Marrying in U.S. or abroad first better for working purposes?

[calaveras825]

Hello,
I'm a U.S. citizen and my fiance is from Ireland and interested in coming here to work for maybe a couple years as a truck driver (he already has the commercial license). We are trying to figure out what might be the best approach to accomplish this (not sure a work visa would really work) mostly so that he is not without work in either country for too long. It seems with a K-1 fiance visa he would have to wait here in U.S. to get the work permit for another 3 months after getting married within the 90 days, and he doesn't want to be out of work for that long (or do I have that wrong?). So it almost seems it would be better to go the K-3 route and either get married here and he goes back to Ireland (if that's possible?) or for us to get married over there first (not sure if it matters which?), so I can petition for him to come here with I-130 etc. Then he can work in his country in the meantime. This website also mentions just "immigrant visa" as an option but I'm not sure what that means. Any thoughts?

The other question is if we go the K-3 route, could I leave the U.S. after petitioning and live over in Ireland while waiting for that to be approved? (Or just for a limited time?)

Thank you in advance for any help!

[ember]

Hello,
I'm a U.S. citizen and my fiance is from Ireland and interested in coming here to work for maybe a couple years as a truck driver (he already has the commercial license). We are trying to figure out what might be the best approach to accomplish this (not sure a work visa would really work) mostly so that he is not without work in either country for too long. It seems with a K-1 fiance visa he would have to wait here in U.S. to get the work permit for another 3 months after getting married within the 90 days, and he doesn't want to be out of work for that long (or do I have that wrong?). So it almost seems it would be better to go the K-3 route and either get married here and he goes back to Ireland (if that's possible?) or for us to get married over there first (not sure if it matters which?), so I can petition for him to come here with I-130 etc. Then he can work in his country in the meantime. This website also mentions just "immigrant visa" as an option but I'm not sure what that means. Any thoughts?

The other question is if we go the K-3 route, could I leave the U.S. after petitioning and live over in Ireland while waiting for that to be approved? (Or just for a limited time?)

Thank you in advance for any help!

Right now EAD cards are taking more like 4-6 months, not 3.

So with the K1 & K3 it would take the same amount of time. K3 is faster to get someone to the US as opposed to Consular Processing but won't get the work authorization faster.

Basically, with K1, he gets the visa, you get married, & you file I-130/I-485/I-751/I-131. The EAD is attached to the I-485, not the I-130. The I-130 is YOUR petition for a relative. the I-485 is HIS application to adjust status. So let's say you're super prepared and you marry a week after he arrives in the US and you get the marriage docs a week or so later. He's looking at probably 5-7 months w/o work.

If you get married abroad & file the K3 application after you get the I-130 Receipt Notice, he comes to the US as a non-immigrant and applies for AOS in the US. He can apply for EAD immediately under a9 category, or he can file with the I-485. Either way, you're looking at 4-7 months.

If you marry abroad and go through Consular Processing, you'll be apart for a while but he would arrive in the US as an LPR and would immediately be able to work.

Basically, K1 gets you together the fastest, CP creates the least interruption with work.

[newacct]

Hello,
I'm a U.S. citizen and my fiance is from Ireland and interested in coming here to work for maybe a couple years as a truck driver (he already has the commercial license). We are trying to figure out what might be the best approach to accomplish this (not sure a work visa would really work) mostly so that he is not without work in either country for too long. It seems with a K-1 fiance visa he would have to wait here in U.S. to get the work permit for another 3 months after getting married within the 90 days, and he doesn't want to be out of work for that long (or do I have that wrong?). So it almost seems it would be better to go the K-3 route and either get married here and he goes back to Ireland (if that's possible?) or for us to get married over there first (not sure if it matters which?), so I can petition for him to come here with I-130 etc. Then he can work in his country in the meantime. This website also mentions just "immigrant visa" as an option but I'm not sure what that means. Any thoughts?

