can i apply k1(fiance) visa? (Help is appriciated) (first time applicant here)

[Heleni1990 0]

Hello dear visa journey community. I live in Greece and my boyfriend(soon to be fiance) is a USA citizen(he became citizen last year). We met during my school in the usa (i returned back to my home for vacation together)

 

I went to USA for language school last year. I still have valid I20 and visa however I cannot continue my school due to high cost and I will have to work to save money. Also we plan to get egnaged soon. He told me he can apply for k1 visa so I'm trying to learn.

I returned from USA 1 month ago for vacation but i don't plan to go back now.

My fiance and I want to apply for fiance visa for me. I just have doubts about information i know, i don't want to make stupid movies without knowing all the rules about immigration. I want to be with my fiance soon but i don't know my options.

 

I want to talk to my school this week about dropping but I don't know what happens next? Am I allowed to drop school outside of US(I am in greece now) and apply for k1 visa? 

Will there a penalty because i returned back to my country and not use student visa anymore?

Will this affect my k1 visa?

 

what we want to do:

1 - We want to drop/cancel my school (i think my f1 visa will no longer work)

2 - I am currently in greece and I will apply for k1 visa with my fiance.

3 - i will go to usa with fiance visa and marry my fiance there when k1 visa is approved.

4 - during the k1 visa application, my fiance will live in the usa but he will visit me couple of times during the process. I don't have to go there.

 

Is there a problem anything illegal or unlawful about what we want to do? )

Can I safely drop my current f1 visa and start k1 visa now? (is it ok to not go back to usa anymore on f1 visa and start k1 here?)

Is there a better process you can recommend?

Is there anything we should do or not do for our goals?

 

any help is appreciated, thank you so much.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Heleni1990

[Heleni1990 0]

i have anxiety issues so i may talk too much and repeat question so please help and any help is much appreciated thank you again visa journey

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

You can inform your school.  They will update your I-20 accordingly.

 

Your student visa status/history has no bearing on your K1, unless you overstayed in America after your F1 expired.  This is not your situation so there is no impact.

 

It is perfectly fine for your fiance to visit you in Greece during the process.

 

In your case, if you two truly want to get married, the  marry now and file for the CR1 spouse visa.  This will allow you to be an LPR as soon as you enter the US and start work and drive right away, and travel back to Greece to visit family.  

 

With a K1, you will need to wait 6 months to 2 years to get employment authorization, advanced parole and adjustment approval.

[Dashinka 24,483]

20 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

Hello dear visa journey community. I live in Greece and my boyfriend(soon to be fiance) is a USA citizen(he became citizen last year). We met during my school in the usa (i returned back to my home for vacation together)

 

I went to USA for language school last year. I still have valid I20 and visa however I cannot continue my school due to high cost and I will have to work to save money. Also we plan to get egnaged soon. He told me he can apply for k1 visa so I'm trying to learn.

I returned from USA 1 month ago for vacation but i don't plan to go back now.

My fiance and I want to apply for fiance visa for me. I just have doubts about information i know, i don't want to make stupid movies without knowing all the rules about immigration. I want to be with my fiance soon but i don't know my options.

 

I want to talk to my school this week about dropping but I don't know what happens next? Am I allowed to drop school outside of US(I am in greece now) and apply for k1 visa? 

Will there a penalty because i returned back to my country and not use student visa anymore?

Will this affect my k1 visa?

 

what we want to do:

1 - We want to drop/cancel my school (i think my f1 visa will no longer work)

2 - I am currently in greece and I will apply for k1 visa with my fiance.

3 - i will go to usa with fiance visa and marry my fiance there when k1 visa is approved.

4 - during the k1 visa application, my fiance will live in the usa but he will visit me couple of times during the process. I don't have to go there.

 

Is there a problem anything illegal or unlawful about what we want to do? )

Can I safely drop my current f1 visa and start k1 visa now? (is it ok to not go back to usa anymore on f1 visa and start k1 here?)

Is there a better process you can recommend?

Is there anything we should do or not do for our goals?

 

any help is appreciated, thank you so much.

I don't see any issues.  I am not completely familiar with student visas, but if you did not overstay in the US, it should have no bearing on a future K1 visa process.  As to my knowledge, you can drop school from anywhere, and I am not aware of any requirements for you to go back to the US on your student visa.

 

One thing you should do is thoroughly research the difference between a K1 visa and a spousal visa (CR1/IR1).  There are great limitations and downsides of a K1 visa especially after entering the US and getting married.

 

Good Luck!

[Mike E 11,739]

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

Am I allowed to drop school outside of US(I am in greece now) and apply for k1 visa?

Yes

 

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

Will there a penalty because i returned back to my country and not use student visa anymore?

No

 

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

Will this affect my k1 visa?

No

 

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

Is there a problem anything illegal or unlawful about what we want to do? )

Yes

 

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

Can I safely drop my current f1 visa and start k1 visa now?

Yes

 

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

is it ok to not go back to usa anymore on f1 visa and start k1 here?)

Yes

 

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

Is there a better process you can recommend?

Yes. Get married, file I-130, and enter the U.S. 2 years after marriage on a CR-1 visa to enter as a non conditional LPR who will receive a 10 year green card.

 

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

Is there anything we should do or not do for our goals?

You should have married and filed I-130 before you left the U.S.  Instead, now you should get a Utah remote appliance marriage ceremony ( https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerkaud/PassMarr/RemoteAppearanceFAQ.asp ), then meet in person, then file I-130.

