On the GC F1 Waiting List - Engaged to US Citizen

[awilliams 0]

Hi there,

 

been a while since i've been here but had good advice, i been on the Green Card waiting list for a Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their minor children visa since October 2014. 

 

Me: I'm English, born and bred in the UK... 

 

However since my green card application, i met an US Citizen whilst on my travels in the states and been dating since 2015, i regularly fly back and forth to see her (every month, two at most) and most recently got engaged since we decided we would like to be together (as you do as a couple i'm sure) on a more permanent basis, the discussion of where we want to move to came up obviously and whilst i did try and encourage her to move to the UK, she wants to stay due to her career and skills obtained in said career would be very valuable to her in the future with a higher earning potential ($100k+)...

 

So what is the best route for us if we decide to move to the America and what does this mean for my current GC application?

[geowrian 22,337]

The best route depends on what exactly is most important to you, but getting married and doing a CR-1 (spousal) visa is preferred right now.

 

A K-1 (fiance) visa is another option, albeit it's only a couple months faster at this time and otherwise inferior...can't work/travel abroad/etc. for 4+ months after entry, more expensive, and takes longer to get the green card (and subsequently naturalize if desired).

 

As for how this impacts your current FB-1 petition:

1. Once you get a green card, there's no need for the other petition.
2. Once you marry, your case would fall under F3 instead of F1, which has a longer wait.
3. Overall, the spousal/fiance visa route is faster to be together in the US. Although it will require doing ROC in 2 years after getting the green card (which doesn't occur with non-marriage-based visas like FB-1).

 

Comparison of visas (ignore K-3..it's obsolete): http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

 

CR-1 guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

ETA: ~12-14 months

 

K-1 guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

ETA: ~9-12 months