Marriage questions

[bf109k11 0]

Hello I need help on my future plans.

My girlfriend is currently working as a new nurse in Texas with annual income of 40k-45k$. She is 22 years old while I am 23 years old currently in Cebu City/PH. We've planned that once she acquires her US Citizenship, she'll fly back to the PH to arrange our Civil Wedding so she can start filing the petition for CR-1 Visa/Spouse Visa. We've decided to choose this kind of Visa instead of fiancee after long research on youtube that CR-1 is better one since I'll be getting the greencard right away if it were to be approved rather than getting fiancee visa though i can fly immediately but i can get the green card late due to adjustment status which is costlier compared to CR-1 as well.

So my question are the following;

 - US Side;

She entered the USA through her mom who is also a nurse as well. I forgot what kind of petition filed by her mom before. She entered the USA around 16-17 years old but she has greencard already. In total, her stay on the territory is about going to 5 years as of this writing. 

But, even she has greencard, she came back home for studies at the university to finish her nursing couse. But every after semester, she needs to go back to the USA for some reasons or possible immigration reasons that she isn't allowed to stay longer than 6 months or 12 months.

If she were to file for naturalization or american citizenship, do any of you guys have an idea how many months it will take?

If she were to file a CR-1 spousal visa, what are the chance or odds of getting faster process compared to a PR Resident/Greencard to American Citizen?

What are the timelime of Spouse Visa and chances of approval if applied by the following;

 - PR/Green card 

 - American Citizen

 - PH Side

Once she acquires her US Citizenship, we decided that we would take Civil Wedding by 2019 so we can jumpstart the Spouse/CR-1 visa earlier. We projected that possibly by 2020 we will have the Visa already. 

If we will take vows through civil wedding by 2019, then the visa will be issued by 2020, do I need to fly immediately to the USA? Am i not allowed to stay for another months to arrange our church wedding?

Another question is, if we do Civil Wedding by 2019, can we still do Church Wedding by 2020/2021? We plan to save up a bit and we'll go home to PH. One of the girl's dream is to have a beautiful wedding that's why I want to know if it is allowed to do church wedding by next year after acquiring civil wedding by 2019.

I do apologize if there are some grammar errors and my questions is quite difficult.

I want to thank you for making it this far. Thank you in advance.

 

[Roel 7,192]

The timeline for cr1 visa is 12 to 14 months. That's when the petition is filled by US citizen. For green card holders sponsoring spouse takes 2 years OR so. 

[bf109k11 0]

Thanks for the time and answering some of my questions Roel. I've also talked to her that you may also ask your mother as one of the sponsor since she is stable and have good records when it comes to financial matters. 

If it were to be filed by a US Citizen + Co-Sponsor, does it take the same which is 12-14 months?

7 minutes ago, Roel said:

The timeline for cr1 visa is 12 to 14 months. That's when the petition is filled by US citizen. For green card holders sponsoring spouse takes 2 years OR so. 

Thanks for the time and answering some of my questions Roel. I've also talked to her that you may also ask your mother as one of the sponsor since she is stable and have good records when it comes to financial matters. 

If it were to be filed by a US Citizen + Co-Sponsor, does it take the same which is 12-14 months?

Sorry for double post.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

I'm not well versed on this topic but I remember reading that if you have a GC from "any" visa and you meet someone and marry in the USA then you can convert her from the "current visa" to LPR. But again I am not sure. You may want to google and see what you can find. I just did google but since I don't know what visa she is currently using it's hard to get a definitive answer.

 

I think this is a question that should be asked in a different forum as it's not a Philippines matter.

[Roel 7,192]

38 minutes ago, bf109k11 said:

Thanks for the time and answering some of my questions Roel. I've also talked to her that you may also ask your mother as one of the sponsor since she is stable and have good records when it comes to financial matters. 

If it were to be filed by a US Citizen + Co-Sponsor, does it take the same which is 12-14 months?

Thanks for the time and answering some of my questions Roel. I've also talked to her that you may also ask your mother as one of the sponsor since she is stable and have good records when it comes to financial matters. 

