Another question

[wissooner 0]

Stumpjumper - what state are you getting your divorce in?...

[Stumpjumper 0]

Stumpjumper - what state are you getting your divorce in?...

I live in Michigan, thanks for all the replies.

[TracyTN 237]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

[Stumpjumper 0]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

Well Ill be legally divorced in 2 months, but michigan law says I cannot remarry for 6 months after. If I went to vegas and was married would it be legal?

[Turboguy 6]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

Even if the Lawyer doesn't make mistakes which they seem to do often it will take longer. You are adding a link to the chain. A chain with an extra link can not be shorter than it was. Instead of sending things in, you send them to the attorney, he has questions you answer, it sits on his desk till he gets to it and eventually sends it in. Plus you are out of the loop. Communication goes to him. I had a friend apply using an attorney when I did my first K-1. Through NOA-2 I picked up 4 weeks on him and he had and RFE and I did not. (His attorney forgot to include his birth certificate)

[Stumpjumper 0]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

Even if the Lawyer doesn't make mistakes which they seem to do often it will take longer. You are adding a link to the chain. A chain with an extra link can not be shorter than it was. Instead of sending things in, you send them to the attorney, he has questions you answer, it sits on his desk till he gets to it and eventually sends it in. Plus you are out of the loop. Communication goes to him. I had a friend apply using an attorney when I did my first K-1. Through NOA-2 I picked up 4 weeks on him and he had and RFE and I did not. (His attorney forgot to include his birth certificate)

But do they take you more seriously if you have an attorney backing you? Better chance for success?

[DakotaK1 1]

uffffff

That's kinda what I thought.

So what is the average wait time to get the approval, using a K1 Visa attorney? I was looking at the graphs and it looked like 4 months, but I see others 9 month long timelines...

A Visa attorney wont help you speed your case,all they do is check it for mistakes that would save you from an RFE. My Fiance and I wanted to do our papers over an attorney also,but we then got to find out that it basicly is a waste of money and that we could get the info ourselves and do it ourselves.

This Site here is great on finding all the Info you need on the K1 Visa,just flick though the pages and you will learn as you go.

[TracyTN 237]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

Well Ill be legally divorced in 2 months, but michigan law says I cannot remarry for 6 months after. If I went to vegas and was married would it be legal?

I'm not sure what part of Kit Kat's post was unclear, but I'll bold the part that seems salient to me.

Edited April 2, 2007 by TracyTN

[payxibka 10,045]

BTW, using a "K1 visa attorney" won't change anything in terms of how long your approval takes. In fact, it could take longer since attorneys make mistakes.

Simply read the I-129F instructions:

7. What Documents Do You Need toProve That You Can Legally Marry?

C. If either you or your fiancé(e) were married before,give copies of documents showing that each priormarriage was legally terminated.

Therefore, your marriage must be legally terminated, according to the laws in your state, before you file.

Hate to break it to you, but Kit Kat is right (including the bit about an attorney).

Well Ill be legally divorced in 2 months, but michigan law says I cannot remarry for 6 months after. If I went to vegas and was married would it be legal?

I'm not sure what part of Kit Kat's post was unclear, but I'll bold the part that seems salient to me.

Just going to play devil's advocate here... Is the marriage legally terminated before or after the "6 month cooling off period"? In other words, is there any action that can occur during this period that will render the marriage termination order invalid?

[etripke 0]

We are trying to get an idea on how soon we will be together. My divorce will be final in 2 months, but the law here is I can't marry again for 6 months after.

Do we have to wait that whole 6 months before filing or can we file as long as I am legally divorced?

The plan was that we would file and she would come here 60 days before my 6 months was up that way we could get married within 30 days after.

Maybe thats not real great either if we have to worry about the time it takes to get approved for marriage licenses?

We just want to be together really bad, this wait sure sucks.

Trust me I feel your pain. Wisconsin has the same archaic law. We are a Marital Property state, a divorce can take years to finish, and a state that rarely if ever enforces crimes against a marriage like adultry etc. But this is one that has been on the books forever, and it is made clear at the final hearing that if you marry within the 6 months (not 180 days but the 6 months) that marriage is "null and void" under Wisconsin law. The judge made it clear that any marriage performed 'anywhere in the world" would be null and void in Wisconsin if it is performed within the 6 month time constraint. You need to check your appropriate State Statute to see if this is the case, because if it is, you can't do the "honeymoon in Vegas" routine within the 6 month time period.

My initial thought about the waiting period was that "Hey I can file, because it will be over six months or close to it for processing" Then I figured that I could possibly get by within the 90 days of my fiancee's arrival if we were within the 6 months once she arrived. I think that would have worked but....nope it will not. I found the corresponding rule in the Foreign services manual which clearly states that any FSO or Consular Officer that determines that either the petitioner or beneficiary were not free to legally marry "at the time the petition was filed" SHALL <-----meaning they MUST, deny the visa and return the petition back to NVC and the USCIS.

