Marry my Girlfriend in other country first?? Faster? Better?

[KevinB 0]

I am a newbie on here so please bare with me on some of my questions. My proposed spouse is from the Dominican Republic. We definitely want to marry one another, but I want to make sure what ever we do, we do it correctly so I can ultimately get her here with me to the USA (New York). I am a US Citizen and born in the USA. She is Dominican (woman), never married before and has a child. She's 23 yrs, and I'm 33 yrs. We met during my visits from the US to the Dominican Republic, as I am a professional baseball agent to contracts business in the DR. One of my baseball players introduced me to her. We have fallen in love, and I want her to live/marry with me here in New York. She wants to come over first and then after she gets here, we'll petition for her son to come (he's 6 yrs old). I heard that the wait for K-1 or K-3 Visas for the Dominican Republic can be 1 1/2 to 2 yrs (possibly longer....wow!). BUT I also have heard that there may be a 'loop hole', if my girlfriend and I were to marry in ANOTHER country (that she can travel to without a visa) and then apply for the K-3 (or K-1), but I think it's the K-3 then I heard that the approval process could be ~6 months! Is there any truth to this?? Do you know what countries we can marry in? Is there any risks to not get approved if we do this (e.g. the consul we expect fraud or something)??

She currently has an appointment with the Consul on Feb. 7th for a non-immigrant Visitor Visa - but we were thinking of canceling this appointment, as we are concerned that they will not approve the visitors visa to the USA because they will be afraid she will never return to the Dominican Republic, even though she owns a car, owns her own Beauty Salon and successful business, and has significant funds in her bank account + not to mention she has a son in the DR to come back to. The thought is that because she is so young (only 23) that the consul may not even want to look at her evidence (Car Title, Business Ownership Proof, Bank Account balance, etc)? Should we cancel this appointment, as I'm worried that if she does get denied, it will hurt our chances of filing a K-1 and/or K-3 as we know this is a much longer wait? Currently she has never in her life applied for a Visa so I want to make sure that when we do it, we do it correctly.

Thanks in advance!

[wissooner 0]

Well, first of all, I don't think a k-1 or k-3 visa would be endangered by a denied tourist visa, two different kinds of visas. I do think that she might have trouble getting a tourist visa in spite of her ties to home. I suspect that DR is a high fraud country and that it would be very difficult for her to get a visa. I could be wrong.

Second of all, I do not know of any such 'loophole' you refered to. Maybe somebody else does, but I don't.

[Chris-n-Veronica 0]

I am a newbie on here so please bare with me on some of my questions. My proposed spouse is from the Dominican Republic. We definitely want to marry one another, but I want to make sure what ever we do, we do it correctly so I can ultimately get her here with me to the USA (New York). I am a US Citizen and born in the USA. She is Dominican (woman), never married before and has a child. She's 23 yrs, and I'm 33 yrs. We met during my visits from the US to the Dominican Republic, as I am a professional baseball agent to contracts business in the DR. One of my baseball players introduced me to her. We have fallen in love, and I want her to live/marry with me here in New York. She wants to come over first and then after she gets here, we'll petition for her son to come (he's 6 yrs old). I heard that the wait for K-1 or K-3 Visas for the Dominican Republic can be 1 1/2 to 2 yrs (possibly longer....wow!). BUT I also have heard that there may be a 'loop hole', if my girlfriend and I were to marry in ANOTHER country (that she can travel to without a visa) and then apply for the K-3 (or K-1), but I think it's the K-3 then I heard that the approval process could be ~6 months! Is there any truth to this?? Do you know what countries we can marry in? Is there any risks to not get approved if we do this (e.g. the consul we expect fraud or something)??

She currently has an appointment with the Consul on Feb. 7th for a non-immigrant Visitor Visa - but we were thinking of canceling this appointment, as we are concerned that they will not approve the visitors visa to the USA because they will be afraid she will never return to the Dominican Republic, even though she owns a car, owns her own Beauty Salon and successful business, and has significant funds in her bank account + not to mention she has a son in the DR to come back to. The thought is that because she is so young (only 23) that the consul may not even want to look at her evidence (Car Title, Business Ownership Proof, Bank Account balance, etc)? Should we cancel this appointment, as I'm worried that if she does get denied, it will hurt our chances of filing a K-1 and/or K-3 as we know this is a much longer wait? Currently she has never in her life applied for a Visa so I want to make sure that when we do it, we do it correctly.

