I'm a U.S. citizen, and want to marry a woman who lives in Singapore

[mbmontana 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm a U.S. citizen who wants to marry a Filipina living in Singapore. We met on Facebook seven years ago, and have met in person twice in the past year. She plans to visit me in the U.S. in late September. We were talking about getting married next year, but her work visa in Singapore expires next May. So she's not even sure she'll be allowed to live in Singapore beyond next May. Because of that, we're thinking of speeding up the marriage process.

So my question is whether I should apply for a fiancee visa or if we should get married when she comes in September and then apply for a green card. The fiancee visa probably wouldn't be approved by September. Another question is if I decide to apply for a fiancee visa, and it's still processing when she comes in September, will she run into any problems getting into the country when she visits me in September?

Any insight would be really helpful. Thank you!

[DBWatermelon 0]

Have you not read any existing threads here? Or the internet in general? It will take 12 - 18 months to get a visa.

[mallafri76 1,012]

The fiance visa (K-1) is generally faster. Think it processes around six months at the moment. If you get married, you'll have to do the CR-1 route, which is about a years waiting time. Since you want her over to the US before her time in Singapore expires, do the K-1 visa, which you'll be able to start right now.

[mbmontana 0]

Thank you for the responses. Say I apply for the fiancee visa and it's still being processed when she visits me in September. Will she have any trouble entering the country?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Does she have a visa for the September visit?

[mbmontana 0]

She has a 10-year multiple tourist visa, good until 2024. She's allowed to stay for six months whenever she visits the U.S.

[NikLR 13,227]

Then she shouldn't have issues. She should make the trip shorter than longer and bring proof of ties to where she is living incase she is asked.

[mbmontana 0]

The plan is for her to spend a week or two here before going back to Singapore.

[NikLR 13,227]

Sounds good.