Between K1 or K3

[croc1978]

I Have a dude, I am interested in a woman and I wanted to begin the fiance visa ,but in LAI recomended the spousal visa,who can help me in choose the better option?

[LastLion]

Good question Croc??? I too am interested in learning more about the 2!

[Tim413]

I would suggest the K-1. All my friends who got married in Colombia and applied for a K-3 or CR-1 are very unhappy now. It takes about eight to twelve months to get a K-3 visa. This means, if you are married, you have to wait a long time to be with your wife. This causes a lot of stress!!!!!!

Plus, now after you apply for an adjustment of status on a K-1, you get a green card in about three months. I do not know if this applies for everyone though.

Have a great day!!!!!!


Tim

The K1 is a pressure cooker ...I'll let STM explain this one!

[Tim413]

OK.........STM why do you think the K1 is a pressure cooker?

Tim

[Clay]

We did a K-1 two years ago and it worked out great AFTER she arrived.
Getting any process to move quickly can be frustrating.
In the recent past, K-1 was the way to go but you might want to check with an attorney about what is happening today.

[GrizGator]

Before anyone (including yourself) can answer this question, you first need to ask yourself and answer a couple of questions:

1) How sure are you that you love her and want to marry her?
2) How sure are you that she loves you and wants to marry you because of you?
3) How sure are you that she will be able to adjust to the U.S., particularly where you live?

If you feel good about your answers to those questions, then I recommend the K-3. I married my wife in September and she was in the U.S. in late January. The K-3 visa petition took 40 days from filing to approval. We were approved in late November. We submitted our packet 3 papers by mid-December and got a January interview.

Here's is why I prefer the K-3 to the K-1 (assuming your answers above):

1) Time is about the same (because you are filing the same petitions - the I-130 and the I-129Fs).
2) You are actually married, which increases your odds of receiving the visa by quite a bit, in my estimation. On the day of our interview, we were lumped together with K-1 applicants and IR-1/CR-1 applicants. I can't tell you how many K-1 applicants got denied. On the other hand, our K-3 was approved....without the interviewer asking my wife ANY questions.

Now....if you are not sure about your fiance...or you are not sure she will adjust well to the U.S., then perhaps the K-1 is the better way to go. However, if you go K-1, you better have your ducks in a row....lots of proof of relationship.

So, in this case, Nelson is spot on with his advice.

Griz

PS - Any questions about the process, etc. - feel free to ask me. Post it here so others will have access to the information.

[Tim413]

Grizgator thanks for your words of wisdom!!!!!!! Congratulations on getting your K-3 approved so fast.

Your three questions are great!!!!!!

Here are a few questions for you:

• Did you know that your K-3 process would go this fast or were you and your wife planning on the K-3 process taking longer.

• How did you know that your wife would like the US?

• What will you do if your wife does not like the US and wants to move back to Colombia with her new husband?

I look forward to hearing your answers!!!!!!!!


Tim

Originally Posted by tim413

OK, ....STM why do you think the K1 is a pressure cooker?

STM - a young Robert Redford was spotted in Bogota making the moves on a Sophia Vergara look-a-like.

[GrizGator]

Responses embedded below......

Here are a few questions for you:

• Did you know that your K-3 process would go this fast or were you and your wife planning on the K-3 process taking longer.

It went a little faster than I expected...but that is the experience of many right now. Things seem to be going faster now that petitions are being farmed out to the various CSs...as opposed to Missouri. We were originally told 4-6 months. As it turns out, we were finished in roughly 4 months.

Since K-1s and K-3s get processed using the same petition, I believe the processing times are the same.

• How did you know that your wife would like the US?

I did not KNOW this...one can never know. All you can do it talk to her and explain to her about life in the U.S. and, in particular, where you live. You can show her photos. You can show her web site. You can make sure she has really thought about a move...and how different things will be from Bogota. So, there are no guarantees....of course, I am not sure that a short stay on a k-1 visa is really going to do much....unless you have a fiancee that really knows little about the U.S. and you have adjustment concerns. Just my opinion.

• What will you do if your wife does not like the US and wants to move back to Colombia with her new husband?

I guess that is always a concern...whether you marry someone from Colombia, from another country, or even from another state (consider moving from rural Alabama to Boston) or city (consider moving from New York to Brownsville, Texas). Before we ever got married, I told her that living in Colombia was not an option for me because of my job. I told her that we could spend time there each summer and that eventually we could possibly live there part-time when I retire in 20-25 years. Obviously, if she is not happy here and wants to go home....we have a choice of staying married and living apart for a good part of the year....or getting a divorce. So far, my wife seems determined to make our marriage work (I feel like Colombian women are more marriage-minded and family-oriented that U.S. women) and she likes the area in Florida where we live. Might have been a different story if I lived elsewhere in the U.S.

I look forward to hearing your answers!!!!!!!!


Tim[/QUOTE]