Had K-1 visa, now married and filed K-3

[Austin_Volgograd 0]

Hi all!

My wife and I had previously filed a K-1 petition. During the months of waiting for our lawyer to send documents (lots of problems), and the subsequent processing time, we decided to get married (January 13, 2006).

We have already started the I-130/K-3 petition process. In the meantime, our original K-1 petition was approved and sent on to the Embassy in Moscow. We recently received word that the Embassy has scheduled an interview for May 11th.

I know. I know. We should have just waited for the K-1 to finish. In hind sight, that would have gotten her here quicker. But our hearts had other things in mind. Ahhhh... The foolishness of love!

Our lawyer for the K-1 told me he sent all the necessary cancellation requests to the USCIS, et al. I've since taken a new lawyer for the K-3 because the first lawyer wanted $2,000+ dollars to restart everything. Highway robbery!! Especially after the crappy job he did with the K-1! He always had an excuse why our documents didn't get sent. (Hurricane in New Orleans - he is in Alabama; death in the family of his paralegal, he moved his office, he lost our documents -- ARGH!) It took him THREE, yes 3, MONTHS to send our K-1 petition. I won't mention the name here, but the firm is/was supposedly VERY reputable and has a purported 100% success rate.

Anyways... back to the original topic. What I am curious about:

Has anyone else had experience with filing a K-1 petion and then getting married (to the same woman) and filing a K-3 petition?

Did (could) the original K-1 petition cause any problems or questions?

Could the original K-1 petition actually speed things up any? I know it's not likely, but would they realize they've already done a background check and move it along any quicker? Yeah, yeah... I know it's just a dream.

I'll definitely share my experience as things unfold here. I'm just curious if anyone else has been down this road.

Thanks!

[Jasman0717 9]

I believe that since you are married you have to pursue the K-3 option. If you would go to the interview and lie about the marriage and the government would find out I think you would put yourself in a huge hole! Good luck

[Austin_Volgograd 0]

I believe that since you are married you have to pursue the K-3 option. If you would go to the interview and lie about the marriage and the government would find out I think you would put yourself in a huge hole! Good luck

We *are* pursuing the K-3 option, and we have no intention of going to the K-1 interview. We've already told the government about our marriage, and requested that they cancel the existing previous K-1 petition. They're just slow about responding to our cancellation. There's no way we could lie about the marriage anyways. My most excellent and wonderful wife has already received her Russian passport and international passport with her new surname.

My questions are whether the previous K-1 petition (which we have cancelled) will hurt, help, or not change our *new*, current K-3 visa process.

What I meant was... Since they've already done a full background check and approved everything (except for the interview), will the government - in its infinite wisdom - do the full background check again? Or will they realize... "Hey! We've already done a check on this woman!" and just move it along more quickly. I'm 99.44% sure they'll do the checks all over again. I was just hoping someone has been through this before and would say "Naw... They'll just see it's the same woman." and hasten the process a bit.

BTW: I just checked my home mailbox and got the letter from NVC saying that all the stuff was being sent to Moscow - dated March 8th. I don't check this mailbox for my physical home address often because I get tooooo much junk mail. I have a P.O. box for all my important stuff. The stupid lawyer from the K-1 used the bad mailbox for my mailing address. What a jerk he was/is!

Best wishes,

Austin_Volgograd

[aussiewench 9]

When you say you have let the government know that you are married now and wish to cancel the petition.......Have you let the Consulate know? You can do this by sending a letter to them telling them you have gotten married and will no longer pursue the K-1. Include the case number, names and date of birth of petitioner and beneficiary. Tie up the loose ends.

To answer your questions.......

No, having the prior petition wont affect the new petition. You got married instead, simple. There is a question that asks 'if you have ever filed a petition before', just answer it.

It will be a whole new process....security checks, the lot from scratch.