The other question is if we go the K-3 route, could I leave the U.S. after petitioning and live over in Ireland while waiting for that to be approved? (Or just for a limited time?)

Thank you in advance for any help!

K3 is obsolete and basically nobodies gets K3s anymore. If he is petitioned as a spouse after marriage and does Consular Processing abroad, he will get an immigrant visa directly. (An immigrant visa means he will immediately become a permanent resident the moment he enters the US with the immigrant visa.) If he is going to do Consular Processing, it doesn't matter if he marries here or there. There is just some risk that he would be denied entry when he comes to the US to marry if you guys decide to marry here.

[calaveras825]

Right now EAD cards are taking more like 4-6 months, not 3.

So with the K1 & K3 it would take the same amount of time. K3 is faster to get someone to the US as opposed to Consular Processing but won't get the work authorization faster.

Basically, with K1, he gets the visa, you get married, & you file I-130/I-485/I-751/I-131. The EAD is attached to the I-485, not the I-130. The I-130 is YOUR petition for a relative. the I-485 is HIS application to adjust status. So let's say you're super prepared and you marry a week after he arrives in the US and you get the marriage docs a week or so later. He's looking at probably 5-7 months w/o work.

If you get married abroad & file the K3 application after you get the I-130 Receipt Notice, he comes to the US as a non-immigrant and applies for AOS in the US. He can apply for EAD immediately under a9 category, or he can file with the I-485. Either way, you're looking at 4-7 months.

If you marry abroad and go through Consular Processing, you'll be apart for a while but he would arrive in the US as an LPR and would immediately be able to work.

Basically, K1 gets you together the fastest, CP creates the least interruption with work.

Wow, thank you so much for your feedback! Do you know if he applies for the immigrant visa / consular processing after we get married, what are the rules for visiting each other in the meantime? (Like, could he come here to visit temporarily on the ESTA visa while waiting on the immigrant visa to be approved? Could I go visit over there, or do I have to stay in the U.S. the whole time while waiting for approval? etc)
Thanks again!

[calaveras825]

K3 is obsolete and basically nobodies gets K3s anymore. If he is petitioned as a spouse after marriage and does Consular Processing abroad, he will get an immigrant visa directly. (An immigrant visa means he will immediately become a permanent resident the moment he enters the US with the immigrant visa.) If he is going to do Consular Processing, it doesn't matter if he marries here or there. There is just some risk that he would be denied entry when he comes to the US to marry if you guys decide to marry here.

Thank you very much! So if I understand, he could come here on his ESTA visa to marry, but could still go back home afterward then I could petition him as a spouse to come here on an immigrant visa and he can do the Consular Processing abroad?

[ember]

Thank you very much! So if I understand, he could come here on his ESTA visa to marry, but could still go back home afterward then I could petition him as a spouse to come here on an immigrant visa and he can do the Consular Processing abroad?

Yes. Just bear in mind that if he comes here to get married, they might not believe that he will leave and he may be denied a visa. Certainly worth a shot, just something to consider.

[calaveras825]

Any other option besides K1 or ESTA?

Yes. Just bear in mind that if he comes here to get married, they might not believe that he will leave and he may be denied a visa. Certainly worth a shot, just something to consider.

Hi again, so now I'm wondering if there is a different kind of visa he could get besides using ESTA (since risky) or K1 (which would seem to force him to stay) in order to just get married here and he can return home afterwards? Thanks so much again.

[ember]

Hi again, so now I'm wondering if there is a different kind of visa he could get besides using ESTA (since risky) or K1 (which would seem to force him to stay) in order to just get married here and he can return home afterwards? Thanks so much again.

To the extent of my knowledge, those are your only options for marrying in the U.S.

[nguyenh14]

I just had an unofficial ceremony abroad and had my official marriage at courthouse in US when my fiance got to the US. If you get married in a different country first then technically your significant other wouldn't be coming on a k1 fiance visa, because she wouldn't be recognized as your fiance.