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[MikeF29 0]

i'm a US citizen, my fiancee' is an Australian

citizen. We plan to get married and her move

here and become a US citizen.

We had planned on getting married in

Fiji but it looks like this would add unnecessary

complications.

Any advice or suggestions on the smoothest

path to our goal ?

Mike

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Welcome!

Get married wherever you want- it's fine to get married in Fiji, she can still attend interview in whichever country she is currently legally resident in.

BTW, just a note on terminology- first, you will petition her, then she applies for a visa, later she gets a visa and only several years down the line can she apply for naturalisation to become a US citizen.

[MikeF29 0]

Thank you for clearing that up. Obviously i'm new

and need to learn the correct terminology.

Now another question, the first of many i

suspect.

Better to get married and get her here as

a spouse, or to not get married and bring her

here as a fiancee' ?

Mike

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Welcome to the forum, Mike! Click the link for the "What Visa Do I Need" forum and compare the appeal and drawbacks of each.

[bigdog 376]

Welcome to VJ.

[Zedayn 485]

Thank you for clearing that up. Obviously i'm new

and need to learn the correct terminology.

Now another question, the first of many i

suspect.

Better to get married and get her here as

a spouse, or to not get married and bring her

here as a fiancee' ?

Mike

It depends on what you consider "better". Which is better: bring her here to the US as a fiancee on a K-1 visa, or bring her here to the US as a spouse on a CR-1 visa?

Do you want her to be able to work right away? Do you want to be with her in the US the quickest? Do you want to spend the least amount of money on the process? Here is a quick rundown of the differences between the 2:

K-1 (fiance) Visa:

• Usually much quicker than CR-1. You can be together quicker usually.
• Costs a bit more than CR-1.
• Your fiance cannot work immediately, will usually have to wait 2 to 3 months AFTER you file adjustment of status
• You still need to file adjustment of status after she comes here

CR-1 (spouse) Visa:

• Usually takes a while to process. You will be married living apart for a long while.
• Is cheaper than the K-1.
• Your spouse will pretty much be able to work right away.
• You do not need to file any more paperwork for about 2 years, she will receive her green card shortly after arrival.

This link will give you a good comparison as well between the 2: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[MikeF29 0]

Thank you all. For us i think the IR-1/CR-1 is the way to go.

There are commitments there that will not let her move here

for 18-24 months anyway. She very much wants to be able to

work as soon as possible after her arrival.

Current plan, get married in Fiji in September, then back to

the US for me and Australia for her.

Comments or suggestions ?

Mike

[jkelly07 120]

welcome to the forum

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

[MikeF29 0]

Another silly question. Where do we start ?

What sort of documentation do we need ?

What should we start doing now ?

We currently plan to marry in Fiji this fall and

return to our respective countries.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

You will need things like birth certs (and translations of same if not in english).

We have a Guide here that explains what documents are eeded at which stage: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Novembro 1,763]

Welcome and good luck! There is so much good information available here, use it to your advantage!

[MikeF29 0]

Does anyone here have personal experience of

marrying in a 3rd country and then getting their

spouse here ?

Ideally an Australian and a US citizen. My

fiancee' and i are getting conflicting information.

Some say that USCIS looks askance at 3rd

country marriages and that doing so will make

our journey more difficult.

If that has been part of your journey please

tell me about it.

Mike

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Many people have destination weddings, it is not unusual.

You may want to start a se;parate thread about this either in the spousal visa forum: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/110-ir-1-cr-1-spouse-visa-process-procedures/%C2'>

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Marrying in a third country makes no difference. If you are reading that, you might be reading extremely outdated information about a K-3 visa, an obsolete type.