I-129f approved, but decided for me (USC) to move to Austria

[Ephesus 0]

My I-129f was approved for my French fiancée. We've decided instead to move to Austria together this winter. She will be visiting America in November for her birthday at which point we will get married in Boston at the courthouse. It is only so we can be legally married and then on December 20th, I will fly to Austria to live with her and start my life in the EU. Can I cancel the I-129f visa since it was approved but we never went to the Consulate (Actually never received any paperwork) to get the actual visa and then she can come here to marry on the VWP with the intent for ourselves to move to Austria together and then I do whatever I have to do there to register as a French resident. We would like her to be able to get citizenship in America via marriage, so how would I go about that considering we will be living overseas for 3+ years?

Thanks!

[rakkaus 0]

My I-129f was approved for my French fiancée. We've decided instead to move to Austria together this winter. She will be visiting America in November for her birthday at which point we will get married in Boston at the courthouse. It is only so we can be legally married and then on December 20th, I will fly to Austria to live with her and start my life in the EU. Can I cancel the I-129f visa since it was approved but we never went to the Consulate (Actually never received any paperwork) to get the actual visa and then she can come here to marry on the VWP with the intent for ourselves to move to Austria together and then I do whatever I have to do there to register as a French resident. We would like her to be able to get citizenship in America via marriage, so how would I go about that considering we will be living overseas for 3+ years?

Thanks!

Let's try my hand at answering one! From what I've read here and heard... (feel free to correct me, everyone, if I'm wrong!)

- You can cancel the process at just about any point, but why bother? It cancels itself eventually if you don't do your part to continue it. If you don't cancel, and you change your mind, then the process is still going and you don't have to start from square one.

- Besides that, if you want to get American citizenship for her, why cancel the I-129F? You're going through Vermont and I'd think you have at least a small chance of getting a K-1 by November. Not a huge chance, but better chance than if you cancel. [EDIT: Just re-read your post. When you say you have an I-129F visa, do you mean you already have a K-1? And if yes, why not use it? Hey, you paid for it and it's the easy way to go once you have it]

- There is debate about marrying without intent to stay in US on a tourist visa. Someone posted a USCIS regulation that appeared to show it was legal, but I remember there was controversy about that. This doesn't sound like the safest way to go. I think many people here would advise you either to use a K-1 and marry in the States or to marry outside the States and then go the K-3 route. What you're suggesting may not be illegal, but it may confuse INS and make your life more difficult.

But perhaps I'm missing something. Are you moving to the EU permanently? If yes, why do all this work to get her US citizenship?

Edited August 4, 2007 by rakkaus

[Dan J 277]

My I-129f was approved for my French fiancée. We've decided instead to move to Austria together this winter. She will be visiting America in November for her birthday at which point we will get married in Boston at the courthouse. It is only so we can be legally married and then on December 20th, I will fly to Austria to live with her and start my life in the EU. Can I cancel the I-129f visa since it was approved but we never went to the Consulate (Actually never received any paperwork) to get the actual visa and then she can come here to marry on the VWP with the intent for ourselves to move to Austria together and then I do whatever I have to do there to register as a French resident. We would like her to be able to get citizenship in America via marriage, so how would I go about that considering we will be living overseas for 3+ years?

Thanks!

In order for your then wife to get US citizenship, she needs to be a permanent resident of the US and living in the US for at least 3 years. Marriage does not automatically confer citizenship on the spouse.

Edited August 4, 2007 by Dan + Gemvita

[Ephesus 0]

I didn't know that we had to be living in the US for at least three years. Well, I may come back to the US for graduate school. Is she granted permanent residency?

I have the I129f approval, it was said to be sent to the consulate, but we received nothing from the Paris embassy. That's as far as we went.

So, can she just come here and we get married (I assume people do this all the time then leave for their home country)?

[Dan J 277]

I didn't know that we had to be living in the US for at least three years. Well, I may come back to the US for graduate school. Is she granted permanent residency?

I have the I129f approval, it was said to be sent to the consulate, but we received nothing from the Paris embassy. That's as far as we went.

So, can she just come here and we get married (I assume people do this all the time then leave for their home country)?

You can come here to get married, as long as your wife returns home. I suppose you will be going with her as well.

When you come back later to live, you will have to apply for a spousal visa for your wife. But you may have the option of applying for CR-1/IR-1 with DCF. That will get your wife PR status as soon as she enters the US. The DCF option which is limited to citizens filing abroad, is usually the fastest way to get a visa.

[Ephesus 0]

Thank you! Now I just have to figure out how to gain residency in the EU as we won't be living in France (her citizen country) but rather Austria for the first two years.

Thanks again!

Long road ahead of us...