway

good luck

[Girl from Celebes 588]

If it's as easy as that, everyone would choose that way instead rather than going through the whole exhausting process. Like the other poster said, it would consider as a fraud as you already pre-meditate want to marry in US.

The other thing, your boyfriend is in military, and he should not consider break the rules by asking you come to US to marry by NOT use K-1 visa. My fiancé is in military as well but he would never consider to break the rules as he works for the government.

Anyway, good luck for both of you.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K-1 Process to Which Visa Do I Need Forum~

[Mel&Lal 12]

Yes that is fraud, its either k 1 visa and marry in the usa or he goes to Germany and the 2 of you marry there and file for spouse. The k 1 have been moving fast.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

*** duplicate post in Tourist visa forum removed *****

As the others have said, using the visa waiver to get married and stay is visa fraud.

You CAN get married on the visa waiver, if all you want to do is be married asap. But you would need to leave within the 90 days the visa waiver allowes; you could continue using the visa waiver to visit during the process.

[clairegie 265]

I would be hurt if my fiance said getting me to the States the legal way is a waste of money. You are worth every penny and effort.

[Anny93 0]

Ok so lets say I go visit him before his deployment and we get married in colorado or Vegas or somewhere else in the states and I go back to Germany how or what would we have to do as a next step for me to go back to him but stay?

[stevie b 141]

My boyfriend and I have talked about getting married a lot and he wants me to come live with him because he can't move to Germany (he is in the military and just got stationed back to the states)

I told him about the K-1 visa and said that we should do it but he thinks it's a waste of money.

He thinks it's easier and better for me to just come visit him without a visa (the normal 90 days) and during the time I'm in Colorado he wants to get married. He said that after we get married I could stay with him.

I just wanna get some information and opinions on what would be the better thing to do. I mean can you get married without having a visa and then just doing all the paperwork? Cause that's what he's been telling me but I'm not sure so yea...

Also, he is getting deployed pretty soon. I read that the K-1 goes through a lot faster if you send them a copy of his orders but anyways that's not really part of my question.

your bf needs to educate himself

there is no cost savings like that

actually you will probably pay more with the need to do your medical in the US after that

yes things will go faster if he is deployed or about to be.. this is covered here too.. I would recommend your US bf spend some time reading threads over here

[Girl from Celebes 588]

Ok so lets say I go visit him before his deployment and we get married in colorado or Vegas or somewhere else in the states and I go back to Germany how or what would we have to do as a next step for me to go back to him but stay?

You're not eligible for K-1 visa anymore. You have to apply a spousal visa. From what I read, a spousal visa takes longer than K-1 visa process. You need to learn more after all.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Girl from Celebes

[NikLR 13,227]

Ok so lets say I go visit him before his deployment and we get married in colorado or Vegas or somewhere else in the states and I go back to Germany how or what would we have to do as a next step for me to go back to him but stay?

Before marriage you pursue a K1 visa... It's a fiancee visa

After marriage you pursue a CR1 via... it's a spousal visa.

K1 is faster to get to the USA but takes longer to get the green card and is about twice as expensive overall. Also takes 3 months to be able to work at all or travel outside the USA after filing for the adjustment of status after marriage.

CR1 means getting married first and takes longer to get but you receive a green card right away so you can work or travel. Also costs about 1/2 of the K1 visa.

You guys need to discuss what is most important to the two of you. We decided on the CR1 visa because it was important to me to be able to travel and it cost half the amount. That meant, however, that we spent our first year as a married couple, mostly apart with visits every 3 months.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

K-1 isn't a waste of money either, because the process you would try to do costs extra, in addition to the illegal aspect.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You mentioned deployment, Military member on orders can request expedited service and your visa should fly through the system.

[EmberEmpress 8]

I encourage you to go the legal route.

However, I have close friends that on a travel visa got married and he was able to remain in the United States. They contacted a lawyer to see what their options were and the lawyer told them to just get married. It is fraud but she told them it's only frowned upon. This was an immigration lawyer from Nebraska.

My fiance' and I chose to go with the K-1 visa because he had a job, home and car he needed to part with before moving to the states to be with me. My friends Fiance' was without all of those as he was a student. We were worried that if we followed their visa path the immigration officers would see that when he visited he had no ties to the UK, that he had intent to immigrate and he would not be let into the country. You need to keep in mind that at any point while traveling if the immigration officer doubts your intentions they can deny your entry into the United States.

My friends got very lucky. I took luck out of the equation because if you do the work (with the help of VisaJourney) you can legally be together in less then a year.

[Bugs 455]

It might be easier, but you will also have to prove that you didn't enter with the intent to marry. Obviously you have failed this already by creating this thread.