Marriage Visa and Return Requirement Help Sought

[Roger Z 0]

Hi-

I am new to this board- found it through a Washington Post article. My wife and I met in grad school, she was here on a Fulbright scholarship which is subject to a 2 year return requirement. Shortly before she returned to El Salvador in September, we got married (I live in Kansas- we had a civil marriage in Johnson County).

We'd like to start the application process for the K1 or possibly the fiancee visa (the one that allows a married spouse to return to the US and complete the marriage Visa process here), however, I am concerned about the return requirement. My question is: if I start the I-130 for a request to bring a spouse to the United States, is it going to get rejected because she is currently subject to a return requirement?

The purpose for the I-130 would not be to override the return requirement, but merely to get the paperwork going in the event that we receive a no objection or so that we're ready to get her here as soon as possible when the two years are up. I just don't want to go through this process more than once because USCIS considers the return requirement grounds for denial of a marriage Visa.

Perhaps there has been a discussion on this message board before of this matter- if so if someone could just point me to that discussion I'd very much appreciate it. And, as you can imagine, USCIS has been no help at all and I'm pretty worried about having to put up with the US Embassy in El Salvador, but such are the cards we are dealt.

Thanks in advance for any and all assistance!

- Roger

[payxibka 10,047]

Your wife is your wife and not your fiancee... A k-1 is for an unmarried couple to marry in the USA 90 days after arrival.. sorry but it is too late for you to consider this option. K-3 or IR/CR1 is your option and that is the I-130 etc..

Edited November 13, 2007 by fwaguy

[kim&james 0]

Dont think about K1 thats if your not married. Think K3 or CR/IR visas.

Not to sure about the home residency requirement but I think that she might have to satisfy that before the visa can be issued.

Have a initial consultation with a immigration attorney to get the inside scoop on the specifics of your case but for the actual filing of the paperwork etc it is fairly easy to do it yourself.

[payxibka 10,047]

HRR must be met and the key to your success is all going to be in timing... Get a good idea of the amount of time it takes to get an interview in El Salvdor and then start your timeline backwards in order to guage when you can submit your I-130...

Edited November 13, 2007 by fwaguy

[desert_fox 32]

There are waivers available of the 2 year requirement. If the agency who paid for her education do not want to waive the requirement, then the Consulate will not issue a visa. This is my understanding.\

[Roger Z 0]

HRR must be met and the key to your success is all going to be in timing... Get a good idea of the amount of time it takes to get an interview in El Salvdor and then start your timeline backwards in order to guage when you can submit your I-130...

Thanks... I think it was the the IR1 that I was thinking of that enables you to get into the country quicker. They call it the fiance visa even though it's not, it's kind of confusing.

Anyway, just to be clear from the quote above- if I submit the I-130 now, would we run into any time problems down the road? In other words- would the I-130 expire at some point? She has the two year return requirement, and we're a little over two months in at this point. Let's say we submitted the I-130 tomorrow (hypothetically). Would it get rejected? If it got approved, would we have to resubmit it because some time limit would expire before the two year return requirement period ended?

[pushbrk 13,118]

HRR must be met and the key to your success is all going to be in timing... Get a good idea of the amount of time it takes to get an interview in El Salvdor and then start your timeline backwards in order to guage when you can submit your I-130...

Thanks... I think it was the the IR1 that I was thinking of that enables you to get into the country quicker. They call it the fiance visa even though it's not, it's kind of confusing.

Anyway, just to be clear from the quote above- if I submit the I-130 now, would we run into any time problems down the road? In other words- would the I-130 expire at some point? She has the two year return requirement, and we're a little over two months in at this point. Let's say we submitted the I-130 tomorrow (hypothetically). Would it get rejected? If it got approved, would we have to resubmit it because some time limit would expire before the two year return requirement period ended?

Well, you are confused and I suppose it can be confusing. What you are thinking of is the K3 visa that uses the I-129F fiance visa petition in addition to the I-130. The I-129F carries separate instructions for how to use it for a spouse.

I think you'd be wise to study the guides and then come back with any questions. There are likely to be several.

[payxibka 10,047]

HRR must be met and the key to your success is all going to be in timing... Get a good idea of the amount of time it takes to get an interview in El Salvdor and then start your timeline backwards in order to guage when you can submit your I-130...

Thanks... I think it was the the IR1 that I was thinking of that enables you to get into the country quicker. They call it the fiance visa even though it's not, it's kind of confusing.

Anyway, just to be clear from the quote above- if I submit the I-130 now, would we run into any time problems down the road? In other words- would the I-130 expire at some point? She has the two year return requirement, and we're a little over two months in at this point. Let's say we submitted the I-130 tomorrow (hypothetically). Would it get rejected? If it got approved, would we have to resubmit it because some time limit would expire before the two year return requirement period ended?

Potentially.... I know the I-129F petition approval has an initial validity period of 4 mos. and I would assume the I-130 would have something similar.