Has anyone here ever had their girlfriend/fiancé visit America first, before coming here to live? Is it common for women to "make the plunge" without visiting first, to see what life is like in America, to meet your family and friends, etc.?
I can imagine how scary it can be to move to a foreign country without checking it out first.
Unfortunately, the B-2 tourist visa is nearly impossible to get to come to the U.S.
To get a fiancé visa, just for a visit: "It would be fraudulent to apply for a fiancé visa for your Russian girlfriend knowing that you didn't intend to marry in the U.S." (Quoted from an e-mail I received from a New York Immigration lawyer)
Anyone's experiences in this matter would be appreciated.
Of course, by the letter of the law, if you have absolutely no intent to marry - using a fiance visa is fraudulent. And there is an extensive interviewing process used to satisfy government officials that you are, indeed, serious. You must provide pictures of the two of you together with the last two years, a detailed description of how you met and your intentions, etc. etc. It is difficult to imagine how you could do all of these things without commiting fraud - if you truly do not intend to marry.
But having said all of that - the entire purpose of the fiance visa is for you to go through the final stages of courtship which is to lead to marriage in the US. She has some time to see how you live and what she is getting herself into. So it is perfectly legitimate to figure that she may get cold feet, just as any bride could. She may be...less than impressed at what she sees.
Couples being couples, it is perfectly legitimate under the law to have a "change of heart" and decide not to marry.
but if I remember correctly (having read various info), if the decision is made not to marry, she will have to return and never be allowed back in.
The latter possibly only for you Dis, dunno for sure, but find out?
Thats not correct Thunder. As a matter of fact I've heard of cases where people married on the second attempt. Meaning she returned home, some time passed as the couple worked things out, and she came again on a fiance visa. What you say may be true regarding some countries (I certainly don't know anything about the law in the UK or Australia) but in the US.
jetman
my girlfriend in kyiv told me as i told her about your thread. she does have two girlfriends who were turned down a second time trying to re-apply for the k-1 fiance visa the second time around after they returned from the first time and decided to go back to the states again for the same man. you never can predict how they will rule.the laws in the states are forever changing and being fine tuned. sometimes month by month. but you are allowed to re-apply. as for the tourist and visitors visa , forget it , the usa has tightened the sling. only if you can prove you have legitimate business and can show high assets and transactions.k-1 fiance visa is the only way. it is fast and easy to do. and you have 3 months to marry her. if not , adios. and men, it can all be done for around 2,000 dollars or less even with a child or two. dont go by what you hear or third hand info. how do i get my info ? straight from the source. european connections have been in the introduction business for 30 years. they have an attorney who that is all he does. just call and ask. i do. it is no majestical experience getting them over here. and it is quiet cheap. but you must have a photo and a good one of you and her together . her a physical exam and a background check. he says only 3 to 5 months. go to the source and dont speculate.
Thanks guys, for your input.
I also understand that soon after the marriage takes place, if the wife returns to Russia, she can come back to the U.S. on a different visa, K-3.
A K-3 visa is a marriage visa (as opposed to a fiance visa). To get a K-3 you simply in her home country.
Jmoluv - local embassy officials have AMAZING discretion in how they interpret the law. The law doesn't chage from time to time - the interpretation and rules applied by each individual embassy does. and there really is no recourse. Decisions made by embassy officials are pretty much final. In general the consulate is required to ASSUME that your fiance visa application is false - it is YOUR burden to prove that you are absolutely serious about intending to marry. Likewise when applying for a tourist or student visa - the consolate is required by law to ASSUME the foreign citizen has no intention of returning to their native country until they PROVE that they intend to.
Obviously (based on your story above) American officials at the Ukrainian embassy are convinced that you are not serious if you make the rip one time and then do not marry. That will vary from country to country and time to time - but I certainly don't dispute that it may be a hard fact at the US Embassy in Ukraine right now.
