Previously divorced. Any hope for K-1 being approved?

[marimekko0207 0]

Me: Woman, American citizen, early 30s, divorced from an American citizen.  We separated in March 2017.  I filed for divorce in August, and it was finalized in November. I have my decree of divorce and I'm past the waiting period for remarrying.   

 

Fiance: Man, Italian, mid-30s, living in The Netherlands.  Never married.

 

We met in university when I studied abroad in Italy 10 years ago.  We've kept in friendly contact through the years.  Last spring, I separated from my then-husband.  Things had been bad for awhile.  My Italian friend decided to come and visit me  and take a class in the USA.  We fell in love.  I submitted a divorce application.  After the divorce was final, he came to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I'm going to visit his for Christmas, and while we're together, I'd like to get the K-1 petition started.  We'd like to get married and have him come here to live with me.  We're both eager to have children!  

 

I'm nervous that I have no hope of getting the K-1 visa approved because our relationship started when I was still married.  I know that the COs give these cases extra scrutiny.  Has anyone had a similar experience?   Would it be better for us to go the CR-1 route so we can circumvent concerns about my past marriage.  

 

Thank you!

Edited December 21, 2017 by marimekko0207

[Ontarkie 14,574]

Since you're not dealing with a high fraud country you wont have any problems. 

 

[Dashinka 24,930]

I doubt you would have an issue with a K1, but I would do a thorough comparison of the K1 and CR1 before you make a final decision.  

 

Good Luck!

[jlc201 47]

You are over-thinking the situation. People end marriages and begin exploring new relationships before their divorce is finalized all the time. What you cannot do is marry someone else before your divorce is finalized/waiting period is over, that is a big no-no. In your case, when the CO asks about how/when you met, you will just need to be very clear about the timeline.

[RO_AH 1,667]

Since he is able to travel here I think you should strongly consider getting a spouse visa rather than a fiance visa. My divorce was final in August this year and I married my wife in October. She  got pregnant on my trip there to get married. I will be filing for a spouse visa in the next week. My point is you do not need to worry about the date of your divorce. You do not need to wait to start a family (I know being in your thirties that's a big consideration). You can get married and visit each other while waiting for the visa which should take 12-14 months at current speeds. On a spouse visa he will be able to work right after arriving. That may be important especially if you are starting a family.

[Alice L 18]

6 hours ago, marimekko0207 said:

Me: Woman, American citizen, early 30s, divorced from an American citizen.  We separated in March 2017.  I filed for divorce in August, and it was finalized in November. I have my decree of divorce and I'm past the waiting period for remarrying.   

 

Fiance: Man, Italian, mid-30s, living in The Netherlands.  Never married.

 

We met in university when I studied abroad in Italy 10 years ago.  We've kept in friendly contact through the years.  Last spring, I separated from my then-husband.  Things had been bad for awhile.  My Italian friend decided to come and visit me  and take a class in the USA.  We fell in love.  I submitted a divorce application.  After the divorce was final, he came to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I'm going to visit his for Christmas, and while we're together, I'd like to get the K-1 petition started.  We'd like to get married and have him come here to live with me.  We're both eager to have children!  

 

I'm nervous that I have no hope of getting the K-1 visa approved because our relationship started when I was still married.  I know that the COs give these cases extra scrutiny.  Has anyone had a similar experience?   Would it be better for us to go the CR-1 route so we can circumvent concerns about my past marriage.  

 

Thank you!

We had the same situation as your our k1 approved 

Good luck 

[Limey 551]

19 hours ago, marimekko0207 said:

I'm nervous that I have no hope of getting the K-1 visa approved because our relationship started when I was still married.  I know that the COs give these cases extra scrutiny.  Has anyone had a similar experience?   Would it be better for us to go the CR-1 route so we can circumvent concerns about my past marriage.  

 

Thank you!

This isn't an issue.

 

Lots of K1 applicants have been married before. Divorce takes time, and many relationships start while people are still married.

 

In my case my wife was still married and we had to wait for her to divorce as our state requires that she'd been separated 1 year. This caused no issue. USCIS is only concerned with whether your relationship is genuine, and whether it started when you were previously married or not doesn't really have any bearing on that. Don't worry about this, its no issue at all.

 

Your fiance is from a wealthy westernized country (low fraud) and you are both similar ages. Big age differences and beneficiaries from poorer high fraud countries are much bigger issues, so in the absence of any other issues you have very little to worry about.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Limey

[Peot 162]

My fiance was married twice before and it was no problem. Just make sure to have several copies of your divorce decree as you will need copies for the application, for the interview, and at the AOS stage as well. Copies may also be needed for changing your name on things like passport, etc, though marriage certificate is usually enough at that point... just always good to have that divorce decree handy just in case!