Jump to content

My fiancee is pregnant, K-1 visa questions


Recommended Posts

My fiancee is pregnant and our baby is due in May. She and I are living in China together. We are just about ready to send our i-129f package out. A previous post discussed how the new Obama legislation on immigration may slow down other immigration processing, I'm wondering if anyone thinks that may be true for the K-1 visa as well, or since it's a non-immigrant visa it may not be affected? Our plan was to hopefully move to the U.S. in August, assuming everything went according to plan with the K-1 visa. So my questions would be:

 

1. Is the 7 month timeline a realistic expectation, especially considering the new immigration legislation?

 

2. If the K-1 visa were granted earlier than expected or the baby wasn't quite ready for the move, is it correct that we have a few months to leave China before the actual "3 months to marriage" countdown begins?

 

2. Will the pregnancy/baby have any effect on the visa process for my fiancee? I am assuming she will either be very pregnant looking or will have given birth shortly before the interview in Guangzhou.

 

 

Again, thank you so much to the people who reply on this site! It's unbelievably helpful and so appreciated.

Link to comment

First of all, welcome to Candle. In terms of your questions, my experience with the visa process was many years ago (2001-2003), so my knowledge of the time line is a bit dated. For a K-1, I think it may take a bit longer than seven months, but that is not for certrain. In terms of the visa, it is good for six months, meaning you can use it up to six months after it is issued. Once in the States, the 90-day count down begins. There is no way to be certain whether her being pregnant will influence the decision. I would think the fact that you are starting a family would be in your favor, but you cannot be sure how an individual visa officer will react to this. Over the years, I have found that the decision making process is quite arbitrary. I hope this helps some and I am sure some of our more up to date members will chime in soon. Best wishes for great success and congrats on being a father to be. BTW, where are you in China? I lived there for five years.

Link to comment

The K-1 MIGHT be less susceptible to being affected by the Executive order than an I-130 would be, since a K-1 is a non-immigrant visa, but there's no way of knowing that for certain at this point.

 

The immigrant (green card) processing would come after she were already in the U.S. and filed an I-485 for AOS (Adjustment of Status).

Link to comment

1) 7 months is a short expectation, depending on which center processes the I-129F USCIS 2 months or as long as 4 or 6 months for USCIS, then add the time for petition to get from the US to the consulate, as well as processing time at the consulate (2 months).

Visa Stats

 

2) A K-1 is issued with a 6 months validity, once used upon entry to the states then the 90 day clock starts, so essentially you have as much as 6 months + 90 days to marry.

 

3) If birth before interview or even after interview, you register the birth abroad and get a US Citizen passport and an exit visa for the baby.

http://candleforlove.com/forums/tags/forums/CRBA/

Link to comment

Since you are living in China Your best bet would be to marry there and file DCF. You could get the visa in as little as 4 months.

Exactly, Why not marry DCF file and I-130 petition there? The timeline can be quite quick to process through to a visa, and I have yet to see a denied CR-1 spouse visa that was filed via DCF.

 

The processing costs are much less for a spouse visa through to green-card than a K-1 through adjustment of status, around $800 less in fees. Also A CR-1 gets green-card upon arrival in the states allowing work and travel, K-1 has to marry and adjust status to get green-card which means several months in non-immigrant status unable to travel or take a job.

 

Just recently another member Sam who is living in China went through the entire process in about 3 months filing to visa interview.

 

See: http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/47398-our-dcfd-cr-1-approved-in-guangzhou-nov-20/

Link to comment

Before I found this site I had been reading pretty much everywhere that the CR-1 took longer to process than a K-1. I keep reading that the I-130 takes longer to process than the I-129f, which is what would make the K-1 option faster. Obviously that's not true for all cases given the story in the last link that was posted.

 

Is there a big time advantage to DCF? I've read scary posts on different sites about the I-130 taking years to process.

 

I just don't want to make a mistake by filing the one that takes longer. My biggest concern is time. The cost difference and getting the green card immediately are not as much of a concern for us as making sure we can finish the process as quickly as possible.

 

Thanks all for your replies!

Link to comment

Before I found this site I had been reading pretty much everywhere that the CR-1 took longer to process than a K-1. I keep reading that the I-130 takes longer to process than the I-129f, which is what would make the K-1 option faster. Obviously that's not true for all cases given the story in the last link that was posted.

 

Is there a big time advantage to DCF? I've read scary posts on different sites about the I-130 taking years to process.

 

I just don't want to make a mistake by filing the one that takes longer. My biggest concern is time. The cost difference and getting the green card immediately are not as much of a concern for us as making sure we can finish the process as quickly as possible.

