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Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:02:18 +0200
This is what I gathered about this topic.
The K-1 is clearly the "right" way to go from the US immigration's
perspective. The main problem is that this visa now takes about 6 months
(it used to be less) from filing to the consular interview:
http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?history=360
If you go to the US on a visa waiver or tourist visa, you have to
realize that you are telling the US that you don't have the intention to
immigrate to the US at the time you are entering. Entering the US this
way and getting married right away and then filing for a green card and
work permit (which is what you would have to do in order to say in the
US and work there) is contrary to the intent you originally stated, and
that might get you in trouble.
So here are two things to avoid when entering the country on a visa
waiver or visitor visa in your case:
o Telling immigration that you are coming to the US to get married. You
have to come for purposes in line with the visa waiver or the visitor
visa, such as vacation, visiting friends, business trip, etc.
o Getting married soon after you enter. You should wait as long as you
can before getting married, for example in the last few weeks of your
3-month stay. Then you can make a reasonable case that when you entered,
you did not intend to immigrate, but you just changed your mind while
spending this wonderful time in the US with your girlfriend ;-)
The rumor has it that if you get married in the US long enough after
entering the US as a visitor, things in general work out fine.
Personally I have considered both options, and mainly for peace of mind
I am thinking about going for the K-1 in spite of the longer delay.
(Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so don't complain if you follow
ideas in this email and things turn bad. Get advice from as many people
as you can.)
-Erik
Received on Tue Oct 24 2006 - 09:33:02 PDT
