Applying for a Green Card outside of the country?

[jah434s 0]

Hello,

My fiancee and I have just gotten engaged and we are trying to figure out what the best way of moving her to the US would be. We had been looking at marrying abroad and doing a DCF, but that system seems to be all mucked up now. Now we are looking at getting her a fiancee visa and getting married in the US. She has heard from somewhere that if she returns to her home country (Japan) after marriage and applies for a green card there, it would be quicker than staying in the US and applying. I have been searching but have found no info on this. If anyone has any clue on this, I would greatly appreciate the help!! TIA!

[meauxna 15]

Perhaps she was referring to the DCF process? It's not exactly possible to file for a 'green card' from abroad.

It is possible to apply for an Immigrant Visa abroad. When the immigrant uses that visa to enter the US, they become a Permanent Resident immediately (Green Card status).

You need to qualify what 'best' means to you. There are a lot of variables with each visa including speed to move to the US, speed to becoming a PR, speed for work authorization etc etc. It really depends on what your needs are, including where it is important for you to marry.

[jah434s 0]

Thanks for the reply! Sorry for being so vague. Basically, we probably won't be getting married until next year so waiting for the K1 isn't that big of a problem. However once we do get married, we would like for her to be able to become a permanent resident and be able to work as soon as possible. From everything I've read it seems as though DCF used to be the best way to do that, though now it is unclear. Also from what I've seen it seems to take around an average of 10 months for AOS to be approved after entering the country on a K1 visa and getting married. Does this seem accurate to you? Also, would it even be possible to do DCF, after we've gotten married in the US, if she returns to Japan? (I assume they will have gotten the problems with DCF sorted out by the time we get married). Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it!

Josh