Tourist, Fiance or Marriage Visa? Which would be right for me?

[MehgandMarcos 4]

My boyfriend lives in Cuba, and so bad my family and I want him to at least visit the US.  We met through my aunt when I went to visit her in Cuba a couple months ago (my family is Cuban, and we still have family in Cuba).  He is a very close friend of the family. Being that on my last trip to Cuba not all my family got to meet him because they did not go.  I was able to meet his friends and family, and I would like him to meet mine.  I have been mostly looking into tourist and fiance visas but when it comes to Cuba it is a different story.  So finding valid information is difficult.  

 

In a perfect world he would be able to get a tourist visa and he could come stay for whatever set amount of time that we decide.  I was reading for this visa he would have to show he has the finance this trip, but my family would be able to finance the money for him.  Being that the wet foot, dry foot policy is no longer do you think this visa  could work?

 

For the fiance visa, we are both not opposed to this option but this would be something more down the road.  Being that we are both in our mid twenties, we both want to be positive that we want to get married.  I do like the option that we have some time before we have to get married. Now some concerns for me are education.  He has graduated college and majored in business in Cuba, can this transfer to the US?  Would he be able to find a job?  Or would he have to go back to school again in the US?  Since you have three months to get married is it possible to get this extended?

 

I have made appointment with a immigration lawyer to further discuss my options, but I want to have more of an idea before the meeting.  I will come up with a list of my own questions, but what would be some important topics and questions to ask during the meeting?

[MehgandMarcos 4]

Also if we applied for a tourist visa would it affect getting a fiance visa down the road?  Approved or denied

[Boiler 45,486]

K1 is for when you are ready to marry, not to see how it goes.

 

So that leaves the B for visiting.

[MehgandMarcos 4]

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

K1 is for when you are ready to marry, not to see how it goes.

 

So that leaves the B for visiting.

Can getting approved or denied for B affect applying for a K1 if we choose to later down the road?

[Boiler 45,486]

No

[YecaCruz 379]

Whether you would get an approved or denied tourist visa should not affect the outcome of any future k1 visas. My now-husband was denied a tourist visa twice before we were able to do the K1 so. Factors that go into a k1 are the legitimacy of the relationship based on evidences presented, if you are free to marry, and if you have had face to face contact within 2 years of filing the papers. Once your fiancé sets foot in the U.S. the 90 day countdown begins and I have not heard of a way to extend that. I don't think you can but I'm not sure either.

 

You certainly could go through the time and money of filing a k1 though I don't recommend going that route as Boiler mentioned above to "just see how it goes". The point of being in a relationship with someone and communicating is growing together to a point where you know that marriage is the path you want to take. My husband and I were in a relationship for 6 years and worked out a lot of kinks before we got married which I think helped us IMMENSELY as a family unit. 

Just go for the tourist visa. The worst they can say is no but if you don't try it you will never know.

 

 My family met my fiancé through facetime since he couldn't get a tourist visa so is that an option for you?

 

I think it would depend on the job as far as if they would recognize his degrees. I have seen many posts on here where people find it difficult to get a job in their field despite their education from their home county granted some of them had very specialized or specific jobs/degrees. A business major seems so general I can't imagine it won't  help but now I'm just speculating so I can't really help you there

 

Hope this has helped you a little

[KierenHby 899]

Applying or being denied for a tourist visa does not affect a K1 or CR1 down the road.

Once you're sure about a future together, petition for a fiance visa. Or get married outside the US and petition for a spouse visa. 

[MehgandMarcos 4]

6 minutes ago, JJGussiaas (Gush) said:

Whether you would get an approved or denied tourist visa should not affect the outcome of any future k1 visas. My now-husband was denied a tourist visa twice before we were able to do the K1 so. Factors that go into a k1 are the legitimacy of the relationship based on evidences presented, if you are free to marry, and if you have had face to face contact within 2 years of filing the papers. Once your fiancé sets foot in the U.S. the 90 day countdown begins and I have not heard of a way to extend that. I don't think you can but I'm not sure either.

 

You certainly could go through the time and money of filing a k1 though I don't recommend going that route as Boiler mentioned above to "just see how it goes". The point of being in a relationship with someone and communicating is growing together to a point where you know that marriage is the path you want to take. My husband and I were in a relationship for 6 years and worked out a lot of kinks before we got married which I think helped us IMMENSELY as a family unit. 

