I-129F - K1 Visa from France

[Florian R 1]

Hi there ! 

I hope you're doing great. 
My question might be silly but I've been looking all over the web for the answer and I cannot find it. 
Me and my partner are living in France. It is possible for my partner (US citizen living in France) to file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) from France for me ? If so, does it means we need to send his file by mail ? Cause I would be surprised the NVC would mail us back in France ... 
We are planning to get a K1 visa for me (French Citizen) to get married in the US. 
Huge thank you for your help  

Florian

[Crazy Cat 41,284]

If you are living together a K-1 seems an odd choice.

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.
   

 

[Verrou 1,948]

i agree with @Crazy Cat lf you live together in France, why dont you apply for spouse visa instead

 

[Florian R 1]

Thank you @Crazy Cat & @Misscloud for your replies ! 
We thought it would be faster to apply for a K1 (about 8 months to 12 months) than a CR1 (could take up to 2/3 years). 
Also, do you have any idea what the procedure would be if we get married in the US without any visa (I know it's not recommended) and then come back to France to ask for a green card ? 
Thank you for your help ! 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Florian R

[powerpuff 6,465]

32 minutes ago, Florian R said:

We thought it would be faster to apply for a K1 (about 8 months to 12 months) 

Not sure where you got that information but that is no longer the case. 13 months for petition approval alone, not counting NVC wait and consulate stage. 
 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by powerpuff

[powerpuff 6,465]

32 minutes ago, Florian R said:

Also, do you have any idea what the procedure would be if we get married in the US without any visa (I know it's not recommended) and then come back to France to ask for a green card ? 

You can do that and start the process for CR1 visa. You will get a green card after your arrival in the US with a CR1 visa. 

[Verrou 1,948]

34 minutes ago, Florian R said:

Thank you @Crazy Cat & @Misscloud for your replies ! 
We thought it would be faster to apply for a K1 (about 8 months to 12 months) than a CR1 (could take up to 2/3 years). 
Also, do you have any idea what the procedure would be if we get married in the US without any visa (I know it's not recommended) and then come back to France to ask for a green card ? 
Thank you for your help ! 

K1 is not faster anymore ( at least with the current trend)

if you just want to get married in the US, u can use ESTA/ B1 or B2 tourist visa and then come back to france

it doesnt matter where u going to get married. married is married. if u want to have reception in the US, u can do that but u dont need to get married in the US

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Misscloud

[Chancy 6,239]

51 minutes ago, Florian R said:

We thought it would be faster to apply for a K1 (about 8 months to 12 months) than a CR1 (could take up to 2/3 years). 
Also, do you have any idea what the procedure would be if we get married in the US without any visa (I know it's not recommended) and then come back to France to ask for a green card ?

 

As mentioned above, K1 is not always faster anymore, so no processing speed advantage over CR1.  Also, do you have strong emotional attachment to getting married in the US vs marrying in France?  If not, just marry in France so you can start the CR1 process asap.  Or travel to the US to marry, then return to France to wait out the visa process.

 

[Florian R 1]

Thank you for your replies  
We are going to Colorado this summer so it might be a good option for us to get married as we got engaged in CO in 2021. 
We would then start the CR1 process as we get back to France. 
Huge thanks for your help ! 
 

[Daphne . 1,825]

If you are already living together in France, doing the K1 doesn't seem to be the best option for you. As others have mentioned, why not just get married and start the spousal visa process? Back when K1's were faster, people would choose that option because they wanted to be together as soon as possible, but as you are already together, that does not seem to be an issue then.

 

Also, the huge downside of a K1 is the gruesome adjustment of status process that you have to start after you get married. During that process, you would not be able to leave the US or work for a long time (6-9 months). So this means no way to go to France if there is an emergency or if you get invited to an important life event there. Also, if you are used to being independent, not being able to work (or even drive in some states) could become a huge challenge..

[Daphne . 1,825]

1 minute ago, Florian R said:

Thank you for your replies  
We are going to Colorado this summer so it might be a good option for us to get married as we got engaged in CO in 2021. 
We would then start the CR1 process as we get back to France. 
Huge thanks for your help ! 
 

That should work too! And no need to file for the K1 just to get married in the US. You can get married while you are there, just make sure to bring enough proof of your ties to France. 

[JanaV 36]

As someone who is currently going through the K1 route (got our NOA2 a week ago after 13 months of waiting), I wouldn't recommend K1 to anyone. If we knew better back then we would 100% go with CR1. We're not even at the end and we are already regretting not being smarter and looking into the pros and cons of each (there are not really any pros to K1 anymore lol). 

[Florian R 1]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We thought of K1 as we know someone who did a few years ago. Back then she was told it would be easier considering her situation. 
We talked about it and decided to go for CR1 from now on. Thanks !