[cycleserg 0]

I have a different twist to this question. My fiance want us to get married in Russia and then apply for a K3 visa. She is religious and want a wedding with all her relatives before she moves to the states.

I would rather she come on a K1 visa because I heard they are faster.

What if we marry in a church in Russia to satisfy her and apply for a K1 visa and marry in the US again.

Will that even work?

[jula 0]

Can somebody help with the link to recent article on ILW.com where it is decribed how abandoning of K-1 and going for K-3 can be viewed as misrepresentation? Something for you Austin to look into...

Cycleserg - no, that would not work.

[Austin_Volgograd 0]

Can somebody help with the link to recent article on ILW.com where it is decribed how abandoning of K-1 and going for K-3 can be viewed as misrepresentation? Something for you Austin to look into...

Cycleserg - no, that would not work.

How in the world can getting married and abandoning the K-1 because we're now married be viewed as misrepresentation?

If we didn't abandon/cancel the original K-1, I could understand a conflict. But we're being totally honest here, and we got married because we love each other and didn't want to wait any longer to be married (i.e. the paperwork was taking longer than our hearts could handle).

I tried searching ILW.com but I couldn't find anything of the sort.

Thanks!

[jula 0]

Can somebody help with the link to recent article on ILW.com where it is decribed how abandoning of K-1 and going for K-3 can be viewed as misrepresentation? Something for you Austin to look into...

Cycleserg - no, that would not work.

How in the world can getting married and abandoning the K-1 because we're now married be viewed as misrepresentation?

If we didn't abandon/cancel the original K-1, I could understand a conflict. But we're being totally honest here, and we got married because we love each other and didn't want to wait any longer to be married (i.e. the paperwork was taking longer than our hearts could handle).

I tried searching ILW.com but I couldn't find anything of the sort.

Thanks!

Sorry for late reply. My wording wasn't the best either. Anyway, taking the expirience you had with your first lawyer and overlaping K1 and K3, I thought reading http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm may be a good idea for you.

Edited April 19, 2006 by jula

[sassasdave 0]

Not exactly the same but I got a K1 visa and entered the US but left without AP. I had to refile all the paperwork again - medicals and other documents are good for one year, so if you have done them you wont have to again. Unfortunately it doesnt speed up the process.

Sorry.

[scroll 0]

Hi all!

My wife and I had previously filed a K-1 petition. During the months of waiting for our lawyer to send documents (lots of problems), and the subsequent processing time, we decided to get married (January 13, 2006).

We have already started the I-130/K-3 petition process. In the meantime, our original K-1 petition was approved and sent on to the Embassy in Moscow. We recently received word that the Embassy has scheduled an interview for May 11th.

I know. I know. We should have just waited for the K-1 to finish. In hind sight, that would have gotten her here quicker. But our hearts had other things in mind. Ahhhh... The foolishness of love!

Our lawyer for the K-1 told me he sent all the necessary cancellation requests to the USCIS, et al. I've since taken a new lawyer for the K-3 because the first lawyer wanted $2,000+ dollars to restart everything. Highway robbery!! Especially after the crappy job he did with the K-1! He always had an excuse why our documents didn't get sent. (Hurricane in New Orleans - he is in Alabama; death in the family of his paralegal, he moved his office, he lost our documents -- ARGH!) It took him THREE, yes 3, MONTHS to send our K-1 petition. I won't mention the name here, but the firm is/was supposedly VERY reputable and has a purported 100% success rate.

Anyways... back to the original topic. What I am curious about:

Has anyone else had experience with filing a K-1 petion and then getting married (to the same woman) and filing a K-3 petition?

Did (could) the original K-1 petition cause any problems or questions?

Could the original K-1 petition actually speed things up any? I know it's not likely, but would they realize they've already done a background check and move it along any quicker? Yeah, yeah... I know it's just a dream.

I'll definitely share my experience as things unfold here. I'm just curious if anyone else has been down this road.

Thanks!