[Heleni1990 0]

49 minutes ago, Mike E said:

yyes

you said "yes" to question: Is there a problem anything illegal or unlawful about what we want to do?

can you explian? i meant to ask; if our plan has anything illegal or unlawful thing, do you think yes? i dont know and i want to change it if i am not aware.

please review my first message if you don't know what i mean by our plan. i tried to write it down in steps.

 

thank you

[Heleni1990 0]

2 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

You can inform your school.  They will update your I-20 accordingly.

 

Your student visa status/history has no bearing on your K1, unless you overstayed in America after your F1 expired.  This is not your situation so there is no impact.

 

It is perfectly fine for your fiance to visit you in Greece during the process.

 

In your case, if you two truly want to get married, the  marry now and file for the CR1 spouse visa.  This will allow you to be an LPR as soon as you enter the US and start work and drive right away, and travel back to Greece to visit family.  

 

With a K1, you will need to wait 6 months to 2 years to get employment authorization, advanced parole and adjustment approval.

thank you so much, i heard k1 is faster. is it true? can you please explain more details on why getting married is better than fiance visa? 

i live with my parents (it is common here until marriage). we don't have enough proof for marriage. we never lived together or shared bills or have kids together. if we get married and not choose k1, isn't that going to be more difficult? we won't have anything other than photos. 

 

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I don't see any issues.  I am not completely familiar with student visas, but if you did not overstay in the US, it should have no bearing on a future K1 visa process.  As to my knowledge, you can drop school from anywhere, and I am not aware of any requirements for you to go back to the US on your student visa.

 

One thing you should do is thoroughly research the difference between a K1 visa and a spousal visa (CR1/IR1).  There are great limitations and downsides of a K1 visa especially after entering the US and getting married.

 

Good Luck!

thank you so much, i heard k1 is faster. is it true? can you please explain more details on why getting married is better than fiance visa? 

i live with my parents (it is common here until marriage). we don't have enough proof for marriage. we never lived together or shared bills or have kids together. if we get married and not choose k1, isn't that going to be more difficult? we won't have anything other than photos. 

[Mike E 11,739]

3 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

you said "yes" to question: Is there a problem anything illegal or unlawful about what we want to do?

Sorry. I should have written no

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, Heleni1990 said:

heard k1 is faster. is it true?

It is slower.

 

2 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

why getting married is better than fiance visa? 

Because you will enter rhe U.S. as an LPR able to work and able to travel internationally. As a K-1 you will wait 2 more years for a gc, and sit around the house bored. 

 

4 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

if we get married and not choose k1, isn't that going to be more difficult?

Not in the experience of thousands of visa journey members.

[Heleni1990 0]

49 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Sorry. I should have written no

 

45 minutes ago, Mike E said:

It is slower.

 

Because you will enter rhe U.S. as an LPR able to work and able to travel internationally. As a K-1 you will wait 2 more years for a gc, and sit around the house bored. 

 

Not in the experience of thousands of visa journey members.

thank you for replies. we can't get married quickly, we may need to wait 3-4 months to get married (for personal reasons)

if we get married on paper without ceremony to start the process (then make the ceremony in 3-4 months), and send the package: we don't have enough proof for marriage. we never lived together or shared bills or have kids together. if we get married just to start the application, we won't have anything other than photos.  can you please provide guideness on this? is this common? 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, Heleni1990 said:

is this common? 

Yes

 

After filing you continue to meet, and do what is possible to unify finances. So for example, add each other as authorized users to your credit cards.

[Boiler 45,451]

9 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

 

thank you for replies. we can't get married quickly, we may need to wait 3-4 months to get married (for personal reasons)

if we get married on paper without ceremony to start the process (then make the ceremony in 3-4 months), and send the package: we don't have enough proof for marriage. we never lived together or shared bills or have kids together. if we get married just to start the application, we won't have anything other than photos.  can you please provide guideness on this? is this common? 

 

Obviously most people in your situation are in the same situation.

[Heleni1990 0]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Obviously most people in your situation are in the same situation.

true.thanks for your time. 

 

11 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Yes

 

After filing you continue to meet, and do what is possible to unify finances. So for example, add each other as authorized users to your credit cards.

thanks for your time.

[Dashinka 24,483]

45 minutes ago, Heleni1990 said:

 

thank you for replies. we can't get married quickly, we may need to wait 3-4 months to get married (for personal reasons)

if we get married on paper without ceremony to start the process (then make the ceremony in 3-4 months), and send the package: we don't have enough proof for marriage. we never lived together or shared bills or have kids together. if we get married just to start the application, we won't have anything other than photos.  can you please provide guideness on this? is this common? 

 

You can do the Utah online marriage, then file the i130 when you next meet in person.  You can do the Utah online marriage when you are both physically together and file the I130 as soon as the marriage certificate is sent to you.  Either of these will get the ball rolling on a spousal visa, and allow you to start comingling your marriage (you do not need all the proof of a comingled marriage to file the I130, that will come later when you actually apply for the visa at the consulate).

 

Of course all of this assumes you are both ready to actually get married.

 

Good Luck!

[usmsbow 801]

2 hours ago, Heleni1990 said:

 i heard k1 is faster. is it true? can you please explain more details on why getting married is better than fiance visa?

'This was true for many years, including when I went through this back in 2014-15. Alas, K-1 visa applications became the black sheep at USCIS (I blame the show 90 day fiancee ) and the processing time is now similar to a spousal visa. Since the spousal visa includes a green card and the K-1 does not, the spousal visa is the better option now.