Fiance deployed during process

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Absolutely not!

All new i-129f petitions have been being sent to the "faster" service center since April. They are averaging about a month to process them (see Step 2: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical) Even if they do ever start sending them to the black hole of Texas ever again....Texas won't be all that slow. The slowness was the backlog. They've been working off the backlog since April. If they send new petitions there, there won't be any line ahead of you. You're good.

Military petitions also get expedited (after applying for the expedite) if there is a deployment on the horizon.

If you apply by the end of this month, you will be out of CSC by the end of February or sooner. Then about 2-3 months of time processing through State and the embassy. You should have your visa by the end of May.

Now, keep in mind however that this is with how things have been going up until the San Bernardino attack. No one how if or how that may affect future petitions.

But still, apply now. Your most likely scenario is that you're able to immigrate and marry a month before he deploys. Your worst case scenario is that he deploys before you have your visa. However, you can make it work. You don't need him for anything after the petition (as long as he fills out the affidavit of support that you'll need for the interview. If it looks like he'll deploy before your interview (which I sincerely doubt, personally but you never know)-- just have him send it to you right before he leaves so it is as current as possible for your interview. Then, you do all the things you need to do for the embassy alone (you'd probably do that all alone anyway), and get the visa. You then have about 6 months to use the visa (6 months from the date of your medical appointment, to be exact). He will (probably-- check this with him) get R&R during deployment. He can go back to the US during that period of time. You can meet him there, marry, and stay. You don't even have to apply for AOS until he's back from deployment (but you can). As long as you don't need to work, you're fine. And remember, this is the worst case scenario here. I believe that with your timeline, it'll be tight but you'll probably be alright. And if not, then you have some logistics to wrangle but it is all doable.

Edited to add: my timeline was all based on NO expedites, too. If he does get scheduled for a deployment, you can apply to expedite through USCIS and State/the embassy and probably make it in plenty of time.

The poster above makes a good point about being alone in a foreign country during deployment during your first year of marriage. Everyone is different, obviously, but that is something to think about.

The Army only allows for R&R to deployed personnel who are serving a 12 month Tour, they explicitly have clause for soldiers undergoing 9 month deployments, in which they need special permission from their Commander for emergency leave, and it does not fall in the obligatory R&R of a 12 month deployment.

[Pennycat 880]

The Army only allows for R&R to deployed personnel who are serving a 12 month Tour, they explicitly have clause for soldiers undergoing 9 month deployments, in which they need special permission from their Commander for emergency leave, and it does not fall in the obligatory R&R of a 12 month deployment.

Ah I see. Then the worst case scenario would be he deploys a week before she gets her visa, and she has to apply for an extension from the embassy, which they certainly would give. Then, he comes back and she meets him and they marry (or... if she feels like gambling a bit-- which I would NOT recommend), she could immigrate *before* he returns from deployment--- use up some of the 90 days waiting for him to come back. This, to me, would be far too risky.

I do believe that even a non-expedited timeframe, the way the K1s have been going, she'll still be just fine time-wise. And that she'll be able to expedite at the embassy if necessary. And the worst case scenario (visa extension) is not that bad (although it sounds like she wants to wait out the deployment married and Stateside). I really doubt that it will even come to that. OP: just try to hurry up and file!

[walran 24]

There are proxy marriages that are valid in US from Brazil and other places as well.. I don't think you have to be a resident of the states that allow those either.. You can have him go to S2 and ask for a Power of Attorney for you after you are married and then you could continue the process I am thinking??

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Proxy marriages are not valid for immigration purposes am I correct?

[walran 24]

This was interesting and might be helpful..: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/317098-proxy-marriage/

[Pitaya 2,577]

This was interesting and might be helpful..: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/317098-proxy-marriage/

I am a proponent of Roger's (Anh map) comment #2 in that four year-old thread:

Posted 28 June 2011 - 12:15 PM

Proxy marriage is a very tough path for immigration. Why not just get married and petition for a spousal visa? You can marry anywhere in the world.

YMMV.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[military-wife 9]

We are sending our package in within the next 2 weeks. We already put off our application with 4 months because we were waiting for the sale of my fiance's new house to go through so we have a definite address. (He was at a temporary base for only 3 months, so we didn't want to use a temporary address and risk mail getting sent there and get lost)

However, my fiance (stateside) is an officer in the military and might get deployed in June and go for predeployment training away from home in February.

What happens if our application is not approved by then (June)? Can we get a lawyer with power of attorney to sign things and handle the process on behalf of my Fiance in the time he is away?

How about adjusting my status? Since we will only have 90 days to get married. So if I get approved while he is away it will be a bit impossible to marry and change status.

I heard that the Texas lockbox is slow and the other one is fast. Would it help to get sent to the faster lockbox if my Fiance wrote in his cover letter that we are hoping to do get married before his deployment in June?

This news was sudden and unexpected and completely throws off our plans. Any advice will be so much appreciated.

I had a similar circumstance happen to me last year.

My husband is also in the military and was deployed in 2014 for 9 months. My then-fiance filed for K1 petition in February 2014 and he deployed two weeks later. We made sure everything was 100% accurate so we didn't get an RFE. Our petition was approved only in August 2014 - 6 months later. After that, it took a good 2 weeks to get packet 3. I then purposely delayed sending out response for packet 3 (It did take time for me to get all my paperwork together and background checks) because I knew my then fiance would not be back from deployment until november to late december. I only sent the package in December when I was ready and sure he would be back. So basically I made sure it was within the 4 months time frame (It was a week before petition expired). I made sure to send out an email to embassy to explain them my situation, and they understood completely. I had no problem whatsoever. I have heard that you could even request an extension.

