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gsxr750r
Joined: 29 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:21 am Post subject: For Americans who married Koreans recently |
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Before you married, did you opt for the 4 to 6 month Fiance' Visa route, or just marry and go through the two years of paperwork after?
What is the most favorable current method? Unless things have changed in the last 7 years when I last looked this over, if you did the fiance' visa route, it took about 6 months of paperwork, followed by an interview, then a visa to go to the USA and marry. Followed by adjustment of status paperwork.
If you go the fiance' visa route, do you have to go to the USA to marry? Could you just get the fiance' visa and marry here without having to take a special trip to do it?
What do you think would be the best option for a couple, given that the couple plans to stay in Korea for at least a few years anyway before moving to the USA?
I know that it used to be that if you married a foreigner overseas without the fiance' paperwork, there was a 2 year "penalty" before she could come to the USA with you.
Wondering what is the best route these days, or if this has all changed. I am figuring it might be smart to just go the fiance' visa route anyway, so she'd be legit to come to the states quickly if we'd need to in the near future.
Thanks |
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MissSeoul
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Location: Somewhere in America
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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You need to talk U.S Embassy in Seoul.
This is different case, but.....
If an American guy in States want to bring his korean fiance to States, he has to go Immigration & Nationalization Service and starts paper work, when the guy done paper working with INS, his korean fiance can start processing to come to States ( it can take about 4-6 months ).
It's very important that with fiance visa, she has to marry her American fiance WITHIN 90 DAYS she arrives in States, if that doesn't happen she has to go back to korea, if she doesn't she can be deported.
After they marry, INS give her temporary green card, 2 years later she can have permanent green card ( She has to prove she lived with him at same house and paid tax together and marriage is still working..etc ).
Immigration law in America is getting tough, I guess because illegal Mexicans 
Unfortunately I don't have much information for your case.
Good Luck !
Last edited by MissSeoul on Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:04 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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I think most people probably marry here and then apply for a visa when they decide to move back to the states. That is what I did (or more precisely am doing since we are still in the process).
One of the big things you need to keep in mind is that you must have a source of income to support your spouse that is immigrating. Your income here in Korea does not count toward that because you will not have that job any longer. The only way to get around that is to have someone co-sponsor the visa.
I'm headed back to the US in June to set things up and then we are going to finish applying for the visa (we have the first part done already) and then she will join me in the fall. |
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Saxiif
Joined: 15 May 2003
Location: Seongnam
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah, its incredibly annoying that you can't (AFAIK) get a spouse visa without moving back to the states and spending a few months there first. |
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IamBabo
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:23 pm Post subject: Marriage |
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What if you have a boatload of money saved? Is that enough? Do you still need to have job/income in America before they will allow her to come over with you? Sounds like we have to be separated while we establish ourselves again back home? Is this true?
BABO |
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lowpo
Joined: 01 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:08 pm Post subject: Re: For Americans who married Koreans recently |
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| gsxr750r wrote: |
Before you married, did you opt for the 4 to 6 month Fiance' Visa route, or just marry and go through the two years of paperwork after?
What is the most favorable current method? Unless things have changed in the last 7 years when I last looked this over, if you did the fiance' visa route, it took about 6 months of paperwork, followed by an interview, then a visa to go to the USA and marry. Followed by adjustment of status paperwork.
If you go the fiance' visa route, do you have to go to the USA to marry? Could you just get the fiance' visa and marry here without having to take a special trip to do it?
What do you think would be the best option for a couple, given that the couple plans to stay in Korea for at least a few years anyway before moving to the USA?
I know that it used to be that if you married a foreigner overseas without the fiance' paperwork, there was a 2 year "penalty" before she could come to the USA with you.
Wondering what is the best route these days, or if this has all changed. I am figuring it might be smart to just go the fiance' visa route anyway, so she'd be legit to come to the states quickly if we'd need to in the near future.
Thanks |
Me and my wife did the fiance' visa. After the interview they will give you all your paperwork back to you, so you can give it to immi at the airport back in the states.
We got married in the states on our vacation and returned back overseas.
While we where in America we applied for her a SSN number. (I hope you have better luck doing this than we did at the SSN office. They where motherflickers to us).
Now if she wants to become a citizen, all she has to do is live in US for 18 months. Because she married an American. If the both of you wants to move back overseas and she wants to be a citizen of the United States. She has to be in the US a told of 18 months out of a 3 year period.
She can go to America for 3 months and return back to Korea. Then after a few months she can go back to the US fot 4 or 5 months. Unitl she has been in the US for a total of 18 months. But she can not be out of the US any longer than 6 months. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject: Re: For Americans who married Koreans recently |
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| lowpo wrote: |
Me and my wife did the fiance' visa. After the interview they will give you all your paperwork back to you, so you can give it to immi at the airport back in the states.
We got married in the states on our vacation and returned back overseas.
While we where in America we applied for her a SSN number. (I hope you have better luck doing this than we did at the SSN office. They where motherflickers to us).
Now if she wants to become a citizen, all she has to do is live in US for 18 months. Because she married an American. If the both of you wants to move back overseas and she wants to be a citizen of the United States. She has to be in the US a told of 18 months out of a 3 year period.
She can go to America for 3 months and return back to Korea. Then after a few months she can go back to the US fot 4 or 5 months. Unitl she has been in the US for a total of 18 months. But she can not be out of the US any longer than 6 months. |
I doubt that is correct. I believe the 18 months is for permanent residency. My understanding is that you had to wait five years before applying for citizenship.
