Please Help w/ Advice: Upcoming K-1 interview one Semester of University Remaining

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

Dear VJ friends,

A year ago my fiancee and I started this K-1 fiancee visa application process. Finally, after 12 months we have received an interview (Dec 5th). If she successfully gets her visa, the she will be able to come to the US this December so that we can get married.

However, the big question for us will be how long she is able to stay. She has only one semester of University remaining which begins in January and will end in August. If she comes and we get married and then she goes back to after a month, will she be able to return to the United states easily or will we have to process a separate application for a spousal visa?

I know how much this degree means to her, but at the same time the average amount of time to process a spousal visa is around 14 months and I don't want to have to go through this again! Does anyone know if she come, marry me, go back and complete her degree, and the enter the US again when she is done???

thanks in advance for you answers!

[tombass1982 0]

If you get the K1 visa it is valid for ONE entry into the USA. If your fiancee enters, marries you and then leaves before succesfully filing for an adjustment of status she will not be able to re-enter on the K1. You can after marrying file for an adjusment of status and within that application include a form that requests permission for travel whilst your adjustment of status is processed. However how long you can leave for I am not sure.

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

How long would it take to get permission to travel while the adjustment of status processing?

I plan to marry her immediately when she arrives. She could probably stay 1 month and maybe slightly longer without missing the start of the spring semester.

Also, if she is only aloud to be gone for a certain amount of time, I could bring her back for short period during the semester.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Abigail.et.Nathan

[tombass1982 0]

I wish I could give you an exact timeframe, every case varies. Longer than a month I would say, it normally takes a few months for USCIS to do anything. For example I got here on 28/08 and I am still waiting for my work authorization.

[SparklePony 238]

Once she enters the US, if she leaves without her Advanced Parole, she will not be able to re-enter the US without a new visa being issued. So, marry as soon as she enters, and apply for AOS and AP immediately after. You can request an expedite for the process, but you will need to prove why you need it (show it would cause hardship if she were to not be able to return to her country for that last semester) but there's no guarantee it will be given. I saw a post not too long ago that mentioned something like a 2-month period with the expedite. Without it, I've seen mentions of 3 months or more.

I wish I had better news. Hopefully someone else might have better things to share.

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

So if she comes on the K-1 and we get married and she goes back to finish school before getting the AP or the AOS, does that mean that we would have to complete the full i-130 process?

[Umka36 781]

Yes, you would have to start over by going through the CR1 visa.

[SparklePony 238]

Correct. All the time/money spent on the K1 visa would go to waste. AND considering you would be married and she would have to stay in her country while the new visa is processed... not a fun prospect for you, I would imagine...

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

I just read this from one of the guides:

The K-1 Visa Holder will need to apply for Advance Parole (AP) if they wish to travel outside of the US while their AOS application is being processed and not yet approved. Leaving without an approved (and in hand) AP will result in abandoning the pending AOS application and require filing for a new visa (either K-3 or IR-1/CR-1) to re-enter the US.

If she comes and we marry and she leaves without the AP, is it possible that she can get travel visas to come and visit me while she is completing her last semester of school?

[Ontarkie 14,542]

She can post pone her interview, but I would guess you want to be together for the Holidays. I think if she really wants to finish her school there that postponing the interview is the best way to do it.

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

Why is this process so inflexible and inhumane?

I spent three years going in and out of her country at will. I served my country as a Peace Corps volunteer for over two years, have waited one year for my fiancee to be able to come over and marry me. And it seems, that as my wife, she still won't be able to come visit me without first waiting for over another year. Sometimes I really hate the US government!

[SparklePony 238]

It's just the way it is.

Don't forget that she can visit you during the process (look at the "Yes, you can visit" thread). Now, I don't know how easily she can get travel visas, so that might be something to consider. However, even with a visa in hand, there is a possibility she will be denied entry in the US at Immigration, at the airport, when she mentions she is there to visit her husband. You need to factor in these things as well.

I think the suggestion to postpone her interview might be a good one. Remember that the visa is valid for six months, so it would be a matter of timing until she enters. Counting backwards from the end of her semester, that would mean an interview for March. I don't know if you can postpone it for so long, especially considering the validity of the I-129F petition, but it might be worth a shot.

[Abigail.et.Nathan 3]

I just checked. When we got approval status on August 6th, 2013 from USCIS for our 129F petition it said that the approval expires December 5th.

Our interview is December 5th. Does the USCIS expiration mean that if the visa interview cannot be postponed?

[SparklePony 238]

I confess I do not know... I know Embassies can extend the expiration dates by up to one full year, 4 months at a time, but usually that happens when either the interview has not been scheduled yet or they're waiting for something to issue the visa.

I do wish I could help you more. I hope someone else, more knowledgeable and experienced than me, comes along and adds more information. Whatever happens, do keep us posted, please.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Why is this process so inflexible and inhumane?

I spent three years going in and out of her country at will. I served my country as a Peace Corps volunteer for over two years, have waited one year for my fiancee to be able to come over and marry me. And it seems, that as my wife, she still won't be able to come visit me without first waiting for over another year. Sometimes I really hate the US government!

Before you go off the deep end perhaps she needs to rethink her schooling. Could she not wait until the second semester and return for that? Just seems to make sense to me. This way she can come now and stay until she is allowed to exit and re-enter the country.