b-2 tourist visa

[kman198 5]

so there's no chance of seeing her for a visit here unless she's rich, i'm rich, or we're married and want to wait two years.

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

18 minutes ago, kman198 said:

so there's no chance of seeing her for a visit here unless she's rich, i'm rich, or we're married and want to wait two years.

A K-1 visa is going to take, roughly, the same amount of time as a spousal visa. That, along with the other benefits, is why I suggest a spousal visa. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[kman198 5]

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

Some of us have been around here for a while.  Your situation is quite common.  Unfortunately, your plan is flawed.  Spending more time together is beneficial for multiple reasons.  However, meeting inside the US is not likely, and a CR-1 spousal visa is a better option, imo.  

yeah i know that's why i'm here asking. i appreciate it. so it's hopeless. thanks. i cant afford to take off work to see her again.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

1 hour ago, kman198 said:

So does the fact that she has a daughter/sisters/parents back home, does this not qualify for return?

If we have a bank account with money in it, would that help? I know her having a bank account is required. 

 

Many single moms from the Philippines leave their children in the care of their parents while they go overseas to work or try to immigrate.  So, specifically for the Philippines, this absolutely does not indicate she will return.

 

For a K1, the actual requirements are very simple:  both parties free to marry (single or divorced), both parties attest they will marry within 90 days of arriving in the US, and both have met physically within the previous 2 years.

 

For other countries, the embassy would also want proof of relationship.  For the Philippines, the bare minimum gets approved.

 

This is because although there is a history of people abusing tourist visas to work and immigrate, there is also a history of K1s and CR1s being in genuine relationships and honoring the terms of those visas.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

24 minutes ago, kman198 said:

OK, so from what I've read you cannot sponsor a friend/fiance on the b-2 visa... so what does she do? take it with her to the interview with all the supporting documents? what is that process?

No, you cannot sponsor her because she needs to prove strong ties to her home country, and if you sponsor her that’s actually showing the opposite

[Redro 4,611]

2 hours ago, kman198 said:

I'm sure this has been posted before and beaten to death, but here's the situtation. I met my fiance and went and visited her in Manila last year. We really enjoyed each other. We are wanting to do the k-1 but doubt we have enough evidence to successfully get it. I want to be sure. We were thinking about doing the b-2 tourist visa so she can come and stay with me for a few weeks and return home for the k-1 process once we file. However, you can't sponsor a "friend" and from what i've read they won't approve her. I am her only source of income at the moment, she does have ties back to the country, she has an 8 year old daughter. Is that enough evidence to show that she wants to return home? Are we just waisting our money trying to get the b-2? We're fine with being open with the process and don't want to lie about it, and we honestly don't want to skip the line and want to do everything correct. any advice? please.
We really want to be together and our immigration system is absolute trash.

One meeting should be enough for Manila and K1… but K1 is taking a long time so if you’re really sure you want to be with this woman forever visit her one more time, get married and petition her and her children.

[Dashinka 24,480]

1 hour ago, kman198 said:

yeah i know that's why i'm here asking. i appreciate it. so it's hopeless. thanks. i cant afford to take off work to see her again.

Yep, my now wife applied twice in 2013 for a B2 and was denied both times.  We had a similar feeling, but then decided to move on and proceed with the K1.  My recommendation today would be to pursue the spousal visa as with processing times of a K1, Adjustment of Status, Work Permit, Advanced Parole today, a spousal visa makes way more sense.  That wasn't the case in 2014/2015 where K1s were getting GCs in 5-8 months.

[CMJuilland 485]

I understand how overwhelming the whole process is when you’re just starting out. And it definitely has more than enough flaws. However, that’s the system you are dealing with, and it won’t change any time soon. Like others have said, if you have any option to get together somewhere to get married or get married via Utah Zoom and then meet, I’d also strongly suggest you do that to then apply for a CR1 instead of a K1. It’s way easier (and cheaper!) down the line, not to mention a lot less restrictive. (see @Crazy Cat’s perfect overview). 

I know (and remember) things are really tough when you’re in a long distance relationship, and longer and longer processing times don’t make it any better. However, there is no way around long flights, taking time off, and putting certain aspects of your life on hold, sadly. 

The best thing for us to do when we were just starting out was reading and learning everything there is to know (knowledge is power!). You made a good start by coming here; this site has taught me everything (and more!) I needed to know, and even just other people’s experience will make your journey a lot easier. 

