Fiancee is Australian citzen, I'm US citizen... file DCF in NZ?

[mliw 0]

I'm still looking into this whole process because we are very unsure of the route we want to take right now. I was originally going to move there, but we have recently decided for a few reasons that this might be easier/better in the long run.

 

I need to know if this situation would be legal. I come to Australia on a tourist visa, we would then plan to leave for NZ (I'd go on a tourist visa once again) and I believe since she is an Australian citizen she is granted automatic residency (correct me if I'm wrong). We want to go to NZ cause (from what I've read) Australia requires the USC to live their as a resident for 6 months first. Then the plan would be to get married and have a prescheduled appointment the next day for the DCF. She also has a young daughter that we will be bringing with us. Is this plan feasible? I read a similar case about another person who did something like this in NZ and was granted a green card for their fiancee in 18 hours. I'm not expecting that quick of turn around but to think to have a green card in hand so quickly sounds like a very appealing option. Is there anything important to know about this process? I will look into it more, our plans have changed because of some circumstances and so I have been spending the past 24 hours trying to find a good alternative. We both have a lot of instability at the moment so the key would be getting us both living together and in a stable environment being able to work towards our goals together as soon as possible.

Edited December 2, 2017 by mliw

[Hypnos 6,577]

There is no DCF in New Zealand.

[Hypnos 6,577]

Or Australia.

 

This forum is more geared for US immigration. Are you intending to immigrate to Australia or NZ?

Edited December 2, 2017 by Hypnos

[TNJ17 1,329]

Applying for DCF requires you to be a legal permanent resident of another country for at least 6 months. It doesn’t necessarily mean Australia or New Zealand. However, I don’t think you can be granted legal permanent residency to any country if you are on a tourist visa, so your plan will not work. If you have no ties to any country where a DCF is allowed at the moment, then you’re better off applying for K1. It would take longer to establish permanent residency at another country, you’d have to find a job, apply for everything, etc. Apply for K1 ASAP and you’re on your way. Get started collecting all the paperwork now and file the 129F ASAP. 

[mliw 0]

4 hours ago, Hypnos said:

Or Australia.

 

This forum is more geared for US immigration. Are you intending to immigrate to Australia or NZ?

No, I was at one point but now we are figuring out the fastest way to get my fiancee here. I was planning to go out there on a tourist visa so I thought this might be an option cause I saw a post about someone else who did this. Apparently it isn't any longer. They seemed to have had DCF in Australia and NZ at one point, but no longer I guess. I wonder why that is. Oh well I guess we will pursue the K1 visa.

[Jorge V 195]

11 hours ago, mliw said:

I was planning to go out there on a tourist visa so I thought this might be an option cause I saw a post about someone else who did this

You may be referring to me. I was able to do DCF on a visitor visa in Mexico, but there is one big difference between what I did and your plan: I had actually been living in Mexico for years. Unlike the US and many other countries, you can live indefinitely in Mexico on a visitor visa, you just need to do border runs every 6 months. When I submitted my I-130 I included evidence of my living situation (lease, IRS tax records, ATM transactions) in lieu of a residency card/permit. This was accepted. I've heard other USCIS field offices are even less strict, Guatemala specifically.

 

Regardless, as others have mentioned DCF isn't available in Australia or NZ, only in these countries: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices

[Boiler 45,794]

DCF requires you to be married anyway.