If it were to be filed by a US Citizen + Co-Sponsor, does it take the same which is 12-14 months?

Sorry for double post.

Yes.  It will take over a year no matter what. 

[Roel 7,192]

16 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

I'm not well versed on this topic but I remember reading that if you have a GC from "any" visa and you meet someone and marry in the USA then you can convert her from the "current visa" to 

What? His girlfriend already has a green card and he needs to apply for a visa that once he enters the US will give him a green card. 

 

No idea what you meant by your post. 

[arken 4,197]

Processing time doesn’t change based on the cosponsor.

 

It may take a year or more to get the citizenship after one applies for it. So i suggest you two marry in PHI and she can start filing i130. As time goes on and she becomes a citizen, if i130 is already approved, NVC process and interview will be scheduled without any wait. This way you can save a year or so of time.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

8 minutes ago, Roel said:

What? His girlfriend already has a green card and he needs to apply for a visa that once he enters the US will give him a green card. 

 

No idea what you meant by your post. 

I had the two turned around. I thought she was in the states with a GC and he was also in the states. But after getting the morning sleep out of my eyes I see he is in the PH living in Cebu. My mistake and thank you for pointing that out.

[bf109k11 0]

36 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

I'm not well versed on this topic but I remember reading that if you have a GC from "any" visa and you meet someone and marry in the USA then you can convert her from the "current visa" to LPR. But again I am not sure. You may want to google and see what you can find. I just did google but since I don't know what visa she is currently using it's hard to get a definitive answer.

 

I think this is a question that should be asked in a different forum as it's not a Philippines matter.

Hello Greenbaum, my girlfriend currently have Category E35 Visa. Possibly her mother would have EB-3 Visa or skilled/professional worker which is a Nurse for 30 years before immigrating to the USA.

19 minutes ago, Roel said:

Yes.  It will take over a year no matter what. 

Thanks for clarifying, so it is best filing the petition regardless if she's a GC holder or USC? right?

15 minutes ago, arken said:

Processing time doesn’t change based on the cosponsor.

 

It may take a year or more to get the citizenship after one applies for it. So i suggest you two marry in PHI and she can start filing i130. As time goes on and she becomes a citizen, if i130 is already approved, NVC process and interview will be scheduled without any wait. This way you can save a year or so of time.

Hello Arken, as of now we can't possibly physically meet yet since she just started her nursing Career and her first day will be on the August 8. She decided to fly home by next year after a year of working for good record when she decided to file the petition if she will be asked for tax returns or the likes to prove that his earning anually is enough to pass for the said visa.

By then, I think it is better that she'll just file for american citizen first since she'll fly home by next year and naturalization may take a year right? By then when she'll fly back, she can be an USC already then we will do a civil wedding.

 

10 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

I had the two turned around. I thought she was in the states with a GC and he was also in the states. But after getting the morning sleep out of my eyes I see he is in the PH living in Cebu. My mistake and thank you for pointing that out.

Thank you as well, I'm currently in the PH while my GF on E35 Visa is at Texas but about to be working.

[Hank_ 9,174]

2 hours ago, bf109k11 said:

Hello I need help on my future plans.

My girlfriend is currently working as a new nurse in Texas with annual income of 40k-45k$. She is 22 years old while I am 23 years old currently in Cebu City/PH. We've planned that once she acquires her US Citizenship, she'll fly back to the PH to arrange our Civil Wedding so she can start filing the petition for CR-1 Visa/Spouse Visa. We've decided to choose this kind of Visa instead of fiancee after long research on youtube that CR-1 is better one since I'll be getting the greencard right away if it were to be approved rather than getting fiancee visa though i can fly immediately but i can get the green card late due to adjustment status which is costlier compared to CR-1 as well.

So my question are the following;

 - US Side;

She entered the USA through her mom who is also a nurse as well. I forgot what kind of petition filed by her mom before. She entered the USA around 16-17 years old but she has greencard already. In total, her stay on the territory is about going to 5 years as of this writing. 

