Can my non-Mexican Fiance do K1 visa interview in Mexico

[Just Paul 4,595]

She would need to obtain the temporary resident visa prior to entering Mexico.  Depending on where she is coming from that can be very complicated.  For example Mary tried getting her Residence Visa in Manila and they couldn't figure out how to do it. She ended up going to the Mexican consulate in Hong Kong and 3 hours and $36 hours later she had a Mexican Permanent resident visa.   

 

So if she is able to get the Mexican Visa she will still need "proof" of her Mexican Residency.   It can take months for the Mexican Green Card to be processed.  If Mexico City is still doing K1's you might save a little time compared to Ciudad Juarez.  But I am guessing you haven't filed anything yet so you are just burning time.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

5 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Why Mexico?  Do you want your process to take as long as possible?   Ciudad Juarez is one of the slowest, if not the slowest, consulate for immigration visas.  They have a huge backlog and it will take 1 year+ after getting the I-129F approved.  

 

If you want to try to get residency in another country, I would suggest some other nation.

My guess is that the OP has dual citizenship as he's been referring to just his fiancee getting the residence, not him.

[mari04 100]

Move to Mexico for the waiting period and fly for medical and interview. We did this. Doing interview in Mexico creates unnecessary pain in the btt

[GrandFalcon 2]

On 2/9/2022 at 2:02 AM, mari04 said:

Move to Mexico for the waiting period and fly for medical and interview. We did this. Doing interview in Mexico creates unnecessary pain in the btt

Good idea. Where can I find the processing times for various embassies? 

[GrandFalcon 2]

On 2/8/2022 at 4:21 PM, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Why Mexico?  Do you want your process to take as long as possible?   Ciudad Juarez is one of the slowest, if not the slowest, consulate for immigration visas.  They have a huge backlog and it will take 1 year+ after getting the I-129F approved.  

 

If you want to try to get residency in another country, I would suggest some other nation.

Embassies don't process immigration visas but I get what you're saying. They do the end stage processing and final interview. I've tried to see what wait times are in various countries but I don't know what terms to search. Can someone link me to processing times per embassy? 

[GrandFalcon 2]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:23 PM, Paul & Mary said:

She would need to obtain the temporary resident visa prior to entering Mexico.  Depending on where she is coming from that can be very complicated.  For example Mary tried getting her Residence Visa in Manila and they couldn't figure out how to do it. She ended up going to the Mexican consulate in Hong Kong and 3 hours and $36 hours later she had a Mexican Permanent resident visa.   

 

So if she is able to get the Mexican Visa she will still need "proof" of her Mexican Residency.   It can take months for the Mexican Green Card to be processed.  If Mexico City is still doing K1's you might save a little time compared to Ciudad Juarez.  But I am guessing you haven't filed anything yet so you are just burning time.

Interesting. What documents, if any, did she need to provide in order to get the residency? 

[Just Paul 4,595]

13 minutes ago, GrandFalcon said:

Interesting. What documents, if any, did she need to provide in order to get the residency? 

Marriage Certificate and copy of my Mexican Green Card.

[Redro 4,611]

24 minutes ago, GrandFalcon said:

Embassies don't process immigration visas but I get what you're saying. They do the end stage processing and final interview. I've tried to see what wait times are in various countries but I don't know what terms to search. Can someone link me to processing times per embassy? 

Your partner will be allowed to interview wherever she is a citizen OR lawful resident.   You can't consulate shop and choose the "best place to interview" just because you don't want to wait. 

BE AWARE: The address she uses for the I-129F is most likely the country where she will first be assigned for an interview.

Several members have had the issue where they list their last physical address (e.g South Africa) and listed a different place to interview (e.g South Korea)

or they've moved while the petition was processing (e.g to South Korea) and they need to inform NVC to change the case number as the visa interview is set for South Africa. 

 

Moving said petition can be a pain... and take several months. 

It is possible though, you need to provide evidence that you are lawful resident in the country you wish to interview in (you can't just vacation there). 

 

https://www.visajourney.com/sitesearch/?cx=partner-pub-3407508467788263%3A9725800110&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=wrong+embassy&sa=Search

 

Where is your partner from @GrandFalcon?

Edited February 10, 2022 by Kor2USA

[Redro 4,611]

would like to add. 

If you are currently living together outside the USA consider getting married and filing the I-130. 

If getting married in country is too difficult consider Utah online marriage. 

If you're trying to get your partner out of a terrible country being married will give the both of you more recognition in a third country as a couple if neither of you are citizens of said country. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Kor2USA

[GrandFalcon 2]

2 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Marriage Certificate and copy of my Mexican Green Card.

Thanks. What did you need in order to qualify for residency? 

[GrandFalcon 2]

5 hours ago, Kor2USA said:

Your partner will be allowed to interview wherever she is a citizen OR lawful resident.   You can't consulate shop and choose the "best place to interview" just because you don't want to wait. 

BE AWARE: The address she uses for the I-129F is most likely the country where she will first be assigned for an interview.

Several members have had the issue where they list their last physical address (e.g South Africa) and listed a different place to interview (e.g South Korea)

or they've moved while the petition was processing (e.g to South Korea) and they need to inform NVC to change the case number as the visa interview is set for South Africa. 

 

Moving said petition can be a pain... and take several months. 

It is possible though, you need to provide evidence that you are lawful resident in the country you wish to interview in (you can't just vacation there). 

