Applying for K visa for a fiance/spouse after citizenship but engaged/married while on green card

H

hiranyakashipu

Registered Users (C)
All,

I am a permanent resident and am eligible for citizenship in May. I am planning to get engaged and married to a girl in India. I have couple questions

1. If I engage or marry the girl when I am a permanent resident, can I apply for a K1 or K3 visa for her after I get my citizenship. Does my engagement or marriage to her, make her ineligible for a K1 or K3 visa?

2. If I marry the girl as a permanent resident, and later get my citizenship, when I apply for my spouses green card, would she be in the pool where she would have to wait for 5-6 years to get her permanent resident or will she be given green card in the timeline that spouses of US citizens get it.

Thanks
 
It doesn't matter if you are a citizen or PR at the time of getting married. Once you become a citizen, your case is treated with all the rights and priorities enjoyed by other citizens, regardless of what your status was when you got married (however, if you file I-130 as a PR, and become a citizen later, you need to tell them to upgrade the case).

If you file for K3, she still has to go through adjustment of status after arrival in the US. But instead of K3 you can file for her green card via consular processing and once it is approved she would immediately become a PR upon entry to the US. So K3 is really a waste of time.
 
Thanks Jackolantern for your response.

Can someone tell me what consular processing is? I was unaware of this. I only knew about the K1 or K3 visa.

Thanks
 
On the I-130, there is a question asking whether the beneficiary is going to adjust status within the US or go to a consulate outside the US. If a consulate is requested, after I-130 approval she would follow up with an interview at the consulate, which if successful she would get an immigrant visa in her passport. The day she arrives in the US with that immigrant visa, she becomes a permanent resident as soon as they process her at the port of entry, and the plastic green card will be mailed to her (normally within one or two months).
 
I wouldn't say so. As I found out K3 or K1 (fiancee viza) processing time is much faster than Green Card application.

This means that after applying for your fiance K1/K3 visa she would probably be in US in 4-6 months.

If you apply for your spouse Green Card it usually takes over 8 months to be processed. People I asked said it took them 1 year to 1 year and half.


Therefore I would say better wait for your citizenship and then apply for fiance viza. This way she will join you in USA much sooner.

Jackolantern said:
.... So K3 is really a waste of time.
Click to expand...
 
ganjik said:
I wouldn't say so. As I found out K3 or K1 (fiancee viza) processing time is much faster than Green Card application.

This means that after applying for your fiance K1/K3 visa she would probably be in US in 4-6 months.

If you apply for your spouse Green Card it usually takes over 8 months to be processed. People I asked said it took them 1 year to 1 year and half.


Therefore I would say better wait for your citizenship and then apply for fiance viza. This way she will join you in USA much sooner.
Click to expand...

Depends what you want the K3 may be faster but is cumbersome I'd vote for a K1 or CR1.
 
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