K1 or AOS on H1B

[Wasserfall 0]

Hi all,

 

First off, thanks for being such a great community and resource!  I've learned a lot here and continue to!  I do have a couple of questions left over for those with knowledge and experience.

 

Back story / about us:

I'm the USC.  Currently a student doing a double masters program that was partly in Germany and partly in the US.  During the Germany portion, I met and fell in love with my (currently still) girlfriend from Lithuania who is studying a similar program.  We would like to marry shortly after graduation (end of September / first of October) and set up life/work in the US afterwards.

 

Like everyone on here, I think the goal is to minimize time apart.  With that in mind, these are the situations I can envision, keeping in mind that we are not engaged yet and both planned to come work in the USA anyway:

 

Tourist Visa AOS - I think we have too much intent and documented history talking about getting engaged/married to be able to do this.  I would never knowingly commit immigration fraud.

 

K1 Fiance - This seems to be widely favored as a combination of the best/quickest way to be together on US soil.

     Questions on the K1:

      1. During the processing time, can she still enter the country on a tourist visa?

      2. I've read not to conduct anything like a ceremony overseas before attempting to enter on a K1.  Does this extend to any type of wedding "party"?  We have a school graduation party back in Germany at the end of September that we would like to expand into also being a celebration of our upcoming wedding for her family members in Europe, since they will not all make it to the real ceremony in the US in a K1 instance.  Is it unadvised even if it's labeled as an engagement party?

      3. Since I am now a full time student, I left my previous software career.  Is it possible to demonstrate proof of funds in different accounts to sponsor her or do I need a co-sponsor that currently has an income?  If demonstrating proof of accounts, do you know what amount is necessary?

 

H1-B AOS - She was already planning on seeking employment in the US after graduation regardless of if we ever met each other. 

     Questions on AOS:

      1. Could it be considered immigration fraud if she was able to secure a job and enter as an H1B employee while we were engaged?  Once again, would never knowingly commit fraud against my government.

      2. If/when she is able to secure an H1B, could we get married whenever/wherever and then file for AOS?

 

We are both locked into studying at universities until mid June, albeit me in the US and her in Spain.  Afterwards we have from June until the end of September to write our theses, where it is strongly advised to stay at the universities we are currently at.   From what I've gathered, the tentative plan is to get engaged soon, start the filings for K1, then hopefully by September (~6 months after filing) she can enter on the K1 and we begin forever.  The plan also includes her concurrently attempting to get an H1B job which would hopefully jumpstart things with an AOS.  If she locks in an H1B, then we could abandon the K1, correct?

 

Anyone advice / constructive criticism / plot holes pointed out is very much so appreciated!!

 

Thanks!

[Boiler 46,141]

K1 is the only realistic option, might be a bit of a rush so you should file asap.