 

Thanks all for your replies!

I-130 process only takes longer than I-129F when they are filed to USCIS in the states, and in many cases only by a month or so.

 

In your case you can visit USCIS in Guangzhou or Beijing and file the paperwork there they process it in China and send it directly to Guangzhou for an interview, NO USCIS center in the states involved, NO National Visa Center either. DCF tends to be at most 4 months to process, 4 - 6 months faster than filing the I-130 in the states. Also I-129F CANNOT be filed DCF only I-130 can.

 

Yes BIG time advantage, it takes a few months not years.

 

Again Sam came here Aug 7 with a story about his then girlfriend getting denied a student visa to Canada, he got counseled to get married and file the I-130 DCF, he did and they got approved for visa on Nov 20.

 

 

Only thing that will add add time after interview is if beneficiary is or had been a member of the Communist party, this requires extra time for the consulate to get a waiver to approve the visa.

 

The only reason to do a K-1 while in China would be in a case where there would be a Step child age 18 - 21 at time of marriage, in this case the K-1 allows for a K-2 for the step child, the step parent could not file an I-130 for step child due to child's age at time of parent's marriage, the only restriction on the K-2 is child needs to be less than age 21 wen the visa issued. Another member was in this situation, did the K-1 from within China and ultimately ended up with a denial, reason unknown.

 

As for visa denials.

  • K-1 gets the most denials, many then get married and file for a spouse visa. (In your case a denial would probably be unlikely due to having a child together)
  • CR-1/IR-1 when filed in the states occasionally get denials. This is more complex requiring appeals. (possible cause is living apart while petition is in process)
  • CR-1/IR-1 when filed DCF rarely get denials, probably due to couple living together before and during the time the petition is filed.
Link to comment

Wow thanks Dan for sharing all that info! Completely changed our minds, and now we'll go for the CR-1 as soon as we get married here, which will likely be during the holiday in February. What a relief it is to have this site. Wish I could buy everyone on here a gift for all the help, you guys are awesome THANK YOU!

 

Mick, thanks very much for the congrats and well wishes. To answer your question- I live in Shenzhen currently, and last year I lived in Suzhou.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Wow thanks Dan for sharing all that info! Completely changed our minds, and now we'll go for the CR-1 as soon as we get married here, which will likely be during the holiday in February. What a relief it is to have this site. Wish I could buy everyone on here a gift for all the help, you guys are awesome THANK YOU!

 

Mick, thanks very much for the congrats and well wishes. To answer your question- I live in Shenzhen currently, and last year I lived in Suzhou.

 

I have a number of former students living and working in Shenzhen. My first year in China was spent in Hefei, up in Anhui Province. After that, I spent four years in Shantou, which is just up the coast a few hours from Shenzhen.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

A family member of mine knows an immigration attorney who answered a few questions as a favor. I asked what she thought of doing the CR-1 with direct consulate filing instead of the K-1. She said this:

The U.S. Embassy in China does not allow for direct consular filing of the immediate relative green card. Instead, first, an I-130 immigrant visa petition would need to be filed with USCIS. Then when that is approved, the case would be transferred to the National Visa Center for payment of fees and transfer to the U.S. Embassy in China for scheduling of the immigrant visa medical and interview. This would take much longer and your fiance would not be authorized to enter the U.S. while she awaited a decision on the process.You can read more here: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/immigrant_visas.html The U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou is the only one which handles immigrant visas.

 

 

Is she just misinformed? Obviously there are several accounts of other people doing DCF in Guangzhou. Anyone have an idea whether there is a problem in our communication or if this attorney is just wrong?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment

A family member of mine knows an immigration attorney who answered a few questions as a favor. I asked what she thought of doing the CR-1 with direct consulate filing instead of the K-1. She said this:

 

The U.S. Embassy in China does not allow for direct consular filing of the immediate relative green card. Instead, first, an I-130 immigrant visa petition would need to be filed with USCIS. Then when that is approved, the case would be transferred to the National Visa Center for payment of fees and transfer to the U.S. Embassy in China for scheduling of the immigrant visa medical and interview. This would take much longer and your fiance would not be authorized to enter the U.S. while she awaited a decision on the process.You can read more here: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/immigrant_visas.html The U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou is the only one which handles immigrant visas.

 

 

Is she just misinformed? Obviously there are several accounts of other people doing DCF in Guangzhou. Anyone have an idea whether there is a problem in our communication or if this attorney is just wrong?

 

Thanks!