Anyways... back to the original topic. What I am curious about:

Has anyone else had experience with filing a K-1 petion and then getting married (to the same woman) and filing a K-3 petition?

(We had the exact same thing happen.)

Did (could) the original K-1 petition cause any problems or questions?

(Our lawyer assurred us that there would be no problem. She filed the paperwork to abandon the K-1 petition.)

Could the original K-1 petition actually speed things up any? I know it's not likely, but would they realize they've already done a background check and move it along any quicker? Yeah, yeah... I know it's just a dream.

(I have no idea about this. The K-1 was sent back at the same time the K-3 was approved. The I-130 was approved a few days later. The I-130 was approved about 3 months ahead of the priority dates listed at the California Service Center.)

I'll definitely share my experience as things unfold here. I'm just curious if anyone else has been down this road.

Thanks!

[Eva Malahova 0]

When you say you have let the government know that you are married now and wish to cancel the petition.......Have you let the Consulate know? You can do this by sending a letter to them telling them you have gotten married and will no longer pursue the K-1. Include the case number, names and date of birth of petitioner and beneficiary. Tie up the loose ends.

Better yet - email them, they are pretty good at responding within 3 days for sure, ask them the same question they will let you know how to go about this situation. That has been my experience with Moscow Consulate

[De & Al 0]

Hi all!

My wife and I had previously filed a K-1 petition. During the months of waiting for our lawyer to send documents (lots of problems), and the subsequent processing time, we decided to get married (January 13, 2006).

We have already started the I-130/K-3 petition process. In the meantime, our original K-1 petition was approved and sent on to the Embassy in Moscow. We recently received word that the Embassy has scheduled an interview for May 11th.

I know. I know. We should have just waited for the K-1 to finish. In hind sight, that would have gotten her here quicker. But our hearts had other things in mind. Ahhhh... The foolishness of love!

Our lawyer for the K-1 told me he sent all the necessary cancellation requests to the USCIS, et al. I've since taken a new lawyer for the K-3 because the first lawyer wanted $2,000+ dollars to restart everything. Highway robbery!! Especially after the crappy job he did with the K-1! He always had an excuse why our documents didn't get sent. (Hurricane in New Orleans - he is in Alabama; death in the family of his paralegal, he moved his office, he lost our documents -- ARGH!) It took him THREE, yes 3, MONTHS to send our K-1 petition. I won't mention the name here, but the firm is/was supposedly VERY reputable and has a purported 100% success rate.

Anyways... back to the original topic. What I am curious about:

Has anyone else had experience with filing a K-1 petion and then getting married (to the same woman) and filing a K-3 petition?

Did (could) the original K-1 petition cause any problems or questions?

Could the original K-1 petition actually speed things up any? I know it's not likely, but would they realize they've already done a background check and move it along any quicker? Yeah, yeah... I know it's just a dream.

I'll definitely share my experience as things unfold here. I'm just curious if anyone else has been down this road.

Thanks!

My husband came to the USA with a K1 visa and we got married, because of bad advice from people, after 3 months he left back to Cuba, and know we are petitioning a K3 visa. I only hope this time is faster..

[SoLiEL 0]

Can somebody help with the link to recent article on ILW.com where it is decribed how abandoning of K-1 and going for K-3 can be viewed as misrepresentation? Something for you Austin to look into...

Cycleserg - no, that would not work.

How in the world can getting married and abandoning the K-1 because we're now married be viewed as misrepresentation?

If we didn't abandon/cancel the original K-1, I could understand a conflict. But we're being totally honest here, and we got married because we love each other and didn't want to wait any longer to be married (i.e. the paperwork was taking longer than our hearts could handle).

I tried searching ILW.com but I couldn't find anything of the sort.

Thanks!

I am in the same boat as you guys...I just started my K1 Journey, now I found out that the interview waiting list at the consulate where my boyfriend lives is 14 - 18 months. Our hearts can't wait that long, so we want to get married and abandon our K1...have you experienced any problems or conflicts so far?