Edit:Here is the info from the US Immigration site
Residence and Physical Presence
An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing of the application, he or she:
has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see preceding section); has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period)
has resided within a state or district for at least three months
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=12e596981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=96719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD |
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lowpo
Joined: 01 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:11 am Post subject: Re: For Americans who married Koreans recently |
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| Milwaukiedave wrote: |
| lowpo wrote: |
Me and my wife did the fiance' visa. After the interview they will give you all your paperwork back to you, so you can give it to immi at the airport back in the states.
We got married in the states on our vacation and returned back overseas.
While we where in America we applied for her a SSN number. (I hope you have better luck doing this than we did at the SSN office. They where motherflickers to us).
Now if she wants to become a citizen, all she has to do is live in US for 18 months. Because she married an American. If the both of you wants to move back overseas and she wants to be a citizen of the United States. She has to be in the US a told of 18 months out of a 3 year period.
She can go to America for 3 months and return back to Korea. Then after a few months she can go back to the US fot 4 or 5 months. Unitl she has been in the US for a total of 18 months. But she can not be out of the US any longer than 6 months. |
I doubt that is correct. I believe the 18 months is for permanent residency. My understanding is that you had to wait five years before applying for citizenship.
Edit:Here is the info from the US Immigration site
Residence and Physical Presence
An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing of the application, he or she:
has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see preceding section); has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period)
has resided within a state or district for at least three months
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=12e596981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=96719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD |
I called and told them that we want to keep living overseas. Since we have a home in a different country. They told me aslong as she lives in America for 18 months out of 3 years. Then she can't be out of the US for more than 6 months at a time.
I thought it was a little strange myself. BUt again i could have been told wrong. It would not been the first time the goverment told me something wrong about immi of my wife. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:00 am Post subject: |
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| I think they are talking about permenate residency. Naturalization is gaining citizenship. Being married here or in the US it doesn't matter which, the rules are the same. |
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lastat06513
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Location: Sensus amo Caesar , etiamnunc victus amo uni plebian
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:38 am Post subject: |
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If she is an office worker, she and her company can sponsor her to get a A/B-visa that allows her to go to the states as either a traveller or on business, then once she is there, she can apply for her paperwork to stay on an adjustment of visa application- it take about 6 months for it to get processed and another month after the interview before she gets her greencard and about 3 months after she submitted her application before she can get her work permit.
While she is there, she will be able to stay during the process and then the resulting acceptance/denial will determine if she stays or goes back to Korea.
My ex-gf got her B-visa on her own because she was working at a company, her argument was that she needed it to able to go to trade shows in the US. And once it expired, all she had to do was to mail it to the embassy (with the appropriate fee) and get another one, as long as she is working [She needs to show that she has some ties to Korea-job, home ownership, company ownership, etc.] |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:43 am Post subject: |
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My gal, right now, has a green card. Should we marry (WE'LL see  ), how does that help? |
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SuperFly
Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Location: In the doghouse
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:13 am Post subject: |
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| I went back home, got a job and applied for the fiance visa. Took just about 6 months, then she came over. For me it was better that way because I wanted everything to be ready when she got there. |
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gsxr750r
Joined: 29 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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She already has a travel visa to the USA, and has been there twice.
(Once with me to meet my parents).
I heard it is considered visa fraud if she marries first, then appears in the USA on her tourist visa and tries to adjust status then. True? |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| gsxr750r wrote: |
She already has a travel visa to the USA, and has been there twice.
(Once with me to meet my parents).
I heard it is considered visa fraud if she marries first, then appears in the USA on her tourist visa and tries to adjust status then. True? |
Your probably right because in theory your trying to jump to the front of the line. Like anything else, the goverment gives priority to people based on your application. If your military or it's an emergency then you get first priority.
My wife is CR-1 status which is probably the highest you can get if your not in the categories I mentioned previously. That is because ehe's Korean and applying to the US Embassy here. I have had an email exchange with someone who asked me questions about the process and they are living in Croatia, she is American and he is Korean. I told him that it might take longer because they aren't applying here in Korea (based on his nationality).
The process is mostly paperwork and paying fees. If you married a Korean that wants to go back to the states it won't be too hard to get them a visa. You just have to be really careful filling out hte paperwork and making sure you have everything you need. |
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lastat06513
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Location: Sensus amo Caesar , etiamnunc victus amo uni plebian
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| Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| .....heard it is considered visa fraud if she marries first, then appears in the USA on her tourist visa...... |
But I met alot of people who did just that and nothing happened to them, when they went to the interview, they just said that they wanted to come to the US first to see if it was a suitable place to live (how could it be fraud if she already had a visa, it shows that the US gov't already trusted her to come to the US....) compared to Korea.
If you go the K-visa route, if she gets denied her status, she also loses her B/A-visa also and it would take an act of god to get that again.
~ How long have you both known each other? (My suggestion, You should marry in Korea and live there for a while, so when you come back to the US, they can think that you had the chance to know each other before the both of you come here- it will look good on both of you during the interview)
~ Does she have any liquid assets in Korea that she can use to support her stay while waiting for the processing of her application?
~ What skills does she have that wil enable her to earn a middle-class living in the US?
~ What assets do YOU have? (Remember you need to show some way of providing at least 25% above the poverty line)
~ Do you have a job waiting for you back in the US to support your new family (if not, would your family be able to help support you during the process- this is the reason for the Affidavid of Support [though they play it down for the process, it is a big deal during the interview])....also remember, once you sign that affidavid of support- you are bound to support her during the process, even if you both get divorced [but there is a way around that one.....I'll talk about that one later]
There is alot to think about when you want to bring her permanently (yeah thats right- permanent) to the US.
Think carefully...... |
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