Will Marry Foreign Wife in the Summer - What is the Quickest Way to Get Her Into the States?

[Don4593 1]

Hi, 

This is my very first question on this topic, so if you can be easy and informative that would be great so I can understand which direction I need to go in. I am not familiar with all of the forms or visa types, so I just want to preface by saying that.  

I am an American, my fiancee is Russia. We both live in Russia

She applied for a tourist visa 3x and was denied. We are set to marry this summer. We are trying to plan a trip to attend my brother's wedding in the U.S., which is only 2 months after our marriage.

1. Can you tell me everything I need to do to get her in the U.S.?  
2. Can you tell me the fastest way to get her into the U.S.?  
3. How long will it take to get her into the U.S.?  
4. Should we hire a lawyer?  
5. What are the costs associated with going through this procedure? 

[Precisely 95]

K1 is the fastest way but that is a fiance visa, so that's unavailable once you marry. Most people would recommend CR-1/IR-1 visa anyway - this is the marriage visa and takes 12-15 months on average so she can't make it in time for your brother's wedding. You may be eligible for Direct Consular Filing: https://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf. DCF can be extremely fast in some stages but unlikely you'll finish the entire process in 2 months.

 

1. This is easily DIY if you follow the guides https://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/. People will help if you have specific questions but you'll unlikely find someone patient enough to explain "everything". Your first step is to file the i130 and i130a, along with supporting documentation.

2. Fastest way is the CR-1/IR-1 if you married (better than the K-1). 12-15 months on average (perhaps less with DCF).

3. As above.

4. You can do this process fairly easily on your own. Lawyers are needed if you have particular challenges to overcome, e.g. if her previous denials were due to illegal activities then lawyers can help with waivers.

5. Guides can show you how much this will cost. I have done the CR-1 and start to finish it has been approx $ 1,500

[Going through 5,671]

31 minutes ago, Don4593 said:

She applied for a tourist visa 3x and was denied. We are set to marry this summer. We are trying to plan a trip to attend my brother's wedding in the U.S., which is only 2 months after our marriage.

She'll unlikely be able to attend your brother's wedding with you, so don't plan on this happening.

 

Just because she is married to a US citizen will not increase her chances of a tourist visa being approved, especially with 3 denials beforehand....and with a new USC husband, and/or a pending spousal visa, she will have even stronger ties to the US (rather than stronger ties to her home country) as the CO will automatically presume she is intending to overstay her visit visa to adjust status from within the States.

[Roel 7,192]

Guides. Read those. 

[Dashinka 24,513]

As @Apelcina said, Direct Consular Filing (DCF) may be an option since you are both living in Russia.  This is usually the fastest way to bring a spouse to the US, but others ( @millefleur) may have better knowledge.  As others have said, and I agree, I doubt she can make it to your brother's wedding.

 

Good Luck!

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

I will not repeat valuable advice people already gave, but just to echo the words of a great man once said: “ there is nothing fast, easy, or cheap about immigration”

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

18 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

As @Apelcina said, Direct Consular Filing (DCF) may be an option since you are both living in Russia.  This is usually the fastest way to bring a spouse to the US, but others ( @millefleur) may have better knowledge.  As others have said, and I agree, I doubt she can make it to your brother's wedding.

 

Good Luck!

 I totally missed that part but it would work out for them. 

[nastra30 2,287]

In terms of US immigration, the fastest way won't be a sprint. The fastest way will be a marathon; best case scenario half marathon. You should look into the DCF as the 'race' to run since you both live abroad, as others have suggested. The next best 'race' after that is the CR1 'race' which is 12+ months. Good luck. I hope you win your 'race'.

[millefleur 5,046]

**Moved from Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration**

 

9 hours ago, Don4593 said:

She applied for a tourist visa 3x and was denied. We are set to marry this summer. We are trying to plan a trip to attend my brother's wedding in the U.S., which is only 2 months after our marriage.

Hi there, so concerning DCF in Russia: the Moscow USCIS field office is closing March 29, 2019. If you will be married before the office closes, you can file the I-130 there and it will be significantly faster than the lockbox processing. Our petition was approved in 9 days. This is a big contrast to processing via the Chicago lockbox that takes anywhere from 12-15 months. However, you mentioned you are set to marry this summer, so it looks like you will miss this opportunity.

