Fiance Visa or Spouse Visa - Which is quicker?

[polarsub 0]

Hi everyone at VJ. This is my first post so hope you guys can help me out as much as possible.

My scenario is this: My partner has USA/UK dual citizenship and moved from the USA 18 months ago to live with me in the UK and we are now engaged.

We plan to move back to the USA early 2008, but are not sure weather the quicker option would be to file for a Fiancé visa I-129F and get married in the USA or file for a Spouse visa I-130 and get married in the UK first. We will be filing DCF through London as we are resident in the UK.

Please could anyone advise the quickest timescale to get the Visa (i.e.: Through Fiancé or Spouse) and also any other information that you might think beneficial to make this application run smoothly and efficiently. I have already applied for my police certificate. Is there anything else I can do to stop any sticking points?

Thanks in advance for your help…

Regards,

Paul.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Hey Paul!

Welcome to VJ!

Congrats to you and your fiance

So what you want to do is check out the Guides here at VJ, look on the left and choose either the K1, K3 or CR-1 options and then you can have a look at the requirements, etc.

Then there are also our VJ Timelines that will help give you a rough estimate on what to expect time wise.

The K1 is slightly faster than the K3 or CR-1 but not by much at all. The whole process takes anywhere from 6 to 10 months processing time, so a move in early 2008 (which isn't far off) is quite unlikely.

I'd do some research, read it all over, take a break, come back and read it all again. It's a lot of information to absorb but once you do, it's pretty simple.

Best of luck to you!!!

[SusieK 3]

Hey Paul!

Welcome to VJ!

Congrats to you and your fiance

So what you want to do is check out the Guides here at VJ, look on the left and choose either the K1, K3 or CR-1 options and then you can have a look at the requirements, etc.

Then there are also our VJ Timelines that will help give you a rough estimate on what to expect time wise.

The K1 is slightly faster than the K3 or CR-1 but not by much at all. The whole process takes anywhere from 6 to 10 months processing time, so a move in early 2008 (which isn't far off) is quite unlikely.

I'd do some research, read it all over, take a break, come back and read it all again. It's a lot of information to absorb but once you do, it's pretty simple.

Best of luck to you!!!

Best of luck mate, but curious tho, how did the dual citizenship get obtained for it has been known for years that one can not hold dual citzenship with the USA and THE UK - just curious, maybe things have changed.

But again best to yours on this journey its long heartbreaking but worth it.

Cheers\

Susie

[Jasman0717 9]

you can take a look at the immigration timelines link at the top of page, that might help you with the choice.

[polarsub 0]

Well she was brought up in Scotland and emigrated to the USA with her family. She holds both UK & USA passports so I presumed that was dual citizenship or is it called something else?

know it's going to be tough, so anf info would be much appreciated. Im just starting to get my whole head into it....Gulp!!

[john_and_marlene 162]

We will be filing DCF through London as we are resident in the UK.

You cannot obtain a fiance(e) visa using DCF. Getting married and DCF will be the quickest. The other comparisons here seem to be based on the time difference without DCF.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Best of luck mate, but curious tho, how did the dual citizenship get obtained for it has been known for years that one can not hold dual citzenship with the USA and THE UK - just curious, maybe things have changed.

But again best to yours on this journey its long heartbreaking but worth it.

Cheers\

Susie

Dual citizenship:

You can usually get it through birth - so having one parent who is a US citizen and one who is a UK citizen

Plus, as the law stands at the moment, the USA and the UK tolerate people holding citizenship of both countries

So for example this info from the UK Home Office

The Law in the United Kingdom

In general there is no restriction, in UK law, on a British national being a citizen of another country as well. So, if you get another nationality, you will not lose your British nationality. Similarly, you will not need to give up any other nationality when you become British. (Different rules apply in the cases of British protected persons and certain British subjects. A person who is a British subject otherwise than by connection with the Republic of Ireland will lose that status on acquiring any other nationality or citizenship. Similarly, a British protected person will no longer be a British protected person on acquiring any other nationality or citizenship.)

Other countries

Many other countries will not let you have dual nationality (two nationalities). If you get British nationality, and are also a national of a country which does not allow dual nationality, the authorities of that country may either regard you as having lost that nationality or may refuse to recognise your new nationality. The Consulate or High Commission of the country whose nationality you also hold will be able to tell you whether that country allows dual nationality.

If you are a British national, and you get the nationality of a country which does not allow dual nationality, you may be required by the other country to renounce (give up) your British nationality.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/...ity/advice/bn18

From the US DOS

A U.S. citizen may acquire foreign citizenship by marriage, or a person naturalized as a U.S. citizen may not lose the citizenship of the country of birth.U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one citizenship or another. Also, a person who is automatically granted another citizenship does not risk losing U.S. citizenship. However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html

So unless you actually make an official statement to give up your US citizenship when you take UK citizenship you can stay a citizen of both, apparently.

Edited December 6, 2007 by lsma

[pushbrk 12,994]

Hi everyone at VJ. This is my first post so hope you guys can help me out as much as possible.

My scenario is this: My partner has USA/UK dual citizenship and moved from the USA 18 months ago to live with me in the UK and we are now engaged.

We plan to move back to the USA early 2008, but are not sure weather the quicker option would be to file for a Fiancé visa I-129F and get married in the USA or file for a Spouse visa I-130 and get married in the UK first. We will be filing DCF through London as we are resident in the UK.

Please could anyone advise the quickest timescale to get the Visa (i.e.: Through Fiancé or Spouse) and also any other information that you might think beneficial to make this application run smoothly and efficiently. I have already applied for my police certificate. Is there anything else I can do to stop any sticking points?

Thanks in advance for your help…

Regards,

Paul.

Counting time from filing to visa, marriage and DCF would probably be both faster and better than a K1 visa. Better because as a practical matter the K1 visa holder can't work for several months after arrival. DCF results in a CR1 visa, so the holder is immediately a permanent resident and able to work.

The Catch is if you count time from today until visa. You can file the petition that would result in K1 visa as quickly as you can get the paperwork together. For any marriage visa, you would add the time it takes to plan and complete the marriage and obtain the official marriage certificate before filing. The length of that extra time depends on how fast you can plan and have the wedding you want.

Fiance visa petitions cannot be filed with a Consulate abroad. If you meet the requirements, the I-130 petition for a CR1 visa can be filed abroad.