Overseas with questions

[Silk53 1]

Hello,

I am in a difficult situation for me. I am currently on a contract in Afghanistan working on a US military base as a plumber. When I left the states in January I was married and have filed for divorce. The divorce should be final around the middle of August at the latest. I had made a friend in Dubai on my way to Afghanistan and as I dealt with the divorce and living on the base I managed to fall in love with her. I have taken my R&R with her in Dubai (she flew back from China to meet me) just over a month ago. Since then we have decided to get married. I do not know the best way to proceed and I am confused about what to do next. I do not have access to the US embassy in Afghanistan as we do not leave the base other than going on R&R or travel to another base. My understanding is I can not start any kind of paperwork until my divorce is final, however, I would like to have the steps planned out and ready to go. It is not easy for me to get documents and the like from here. She would also like to get married in China and I would like to if that will not make it take longer to be with her. I am currently planning on going to China in October if I can get a Chinese visa in Hong Kong. I plan on having her meet me in Hong Kong so I can at least spend time with her if I can not get a visa into China. We would like to marry at that time.

So my questions are: what is the best way to go about gaining her a visa to the US? Should I use the K1 or get married and use the K3? If I start a K1 and decide to get married anyways will that mess things up? Will me being stationed overseas create problems?

Than I have a very big question or problem. When we met in Dubai in May the name we used for her is the name (along with here birtday) on her passport which is different from the name on her other Chinese documents. So her passport does not match with her other documents. What kind of problems will this cause?

I've tried to keep this short as I know the good ole wall of text can be daunting. If there are any questions I can answer to help gain information I am more than willing. I also really appreciate any help or information which people can provide as I really feel helpless and confused at the moment.

[john & jean 37]

Forget the K3, no longer practical. If you petition for K1, then get married, you are no longer are eligible for the K1.

Study the guides, then make a decision!!!

Others will be along, to expand on the other questions....

[Inky 1,110]

If you want to get married and dont want to wait for K-1 to marry in america. Do a CR1, you can marry anywhere and then do the CR1 petition for your wife.

K-1 you have to marry in america no choice, its part of the rules for the visa, and you cant get married untill you get the visa and enter america. like the other person said, if you marry before you get the visa then your petition for a fiance(e) is void because you are married.

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

If you want to get married and dont want to wait for K-1 to marry in america. Do a CR1, you can marry anywhere and then do the CR1 petition for your wife.

K-1 you have to marry in america no choice, its part of the rules for the visa, and you cant get married untill you get the visa and enter america. like the other person said, if you marry before you get the visa then your petition for a fiance(e) is void because you are married.

This pretty much sums up your best choices. Again, do the research on these various visas and figurs out which one best suits your needs. Just remember that you will need to show proof of your divorce when you're starting the process.

[trailmix 77]

Will me being stationed overseas create problems?

Hi,

The only place domicile comes in to play is for the I-864 (affidavit of support). The question is, are you a contractor working for a 3rd party company or are you working for the U.S. government?

If you are working for the government, that is considered as being domiciled in the U.S. If you are not, then you may have a problem as the sponsor must be domiciled there.

The only way around it, in that case, is to prove that you will reestablish your U.S. domicile, no later than the intending immigrant (ie: she gets her visa and you move back - and you need to prove that is what you intend to do).

[Silk53 1]

Thank you for the information so far. I am working for a third party (a company hired by the government), however I do have a military id card as we work and live on the base. So would I still be considered to have domicile in the US?

[Chris Knouse 3]

Thank you for the information so far. I am working for a third party (a company hired by the government), however I do have a military id card as we work and live on the base. So would I still be considered to have domicile in the US?

Military bases are considered U.S. soil and domain. This may be only for those stationed there, but if your contract is Civil Engineering and you have Grade and are stationed on the base as permanent resident, you are considered in the U.S. all paperwork can be mailed to you there.

[Silk53 1]

One of my main concerns is her passport. She does not think her passport is an issue as it is her passport, despite it not having her birth name and a different birth date. Is this something we should be worried about and see about correcting.

Thank you for your help so far.

[trailmix 77]

One of my main concerns is her passport. She does not think her passport is an issue as it is her passport, despite it not having her birth name and a different birth date. Is this something we should be worried about and see about correcting.

Thank you for your help so far.

I would double check the domicile issue, based on what you have stated. The place to check would be with whichever consulate she will interview at.

As for the name issue, I personally think you should look at having it corrected. The visa, her SSN her greencard will all be issued in the name that appears on her passport.

Edited July 5, 2010 by trailmix

[Silk53 1]

I would double check the domicile issue, based on what you have stated. The place to check would be with whichever consulate she will interview at.

As for the name issue, I personally think you should look at having it corrected. The visa, her SSN her greencard will all be issued in the name that appears on her passport.

I have tried to ask questions of the Beijing embassy and they said they will not answer any visa question and to check the information they have on their website. I have been searching for information and finally thought of forums which led me hear. It does not help being stuck in Afghanistan as it is difficult to track down information. I even tried the JAG office and they would just give me a handout with no information to speak of.

As far as the name, she uses both names and does not care which is used. I just do not want it to slow down the process once we can begin the process. So I am trying to ensure I know what I'm doing as I am totally lost and very thankful to have found this site.

[trailmix 77]

I have tried to ask questions of the Beijing embassy and they said they will not answer any visa question and to check the information they have on their website. I have been searching for information and finally thought of forums which led me hear. It does not help being stuck in Afghanistan as it is difficult to track down information. I even tried the JAG office and they would just give me a handout with no information to speak of.

As far as the name, she uses both names and does not care which is used. I just do not want it to slow down the process once we can begin the process. So I am trying to ensure I know what I'm doing as I am totally lost and very thankful to have found this site.

I think I am probably not familiar enough with Chinese naming protocol to answer this question. To a westerner I would respond, what is her legal name? At the same time, while I can legally use whatever name I choose, that does not mean that it will fly with immigration.

So the question is, why does she have two names?

Two people that might be able to help here (VJ members) are Darnell and/or Pushbrk, unfortunately neither of them accept PMs.

I would recommend you start a new thread, in the China regional forum and put something in the subject related to "name issue".

The China regional forum is here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/94-china/

Edited July 5, 2010 by trailmix

[Silk53 1]

Thank you, I will try that.