Just go for the tourist visa. The worst they can say is no but if you don't try it you will never know.

 

 My family met my fiancé through facetime since he couldn't get a tourist visa so is that an option for you?

 

I think it would depend on the job as far as if they would recognize his degrees. I have seen many posts on here where people find it difficult to get a job in their field despite their education from their home county granted some of them had very specialized or specific jobs/degrees. A business major seems so general I can't imagine it won't  help but now I'm just speculating so I can't really help you there

 

Hope this has helped you a little

Thanks for the response!

 

Facetime really isnt a option. Because connection is just horrible in Cuba.  We communicate through messenger daily.  I will be going to visit him over the summer and hopefully they can come too.

 

Just for some clarification on the tourist visa did you say he was going to visit friends or girlfriend?  Also what would be the price range I would be looking at for the tourist visa?  Also how long did the tourist visa process take?

[YecaCruz 379]

Oh sorry to hear about crappy internet. Nicaragua used to be like that too until the gov't invested in putting wifi routers in literally all the public parks like 2 years ago. Lol kinda funny going down there and seeing all these people glued to their phones while their kids play on a playground (kind of like the US ).

 

Yes he was honest and said he was going to visit me and meet my family. Paid 165 for the visa application. Ultimately they said no because of his lack of ties which is quite vague so who REALLY knows the reason. He was an associate pastor at the time one of the larger churches in Managua how is that not a strong tie? But oh well. So for all we know the CO was having a bad day lol. I think from the time we paid to getting a time slot for an interview was like a month, depends on how busy the embassy is.

[MehgandMarcos 4]

3 minutes ago, JJGussiaas (Gush) said:

Oh sorry to hear about crappy internet. Nicaragua used to be like that too until the gov't invested in putting wifi routers in literally all the public parks like 2 years ago. Lol kinda funny going down there and seeing all these people glued to their phones while their kids play on a playground (kind of like the US ).

 

Yes he was honest and said he was going to visit me and meet my family. Paid 165 for the visa application. Ultimately they said no because of his lack of ties which is quite vague so who REALLY knows the reason. He was an associate pastor at the time one of the larger churches in Managua how is that not a strong tie? But oh well. So for all we know the CO was having a bad day lol. I think from the time we paid to getting a time slot for an interview was like a month, depends on how busy the embassy is.

Yes thats how it was when I went to Cuba...  When there was a wifi area everyone would be on their phones!

 

Im afraid that he would get a no because of his lack of ties too.  All he really has is his job and family.  But I will still try for this option and hope for the best.

[Boiler 45,486]

7 minutes ago, JJGussiaas (Gush) said:

Oh sorry to hear about crappy internet. Nicaragua used to be like that too until the gov't invested in putting wifi routers in literally all the public parks like 2 years ago. Lol kinda funny going down there and seeing all these people glued to their phones while their kids play on a playground (kind of like the US ).

 

Yes he was honest and said he was going to visit me and meet my family. Paid 165 for the visa application. Ultimately they said no because of his lack of ties which is quite vague so who REALLY knows the reason. He was an associate pastor at the time one of the larger churches in Managua how is that not a strong tie? But oh well. So for all we know the CO was having a bad day lol. I think from the time we paid to getting a time slot for an interview was like a month, depends on how busy the embassy is.

R1 has the highest fraud rate.

[YecaCruz 379]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

R1 has the highest fraud rate.

Correct. But he didn't go for an R1 he went for a tourist visa in the instance/example that I spoke of. There are almost no R1's granted anymore in Nicaragua lately because there was a lot of fraud specifically from there so we didn't even mess with that. We tried that later when I helped plant a Hispanic church and though he still got denied he is now here working as the lead pastor

Edited February 8, 2017 by JJGussiaas (Gush)

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

19 hours ago, Boiler said:

R1 has the highest fraud rate.

Oh, the irony!

[Kastrs 723]

23 hours ago, forthesoul said:

Thanks for the response!

 

Facetime really isnt a option. Because connection is just horrible in Cuba.  We communicate through messenger daily.  I will be going to visit him over the summer and hopefully they can come too.

 

Just for some clarification on the tourist visa did you say he was going to visit friends or girlfriend?  Also what would be the price range I would be looking at for the tourist visa?  Also how long did the tourist visa process take?

Just to be clear facetime meets time you spend in person together, it has nothing to do with video chatting