 

https://www.visajourney.com/sitesearch/?cx=partner-pub-3407508467788263%3A9725800110&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=wrong+embassy&sa=Search

 

Where is your partner from @GrandFalcon?

We're in a ######## in Africa that doesn't process immigration visas. I'm not consulate shopping and since I've survived in this shithole for 3 years Mexico will be a breeze. (Have also lived in Mexico). I just wanted to compare processing times for the country nearest where we are that would process an immigration visa vs Mexico. Not in a hurry to get to America. I don't mind enjoying life in Mexico for a couple years while we wait.

 

Thanks for the advice about addresses. Sounds like the prudent thing to do is get married once we're in Mexico. "Paul and Mary" who commented above said that he was able to get her a Mexican residency at the Hong Kong embassy by providing documents of his own residency. I googled it but wasn't able to find exactly what documents an American needs to bring to the Mexican embassy to get residency. Surprisingly, there is a Mexican embassy where I am so this is a possible angle I can work. I know that I can also fly into Mexico with an automatic 6 month tourist visa. I'd feel more stable though if I could get her Mexican residency before we arrive. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by millefleur
Language filter bypass

[Redro 4,611]

2 hours ago, GrandFalcon said:

We're in a ######## in Africa that doesn't process immigration visas. I'm not consulate shopping and since I've survived in this shithole for 3 years Mexico will be a breeze. (Have also lived in Mexico). I just wanted to compare processing times for the country nearest where we are that would process an immigration visa vs Mexico. Not in a hurry to get to America. I don't mind enjoying life in Mexico for a couple years while we wait.

 

Thanks for the advice about addresses. Sounds like the prudent thing to do is get married once we're in Mexico. "Paul and Mary" who commented above said that he was able to get her a Mexican residency at the Hong Kong embassy by providing documents of his own residency. I googled it but wasn't able to find exactly what documents an American needs to bring to the Mexican embassy to get residency. Surprisingly, there is a Mexican embassy where I am so this is a possible angle I can work. I know that I can also fly into Mexico with an automatic 6 month tourist visa. I'd feel more stable though if I could get her Mexican residency before we arrive. 

Mexico really isn't a great alternative. Although the Philippines is a lot worse.

You can check out timelines here for Mexico.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Mexico&op1=3&op2=&op3=1&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C108%2C110%2C111%2C208%2C210%2C211&cfl= 

 

Choose a different country to check their processing times.

Be aware the I-129F is currently taking 9-12 months then you have to wait for your case to be sent to the consulate. Looks like it takes 7 months for interview after your I-129F is approved for Mexico.

So, if you go through Mexico it might take a max of 19 months before you can move to the US together (looking at the updated information). 

Which awful African country do you live in? Is there a massive backlog or do they not have an immigration unit?

 

@Paul & Mary went through DCF several years ago and were married so you might not want to follow their steps if you want to pursue the K1 path. 

 

FYI

Timelines for Spousal visas in Mexico

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Mexico&op1=3&op2=&dfile=No&op3=5&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C108%2C110%2C111%2C208%2C210%2C211&cfl=0

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by millefleur

[SteveInBostonI130 3,468]

17 minutes ago, GrandFalcon said:

We're in *** Africa that doesn't process immigration visas.

 

Thanks for the advice about addresses. Sounds like the prudent thing to do is get married once we're in Mexico. "Paul and Mary" who commented above said that he was able to get her a Mexican residency at the Hong Kong embassy by providing documents of his own residency. I googled it but wasn't able to find exactly what documents an American needs to bring to the Mexican embassy to get residency. Surprisingly, there is a Mexican embassy where I am so this is a possible angle I can work. I know that I can also fly into Mexico with an automatic 6 month tourist visa. I'd feel more stable though if I could get her Mexican residency before we arrive. 

 

Certain countries that do not process US visas have designated embassies to handle the cases.  For example, Warsaw (Poland) handled Russian immigration visas, Bogota (Colombia) handles Venezuelan visas.

 

You need to first discover which embassy handles the visas for your fiance's country.  Typically NVC will automatically designate that embassy based on your fiance's physical address, even if it is a different country.

 

It would help us provide more informed answers if you can tell us exactly which country. 

[millefleur 5,047]

**Post and quoted post edited for language filter bypass. Please heed the TOS and avoid using profanity or bypassing the language filter.**

 

VJ Moderation

[Just Paul 4,595]

12 hours ago, GrandFalcon said:

Thanks. What did you need in order to qualify for residency? 

I own a residence in Mexico (via an LLC since foreigners can't directly own property) and previously owned a business in Mexico.  I'm also of Mexican accessory so I could have gone that route but the other way was easier for me.

My guess your option would be via property ownership or investment.   Your fiance's way is to be married to you as a Mexican Green Card holder.

 

Immigration takes a lot of time and effort. It is best to have a plan thought out way before you file.

 

12 hours ago, GrandFalcon said:

I'd feel more stable though if I could get her Mexican residency before we arrive.

Still not sure what country you are in but here is the consulate down my street.  She would need at least a Temporary resident visa to interview for a US Visa.A path for yours would be: https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/phoenix/images/2020/Febrero/2020_Temporary_Resident.pdf   For her as a student: https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/phoenix/images/2020/Febrero/2020_Student_Temporary_Residence_Visa.pdf