Fiance pregnant abroad

[DocZ 20]

Hello--

I just signed up to this forum because I am going through this process, and I overwhelmed. Usually I am a person that goes through forums, tries to gather the information, rather than posting... but right now I feel the process is to confusing, and situation too much for me to try to sift through. 

 

I am 34, a US citizen, a resident physician, living in San Francisco. My fiance is 28, a nurse, and citizen of the Philippines. We have met in person twice. Once in early 2015 in the Philippines, and recently we met again in Singapore in late April this year. The unexpected outcome from that visit in April is a pregnancy -- she is due in late January 2017. We decided that we will get married, and we want to be together ASAP.

 

I have contacted a couple lawyers. The first one was $200 for an hour long consult (but she ended at half an hour), and she basically said that it wouldn't be a problem. Per her, doing the K1, my fiance would be here in at most 7 months, so very likely she could have the baby here. Another lawyer said it wouldn't happen, she would only get be here after the birth, because visa process has slowed down with the new Administration. Another lawyer, who I am ending up using, also said it was unlikely that she would arrive in time for her to have the baby in the US, doing the K1 process. 

 

He thought that it would make more sense for us to get married ASAP, and start with a spousal visa. He said she would be here in March/April doing that process. However, when I look up timelines for that process, it seems like it would be much slower than her getting here than March/April. 

 

Could someone give me their thoughts on this process, given my situation? K1 or spousal? I think that there a lot of things to consider, but in the panic of finding out I am going to be a father (with someone I love and talk to daily, but have only been physically together with for less than 2 weeks), the priciness of lawyers and their varied opinions, and the entire immigration process is so daunting that I am not thinking straight. 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

Congrats!

 

The K-1 (fiance) process is faster. It's currently taking, on average, 6-8 months from filing to visa in hand. That said, there's a pretty reasonable chance that she will have the child abroad. While she may technically get the visa shortly before her expected due date, she may not be able to fly that late into the pregnancy (~32-37 weeks IIRC), so you lose a couple weeks there. If she ends up on the earlier side of things (USEM is relatively fast) then she may be able to make the interview sometime in December, and have the visa by the end of the year or early January. Then again, this is assuming current averages hold up (they've fluctuated a lot since Oct/Nov) and you don't hit any hurdles along the way (of which only avoiding an RFE is out of your control). if you went this route, I would say hope for the best, but be ready for the worst. Her not making it to the US before giving birth is definitely a real possibility.

 

If she does give birth abroad, she will need to seek out a CRBA + passport to bring your son/daughter.

 

The slowdown isn't due to the new administration directly...just a surge of petitions, slowdown from a transition, a fee hike in Dec., etc.

 

With a K-1, she will need to marry within 90 days and then file for AOS (+ AP & EAD optionally). She cannot leave the country until she has AP...ETA: 3-4 months. She cannot work until she has her EAD...ETA: 3-4 months.

A spousal visa (CR-1) is currently taking 12-14 months on average. The main advantages are: 1) cheaper, and 2) LPR status upon entry (with the physical green card arriving shortly afterwards)...no AOS required and she can travel or work immediately.

 

An attorney is not needed for the process. You'll just be playing telephone - you give the info to the attorney, they write it down on the form, and then they send it off. It won't speed up your case or make it more likely to succeed. But it's your option to go with them or not....I'm just noting that it's really not necessary unless your case has complexities.

 

As for which one to get, it's really about what's important to you and your fiancee. Is being together in the US most important? Or is the ability to work and travel right away needed? Or are financial concerns an issue? It's all about what's most important to the two of you.

 

Edit: One more thing...you also should take into account the cost of having the child in the US very shortly after arrival - i.e. if she's not on your insurance yet. In that case, doing a court marriage right away may be needed.

Edited June 11, 2017 by geowrian

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

(of which only avoiding an RFE is out of your control)

in your control* whoops

[Roel 7,192]

File for k1. It's currently faster than spouse visa. Beware that there is no pregnancy based expedite. Also you really don't need to waste money on lawyers. The process is pretty easy. Most of us here files for k1 and aos later on our own. 

[DocZ 20]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice!

 

Going with the lawyer is, in some ways, paying for the assurance that it is being done right, and won't be delayed because of a mistake on my part. Also, she isn't the best at filling out these forms, so... having someone else correct her relieves me from being angry at her. (When she is not filling the form wrong, my head automatically and irrationally thinks "don't you want to be here?! why are filling this out wrong?!" I know that the mistakes are not intentional, but my own fixation on the pressure and importance of doing it right get in my way.) He has also educated me on the legal, and not legal/shady options that are available. And has also gave me some things to think about, such as "will my benefits cover her labor abroad, if she is married and on my insurance?" So, I feel like I am more informed. 

 

I had tried paying one of the online services - roadtostatus dot com - to fill out the form. However, they gave me the outdated form! Waste of time and money. They did give me a refund after I complained enough. 

 

I don't think there are too much complexities in our case. I am divorced. 