Best of luck to both of you on your journey! 

Edited February 24, 2023 by CMJuilland

[kman198 5]

Yes, it is very flawed. I really appreciate your encouraging words. See the issue with travel is of course, it costs four times as much for me to visit her due to me being self employed/small business owner. if i'm not here, i don't make any money whatsoever. So that's why we were exploring that option. Is there a way to get married long distance? She also has a daughter. My question then is, the daughter wants to stay there and live with the grandparents UNTIL she finishes their equivelent of highschool and then come over. What issues do you get in with that with the k-1 and cr-1? 
 

[CMJuilland 485]

You can get married remotely, but for visa purposes, you’ll still have to meet physically after your marriage has been performed. 
Other members have also met somewhere else and used Utah Zoom marriage while they were in each other’s presence. This will make things easier in so far that you’ll have an American marriage certificate. 
In order for you to make everything less time-consuming for you and with her having more liberty to travel in terms of time, you might be able to find out if her chances of obtaining a visa to Mexico or Canada are better (I unfortunately don’t know anything about that) and then meet there and get married from there. Other central or South American countries might be an option as well to make total travel time at least a little easier on you. 
Alternatively, a Schengen visa might also be an option, which, depending on where you live and where you would go, could also be relatively easy to get to for both of you. 
Others might have more and better ideas.
 

[MarryMe987654 244]

Given your travel situation, I would say just got for K1. You already have the necessary evidence to file right now.

I understand that people are saying that spousal is better than K1 and while that is true because of skipping some immigration steps which saves money and time, these benefits might not be good for you because 1) you have to fly back in to the Philippines to get married, which you are not keen on doing; 2) I doubt if not being able to work right away matters to you guys because you are already supporting her now, there's no rush to get a job after entering the U.S.; 3) The time of not being able to do anything on K1 because of lack of AP and EAD can be used to adjust to the U.S. and gather all the other docs as well. I know that they say that sometimes, there are problems with getting any done when one entered in K1 but some people was able to do things without any issues (like me).

 

Forget about the tourist visa. She has very slim chance of getting approved. It's going to be a waste of money and time waiting.

 

So yeah, just start the K1 now

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

41 minutes ago, MarryMe987654 said:

So yeah, just start the K1 now

I disagree....but it isn't my decision.😁  OP's choice...and OP's consequences.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[kman198 5]

35 minutes ago, MarryMe987654 said:

Given your travel situation, I would say just got for K1. You already have the necessary evidence to file right now.

I understand that people are saying that spousal is better than K1 and while that is true because of skipping some immigration steps which saves money and time, these benefits might not be good for you because 1) you have to fly back in to the Philippines to get married, which you are not keen on doing; 2) I doubt if not being able to work right away matters to you guys because you are already supporting her now, there's no rush to get a job after entering the U.S.; 3) The time of not being able to do anything on K1 because of lack of AP and EAD can be used to adjust to the U.S. and gather all the other docs as well. I know that they say that sometimes, there are problems with getting any done when one entered in K1 but some people was able to do things without any issues (like me).

 

Forget about the tourist visa. She has very slim chance of getting approved. It's going to be a waste of money and time waiting.

 

So yeah, just start the K1 now

Kind of where we're at right now. no other option. We're actually using simple citizen to go over everything for us. We have so many question on the k-1 process it's not even funny. Basically I understand I have to file my i-29F, but after that I'm completely lost. We don't know anyone that has been through this to ask any questions too, so here I am. 

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

 

4 minutes ago, kman198 said:

but after that I'm completely lost.

Visa Journey has a step-by-step guide which thousands have used to navigate the immigration process.  

BTW, immigration fees are going WAY up soon.  

Edited February 24, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[kman198 5]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I disagree....but it isn't my decision.😁

Well I appreciate it. Kind of my only option right now. I am not made of money. I understand what you're saying, that the process is actually far easier and cheaper, and probably takes less time now, that's not what I was inittially told. So that's why we have started the K-1 route and we're about elbows deep in it. Just waiting to get her daughter's passport and I was going to file. Simple citizen has been pretty good so far. 

Yeah I just found this website and sent it to her. You guys are pretty awesome so far and has actually given me a little hope back. Why the does this site not come up on any search engines? got this from a reddit post since I wasn't having any luck on facebook groups, youtube and searches. Forgive me, I'm not the best on forums, I actually hate them lol. Thank you guys again for your fast replies. I have had a horrible morning.