Which avenue to pursue for marriage ?

[FlyingTurk]

I am trying to figure out which avenue would be better to pursue for my future wife and her 9 year old son.
I am a US citizen. She was here before on F1 visa, but returned to her country of birth many moons ago.

I am trying to decide which avenue would be faster for us to get together and for her start working. (She has a Masters in Political Science and wants to start working quickly)

I was considering getting them a tourist visa and then apply for change of stats here in US after we get married.
A friend of mine that got married to a Bosnian girl had to wait 2 full years for her to be able to given permission to enter US.

What do you all think?

[inadmissible]

It is unfortunate that the immigrant visa process takes so long that couples are under pressure to find other avenues of unification

The spousal immigrant visa and the fiancee nonimmigrant visas are the appropriate paths to getting her here

You can't get her a tourist visa, only she can get herself a tourist visa. She will need to demonstrate strong ties to her homeland to prevail in her application for a visa. When she arrives in the United States and applies for admission before immigration agents, she will to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent, and persuade them that she is a bona fide tourist. It will be easier if she comes from a country with a record of low immigration violations

Many people in your fiancees shoes screw this step up, generally because an acceptable narrative requires them to lie, and most untrained people are terrible liars. If CBP catch her in a lie, not only will she be denied entry, but she will be face future hurdles to immigrating to the United States.

An alternative to a tourist visa is a work visa. Perhaps you can help secure her a job with an employer who will sponsor her a work visa