 

Regarding the tourist visa: at this point, I wouldn't even bother with that again. She has a fiancé who is an American citizen, it will be impossible to overcome immigrant intent. Hiring a lawyer will be of no help at all when it comes to a tourist visa. There is also the K-1 fiancé visa but that requires her to marry in the US and then a bunch of other steps to adjust status before getting a GC...but again if the marriage is set to take place in Russia, this won't be an option.

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by millefleur

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

**Moved from Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration**

 

Hi there, so concerning DCF in Russia: the Moscow USCIS field office is closing March 29, 2019. If you will be married before the office closes, you can file the I-130 there and it will be significantly faster than the lockbox processing. Our petition was approved in 9 days. This is a big contrast to processing via the Chicago lockbox that takes anywhere from 12-15 months. However, you mentioned you are set to marry this summer, so it looks like you will miss this opportunity.

 

Regarding the tourist visa: at this point, I wouldn't even bother with that again. She has a fiancé who is an American citizen, it will be impossible to overcome immigrant intent. Hiring a lawyer will be of no help at all when it comes to a tourist visa. There is also the K-1 fiancé visa but that requires her to marry in the US and then a bunch of other steps to adjust status before getting a GC...but again if the marriage is set to take place in Russia, this won't be an option.

 

If that's the case and you want to have a big planned wedding in the summer, would it be possible to just have a courthouse/civil wedding (even in secret) for now so you can file DCF? Get her application going now. If she gets her visa to move, have your formal wedding in Russia then move the US after in time for your brother's wedding.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Sarah&Facundo

[millefleur 5,046]

38 minutes ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

If that's the case and you want to have a big planned wedding in the summer, would it be possible to just have a courthouse/civil wedding (even in secret) for now so you can file DCF? Get her application going now. If she gets her visa to move, have your formal wedding in Russia then move the US after in time for your brother's wedding.

It is possible, as DCF only requires that the applicants have a marriage certificate and are legally married at the time they file...I'm not sure if the USCIS office in Moscow has any minimum file by dates since it will be closing soon. The OP would need to call them directly to clarify that if he decided to consider this route.

 

There is also the other DCF option, the "exceptional circumstances" one. This would be something to consider if the requirements were met. This would be available even after the USCIS office closes. More info about that here:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf

Edited February 27, 2019 by millefleur

[Scandi 4,166]

20 hours ago, Don4593 said:

Hi, 

Are you planning on actually living in the US or are you only interested in a short stay to attend the wedding?

[Rocko20 159]

19 hours ago, USS_Voyager said:

I will not repeat valuable advice people already gave, but just to echo the words of a great man once said: “ there is nothing fast, easy, or cheap about immigration”

 

Yup. As a person with a wife in the in the AOS for 4 months waiting for my wife's work permit  (+8 months it took for the K1 to be approved), I can agree there is nothing fast, easy, or cheap about an immigrant visa. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Rocko20

[Dashinka 24,513]

18 hours ago, millefleur said:

It is possible, as DCF only requires that the applicants have a marriage certificate and are legally married at the time they file...I'm not sure if the USCIS office in Moscow has any minimum file by dates since it will be closing soon. The OP would need to call them directly to clarify that if he decided to consider this route.

 

There is also the other DCF option, the "exceptional circumstances" one. This would be something to consider if the requirements were met. This would be available even after the USCIS office closes. More info about that here:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf

The last day to file at the Moscow USCIS desk is 2/28, so I think DCF is a moot point.

 

USCIS will permanently close our field office in Moscow, Russia, on March 29, 2019. The last day the office will be open to the public and accepting applications is Feb. 28. Please read our web alert for information on services and filing forms.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/russia-uscis-moscow-field-office

Edited February 28, 2019 by Bill & Katya

[millefleur 5,046]

1 hour ago, Bill & Katya said:

The last day to file at the Moscow USCIS desk is 2/28, so I think DCF is a moot point.

 

USCIS will permanently close our field office in Moscow, Russia, on March 29, 2019. The last day the office will be open to the public and accepting applications is Feb. 28. Please read our web alert for information on services and filing forms.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/russia-uscis-moscow-field-office

Good catch. I figured they might have some kind of deadline due to the closure. So DCF for the OP would only be an option via the Embassy for exceptional circumstances then.