Thanks in advance!

As the timelines show....a K1 is faster then a K3 ..So it's best to bring the fiancee over on a Fiancee Visa..

Loop-hole ???? if there was one...it wouldn't be a loop-hole anymore because everyone would do it...so it would be a normal process...Speaking of that... You need to get started...no matter what you do..the process takes time.. unless you live in a part of the country that lets you send the I-129F to Vermont..because generally they are faster but it's all a ####### shoot..

Figure this for your times.... if it goes to anyplace other then Vermont...

70-80 days for NOA2 Approval.. "Mine took 82 days"

Another 15-30 days to get through NVC and to your consulate.."Mine took 17 days"

Figure another 7 to 14 days for packet 3 "Mine took 15 days due to holidays"

Give yourself time to fill it out.. 7-14 days give or take.. "I'm working on mine..but I also have to wait for W2's"

Sending back 7 days...

Now here is where it gets weird..some consulates are fast in setting interviews within two weeks,,,Some like Manila take months.. So depending on your consulate..your interview can be as close as two weeks or as far out as 3 months..maybe more..

So as other will tell ya... Get your I-129F sent in...so you can get started on this Visa Journey...take up a hobby or two..find ways to talk to your fiancee often..I talk to mine twice a day...using either a phone card..or a another Co. that bills me monthly and I even use Yahoo messenger to talk to her.. and relax....

I'm trying to be as honest as I can here...there really isn't any short cuts.... if there was don't you think all these Attorneys would know it and be advertising it ?? .. It does build your love...with patients..understand...and strenght....

Good Luck!

[KevinB 0]

I live in the state of New York, so according to the I-129F form I just read it will be sent to Vermont. I dowloaded the form and I'm filling it out right now. I plan on sending it out in tomorrow's mail. It looks like I might catch a break on getting the documents timely to the consulate. However, I have heard nightmares that the Dominican Republic (where my love is from) is a high fraud country and has a huge backlog of K-1 Visa requests and it could take 1 1/2 - 2 years for the whole process. Talk about testing our love ;-) Obviously I'm willing to do this but faster is always better. But like you said if it were easy lawyers that do immigration would be out of business. But it always doesn't hurt to read good message boards like this one and a few others I found in my search this weekend and do some good reading of other folks experiences that might be similar to the journey I'm about to take on. Looks like a long ride....I better fasten my seatbelt and be very patient. I wish there were faster ways. But it looks like the K-1 is the way to go

[Chris-n-Veronica 0]

I live in the state of New York, so according to the I-129F form I just read it will be sent to Vermont. I dowloaded the form and I'm filling it out right now. I plan on sending it out in tomorrow's mail. It looks like I might catch a break on getting the documents timely to the consulate. However, I have heard nightmares that the Dominican Republic (where my love is from) is a high fraud country and has a huge backlog of K-1 Visa requests and it could take 1 1/2 - 2 years for the whole process. Talk about testing our love ;-) Obviously I'm willing to do this but faster is always better. But like you said if it were easy lawyers that do immigration would be out of business. But it always doesn't hurt to read good message boards like this one and a few others I found in my search this weekend and do some good reading of other folks experiences that might be similar to the journey I'm about to take on. Looks like a long ride....I better fasten my seatbelt and be very patient. I wish there were faster ways. But it looks like the K-1 is the way to go

You couldn't have found a better board for Visa help...the people are great!!! and there is always somebody here that has gone through your consulate.. Check the timelines for others that have use the same consulate...

Vermont is your first lucky break.. not always but I'd say 80-90% of the Vermont Approvals(NOA2) are done within 30 days..

Well you can always visit your fiancee as your job amd money lets you.....

Follow the guidelines about under "Guides" there are things you need to do before you file your I-129F like make copies...

and some people have got RFE's(Request for more evidence) if they didn't include the Fiancee's Birth Cert. also...I didn't do it and was ok...but some got a RFE and this seems to hold up the process by at least a month... best thing is to read the Guides above...for K-1 ...

[LarryC 0]

Looking at the Embassy lead times for K1's Vs K3;s for the DR it is hard to give advice, the one thing that I have heard was that it is easier to bring children into the US with the I-129f. That is the path that I am taking.