My lawyer said it would be 9-10 months if we went with a spousal visa, which didn't seem right. Thanks geowrian for telling me 12-14, that is consistent with what I have seen others say online. 

[Lemonslice 4,847]

"Going with the lawyer is, in some ways, paying for the assurance that it is being done right, and won't be delayed because of a mistake on my part."

 

Can still be delayed because of a mistake on their part...  Not a rare occurrence, unfortunately.

 

Best of luck to the both of you.

 

 

[DocZ 20]

3 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

"Going with the lawyer is, in some ways, paying for the assurance that it is being done right, and won't be delayed because of a mistake on my part."

 

Can still be delayed because of a mistake on their part...  Not a rare occurrence, unfortunately.

 

Best of luck to the both of you.

 

 

Yes, of course. But given that it is a third set of eyes, and it is his business, I think it reduces the chances. And, then I can at least be mad at him, and not beating myself up for who knows how long.

Edited June 15, 2017 by DocZ

[DocZ 20]

Wanted to update this thread with what has happened, to give some insight to anybody that was in a similar situation to me. My lawyer convinced me to go with a spousal visa rather than fiance. I think, as it has turned out, it was the right choice for me in my situation. The reasons I think that it worked for me: 

• It seems the spousal visa processing is now moving slower than previously, and combined with a premature birth (baby born at 31 weeks), she would not been able to come to the USA before the baby was born.
• If we had filed for a K1 in June (10 months ago), still the earliest she would be able to come here with my son would have been yesterday, since he just got his passport yesterday.
• I think that getting married ASAP was better than putting off the marriage (despite the gain of getting together a couple months earlier because K1 is faster than spousal). Looking back, I can't imagine going through this waiting process, her going through the pregnancy, going through a scary premature birth by emergency c-section, without the trust and knowledge of us being securely attached. 
• I think her family was more accepting of me (after quickly marrying her), which was nice to know through the stressful months of pregnancy, trying to figure out a plan, etc
• It was reassuring to me that my wife and son were on my health insurance. No, they can't use it except for emergencies... but there is some mental relief in knowing that they are insured. My son was in the NICU for 3 months, and the c-section was paid for, so that saved me a couple of thousand dollars (still waiting on reimbursement from insurance though, they say its coming).
• Although minor, getting married last year and having the baby, there was some tax savings (I am writing this mid April, taxes are on my mind). That also saved me a couple thousand dollars.
• She has a lot more support where she as, then she would have here. She has her parents, brother, aunts and uncles, friends, who are all very helpful for her going through the pregnancy, and now raising the baby. Even if she had somehow gotten here on a K1 before the baby was born, I wouldn't be able to single handily replace all the support she is giving at her home. 
• Given that we had met in person twice before getting married... we are still getting to know each other. And we have had time to adjust to each other, and plan. Not trying rush her over here has given us time to adjust to a new life. We are married, and longing to be together as a family. This is a better situation than quickly putting two strangers together + baby together, in tiny closet of an apartment in expensive San Francisco. We have time to slowly adapt to our life.
• I am working my booty off now, much more than if I had a baby at home. By the time she gets here, the couple extra months, and my working overtime, will give me time to save so that we can buy a home. 

When I first started the process, I thought being together ASAP was the most important thing. After going through it, I realized that waiting a couple extra months is okay. I am glad that I quickly got married, had a baby in wedlock, and that I am waiting a couple extra months to be with my WIFE. This would have been better than waiting for a K1 (hoping that she could come over before the baby was born), realizing that it wouldn't happen, have the baby out of wedlock, still waiting to get married, still waiting for K1 visa, getting the K1 but then waiting for my son's passport, and all of this time, still waiting to get married. 

 

If you are in a similar situation, feel free to message me. 

 

[Lemonslice 4,847]

Thank you for the update and congratulations on the marriage, baby and for taking the time to think about what was the best solutions for all of you.

 

Quote

When I first started the process, I thought being together ASAP was the most important thing. After going through it, I realized that waiting a couple extra months is okay.

For different reasons, this is also the way we went - while the wait was not "fun", being married and becoming a permanent resident as soon as I entered the USA meant no interruption of work or loss of income for me, and overall a less stressful transition. 

[DocZ 20]

33 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Thank you for the update and congratulations on the marriage, baby and for taking the time to think about what was the best solutions for all of you.

 

For different reasons, this is also the way we went - while the wait was not "fun", being married and becoming a permanent resident as soon as I entered the USA meant no interruption of work or loss of income for me, and overall a less stressful transition. 

Thank you Lemonslice.

 

That is a good point. Being a permanent resident as soon as my wife entered was something my lawyer thought should be a selling point (he assumed she would work as soon as she arrived), and he stated she would be a citizen sooner, but wasn't a big consideration for us. However, we might be proven wrong! My wife has an elderly father, and it could very well happen that he become suddenly ill, and she would want to return home. Or, maybe she will feel antsy not working, and get a job sooner than we planned for. So, being a permanent resident upon arrival might be a bonus that we did't expect. 

[TBoneTX 45,304]

Thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the CR-1 Case Progress subforum.