But, even she has greencard, she came back home for studies at the university to finish her nursing couse. But every after semester, she needs to go back to the USA for some reasons or possible immigration reasons that she isn't allowed to stay longer than 6 months or 12 months.

If she were to file for naturalization or american citizenship, do any of you guys have an idea how many months it will take?

If she were to file a CR-1 spousal visa, what are the chance or odds of getting faster process compared to a PR Resident/Greencard to American Citizen?

What are the timelime of Spouse Visa and chances of approval if applied by the following;

 - PR/Green card 

 - American Citizen

 - PH Side

Once she acquires her US Citizenship, we decided that we would take Civil Wedding by 2019 so we can jumpstart the Spouse/CR-1 visa earlier. We projected that possibly by 2020 we will have the Visa already. 

If we will take vows through civil wedding by 2019, then the visa will be issued by 2020, do I need to fly immediately to the USA? Am i not allowed to stay for another months to arrange our church wedding?

Another question is, if we do Civil Wedding by 2019, can we still do Church Wedding by 2020/2021? We plan to save up a bit and we'll go home to PH. One of the girl's dream is to have a beautiful wedding that's why I want to know if it is allowed to do church wedding by next year after acquiring civil wedding by 2019.

I do apologize if there are some grammar errors and my questions is quite difficult.

I want to thank you for making it this far. Thank you in advance.

 

 

Your girlfriend is an LPR (green card) and you want to get married and move to the USA, after she acquires her USC.    

 

You could get married NOW and your then wife could file for an F1 (spouse) visa,  I-130 immigrant.   Your girlfriend is 21 or over so that requirement is completed,  now you need to get married         Then during the processing if she becomes a USC she need only contact USCIS/NVC/DOS (Embassy)  depending on where the case file is at that time.. your category will then be converted from F1 to IR/CR-1 spouse visa.    

 

Naturalization (citizenship) has been taking 6-12 months currently.   Normal processing for an immigrant visa is roughly 12 months or slightly more.

 

You want to get to the USA and be with your, soon to be, wife as soon as possible?    Then you get married as soon as possible, and your wife files the I-130 petition as soon as possible.   

 

Why are you talking a civil wedding when you want a church wedding?  (you can only get married ONCE, anything after that is simple a renewal of vows .. just a show, not an actual wedding)

 

Your, soon to be, wife, has more than adequate income to petition you on her own WITHOUT a co-sponsor (mom).

 

Follow this route and you will be done in 2020.

 

 

Poverty Guidelines is $20,575 for two people (your wife and you)

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

Edited August 5, 2018 by Hank_

[bf109k11 0]

7 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

 

Your girlfriend is an LPR (green card) and you want to get married and move to the USA, after she acquires her USC.    

 

You could get married NOW and your then wife could file for an F1 (spouse) visa,  I-130 immigrant.   Your girlfriend is 21 or over so that requirement is completed,  now you need to get married         Then during the processing if she becomes a USC she need only contact USCIS/NVC/DOS (Embassy)  depending on where the case file is at that time.. your category will then be converted from F1 to IR/CR-1 spouse visa.     (Greenbaum is on track with this)

 

Naturalization (citizenship) has been taking 6-12 months currently.   Normal processing for an immigrant visa is roughly 12 months or slightly more.

 

You want to get to the USA and be with your, soon to be, wife as soon as possible?    Then you get married as soon as possible, and your wife files the I-130 petition as soon as possible.   

 

Why are you talking a civil wedding when you want a church wedding?  (you can only get married ONCE, anything after that is simple a renewal of vows .. just a show, not an actual wedding)

 

Your, soon to be, wife, has more than adequate income to petition you on her own WITHOUT a co-sponsor (mom).

 

Follow this route and you will be done in 2020.

Hello Hank, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.

It is impossible for us to do a church wedding by next year since we are certain that her family won't be able to attend since some of them are on FL and have their own work and careers and may have issues availing for a time-off. Her mother as well will be on a Eurotrip next year so if even we do a church or civil wedding by 2019, it is impossible for her mother to attend which is crucial and important. 

