K-3 visa for a honduran citizen: how long is it valid?

[motoperpetuo 3]

my wife is a honduran citizen. she is two months pregnant. she will probably get her k-3 visa sometime in the next month or two. i'm unsure whether i'll be able to get medical coverage for her here in the US, so i'm thinking of moving to honduras for a year or so to be with her there until a few months after the baby is born. then, hopefully, i'll be able to bring the whole family to the US. does anyone know if her k-3 visa will still be valid a year after being issued? how long after being issued are they usually valid, and can that time be extended somehow?

also, does anyone know what the procedure would be to get a visa for the baby too?

[Alaska2012 462]

The baby won't need a visa, he or she will be a us citizen even if born abroad. You just have to register the baby's birth at the embassy with all the necessary paperwork

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

You are sure you are on the K3 visa path, and not the CR-1 spousal visa? It is extremely unusual to get a K3 visa these days.

[motoperpetuo 3]

You are sure you are on the K3 visa path, and not the CR-1 spousal visa? It is extremely unusual to get a K3 visa these days.

well, i submitted an I-129F "Petition for Alien Fiancee." thought that was for a K-3, but maybe it's a CR-1 she'll get after her interview at the embassy. not sure, to be honest.

[Alaska2012 462]

You have a pending form I-130 right?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

If you fill out your timeline, it would help us advise you better, as for your question, it will matter a lot whether you get the CR-1 or the K3 (the latter is unlikely).

How close to an interview are you? If you are still at NVC stage, you can delay there for several months, and again before getting the interview, and then your wife has 6 months to use the visa. On the other hand, if you have an interview scheduled for soon, it may be best to get the visa asap, move to the USA for a few months, then get a re-entry permit and move back to Honduras for the birth.

[motoperpetuo 3]

You have a pending form I-130 right?

Actually I got a notice, an I-797, dated November 3, 2015 that our I130 has been approved. I also got another I-797 dated the same day saying that our I129F has been approved, if that makes sense. The first notice says that "the NVC will contact the person for whom you are petitioning (beneficiary) concerning further immigrant visa processing steps." So my wife hasn't heard anything, but supposedly the US embassy in Honduras is notorious for dragging its feet or never contacting at all. I'm thinking of trying to contact them, and if that doesn't work, writing my congressman's office.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Actually I got a notice, an I-797, dated November 3, 2015 that our I130 has been approved. I also got another I-797 dated the same day saying that our I129F has been approved, if that makes sense. The first notice says that "the NVC will contact the person for whom you are petitioning (beneficiary) concerning further immigrant visa processing steps." So my wife hasn't heard anything, but supposedly the US embassy in Honduras is notorious for dragging its feet or never contacting at all. I'm thinking of trying to contact them, and if that doesn't work, writing my congressman's office.

It's a matter of left hand not knowing what right hand did. Different people approved the I-130 and I-129f at the same time. Under their rules, the approved I-130 superced the approved I-129f. You will complete the CR-1 route rather than the K-3 route.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Agreed, you are at NVC stage and they will administratively close your K3 path and force you to get the CR-1, which is one entry.

[Darnell 8,478]

if she gets a K-3 visa - on interview day,

then there is a VALIDITY for usage of 6 months from the medical exam.

Once she's in the USA, she gets an I-94 that 's good for 2 years.

After she's in the USA, she can come and go on that ENDORSED VISA for 2 years.

if she gets a CR-1 visa - on interview day,

then there is a VALIDITY for usage of 6 months from the medical exam.

Once she's in the USA, she has a temp I-551 document that's good for one year.

After she's in the USA, she can come and go on that endorsed VISA for 1 year.

HTH !

[Darnell 8,478]

Actually I got a notice, an I-797, dated November 3, 2015 that our I130 has been approved. I also got another I-797 dated the same day saying that our I129F has been approved, if that makes sense. The first notice says that "the NVC will contact the person for whom you are petitioning (beneficiary) concerning further immigrant visa processing steps." So my wife hasn't heard anything, but supposedly the US embassy in Honduras is notorious for dragging its feet or never contacting at all. I'm thinking of trying to contact them, and if that doesn't work, writing my congressman's office.

eh - that sounds plausible, but not probable,

as

the basis for pursuing, and getting, a K-3 visa, an unapproved I-130, doesn't exist anymore.

The National Visa Center will see both approved petitions once the casefile is physically opened at NVC, and administratively close the approved I-129F. They do this often, with a high rate of closing.

So, lets assume instead, that you two are on the CR-1/IR-1 visa path. You should open a calendar book, forecasting 5 to 6 months of time at NVC, another 2 months past that to the interview date, and balance the childbirth date in there somewhere.

Remember, you can 'go slow' at NVC as well, as NVC gives you 1 year per thing to get it in [there are 2 things, so thats 2 years] - just in case you need to change up your plans a bit.