K1 visa wife went home and wants to come back and work out the marriage

[Lee&Ana 88]

I am a long time member.  My wife came to the USA in May 2015, got married, filed AOS and then left and went back to the Philippines and her green card was cancelled at USCIS by me.  This happened in September of 2016.  She departed voluntarily 2 days later.

We never divorced.

She wanted to come back to me since December of 2016 and realized she made a huge mistake.  

So here I am 19 months later and find that I still love her and want to bring her back to the USA and work it out.  

Realistically, what option would be the best?

If I file IR- 1, how long would it take and would we have a good chance to be approved?  Would we have to meet in person again?

Or would it be better to divorce and file K1 all over again?

At this point, I don’t care about the cost, I just want to have an easier way to be reunited with her?  

All opinions and questions are welcome and encouraged.  

 

[Starkilla09 366]

Unfortunately there’s no easier/quicker way to do this all over again. You do have an option and that will be to file an IR1 visa. Expect it to take around 12 to 14 months and she will need to wait it all outside the U.S. A K-1 visa is a fiancé visa and not for married people and can’t be issued twice to the same person. Divorcing and remarrying just to secure a K-1 to make the process quicker is not even an option. Your wife can visit while her IR1 is being processed, however; she will need strong ties to be able to secure a B1/B2 visit visa. This will be an uphill battle trying to convince the consular officer especially with her past immigrant intent.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Starkilla09

[cyclone27 710]

On the upside - she will have a 10yr green card next time so no removal of conditions.

[Boiler 45,516]

1 hour ago, Lee&Ana said:

 My wife came to the USA in May 2015, got married, filed AOS and then left and went back to the Philippines and her green card was cancelled at USCIS by me.  This happened in September of 2016.  

 

The application was cancelled?

[Lee&Ana 88]

Yes

[Unlockable 7,314]

The current processing time for spousal visa is 12 - 14 months. There is no other option that is faster.

 

You probably already know the odds of her getting a visitor visa in the meantime.

[Going through 5,671]

Best option is to file for the spouse visa since you two are already married.  

In the meantime, she can try for a tourist visa to visit, but will be harder to get with immigrant intent already shown.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

2 hours ago, Lee&Ana said:

I am a long time member.  My wife came to the USA in May 2015, got married, filed AOS and then left and went back to the Philippines and her green card was cancelled at USCIS by me.  This happened in September of 2016.  She departed voluntarily 2 days later.

We never divorced.

She wanted to come back to me since December of 2016 and realized she made a huge mistake.  

So here I am 19 months later and find that I still love her and want to bring her back to the USA and work it out.  

Realistically, what option would be the best?

If I file IR- 1, how long would it take and would we have a good chance to be approved?  Would we have to meet in person again?

Or would it be better to divorce and file K1 all over again?

At this point, I don’t care about the cost, I just want to have an easier way to be reunited with her?  

All opinions and questions are welcome and encouraged.  

 

Well I am glad you two got back together and stuck it out. But unfortunately a IR-1 petition in Manila is taking about 12-14 months right now.

[Lemonslice 4,841]

2 hours ago, Lee&Ana said:

I am a long time member.  My wife came to the USA in May 2015, got married, filed AOS and then left and went back to the Philippines and her green card was cancelled at USCIS by me.  This happened in September of 2016.  She departed voluntarily 2 days later.

We never divorced.

She wanted to come back to me since December of 2016 and realized she made a huge mistake.  

So here I am 19 months later and find that I still love her and want to bring her back to the USA and work it out.  

Realistically, what option would be the best?

If I file IR- 1, how long would it take and would we have a good chance to be approved?  Would we have to meet in person again?

Or would it be better to divorce and file K1 all over again?

At this point, I don’t care about the cost, I just want to have an easier way to be reunited with her?  

All opinions and questions are welcome and encouraged.  

 

From your previous threads, you had major disagreements. I understand "She wanted to come back to me since December of 2016 and realized she made a huge mistake.  " - but did you guys now agree on a few things?

[Lee&Ana 88]

We have had major discussions about our past disagreements and we both talked about things that we both could have handled better and On the surface we both seem agreeable.  14 months is more than I would have expected for a spouse visa.  When I tell her this she will not be happy.  She has a friend that claims they had their spouse visa approval in 7 months.  

[cyclone27 710]

Well my wife took 10mo for approval but that was back in 2015. 

 

I think it’s way longer now.  She should know now that immigration matters are never a quick process and #1 stop listening to friends. 

[Going through 5,671]

2 minutes ago, Lee&Ana said:

We have had major discussions about our past disagreements and we both talked about things that we both could have handled better and On the surface we both seem agreeable.  14 months is more than I would have expected for a spouse visa.  When I tell her this she will not be happy.  She has a friend that claims they had their spouse visa approval in 7 months.  

Depends on how long ago the friend applied, would be my guess.  Right now the processing time is at least a year or more...but she can try for a tourist visa to visit while the application is pending.

[Lee&Ana 88]

It is hard to get a tourist visa from the Philippines 

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

I remember the previous posts too, I think you should consider the option of an extended visit there to see if you have truly resolved your issues. Plan your future strategy if you believe it is salveagable, punt if it isn't, the only thing worse than a mistake is recommitting the same mistake twice

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 hours ago, Lee&Ana said:

We have had major discussions about our past disagreements and we both talked about things that we both could have handled better and On the surface we both seem agreeable.  14 months is more than I would have expected for a spouse visa.  When I tell her this she will not be happy.  She has a friend that claims they had their spouse visa approval in 7 months.  

Yeah well timelines have been increasing the last year or so and now it's around 12-14 months on average for the Philippines, with even longer wait times for other countries.