Need advice on which visa to file for

[Fallensoul289 0]

Okay let me start off by saying I'm an active duty service member who plans to get married to a japanese foreign national. I have a security clearance so the army is already doing a background check on my wife to be. We hope by November when I take leave to get married when she visits me and then her go back to japan and I file for a spouse visa. I'm curious as if there is any other visa that takes less and also she has a 2 year old son she will be bringing to America with her. What would I need to file for him? I also might get deployed between the end of December and march so us want to know if there is a way she can adjust status and go back to japan if I deploy as she wouldn't be able to drive or do anything here. I've looked at the websites and I even called the UCIS and they told me I can file I-130 and then when I get a confirmation letter to file for I-129F and include the confirmation letter and put her son down on it so she can get a K3 visa for her and a K4 visa for him. But the lady told me she would have to file an I-797 but she would have to do it here in America which makes no sense. If I'm waiting for a visa so she can get here how could she file a I-797 if she doesn't have a visa to be here? Answers are appreciated.

[Boiler 45,735]

Forget the K3, effectively dead.

Quickest would K1 and 2, Fiancee, you could file that now.

[Fallensoul289 0]

I don't plan on doing a fiancé visa. She's just going to visit me in America on tourist visa and we get married and she returns home.

[apple21 953]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Shauneg 762]

Okay let me start off by saying I'm an active duty service member who plans to get married to a japanese foreign national. I have a security clearance so the army is already doing a background check on my wife to be. We hope by November when I take leave to get married when she visits me and then her go back to japan and I file for a spouse visa. I'm curious as if there is any other visa that takes less and also she has a 2 year old son she will be bringing to America with her. What would I need to file for him? I also might get deployed between the end of December and march so us want to know if there is a way she can adjust status and go back to japan if I deploy as she wouldn't be able to drive or do anything here. I've looked at the websites and I even called the UCIS and they told me I can file I-130 and then when I get a confirmation letter to file for I-129F and include the confirmation letter and put her son down on it so she can get a K3 visa for her and a K4 visa for him. But the lady told me she would have to file an I-797 but she would have to do it here in America which makes no sense. If I'm waiting for a visa so she can get here how could she file a and I-797 if she doesn't have a visa to be here? Answers are appreciated.

First of all if you file for a K-3 you are filing for a visa, you are filing to have a spouse come here to wait on the green card process. You have to already filed a 130. The 130 time is less the the k-3 process so it's a waste of time to even try. You can try a K-1 fiance visa and get her here the fastest. You can request an expedite to your upcoming deployment and she could be here in August if it was approved. In order to expedite you have to have deployment orders or a signed letter from your commander saying you are tasked to deploy (that's what I had). When she gets here she'd have to file for a green card which takes six months, in the meantime she can file for advanced parole so that she may leave the country while waiting on the green card. Neither the green card or advanced parole is permission to leave as you are asking. She can go visit for short trips or for a month or so, not for three months or more like you're asking.

A marriage visa, CR-1, in your case takes 8 to 12 months but she will have a green card basically when she gets here. Its longer but a cheaper process. This might be the best bet with your possible deployment.

I am also military and mulled the options and proceeded with a K-1, I did expedition and was approved. My deployement, however, was nixed and we slowed the process down on our own to ensure we did things correctly and didn't make any mistakes.

So many variables and processes to choose from..... you really have to decide what's best in your case. Maybe look at the guides at the top and study timelines to get a good feel of which way you want to go.

[Fallensoul289 0]

@shauneg

Thanks for the info. She doesn't want to be in america while I deploy, she wants to be able to go back home and come back right before I come back. I'm not sure how long I will deploy for if I do deploy since I'll be on standby waiting for the call to go. It's a 105 day cycle so I'm just trying to see the best way to do this because she wants to come here but I don't want her to be trapped here while I'm gone and not be able to drive or get the things she needs for my step son. You wouldn't happen to know what else I need to do so her son can come with her would you? Feel free to PM me. Thanks.

[apple21 953]

You file an i130 for wife. You file a separate i130 for step-son. 2 separate payments as well.

[apple21 953]

Spouse: http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/spouse/bringing-spouses-live-united-states-permanent-residents

Step-son: http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/children/bringing-children-sons-and-daughters-live-united-states-permanent-residents

[Shauneg 762]

@shauneg

Thanks for the info. She doesn't want to be in america while I deploy, she wants to be able to go back home and come back right before I come back. I'm not sure how long I will deploy for if I do deploy since I'll be on standby waiting for the call to go. It's a 105 day cycle so I'm just trying to see the best way to do this because she wants to come here but I don't want her to be trapped here while I'm gone and not be able to drive or get the things she needs for my step son. You wouldn't happen to know what else I need to do so her son can come with her would you? Feel free to PM me. Thanks.

Well between me typing and posting you stated you want to get married and go that route. It seems best in your situation as you'll be done roughly next spring to early summer. When you file for her, you must also file a I-130 for the child at the same time if you want them to come together. You have to pay two fees as they are technically seperate petitions. I'm not keen on all the details of this route as I'm K-1 so I don't want to lead you astray and misinform, I can only guide you to the experts and the forums. Trust me, the people here know what they're talking about.

They only reason why I chose K1 and wanted my fiancee here with my children while I left is because we've been together for nearly 5 years and lived together almost a year overseas, so there wasn't going to be much family adjusting for us. It would have also prevented my kids from having to move out of state. That's a whole different story though...not for here.

[Boiler 45,735]

How long will your deployment be?

[Fallensoul289 0]

@boiler

No idea man. My unit just is finishing changing to become an expeditionary unit and it's the first of it's kind. Since I'm at Bragg the whole world is our AO. So it could be for a few months, could be for a year because we don't deploy as a whole unit just as teams so we will end up being attached to another unit. Since my team is the first one up I don't really think we'll get a call but you never know. Also I'm an intel soldier so we don't really do grunt stuff. Just trying to get all my ducks in a row.

[Shauneg 762]

@boiler

No idea man. My unit just is finishing changing to become an expeditionary unit and it's the first of it's kind. Since I'm at Bragg the whole world is our AO. So it could be for a few months, could be for a year because we don't deploy as a whole unit just as teams so we will end up being attached to another unit. Since my team is the first one up I don't really think we'll get a call but you never know. Also I'm an intel soldier so we don't really do grunt stuff. Just trying to get all my ducks in a row.

You have play room with the time frame of the visa process, it's not a rigid schedule. You can always slow the process down any number of ways....hard to speed it up though.

Fort Bragg. Fun.

[Boiler 45,735]

I guess you are just going to have to wing it. She has 6 months once the visa is in hand.

[Fallensoul289 0]

Can't complain about bragg I have a unit who's leaders care about their joes so it's not that bad. Just glad I'm not in the 82nd. Their lives are hell.