[Yodrak 7]

Austin_Volgograd,

I was in your situation. After my wife and I married I submitted an I-130 petition for her and wrote a letter withdrawing the I-129f.

By the time the USCIS Service Center got to doing anything about letter it had already approved the I-129f petition, so I wrote to the consulate and told them to return the approved petition to the USCIS when they received it.

Yodrak

Hi all!

My wife and I had previously filed a K-1 petition. During the months of waiting for our lawyer to send documents (lots of problems), and the subsequent processing time, we decided to get married (January 13, 2006).

We have already started the I-130/K-3 petition process. In the meantime, our original K-1 petition was approved and sent on to the Embassy in Moscow. We recently received word that the Embassy has scheduled an interview for May 11th.

I know. I know. We should have just waited for the K-1 to finish. In hind sight, that would have gotten her here quicker. But our hearts had other things in mind. Ahhhh... The foolishness of love!

Our lawyer for the K-1 told me he sent all the necessary cancellation requests to the USCIS, et al. I've since taken a new lawyer for the K-3 because the first lawyer wanted $2,000+ dollars to restart everything. Highway robbery!! Especially after the crappy job he did with the K-1! He always had an excuse why our documents didn't get sent. (Hurricane in New Orleans - he is in Alabama; death in the family of his paralegal, he moved his office, he lost our documents -- ARGH!) It took him THREE, yes 3, MONTHS to send our K-1 petition. I won't mention the name here, but the firm is/was supposedly VERY reputable and has a purported 100% success rate.

Anyways... back to the original topic. What I am curious about:

Has anyone else had experience with filing a K-1 petion and then getting married (to the same woman) and filing a K-3 petition?

Did (could) the original K-1 petition cause any problems or questions?

Could the original K-1 petition actually speed things up any? I know it's not likely, but would they realize they've already done a background check and move it along any quicker? Yeah, yeah... I know it's just a dream.

I'll definitely share my experience as things unfold here. I'm just curious if anyone else has been down this road.

Thanks!

SoLiEL,

K1 and K3-visa applications are handled by immigrant visa units, the same as immigrant visas for spouses. Before you start over be sure that the waiting time for a K3 or immigrant visa won't be the same 14-18 months as for the K1.

Yodrak

I am in the same boat as you guys...I just started my K1 Journey, now I found out that the interview waiting list at the consulate where my boyfriend lives is 14 - 18 months. Our hearts can't wait that long, so we want to get married and abandon our K1...have you experienced any problems or conflicts so far?

[workin4somethin 0]

I have a different twist to this question. My fiance want us to get married in Russia and then apply for a K3 visa. She is religious and want a wedding with all her relatives before she moves to the states.

I would rather she come on a K1 visa because I heard they are faster.

What if we marry in a church in Russia to satisfy her and apply for a K1 visa and marry in the US again.

Will that even work?

I don't think you should consider applying for a K-1 visa if you first marry in Russia. However, "some" church weddings in Russia are not considered as actual marriages by the Consulate because the Priest may not be licensed properly by the state. This, of course, does not apply to all Church weddings in Russia.

The consulate does accept civil weddings.

It seems to me that you could go ahead and start the K-1 process, to get the ball rolling, prior to your marriage in Russia. In this case, you would have to find out, for certain, whether the Consulate will accept your wedding as legal.

(OR) You could marry in the church and complete the proper paperwork in a civil ceremony too - I think this is done at a local ZAGS office in Russia.

If you start the K-1 process first, you can always stop it - and then start the K-3 process. If you want only to do one or the other (K-1 or K-3), perhaps you should get married in Russia (legally) and satisfy your fiance's request. Then file for the K-3. All that I have read says a K-3 is not much longer to process than a K-1 - perhaps a month or so on average - or perhaps not at all.

Good luck!