Depending on where you are located and how busy your embassy is, scheduling an interview is sometimes 1 to 2 month wait. Then once you are approved at the interview, it takes 1-2 weeks before you get back your passport with the visa in it. The visa itself is valid for 6 months, and you must enter the U.S. before the expiration date.

Just so you know - I only entered the U.S. in May - 3 months after I was approved, because I had job responsibilities and wanted to save extra money before the move (I also had to pack!).

If he is deploying in June, then he should be back around March, at latest April. However, expect that your fiance's orders are going to change! Nothing is permanent and often times they change dates.

In my opinion, you won't be able to get married until 2017 because of his training and 9 month deployment. K-1 petitions can be approved fast but more often it takes at least 4-6 months, some even more 9-12 months! Then after that expect an extra 2 months (packet 3-4, background check, medical exam, interview, sending back passport).

[Mena28 35]

If it is a year before you can be together in the States anyways, why not do spousal visa? Saves you having to do the AOS process in the States, and instead of having to wait for your EAD to be processed before you can work (K-1), you can work right away (IR-1/ Cr-1). With a military spouse who might be gone a lot, not being able to work at all might suck even more than with a spouse who comes home every day at night.

Personally, not being able to work is bothering me way more than I ever thought it would (I came on a K-1).

Good luck!

[Lands55 0]

My then-fiance, now husband, was given year long deployment orders the day we were going to send in our package. What we ended up doing was delaying the process so that my visa was approved and in hand by the time he returned. I didn't want to be uprooted and spend the first year of our marriage in a foreign country by myself and trust me, if you have the choice to spend his deployment surrounded by family and friends in your home, I would suggest doing it.

Just my two cents worth.

Thanks for your input

I've been living in South Korea for the past 4 years (that's where we met) and there is almost 0 to no English over here. I managed to make friends and live a normal life, so I'm sure the U.S where people at least speak English would be a little easier to manage. But I do get what you're saying.

We are discussing our options at the moment.

[Lands55 0]

Absolutely not!

All new i-129f petitions have been being sent to the "faster" service center since April. They are averaging about a month to process them (see Step 2: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical) Even if they do ever start sending them to the black hole of Texas ever again....Texas won't be all that slow. The slowness was the backlog. They've been working off the backlog since April. If they send new petitions there, there won't be any line ahead of you. You're good.

Military petitions also get expedited (after applying for the expedite) if there is a deployment on the horizon.

If you apply by the end of this month, you will be out of CSC by the end of February or sooner. Then about 2-3 months of time processing through State and the embassy. You should have your visa by the end of May.

Now, keep in mind however that this is with how things have been going up until the San Bernardino attack. No one how if or how that may affect future petitions.

But still, apply now. Your most likely scenario is that you're able to immigrate and marry a month before he deploys. Your worst case scenario is that he deploys before you have your visa. However, you can make it work. You don't need him for anything after the petition (as long as he fills out the affidavit of support that you'll need for the interview. If it looks like he'll deploy before your interview (which I sincerely doubt, personally but you never know)-- just have him send it to you right before he leaves so it is as current as possible for your interview. Then, you do all the things you need to do for the embassy alone (you'd probably do that all alone anyway), and get the visa. You then have about 6 months to use the visa (6 months from the date of your medical appointment, to be exact). He will (probably-- check this with him) get R&R during deployment. He can go back to the US during that period of time. You can meet him there, marry, and stay. You don't even have to apply for AOS until he's back from deployment (but you can). As long as you don't need to work, you're fine. And remember, this is the worst case scenario here. I believe that with your timeline, it'll be tight but you'll probably be alright. And if not, then you have some logistics to wrangle but it is all doable.

Edited to add: my timeline was all based on NO expedites, too. If he does get scheduled for a deployment, you can apply to expedite through USCIS and State/the embassy and probably make it in plenty of time.

The poster above makes a good point about being alone in a foreign country during deployment during your first year of marriage. Everyone is different, obviously, but that is something to think about.

Thank you so much for this very helpful information.

We are definitely trying to look at this from all angles and possibilities.

[Lands55 0]

Thank you all,

We are considering all our options.

Right now, I am still living in South Korea and will be back in South Africa in March. So the earliest we can even consider the Cr-1 / K3 path would be April.

Thank you for all the advice and input. We are still looking at what our options are within the next few days while my side of the package is on it's way to the U.S. We will make a decision soon and file as soon as possible.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Lands55

[Lee&Ana 88]

Do the spouse visa. It will be almost $1,100 cheaper because you won't need to do AOS. It takes longer and by the time your deployment is up, the petition will be approved and you won't have to worry about visas and deadlines etc.

[Lands55 0]

I should probably start a new topic for my next question, but if we go the Cr-1 / K3 road I have a question regarding my Police Background Certificates.
I need one from every country I have lived in for more than 6 months. So that would be South Africa and South Korea. I can get the South Korean check in January before I leave in February, but that means it will have expired by June/July since it is only valid for 6 months. However, since I will not be in Korea anymore after February, will the background check stay valid since it's kind of impossible to commit crimes after leaving the country, right?

How long will the background check be valid for then, or would I need to fly back to Korea at a later stage to get a new background check after this one expires? I hope I make sense.

SA is not a problem, I can get a new one done before my current one expires (I got it all done to be ready for the K1, but now we are considering the Cr-1 route so it will be expired in a couple of months.

[tarzan31 27]

So basically you're telling me we are screwed and there is no point in submitting our documents now.

Deployment will be for 9 months.

Current state is Savannah

Branch - Army (aviation)

Not true. File the I-129F now, once he gets orders, you file for expedite due to the orders .