Now, I have heard of others slipping through the cracks on this, but at the risk of having a denial, and then having to re-apply all over again (which will no doubt raise some flags the second time around) it just is not worth it. In your statement of intent to marry you are also saying at that time that you are legally free to marry as of the date on that statement. You would be providing false information otherwise.

It really is tough to see that aspect of the process, and it has been a long 6 months for my fiancee and I. But, next week Tuesday April 10th, I can legally marry and the petition will be sent over night to Nebraska. In some respects the months that have passed, and my lurking here on VJ since December has helped a great deal. It gave both of us more time to make certain we had this packet of information together, and to make certain we have exactly what is required and then some. We were also able to squeeze in another meeting during this time to add more evidence to meeting in person.

I can't find the exact section of the FAM Manual right now, but if you PM me, I'll dig it up and send it to. Good luck, it's painful, but you can make it.

[etripke 0]

Ok, I did a search of the Foreign Services Manual and here it is:

9 FAM 41.81 N6.6 Petitioner and Beneficiary Must be Legally Free to Marry

(CT:VISA-756; 07-27-2005)

a. For a K-1 petition to remain valid, the petitioner and the beneficiary must:

(1) Have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed;

(2) Have remained so therafter; and

(3) Continue to have the intent to marry within 90 days after the beneficiary’s admission into the United States.

b. A K-1 petition filed when the petitioner and/or the applicant was still legally married shall not serve as the basis for visa issuance, even though that marriage was terminated and applicant/petitioner became free to marry within 90 days of arrival in the United States. If a consular officer finds that the petitioner and/or applicant is/was not legally free to marry, post mush return the K-1 petition to the national visa center (NVC) under cover of memorandum detailing the specific, objective facts giving rise to the officer’s determination

[pushbrk 12,605]

Ok, I did a search of the Foreign Services Manual and here it is:

9 FAM 41.81 N6.6 Petitioner and Beneficiary Must be Legally Free to Marry

(CT:VISA-756; 07-27-2005)

a. For a K-1 petition to remain valid, the petitioner and the beneficiary must:

(1) Have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed;

(2) Have remained so therafter; and

(3) Continue to have the intent to marry within 90 days after the beneficiary’s admission into the United States.

b. A K-1 petition filed when the petitioner and/or the applicant was still legally married shall not serve as the basis for visa issuance, even though that marriage was terminated and applicant/petitioner became free to marry within 90 days of arrival in the United States. If a consular officer finds that the petitioner and/or applicant is/was not legally free to marry, post mush return the K-1 petition to the national visa center (NVC) under cover of memorandum detailing the specific, objective facts giving rise to the officer’s determination

It looks like the OP needs to look very closely at their own State's statutes and perhaps speak with an attorney regarding the exact point at which their divorce is final, final. If Michigan has a clause indicating Michigan won't recognize a marriage performed in another state within the six month window, that makes the answer very clear.

This would be an exception to "married is married". What I'm curious about is whether "divorced is divorced" in this context.

[kitkat1 5]

But do they take you more seriously if you have an attorney backing you? Better chance for success?

Absolutely NOT. And as someone else posted, it just adds another link to the chain. It's only 100% important to you - to an attorney it's a fee. They make mistakes just like we do and aren't nearly as likely to triple check paperwork the way a filer would. There have been countless, seriously countless, horror stories here posted of horrible, stupid mistakes made by attorneys that cause heartbreaking problems and delays. Unless your case is complicated with many extenuating factors, the smartest thing is to consult with an attorney to make sure you understand the process clearly (if the guides here on VJ and the travel.state.gov site don't provide enough information) and then file the paperwork yourself.

[Turboguy 6]

I have to agree with KitKat. The UCSIS webiste clearly states the do not give preferential treatmant to cases filed by an attorney. Clearly by the cases I have seen here that statement is true.

I also have to agree with all the nightmare stories that seem to happen using an attorney. As far as checking things over, I think they do so many they must get sloppy. There seems to be a lot more RFE's using a lawyer than not.

Earlier in this thread I talked about my friend whose K-1 went in the same day as mine but he used a lawyer. Now I will tell you, to quote Paul Harvey, The rest of the story. Larry was afraid to apply on his own so he asked many people for a reference for a good immigration attorney. He went with one of the top ones. Three months after he paid $ 2000.00 nothing had been sent in. The attorney sat on it forever. He fired that one and hired another. This one took a month from the time he had the info till he filed. He finally mailed it Feb 1 of '05. There was an RFE because the lawywer forgot the birth certificate. Unfortunately the lawyer never bothered to tell him there was an RFE and that he needed a copy of Larrys birth certificate so it just set until Larry found out what had happened. Larry was upset with the attorney and tried to send the Birth certificate right to VT but since the lawyer had all the case numbers and files and would not provide any info that turned into a big hastle. When it came time for the interview Larry needed a copy of the K-1 and the originals of the documents he had provied to the attorney but the attorney would not return them. He fired the attorney and threatend to sue and then got them back.

When I started on my first K-1, (also filed feb 1 of '05) I planned to use an attorney. I thought it might be a little quicker and less hastle. After reading horror stories and seeing how easy it is by spending time here I decided to do it myself. Best decision I ever made.