Student T

Hi everyone, Thank you for the responses so far. Just to clear up any confusion, she entered the US for a two month summer program on a J1 visa with the restriction and then went home after completion. Subsequently she applied and was accepted to grad school here on a F1 visa, which is where we met. I have checked with two lawyers and they both say that the J1 visa's restriction is binding even though she is now on a F1. We have filed the no objection statement with the Chinese consulate as well as the waiver application which is pending. Her F1 Visa OPT (optional practical training) allows her to stay until spring of 2010, so she could just stay here and wait for the waiver and then we could do AOS. My original question was based on her intent to return to China for a few months while the economy recovers, and come back on a K1/K3. I just wasn't sure which one is better because it doesn't matter to us when we get married. Also We already live together in the US so I am not too worried about proof of relationship, but maybe it will help the processing time.

Long story short, I met my girlfriend in grad school in the US and we are now both engaged. Unfortunately she just graduated on a F1 visa but previously had a J1 visa with the 2 year restriction (7 months left on it) from another program so we can't just simply get married in the US unless we file for a waiver because the AOS won't go through. She also has job opportunities in China right now and zero prospects here (her field is in finance) so she thought it would be more useful for her to go back for a few months then come back when the economy is better. Hence we thought ok, she can come back on a K1 or K3 visa. The question is, and I still haven't been able to figure this out, is whether it is better for us to get married now in the US and file for a K3 or wait and file for a K1. We are also applying for the J waiver regardless as that would potentially reduce the 7 month delay before filing for K1/K3. If anyone can offer some statistics on the difference between k1 and k3 processing time, or anything else that's helpful, it would be really appreciated. We have talked to two lawyers, but they are quite unhelpful when it comes to quantitative evidence.