As someone else new to the process I can tell you that there is a ton of information on this site, and lots of "regular people" that have worked and done the same thing that we are working to do, get a loved one to be able to marry and live with us in the US. I would suggest reading the Embassy and timeline information, then pick through forums for people in similar situations - of course there is something to be said for getting started. at best the process takes a while.

Good Luck !

LarryC

[bora bora 1]

As far as tourist visas I MUST say this - many times the foreign fiance applies for a tourist visa (from any country) and will check on the application that they do NOT have a fiance in the U.S. because they think if they say yes the consulate will think they're planning on staying permanently. This makes sense. However, if the visa is denied and the then later they apply for a fiance visa a red flag may appear because the consular will see that they DID have a fiance at the time they applied for the tourist visa and they were lying.

I'm NOT saying that the foreign fiance had any intention of doing so - I haven't met a person who wanted to...however...

If the consular suspects immigration fraud there can be problems.

Good luck.

[Chris-n-Veronica 0]

As the timelines show....a K1 is faster then a K3 ..So it's best to bring the fiancee over on a Fiancee Visa..

Loop-hole ???? if there was one...it wouldn't be a loop-hole anymore because everyone would do it...so it would be a normal process...

No offense Chris but you have no idea how much different the process is in the DR than elswhere in the world. First of all, the K1 is NOT always faster and if he does this he may be very upset that he did. The wait just for an interview date in the DR is 20-24 months. That is not counting the wait at the USCIS which even in Vermont has been taking longer than usual. the days of one week approvals are gone.

The "loop hole" Kevin is talking about is one I recently found myself and I believe only in the case of the DR would it benefit anyone because of the long wait for an interview. The I-129F instructions state this:

The LIFE Act requires applicants to apply for a K-3 visa in the country where their marriage to the U.S. citizenpetitioner occurred. Petitioners should make sure to identify the appropriate consulate, in the same country where they married the alien for whom they are petitioning,in block 20 to avoid lengthy delays. In the event thepetitioner and alien were married in the United States, theyshould list the country of the alien's current residence. SeeU.S. Department of State regulations at 21 CFR 41.81.

In Kevin's case, if he marries his GF in a country that has a short processing time for K3 interviews, he will save not months, but YEARS of waiting. Listening to this advice could cost him those years. I sincerely hope he reads this before he sends in a K1 I-129F.

Take it from someone who recently waited 20 months for my spouse to get here nd runs a message board dedicated ONLY to DR immigration with 3 million hits per month, Kevin, you need to consider other options. I know you don't want to believe any of us when we tell you it will take 2 years, but trust me, we have had people who insisted they would somehow circumvent the system, and NONE of them have.

Yes I stand corected..to the point after it leaves the States...This is the Unknown varable I was trying to explain using the one source I did know and that was Manila... but then they are only about a 3 month wait... So yes you have alot more knowledge when it come to your Consulate... that is also the reason I kept insisting he look up the timelines for his consulate....

Thanks for your input...it all helps..!! and OMG 20-24 month wait....I'd be checking air fare rates... LOL

[KevinB 0]

I'm checking airfair for the countries that the my girlfriend in the DR can travel too right now. It looks like it's tough to fly from the DR to Mexico. I was trying to find either DR to Cancun, Mexico or DR to Cozumel, Mexico flights. As those cities are easy to get to from the USA via plane for me.

Any ideas? Here are the countries that I found that someone from the DR can travel to without a Visa

Countries with which Dominican Republic has agreements FOR DIPLOMATS and Government Officers to Travel without Visa:

Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated. I'd personally prefer a country closer to the USA and/or the DR as opposed to having to fly to Asia Pacific or the Middle East

[payxibka 10,047]

I am sure others will comment but I am not sure Mexico would be a speedy option. Speedier than DR possibly but not all that speedy.

Here is a website I find helpful for visa requirements. Put in DR as her country of citizenship and then select various countries for destinations and it will tell you what is required. Once you get some "hits" then check the individual country for marriage requirements & consulate processing times. For example, a DR resident does not need a tourist visa in Argentina. With that said then you need to verify the marriage procedure in Argentina, etc.....

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp

Edited January 15, 2007 by fwaguy