Advice for K1 visa (fiancé visa)

[Snacks]

This year I’ll begin the K1 visa process for my Thai girlfriend. My question is this: I plan on marrying my girlfriend in the USA (obviously) in order to get her a green card. But we both really have no desire to live in the USA - we just want to be able to travel there together once a year to visit my family. Is this ok to admit in the interview?… (the tourist visa for her is NOT a viable option). 
Thanks I’m advance!

[atpeace]

Been 20 years but think it was more complicated.  If I remember correctly she will need to reside in the USA for years to get her citizenship but not sure about the green card restrictions.

 

Be careful with this because it sets you up for a financial nightmare if things go bad in the future.  I'm sure  you are in love but most are and still part ways.  She gets 50% of your assets in the USA and more than likely close to 100% of anything you acquire in Thailand over 5,10, 20 years.  Not a major concern now but these types of things creep up on you.

 

I was poor when I married my wife and not when we divorced.  Sucks  being left with 30% of everything!  Good men and women turn into idiots during a divorce.

[olfu]

Recent enforcement is tough. Prices for paperwork up, specialty lawyer recommended, marriage within 90 days, interview waiting period over 1 year normal and if you lucky green card for 2 years.

Better hire lawyer.

[GinBoy2]

Careful on this one.

 

My wife entered on a CR-1 so had a green card upon entry.

 

Her online friend who went to the US embassy for her K1 interview is still sat in Utah 3 years later waiting for her green card

[Snacks]

You’re saying that even though she was approved to come to the US for her green card, they just kept her waiting???.. 

[bkk6060]

You really need to do your research OP.  The K1 is not just some travel visa there is a commitment and requirement that you spend significant time in the U.S. several months a year after you get married there.

Got a buddy in Vegas he has been waiting more then 2 years for the card.

It is all a major hassle, expensive and time consuming for me if I wanted to get married I would find a girl in the U.S. who actually is a citizen and has a job.

Edited April 27, 2022 by bkk6060

[GinBoy2]

8 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

You really need to do your research OP.  The K1 is not just some travel visa there is a commitment and requirement that you spend significant time in the U.S. several months a year after you get married there.

Got a buddy in Vegas he has been waiting more then 2 years for the card.

It is all a major hassle, expensive and time consuming for me if I wanted to get married I would find a girl in the U.S. who actually is a citizen and has a job.

You are absolutely right, and what i was trying to point out to the OP i even if they entered the US on a K1 and getting married, she couldn't travel until she obtained a green card and that can take years after the application for change of status.

 

On the topic of how long you need to spend in the US to retain the green card I think the wording is vague.

 

But I've read somewhere that you need to spend in excess of 6 months per year in the US or the green card will be revoked

[GinBoy2]

So as little update on this

 

I just had a conversation with the lady I previously mentioned who was with my wife when they went to the embassy in BKK for their respective CR-1 and K-1 interviews 

 

It's now 4 years and her case is still 'processing'. She still doesn't have a SSN so can't even get a drivers license in Utah, and most definitely can't work

Edited April 29, 2022 by GinBoy2

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

The US wants you married to the potential immigrant. They want you to have known her awhile, plan on being in the US awhile, and have you support her. The longer you've known her, or have already been married to her prior to entry, the better. Documentation, photos and communication going back several years, helps in this regard.

 

They don't want you bringing in someone possibly just using you to enter, who will then simply run off to apply for government benefits, and do work under the table. This has happened to many, including a friend of mine. Thus, most visas for GFs and tourists are denied, unless that person has a high status and income, strong reasons for returning to Thailand.

 

I'm about to begin the IR-1 visa for my wife. It requires 2 years of marriage prior to applying. Because of this there's a bit of preference and faster track to a green card.

[GinBoy2]

2 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

The US wants you married to the potential immigrant. They want you to have known her awhile, plan on being in the US awhile, and have you support her. The longer you've known her, or have already been married to her prior to entry, the better. Documentation, photos and communication going back several years, helps in this regard.

 

They don't want you bringing in someone possibly just using you to enter, who will then simply run off to apply for government benefits, and do work under the table. This has happened to many, including a friend of mine. Thus, most visas for GFs and tourists are denied, unless that person has a high status and income, strong reasons for returning to Thailand.

 

I'm about to begin the IR-1 visa for my wife. It requires 2 years of marriage prior to applying. Because of this there's a bit of preference and faster track to a green card.

 

The difference between a IR/CR-1 and a K1 is that as a US citizen you are entitled by law to bring your spouse to the US, and it's basically dotting the I's and crossing the T's and assuming she's not got a criminal record or the like it's a done deal.

 

My wife got her green card and SSN card in the mail 2 weeks after we arrived in the US.

 

With a K1 after you marry your honey in the US, you then have to go through all that process that you did upfront for a CR/IR-1.

 

Th downside for all of you is the loss of Direct Consular Filing. When we did it the USCIS office in Bangkok  was still open before Trump shut down all overseas offices.

 

It took us exactly 100 days from me dropping off the paperwork in BKK before my wife's CR-1 was approved.

Buckle up for a somewhat more lengthy process!

[GinBoy2]

One last point to let the newbies understand the difference.

 

A K1 visa is a non immigrant visa. It's handled exactly the same way as a general tourist visa through the embassy in BKK. 

Once approved, the applicant enters the US  as a non immigrant, and then starts the immigrant process through USCIS and a change of status

 

A CR1/IR1 is an immigrant visa and is processed through USCIS in the US upfront, it's only referred back to the embassy in BKK after processing for a final interview. The applicant will then enter the US as an immigrant

 

Folks confuse a CR1/IR1 with a K1. Very different processes

Edited April 30, 2022 by GinBoy2

[Snacks]

So it seems like the CR1/IR1 is faster in terms of overall time to get the green card? Is that correct?… so let’s say I’ve been married in Thailand for a year or two, the wait time to get the green card is faster than the overall time with a K1. Am I understanding this correctly ?

[GinBoy2]

Well thats a double edged question.

 

Initial processing for a K1 is quicker, since it's an embassy process just the same as a tourist visa. Many guys use this route to get their honey into the US faster. But the heavy lifting happens after she lands in the US and you then have to start USCIS immigrant processing.

Remember travel during the immigrant processing is difficult and for my mind at least risky.

 

Going down the CR1/IR1 route you do the immigrant stuff with USCIS upfront while you are in Thailand, which probably takes the same time, but you are avoiding the initial time it took you to get the K1, hence overall it's quicker getting a green card in her hand.

 

But back to earlier posts, if your intention isn't to live in the US, eventually they will revoke her green card and you will have spent a ton of cash and time for nothing

[bbko]

On 11/20/2021 at 11:34 PM, Snacks said:

But we both really have no desire to live in the USA - we just want to be able to travel there together once a year to visit my family.

Once you're married and back in Thailand, she can apply for a 10 year tourist visa (B2) and travel to the US with stays up to 6 months.