Filing K1 for a prior K1 applicant

[Gsmith2 1]

Hello everyone! Great forum with lots of good information! Thank you!  
I have a question, my now fiancé in the Philippines had previously been in a relationship with an American and they decided to apply for a K1 visa. They met a few times but their relationship ended up not working out and she decided not to come over. But the application had already been filed. She does not know the outcome of the application but she assumed it was or would have been approved.  A few months later we met and we are now thinking about applying for a new K1 so that she can come over. We are thinking of getting married there because of her big family since they won’t be able to come.  
Will the fact that she previously applied for a K1 impact the new application?  Any help would be greatly appreciated before we go ahead and apply.  
 

thanks in advance!

Edited November 3, 2021 by Gsmith2

[flicks1998 1,044]

3 minutes ago, Gsmith2 said:

Hello everyone! Great forum with lots of good information! Thank you!  
I have a question, my now fiancé in the Philippines had previously been in a relationship with an American and they decided to apply for a K1 visa. They met a few times but their relationship ended up not working out and she decided not to come over. But the application had already been filed. She does not know the outcome of the application but she assumed it was or would have been approved.  A few months later we met and we are now thinking about applying for a new K1 so that she can come over. We are thinking of getting married there because of her big family since they won’t be able to come.  
Will the fact that she previously applied for a K1 impact the new application?  Any help would be greatly appreciated before we go ahead and apply.  
 

thanks in advance!

How long ago was the previous application?  Most likely it would have been abandoned if there was no more follow up, especially if no responses to NOA2s, interviews, etc.  

 

If you are going to get married in the Philippines, you cannot file a K1.  You would have to file a CR1 which is actually faster and better now anyway.  When was the last time you met?  Foreigners without spouses or children or certain types of work/investment visas have not been able to enter the Philippines since March 2020.  Also, if you want to go the CR1 route, you will have to get married by the Utah Zoom marriage where your fiance is in the Philippines, you do the ceremony by Zoom, you can then apply for a Philippine visa to go and consummate the marriage, then you can file the CR1.  I wouldnt even try for a K1 out of the Philippines at this time.  There are people waiting 2+ years already due to backlog. 

[SalishSea 18,125]

8 hours ago, Gsmith2 said:

We are thinking of getting married there

Then she will be ineligible for a K-1.  You will need to do a CR-1.

[Unlockable 7,315]

18 hours ago, Gsmith2 said:

 We are thinking of getting married there because of her big family since they won’t be able to come.  
 

You can't do that if you want to file a K1. Especially withe Philippines who tend to track all marriages nationally. Once you are married you are no longer eligible to file a K1.

 

So if marrying in the Philippines is a big issue, remove the idea of a K1 and start researching and  preparing to do the CR1 (spousal). 

[Gsmith2 1]

Thank you for all the answers.  I think CR1 may be a better idea anyways.  She wants a big wedding there with her family anyways.  We’re waiting for the country to open up so we can make plans. 
what is the typical timeline for a CR1 visa?

[SalishSea 18,125]

1 hour ago, Gsmith2 said:

Thank you for all the answers.  I think CR1 may be a better idea anyways.  She wants a big wedding there with her family anyways.  We’re waiting for the country to open up so we can make plans. 
what is the typical timeline for a CR1 visa?

Probably at least two years from start to finish.

[mitzab 296]

On 11/3/2021 at 12:58 PM, Gsmith2 said:

Hello everyone! Great forum with lots of good information! Thank you!  
I have a question, my now fiancé in the Philippines had previously been in a relationship with an American and they decided to apply for a K1 visa. They met a few times but their relationship ended up not working out and she decided not to come over. But the application had already been filed. She does not know the outcome of the application but she assumed it was or would have been approved.  A few months later we met and we are now thinking about applying for a new K1 so that she can come over. We are thinking of getting married there because of her big family since they won’t be able to come.  
Will the fact that she previously applied for a K1 impact the new application?  Any help would be greatly appreciated before we go ahead and apply.  
 

thanks in advance!

 

Everything you asked for is irrelevant because in order for even filing a K1 visa you have to get married in the USA. You wrote you want to get married there (I am assuming Phillipines) so yeah you cannot file K1 after getting married. Then you would be filing a spousal visa.

 

Now if that was a typo, then previous K1 applications are definitely asked about in the 129F application process, interview and all and in my opinion is a red flag. I am sure there are both sides of arguments over here.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

3 hours ago, Gsmith2 said:

Thank you for all the answers.  I think CR1 may be a better idea anyways.  She wants a big wedding there with her family anyways.  We’re waiting for the country to open up so we can make plans. 
what is the typical timeline for a CR1 visa?

There are some recent CR1 applicants in the Philippine section where the CR1 process has taken 7 months.  Quite a few have switched from K1 to CR1.  I would suggest you go through that section of the board as you will find all the answers you need and they are recent.

 

However, in my own opinion, I can understand the family wanting a big wedding (make sure whatever your final guest total is you multiply by 5 ), but realistically it may be awhile before you will be allowed to enter the Philippines without being a spouse of a Filipino.  The Philippine government in recent days have hinted more and more that they are following China which is a zero-Covid approach.  The Dept of Health has said until cases reach 0, then the Philippines has not "won."  As we all know by now, Covid is epidemic and not going away and until the Philippine government realizes this, there will be no changes.  Their current timeline is to get domestic tourism going in the 1st quarter of 2022 and sometime after that, international tourism.  You may want to just get married by the Utah Zoom marriage, get your Philippine visa, and fly over and do your big ceremony.  At least you can get started on the process once you have met in person after the Zoom marriage.  

 

The Philippine section is quite active and you will definitely get more country specific advice there.  There have been some who met in 3rd countries and married, while others have married by Zoom.  You can also get recent advice on the SLEC medical and problems that arise with that as well as the CFO process.

Edited November 4, 2021 by flicks1998

[Adventine 3,209]

***Moved to the Philippines regional forum for country-specific answers***

 

 

[Gsmith2 1]

54 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

There are some recent CR1 applicants in the Philippine section where the CR1 process has taken 7 months.  Quite a few have switched from K1 to CR1.  I would suggest you go through that section of the board as you will find all the answers you need and they are recent.

 

However, in my own opinion, I can understand the family wanting a big wedding (make sure whatever your final guest total is you multiply by 5 ), but realistically it may be awhile before you will be allowed to enter the Philippines without being a spouse of a Filipino.  The Philippine government in recent days have hinted more and more that they are following China which is a zero-Covid approach.  The Dept of Health has said until cases reach 0, then the Philippines has not "won."  As we all know by now, Covid is epidemic and not going away and until the Philippine government realizes this, there will be no changes.  Their current timeline is to get domestic tourism going in the 1st quarter of 2022 and sometime after that, international tourism.  You may want to just get married by the Utah Zoom marriage, get your Philippine visa, and fly over and do your big ceremony.  At least you can get started on the process once you have met in person after the Zoom marriage.  

 

The Philippine section is quite active and you will definitely get more country specific advice there.  There have been some who met in 3rd countries and married, while others have married by Zoom.  You can also get recent advice on the SLEC medical and problems that arise with that as well as the CFO process.

Thank you!