K1 and Visa Waiver

V

vermonohue

New Member
I am a US citizen, and my fiancee is a German citizen. I live here and she lives and works as a school teacher in Ireland. We would like to get married, live together in the U.S., and have her be able to start teaching next school year. The amount of info available online is both great and mind boggling! There are two questions I still have after reading all about K1, K3, and CR1 visas.
1) Can she still travel to the U.S. on the visa waiver program (as she normally does) once the i-129f process is started? (Will she still be able to visit me during the 6-8 month processing period?)

2) Can she schedule her interview in Ireland where she lives, or does it have to be in Germany where she is a citizen?

Thanks,
John
 
1) No. VWP is a visitor visa and she has immigrant intent. She might be able to sneak in undetected, but they would find out during her adjustment of status to permanent resident and she might be accused of immigration fraud. Definitively not worth it. Visit her instead, and write to your local congressman/woman and senator about the slow processing and complain. That tends to speed up things.
2) Probably yes, as long she is a resident of Ireland.
 
1) YES!!! You CAN visit whilst a K1 is pending. Having a visa does not bar you from entering the states. As nscagony points out, having a k1 visa in the works does show that you have immigrant intent, but no way does it mean that you cant visit. What your fiance needs to do is be able to prove that they are going to leave the States when they say they will and not attempt to stay and adjust status. To do this, when your fiance travels they need to make sure that they have proof on them that they are going to return to Ireland. Such proof can include rent/lease agreements, car payments, loans, a letter from her school indicating when they are due back at work etc. Whilst its important that your fiance does have this information on their person, they should never volunteer it unless they are asked for it. Please be aware that your fiance is NOT guarranteed entry as having a k1 can cause extra scrutiny on their entry, but it does not exclude them from entry. Just to be realistic though, you have to be prepared for your fiance being refused entry.
Many people HAVE entered the States with a K1 pending and most of them have gained entry. Heres a couple of threads from visajourney.com discussing this point:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=121814&hl=visit
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=119004&hl=visit
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=115432&hl=visit
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=52827

2) Yes, as nscagony says.
 
Thanks for the rapid replies. It sounds hopeful, as my fiancee is only intending to visit during the holidays, and has residence and a full time job at a boarding school in Ireland.
 
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