Moving my Fiance to America

[Domoniq Hall 0]

18 minutes ago, PatLuvO said:

The next available toursit dates are in late 2023/early 2024 so he will have his K1 interview before tourist is even available for him. Be prepared to visit Nigeria with the baby to see him in the meantime. Also, his chances of tourist approval are slim to none because his ties to the US are stronger than his ties to Nigeria.

Okay thank you! I think our best bet is doing the k1 visa and me visiting Italy while it’s in process, thank you so much!

[Domoniq Hall 0]

16 hours ago, Domoniq said:

Hey Everyone!! I really need some guidance. I just got out of the military from Italy where I met my fiance who is Nigerian . I am currently 7 mo pregnant and living in the US. My question is if my fiance comes on the tourist visa can we start the the K-1 visa while he's here? I know they said he cant change his visa status "intentionally"  and with a baby and all it'll be pretty hard not to prove we didn't plan it lol. Also if we do start the K-1 visa process can he just come back and forth every 6 months? We really want to be together during this time and do plan on getting married, I just wanna know the best way to get him here so he can meet his baby before 2-3 years pass thank you for any possible help! 

Thank you everyone for all your help!

22 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

The key thing about obtaining a B visa is proving that he does not have immigrant intent.  First it is hard to prove a negative. And the having a pending K1 or Spousal Visa Petition indicates that he has Immigrant Intent. 

Ahh okay thank you!

[African Zealot 1,455]

11 minutes ago, Domoniq Hall said:

Okay thank you! So our best bet is to just do the k1 visa basically

Not exactly. Apply for the visitor visa tomorrow and then apply for the K1 a little after, you lose nothing. Plus if he’s applying for the B in Italy the waiting time is much shorter than in Nigeria.

 

29 minutes ago, PatLuvO said:

The next available toursit dates are in late 2023/early 2024 so he will have his K1 interview before tourist is even available for him.

Not exactly correct. That’s for applying in Nigeria. He’s resident in Italy so he can apply there.

Edited June 6, 2022 by African Zealot

[PatLuvO 284]

12 minutes ago, African Zealot said:

Not exactly. Apply for the visitor visa tomorrow and then apply for the K1 a little after, you lose nothing. Plus if he’s applying for the B in Italy the waiting time is much shorter than in Nigeria.

 

Not exactly correct. That’s for applying in Nigeria. He’s resident in Italy so he can apply there.

Oh I missed that part he is a resident in Italy. Then yea he should be able to get an earlier tourist interview date.

[dnyal 32]

Consider a spousal visa. You two could legally marry in Italy and then ask for him as a spouse. I did the whole K-1 visa process, and I then realized it would’ve been much faster to go CR-1. Then, you could have your marriage ceremony here in the U.S.

[EmilyW 1,505]

I was about to say, consider the spousal visa.  The time difference isn't huge  between that and the K1 (from what I understand), it's cheaper, and your partner will be able to work upon arrival.

 

@Crazy Cat has a great comparison of the two, which I am sure he will post here for you.

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

58 minutes ago, EmilyW said:

I was about to say, consider the spousal visa.  The time difference isn't huge  between that and the K1 (from what I understand), it's cheaper, and your partner will be able to work upon arrival.

 

@Crazy Cat has a great comparison of the two, which I am sure he will post here for you.

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

K-1        
    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 6-8 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 6-8 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.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    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.
   

 

[Redro 4,611]

10 hours ago, dnyal said:

Consider a spousal visa. You two could legally marry in Italy and then ask for him as a spouse. I did the whole K-1 visa process, and I then realized it would’ve been much faster to go CR-1. Then, you could have your marriage ceremony here in the U.S.

Getting married as two foreigners in Italy could be complicated. 

If they decide to marry. Going Utah route then meeting up in Italy would be the best option. 

OP might not want to fly at 7/8 months... and they wouldn't be able to file the I-130 until they meet up so that might delay the process a bit. 

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Domoniq 0]

11 hours ago, dnyal said:

Consider a spousal visa. You two could legally marry in Italy and then ask for him as a spouse. I did the whole K-1 visa process, and I then realized it would’ve been much faster to go CR-1. Then, you could have your marriage ceremony here in the U.S.

I was thinking that too! Okay thank you so much

 

[Domoniq 0]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

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

K-1        
    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 6-8 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 6-8 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.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    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.
   

 

Okay thank you!! I was under the impression that the spousal visa would take much longer. But thank you for the clarification! 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

1 hour ago, Domoniq said:

Okay thank you!! I was under the impression that the spousal visa would take much longer. But thank you for the clarification! 

In the past it was often true that a spousal visa was much faster from the US citizen filing a petition to the non-US citizen entering the US (though not necessarily faster to the non-US citizen obtaining permanent residence). However, processing times for K1s went up a lot more than spousal visas during the pandemic, and spouses have rights that fiancé(e)s do not which can be valuable these days. Given how much processing times have gone up and down over the last few years, I'd recommend choosing the path that works best for you without regard to processing times (which basically means do a spousal visa unless actually getting married is going to be difficult, you're not comfortable living apart while married for an extended period, or some other corner cases such as the beneficiary having 18-21 year old children they want to bring with them).

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

Erm, it used to be true that a K1 was much faster to enter the US than a spousal visa. Typo that I noticed after too long to edit.