Will changing countries affect visa application?

[JoshKes 0]

I’m a US citizen. I lived in Macau, China for a couple of years. I’ve moved back to the US, now. My fiancé is an Indonesian citizen living and working in Macau, China. What we’d like to do is file for a fiancé visa, then file for a tourist visa. Have her come to visit for a while (as long as she can), then, when she leaves, she’d return to Indonesia for the remainder of the wait for the fiancé visa. She owns property there and wants to sell it before moving to the US. My concern is that her changing country of residence will throw a giant wrench in the gears. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[payxibka 10,047]

3 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

I’m a US citizen. I lived in Macau, China for a couple of years. I’ve moved back to the US, now. My fiancé is an Indonesian citizen living and working in Macau, China. What we’d like to do is file for a fiancé visa, then file for a tourist visa. Have her come to visit for a while (as long as she can), then, when she leaves, she’d return to Indonesia for the remainder of the wait for the fiancé visa. She owns property there and wants to sell it before moving to the US. My concern is that her changing country of residence will throw a giant wrench in the gears. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Not a giant wrench.  Nothing a few weeks additional to get the file transferred in the event they send it to the wrong place

[SalishSea 18,161]

15 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

I’m a US citizen. I lived in Macau, China for a couple of years. I’ve moved back to the US, now. My fiancé is an Indonesian citizen living and working in Macau, China. What we’d like to do is file for a fiancé visa, then file for a tourist visa. Have her come to visit for a while (as long as she can), then, when she leaves, she’d return to Indonesia for the remainder of the wait for the fiancé visa. She owns property there and wants to sell it before moving to the US. My concern is that her changing country of residence will throw a giant wrench in the gears. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Won't be a problem, but her chances of getting a tourist visa are not great.

[Pitaya 2,577]

13 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

I’m a US citizen. I lived in Macau, China for a couple of years. I’ve moved back to the US, now. My fiancé is an Indonesian citizen living and working in Macau, China. What we’d like to do is file for a fiancé visa, then file for a tourist visa. Have her come to visit for a while (as long as she can), then, when she leaves, she’d return to Indonesia for the remainder of the wait for the fiancé visa. She owns property there and wants to sell it before moving to the US. My concern is that her changing country of residence will throw a giant wrench in the gears. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Welcome to the forum.

 

That is a very good question. In fact, it is so good, and asked so often, that you should check out the FIRST pinned thread at the top of this forum's page for more info: Yes, You Can Visit, https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

 

[JoshKes 0]

Thanks for the tips. I read the pinned thread, or at least several parts of it. My primary concern wasn’t whether or not she could get a tourist visa while waiting on the fiancé visa. My concern was whether her changing country of residence would negatively impact her fiancé visa, or, if her leaving one country and returning to a different one would affect the tourist visa. The “Yes you can visit” pinned post is rather lengthy. I tried to pursue it and read many of the comments but didn’t stumble across anything that matched our situation. I’ll go back and search it some more. Thanks again.

[Pitaya 2,577]

She can interview where she has residency. Trying to do "embassy/consulate shopping," i.e., moving it around after the location is stated in the  K1 petition and is submitted, can be frought with problems and/or delays. Additionally, changing interviewing embassies/consulates is generally at the discretion of the receiving embassy/consulate. 

 

Probably the more immediate issue, as indicated by the previous responses, is her getting a visitor visa to the US. She has to show strong ties to her country of domicile, such that she will go home at the end of the limit of her visitor visa, and that she does not have immigration intent. The COs are trained to look for prevarication and fraud, and as a consequence, it is likely hard for her to show that she will go home after the visit, especially since she will be in the middle of the K1 Fiancee visa process.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[JoshKes 0]

I understand. We may have to make a different plan, then. She was wanting to stay with her current job in Macau as long as possible, but, she also needs to take care of some things in Indonesia before moving here. I was hoping that her owning a house in Indonesia and having a ticket to there in hand would be evidence she plans to leave the US when scheduled. Maybe she will need to return to Indonesia before we apply for anything. She just didn’t want to be stuck living there for the better part of a year. Macau is much nicer.

