Wanting to get married overseas and then have spouse come here

[ethantboyd 0]

Hello, first time poster, please be gentle

 

My fiancé lives in Ukraine, and due to the difficulty of travel to the US for Ukrainians, we decided it would be a lot easier for us to have the wedding ceremony over there. That part of our plan is pretty much set in stone, but the legal trouble as far as visas go is a different story. Immediately after the wedding we are planning for her to move over here. I've started the I-129F process, but stopped when I realized that I'm not sure it's the right one. Does anyone have any advice for the best way to go about this? Ideally we'd like for her to come over as soon as possible from now, but we also need to be careful in picking a wedding date that will allow my family and her family enough time to plan for a trip to Kiev for several days. Thanks to anybody who can be of any assistance.

[Boiler 46,325]

Once you marry you will e filing a CR1, currently takes about 14 months.

[Alabamak1 688]

you either file for K-1 in which the marriage has to be in the USA whit the petitioner and in the 90 day period (8-10 month) 

 

or you marry in Ukraine and do the spousal visa (12-14 month)

 

there is no such thing as coming to the USA right after marriage

[ethantboyd 0]

On 4/23/2018 at 1:11 AM, Alabamak1 said:

there is no such thing as coming to the USA right after marriage

Why is that? For example, why couldn't I travel to Ukraine during those 90 days, have a wedding there, then come back with her and file for marriage here?

Edited May 1, 2018 by ethantboyd

[Alabamak1 688]

7 minutes ago, ethantboyd said:

Why is that?

because k-1 takes 8-10 months to be approved an then you can come to the US to get married or you get a spousal visa and then wait 12-14 month to get it approved an then move to the US.

 

 

[CEE53147 559]

11 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

Why is that? For example, why couldn't I travel to Ukraine during those 90 days, have a wedding there, then come back with her and file for marriage here?

There are procedures that must be followed.  There would be many in line before you, and you mus wait your turn.

[geowrian 22,338]

11 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

Why is that? For example, why couldn't I travel to Ukraine during those 90 days, have a wedding there, then come back with her and file for marriage here?

You can...but they would still need to leave in accordance with the terms of whatever visa they entered the US on, then interview abroad.

From a legal perspective, it is fraud to enter the US with a tourist visa (and most non-immigrant visas) with intent to stay / file for AOS.

From a practical purpose, it's because marrying somebody doesn't automatically grant any US immigration benefits. marriage and immigration are 2 very different issues, with only some overlap. To enter the US as a permanent resident or with intent to do so, you need to go through proper immigrant processing and vetting. Prospective immigrants must meet a lot more requirements than non-immigrants to travel to the US.

[Roel 7,193]

11 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

Why is that? For example, why couldn't I travel to Ukraine during those 90 days, have a wedding there, then come back with her and file for marriage here?

Oh if things were that simple. 

If you get married in Ukraine you need to file for spouse visa (that allow the fiance to enter the US). The process takes about a year or so and then the fiance can come to the USA. 

 

K1 is for people who want to get married in the US. You can apply for it now (if you already met the requirement and met in person) and on average it takes about 9 months or so for that visa to be approved. 

 

There is NO other way. 

[Boiler 46,325]

You can come back, she needs to wait.

[ethantboyd 0]

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

[Lee&Ana 88]

2 minutes ago, ethantboyd said:

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

Yes.  

[Boiler 46,325]

3 minutes ago, ethantboyd said:

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

Yup

[Roel 7,193]

9 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

Yep. Welcome to the immigration hell! 

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

9 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

Unfortunately there is no easy or fast way to do this. You have two options:

 

K1: you file papers now, wait apr. 10 months to get the visa in hand. Then she is allowed to come to the US for you to marry in the US. If you fly to the Ukrain to marry there the K1 will be invalid and you have to start over again. If you fly to the Ukrain and have an engagementparty be very careful its just a party and not something that looks official. There is a thing as being too married for a K1 and not married enough for a CR1. On top of that, the timing when she will get her K1 visa is very difficult to predict, as in, its not possible. Doing it this way you will have no time to plan a wedding in the traditional sense. Most people have a small courthouse wedding when they arrive and have a grand feast the year after on their anniversary.

Whats more, after she enters on a K1 she can not work nor travel till she gets her greencard (may take up to a year) unless she files for a workpermit (EAD) and travelpermit (AP) which both take about 3 months at the moment.

 

CR1: You can plan your marriage wherever whenever. But she is not allowed to go home with your right after the wedding. You file paperwork after you get married and she will have to stay in the Ukrain until the paperwork is done, which is apr. 12 to 14 months at present. Big plus of this visa is that it is cheaper and when your wife enters the US she has her greencard right away and is allowed to work and travel right away.

 

The choice is up to you.

 

Theres a wonderful graph on what visa is best on this site: check it out:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Hope this makes it a bit more clear.

 

[Going through 5,671]

9 hours ago, ethantboyd said:

I think I'm more confused than I originally was. So if we end up having the wedding in Ukraine, she has to wait 12-14 months before she can even possibly come join me in America?

Pretty much, yes.

 

She can try for a tourist visa to visit you during the process while waiting for the spouse visa to be approved, however with immigration intent already shown by filing the CR-1, would be more difficult for her to obtain a tourist visa.  Easier for you, as a USC, to visit her in Ukraine.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Going through