So we've decided that let's just take the path of married through civil by 2019 so by the time you go to the USA, you can start filing the spouse visa. Then once we have enough savings then we arrange our church wedding. Now I know that I can only marry once then this may prolong our plans if we ever skip on marrying through civil by 2019 into marrying through church by 2020 then she start on filing by spouse visa by 2020 and possibly flying out by 2021.

I wouldn't mind if it will be a renewal of vows for as long as I can give what she wanted which is a church wedding. Isn't there any restrictions on that when it comes to the church that we were married already through civil not long than 2-3 years?

I'm glad to know as well that her income would be enough to petition me without any sponsor.

[Hank_ 9,174]

3 minutes ago, bf109k11 said:

Hello Hank, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.

It is impossible for us to do a church wedding by next year since we are certain that her family won't be able to attend since some of them are on FL and have their own work and careers and may have issues availing for a time-off. Her mother as well will be on a Eurotrip next year so if even we do a church or civil wedding by 2019, it is impossible for her mother to attend which is crucial and important. 

So we've decided that let's just take the path of married through civil by 2019 so by the time you go to the USA, you can start filing the spouse visa. Then once we have enough savings then we arrange our church wedding. Now I know that I can only marry once then this may prolong our plans if we ever skip on marrying through civil by 2019 into marrying through church by 2020 then she start on filing by spouse visa by 2020 and possibly flying out by 2021.

I wouldn't mind if it will be a renewal of vows for as long as I can give what she wanted which is a church wedding. Isn't there any restrictions on that when it comes to the church that we were married already through civil not long than 2-3 years?

I'm glad to know as well that her income would be enough to petition me without any sponsor.

I do understand logistics.  If you are catholic and what to complete a renewal of vows "later" in a church but did a civil wedding  don't expect the church to be cooperative.        (there are no restrictions for a renewal of vows .. after all it is just a "show" nothing legal is taking place.)    Do give this some serious checking with YOUR church before taking the leap.   You may be wiser to do a small church wedding now, then the SHOW later for family.   Check with your church (yup I am repeating myself .. for a reason)

 

Once you have your PSA copy of your marriage certificate you two can start the visa process ....    BURNING DAYLIGHT son!!!      

[bf109k11 0]

5 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

I do understand logistics.  If you are catholic and what to complete a renewal of vows "later" in a church but did a civil wedding  don't expect the church to be cooperative.        (there are no restrictions for a renewal of vows .. after all it is just a "show" nothing legal is taking place.)    Do give this some serious checking with YOUR church before taking the leap.   You may be wiser to do a small church wedding now, then the SHOW later for family.   Check with your church (yup I am repeating myself .. for a reason)

 

Once you have your PSA copy of your marriage certificate you two can start the visa process ....    BURNING DAYLIGHT son!!!      

Does this type of situation ever happened to someone you know? Is it really a challenge getting a "Wedding" show after being married lawfully through civil after a year or two?

If it were just me to decide, I'd just take the civil wedding as being a practical man. But since she is a girl and one of her dreams walking down the aisle, then there's no choice for me but to plan it well and to ensure that even we are married through civil, we should be married as well by church.

Waiting game is on once the process started 😂

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

***** Moving from Philippines to What Visa do I Need forum as not directly related to country specific policies *****

[Hank_ 9,174]

4 minutes ago, bf109k11 said:

Does this type of situation ever happened to someone you know? Is it really a challenge getting a "Wedding" show after being married lawfully through civil after a year or two?

If it were just me to decide, I'd just take the civil wedding as being a practical man. But since she is a girl and one of her dreams walking down the aisle, then there's no choice for me but to plan it well and to ensure that even we are married through civil, we should be married as well by church.

Waiting game is on once the process started 😂

I know of a few that ran into issues later trying to complete a renewal of vows at a catholic church later,  other churches not an issue.     My wife wanted the big wedding later, which we did, but she is not catholic so the minister had zero issues.    We also did one of those big venues.

 

Ya guys are not into all the wedding stuff.. we are more interested in the life long stuff... the marriage.   Put some cool electronics in front of us and all the rules are out the window.    

 

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by Hank_