[Crazy Cat 42,388]

1 minute ago, JoshKes said:

I was hoping that her owning a house in Indonesia and having a ticket to there in hand would be evidence she plans to leave the US when scheduled.

Unfortunately, those are not strong ties.  Have you considered a spousal visa?

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US (currently about 5 months sooner)    
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US (currently about 5 months later)

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

[geowrian 22,338]

11 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

 I was hoping that her owning a house in Indonesia and having a ticket to there in hand would be evidence she plans to leave the US when scheduled.

A house she hasn't been living in for years. So how would it be a strong tie if she did without it for that long already?

Nearly every person that has flown into the US and subsequently overstayed or adjusted status had a return or onward ticket.

 

I do wish her good luck. But just realize the items you noted are not ties.

Edited June 12, 2019 by geowrian

[usmsbow 802]

58 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

Thanks for the tips. I read the pinned thread, or at least several parts of it. My primary concern wasn’t whether or not she could get a tourist visa while waiting on the fiancé visa. My concern was whether her changing country of residence would negatively impact her fiancé visa, or, if her leaving one country and returning to a different one would affect the tourist visa. The “Yes you can visit” pinned post is rather lengthy. I tried to pursue it and read many of the comments but didn’t stumble across anything that matched our situation. I’ll go back and search it some more. Thanks again.

 

1. No, changing her country of residence won't negatively impact the K-1 except maybe add a few extra weeks to the process as payxibka said. 

2. I don't know how it would impact a tourist visa either. I'm not clear on that concern of yours.

3. None of us except you and your fiancee know her situation. If she is gainfully employed, has traveled extensively, etc then she might have a good shot at getting a tourist visa. If she is a domestic worker or in the service industry, then I'd say the chances of her getting a tourist visa are very slim. All that being said, it would probably be better to apply for the tourist visa before the K-1, and not after. And she probably has a better shot at getting approved for the B-2 by applying at the Hong Kong consulate than back in Indonesia. 

 

 

[payxibka 10,047]

59 minutes ago, Pitaya (火龙果) said:

She can interview where she has residency. Trying to do "embassy/consulate shopping," i.e., moving it around after the location is stated in the  K1 petition and is submitted, can be frought with problems and/or delays. Additionally, changing interviewing embassies/consulates is generally at the discretion of the receiving embassy/consulate. 

 

Probably the more immediate issue, as indicated by the previous responses, is her getting a visitor visa to the US. She has to show strong ties to her country of domicile, such that she will go home at the end of the limit of her visitor visa, and that she does not have immigration intent. The COs are trained to look for prevarication and fraud, and as a consequence, it is likely hard for her to show that she will go home after the visit, especially since she will be in the middle of the K1 Fiancee visa process.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Returning to your country of nationality is not consulate shopping 

[JoshKes 0]

We’re definitely not wanting to attempt anything nefarious. She has a decent job, it’s an office position with Ritz Carlton, and a decent savings. We’re just wanting to get married and for both of us to live here in the US. We’d also like for her to be able to visit me here and for her to be able to go back to visit family in Indonesia and sell her property there. She’s traveled extensively through Southeast Asia, but never to Europe or the US. We’re just looking for the best route to accomplish these things.

 

Again, thanks for all the advice.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

55 minutes ago, JoshKes said:

We’re definitely not wanting to attempt anything nefarious. She has a decent job, it’s an office position with Ritz Carlton, and a decent savings. We’re just wanting to get married and for both of us to live here in the US. We’d also like for her to be able to visit me here and for her to be able to go back to visit family in Indonesia and sell her property there. She’s traveled extensively through Southeast Asia, but never to Europe or the US. We’re just looking for the best route to accomplish these things.

 

Again, thanks for all the advice.

She can have the interview in whatever consulate you both choose, with that is Macau or Jarkarta that is up to you. A tourist visa is always something she can get if she shows enough evidence that she will return back to Macau or Indonesia.

[payxibka 10,047]

1 hour ago, JoshKes said:

We’re definitely not wanting to attempt anything nefarious.

Nothing nefarious,  just some overzealous advice