By marrying in her home country - you show pretty conclusively that you are serious. and the K-3 marriage visa has a different application procedure (usually) than the K-1 fiance visa.
that is all good said and done jetman but i personally would prefer to do every thing that a specialist attorney would advise me to do. especially from a business that does it on a daily basis.
jmo
If she comes here (US) on a K-1 and you marry, she then applies for a change of status and a work permit. She is then able to travel back to Russia or Ukraine or wherever and can return to the States. You apply for a K-1 or a K-3, but not both. Once you are married in the States on a K-1, the K-3 no longer applies.
I'm not exactly sure how the paperwork looks during travel, but I'm sure it is documented in the passport and you probably carry a citizen status card (for lack of a better term) with you.
OF COURSE you "apply for a K-1 or a K-3 but not both". They are entirely different visas. As I explained above a K-1 is a FIANCE visa (meaning that you INTEND to get married in the US) and a K-3 is a MARRIAGE visa (meaning that you ALREADY MARRIED in her country).
If you are ENGAGED to her you get a K-1. If you are MARRIED to her you get a K-3. You CANNOT be both engaged and married to her. Likewise you cannot apply for a K-1 AMD a K-3.
AND of course "Once you are married in the States on a K-1, the K-3 no longer applies." Why in the world would you NEED to get a K-3 when you have married on a K-1???
Please reread my post I don't think you quite understood what I wrote.
Th pont I was tring to make was that - if you cannot prove concusvely to embass yofficials that you are serious about making a SECOND try with a K-1 visa. (Please read jmouv's post) and you REALLY DO want to marry an option might be to MARRY HER in er own ome countr and apply for a K-3 visa then.
Of course check with an attorney who specializes in immigratition - but marrying her in her own home country (and using a K-3 visa) is certainly a prefered option over saying adios - if you have already had a K-1 visa and cannot get another.
Jet,
I wasn't reacting to what you wrote. Dis's second post mentioned that a K-3 would be used for a return to the States after the marriage and obviously this is not true. I was just trying to clear up that point. I don't disagree with anything you said.
Ditto:
No problem. All cleared up. I just now reread what Dis wrote and I saw his mention of a K-3 for return. I understand why you wrote what you wrote.
I have to wonder about what this latest woman is telling me. She told me that she was with an American man for 2 years and that it ended for family resasons, quite legitimate I am sure.
Here is the rub. She told me that she has been to America and she and the guy visited about half the country. She told me she has been to Florida twice.
Anyway bearing in mind everything that has been written here I casually asked her how she obtained entry to the USA. I was thinking K1 Fiancee Visa and it went sour before the 3 months were up. She says no she had a tourist visa for a year and she could come and go as she pleased.
Now I don't want to dismiss this out of hand because the guy obviously had money and that talks. However, I have experienced tourist visas up close and personal and to start with there is no such thing as a visa for 1 year. Last one I got in '92 they changed it to maximum 90 days (before that it was 6 monts)and it was a little green slip of paper. You have to remember that I am a Brit and we get preferential treatment from the USA. Special relationship and all that. So we always get the maximum allowance even if you are just visiting Mickey Mouse for 2 weeks they will give you 90 days.
I am thinking that there is no way on earth that she could have got a tourist visa for a year from Russia. I could be wrong though 'cos she might have renewed a few times. That also is damn near impossible, I tried it in '85. It is easier to leave the country and reenter as I did with a day trip to the Bahamas. Then for a Brit you will get another 90 days. I don't know what to think. Perhaps if you have somebody underwrite your visit and guarantee that you will not marry and have enough money they will make an allowance.
What do you think???
"I to not have the visa the bride. I to have the visa of the tourist
for one year. It was not difficult to receive her(it). So I could come and leave then, when it was possible."
IZI,
I would have to agree with your assessment. She may have been able to acquire several tourist visas, if she could prove significant ties to her home country, especially if they were prior to 9-11, but there was no way they were for 1 year. Is it possible she meant a student visa? Is does not sound likely, given the circumstances you presented (another man and the travel around the country).
As I understand it, it is almost an impossibilty for a beautiful woman to come from FSU to America as a tourist. They just won't give a visa. I can only think of one more thing. She has a daughter. Right now the girl is 11. I don't think she brought the girl with her. That would probably convince the authorities that she intended to return. Otherwise I am being lied to I think.