Is K1 interview in US possible???

[mushroomspore 3,044]

3 hours ago, vistawateraz said:

We filed out K1 back in April when she was here for a Feb-August stay.  She had to leave a month early and returned late August with a leave date of Feb 2019 (we told immigration that she was my fiance, he saw her B2 visa), so they knew why she was here. We never planned on submitting an AOS because we were waiting for the K1 to be approved. So if we get married now, would it look like visa abuse, or is the fact that a K1 is already in process proof that we're serious? How long is "authorized stay"?  We're close to finishing this off (maybe a few months away), but I'd just like to avoid the trip back to SA and all the associated hassles.  

All AoS applicants (whether they are doing AoS from K1 or a different status) are under authorized stay until they receive the final decision for their green card. She will have to go back to her home country for her K1 interview. No way around that.

 

I would not suggest trying to do AoS now. It will cause complications and USCIS will not respond to your changes instantly. Stick with your K1 process.

Edited September 14, 2018 by mushroomspore

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

A little history lesson

the beneficary use to come to the US and interview at local immigraiton office /that is why, for years, the questions were strange (like what color is the carpet in USC's bedroom)

they changed the system because people misused it / now you must view in your country

[JFH 12,190]

If she stays now and files AOS from B-2 she won't be able to go home and sort out all those strong ties to her home that she demonstrated to the interviewer at the embassy. 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

7 minutes ago, JFH said:

If she stays now and files AOS from B-2 she won't be able to go home and sort out all those strong ties to her home that she demonstrated to the interviewer at the embassy. 

Agreed. This is not like returning an item you bought off Amazon because you realized that there's a newer model of the same thing. 

[Ann&James 179]

4 hours ago, vistawateraz said:

Was curious if anyone has been able to have their K1 interview in the US instead of the foreign consulate?  My fiance' is here on a B2 visa until February 2019, and our I-129 was just approved by USCIS on August 16th. I have a feeling that going back to her country for the interview will be mandatory, but was just wondering.

 

Dan 

After waiting such a long time for approval why not follow through with the k1 and avoid any conflict. It's almost over anyway and it's the correct thing to do.

[Diane and Chris 651]

18 minutes ago, JFH said:

If she stays now and files AOS from B-2 she won't be able to go home and sort out all those strong ties to her home that she demonstrated to the interviewer at the embassy. 

That’s what I was thinking. How can someone come here and have absolutely no ties back home and nothing she needs to wrap up before coming here to get married?  How was she able to get that visa in the first place?  

[mushroomspore 3,044]

19 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

That’s what I was thinking. How can someone come here and have absolutely no ties back home and nothing she needs to wrap up before coming here to get married?  How was she able to get that visa in the first place?  

Not only that but anyone taking this lengthy process on needs to have already accepted the sacrifices and negative aspects that the process requires before actually entering into it. Time apart is obviously the most prominent sacrifice.

[vistawateraz 28]

Wow!!  I expected more from folks on this site, didn't expect assumptions. All I asked was if she could interview here, that's it.  For all the folks who are questioning her, we've been together for 2 years. This is her 4th trip to the US, I've been to SA twice. We've been very fortunate to travel and spend as much time together as we have. I was only seeing if it was possible to avoid traveling back and interviewing here... Sheesh...

 

 

[TM92 527]

1 hour ago, mushroomspore said:

I would not suggest trying to do AoS now. It will cause complications and USCIS will not respond to your changes instantly. Stick with your K1 process.

46 minutes ago, JFH said:

If she stays now and files AOS from B-2 she won't be able to go home and sort out all those strong ties to her home that she demonstrated to the interviewer at the embassy.

I don't see any complications; if they marry now the K-1 route will no longer be valid, simple as that. Plus, they probably submitted a letter that said they are free to marry and intend to do so with the I-129F; so they wouldn't have lied.

26 minutes ago, Ann&James said:

After waiting such a long time for approval why not follow through with the k1 and avoid any conflict. It's almost over anyway and it's the correct thing to do.

As @EM_Vandaveer mentioned, the B-2 AOS can potentially result in a faster green card (and potentially cheaper, depending on the specific costs).

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

34 minutes ago, Ann&James said:

After waiting such a long time for approval why not follow through with the k1 and avoid any conflict. It's almost over anyway and it's the correct thing to do.

Unless she entered with intent to marry & adjust status, both routes are "correct" & legal.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

5 hours ago, vistawateraz said:

We filed out K1 back in April when she was here for a Feb-August stay.  She had to leave a month early and returned late August with a leave date of Feb 2019 (we told immigration that she was my fiance, he saw her B2 visa), so they knew why she was here. We never planned on submitting an AOS because we were waiting for the K1 to be approved. So if we get married now, would it look like visa abuse, or is the fact that a K1 is already in process proof that we're serious? How long is "authorized stay"?  We're close to finishing this off (maybe a few months away), but I'd just like to avoid the trip back to SA and all the associated hassles.  

It would not look bad. Intent in itself is NOT  reason to deny a USC's spouse's AOS application, anyway. The authorized stay is for the whole time the application is pending. If you choose to do it that way, she CANNOT leave without an AP (you can file for this with I-131 that you send with the other forms, it takes 4-6 months to get it) because if she leaves without AP in hand, the application will be denied & you'll have to start over by filing for a spousal visa.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

8 minutes ago, TM92 said:

I don't see any complications; if they marry now the K-1 route will no longer be valid, simple as that. Plus, they probably submitted a letter that said they are free to marry and intend to do so with the I-129F; so they wouldn't have lied.

As @EM_Vandaveer mentioned, the B-2 AOS can potentially result in a faster green card (and potentially cheaper, depending on the specific costs).

Legally speaking, sure, she COULD do AoS now. However, I was advising against it because OP has already paid for the K1 petition and will be paying the AoS fees anyways. They would avoid paying the flight back to her home country but there may also be unforeseen expenses that could eat up that money in other ways. If she stays in the US, maybe she'll have to pay more to take care of certain things back home.  You just never know. It seems completely unnecessary to do AoS now when they're already going to be filing AoS after she enters with the K1 in the near future. That's all. I'm out.

[Diane and Chris 651]

7 minutes ago, vistawateraz said:

Wow!!  I expected more from folks on this site, didn't expect assumptions. All I asked was if she could interview here, that's it.  For all the folks who are questioning her, we've been together for 2 years. This is her 4th trip to the US, I've been to SA twice. We've been very fortunate to travel and spend as much time together as we have. I was only seeing if it was possible to avoid traveling back and interviewing here... Sheesh...

 

 

We have to assume certain things if you are asking questions. We speculate the possible scenarios that could happen as a result of doing things different than what you originally intended. If you don’t want to know, I would suggest not asking. We have all been through long journeys to get to where we are today. We know you want to be together just as we all did and do. Hopefully, everything will work out for the two of you. You may just need to sacrifice a bit more until it’s over. 

[vistawateraz 28]

If anyone has questions, just ask, I'm more than willing to share my story.  Sorry if i got a little peeved, I was just hoping that she wouldn't have to go back to SA.  This journey has been amazing, and the time it's taken isn't an issue at all, we understand what we got in to. To reiterate, I was just asking if she could interview here.

 

Thank you for all the replies.

 

Dan

[TM92 527]

9 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

but there may also be unforeseen expenses that could eat up that money in other ways. If she stays in the US, maybe she'll have to pay more to take care of certain things back home.

Of course; the best tally of expenses will be made by @vistawateraz. Even if the tally is close, they already said they prefer "to avoid the trip back to SA and all the associated hassles." If she does B-2 AOS it is 100% legal.