 

 

The attorney is just flat-out WRONG. You may file with either the Beijing or the Guangzhou USCIS offices. In addition, most of the other consulates will accept your application and fees and forward them to the appropriate US Consulate.

 

Direct Consular Filing of I-130 - http://guangzhou.use...n-relative.html

Direct Consular Filing is informally referred to as DCF, although neither the Dept. of State nor the USCIS uses this notation.

Dec., 2011 - their website says

Quote - U.S. Citizens who legally reside in the local area, can file an Immediate Relative Immigrant Petition (Form I-130) by coming to the office during public service window hours only. We do not accept applications by mail.

No mention is made of the six month requirement - just that you "legally reside" in the "local area".

If your Chinese residence falls under the jurisdiction of a different consulate USCIS office, please check with them for their specific requirements. The Beijing embassy has indicated that they will accept any "long- term official authorization permitting you to live in China", and does not require an actual residence permit.

 

The USCIS Public Service window is located at the Guangzhou consulate, to the left of the visa interview windows. As of January 1, 2011 public service hours are from 8:30am – 10:30am on Fridays only.

 

Update on GUZ's USCIS office hours -

Quote -

Please be advised that starting January 1, 2011, our public window opens from 8:30am – 10:30am on Fridays only. Immigration forms can be downloaded from our website at www.uscis.gov

The mailing address for submission of I-130 petitions to the Beijing USCIS is:

 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Embassy Beijing

No.55 An Jia Lu Road (安家楼路)

Beijing, China 100600

USCIS Service and Office Locator for Beijing office

"U.S. Citizens with proof of residency in China may file an Immediate Relative Petition (Form I-130) by making an appointment to come in to the office during Window hours.

 

U.S. Citizens with proof of residency in China, residing outside of the Beijing or Guangzhou Consular Districts, may file at the American Consulates General in Shenyang, Shanghai, or Chengdu. The Beijing Office may contact petitioners and /or applicants to request personal appearances for an interview or to request additional documentation."

Link to comment

A family member of mine knows an immigration attorney who answered a few questions as a favor. I asked what she thought of doing the CR-1 with direct consulate filing instead of the K-1. She said this:

 

The U.S. Embassy in China does not allow for direct consular filing of the immediate relative green card. Instead, first, an I-130 immigrant visa petition would need to be filed with USCIS. Then when that is approved, the case would be transferred to the National Visa Center for payment of fees and transfer to the U.S. Embassy in China for scheduling of the immigrant visa medical and interview. This would take much longer and your fiance would not be authorized to enter the U.S. while she awaited a decision on the process.You can read more here: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/immigrant_visas.html The U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou is the only one which handles immigrant visas.

 

 

Is she just misinformed? Obviously there are several accounts of other people doing DCF in Guangzhou. Anyone have an idea whether there is a problem in our communication or if this attorney is just wrong?

 

Thanks!

 

 

What your attorney's link states is this

 

The U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Unit processes all immigrant visas for residents of the People's Republic of China.

 

 

 

This is correct. You will first file a PETITION for an Immediate Relative - either the I-130, or I-129F, your choice - with the USCIS. The I-130 may be filed either through the Chicago Lockbox, or through Direct Consular Filing at either Beijing or Guangzhou. The I-129F may be filed ONLY through the Chicago lockbox.

 

Petitions filed through the Guangzhou or Beijing USCIS offices are processed AT THOSE location, and forwarded to Guangzhou in as little as two weeks to a couple of months.

 

Petitions filed through the Chicago lockbox can take several months to a year for processing.

 

Your fiance/wife will then file a visa application with the Guangzhou consulate, after the PETITION is APPROVED and FORWARDED to the Consulate.

Link to comment

Your lawyer friend is wrong. We have several members here who have filed DCF. There are many threads posted on the topic. Be grateful you didn't hire her to represent you. Over the years I have seen many cases fouled up by lawyers who simply didn't know the facts. One fairly recent case a lawyer told a member his K-2 step daughter could leave the US before adjusting status. She went back to England to resume school and couldn't return to the US. IMO lawyers aren't needed unless there are extenuating circumstances. Even then make sure you get one that is familiar with the inner workings of the consulate in Guangzhou. No one cares about your petition more than you do. if a lawyer is used review, check double check and triple check everything they do. Might as well do it yourself.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

I agree 200% with what Carl just said. I have been a member of this board since 2002 and I cannot count the number of times I have seen cases where attorneys screwed up the process due to faulty or outdated information. It has happened time and time again. Yes, they can be of some help if you have an "out of the ordinary" issue in your case, but otherwise, it is better (and a lot cheaper) to handle it yourself.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...