Marriage in Fiancee's Home Country

Marriage Abroad
Another option is to marry in the fiancee's home country and then later invite the spouse to America on an I-130 Relative Visa. This option is widely regarded as less advantageous than the Fiancee Visa, because it involves substantial interaction with the bureaucracy of the fiancee’s home country.

Additional Complexities
Foreign governments often make it difficult for a foreigner to marry one of its citizens in the home jurisdiction. Waivers of the waiting time are available, but they can be difficult to obtain. Furthermore, the marriage process itself will involve you with yet another bureaucracy, and one with very stringent documentation requirements (for example, proof of non-married status, “apostilles” to certify the authenticity of all foreign documents).

Direct Consular Filing
A petitioner who is willing to travel to the Embassy of the spouse’s home country and personally submit the Relative Visa petition can save two to three month’s time in the wait to receive the visa. However, this option, once widely available, is now offered only by a select few overseas embassies and consulates, and the practice is being actively discouraged by the U.S. State Department.

K-3 Visa
The K-3 visa (and K-4 for a dependent child), introduced in 2001 to shorten the waiting period for I-130 relative visa petition for a wife, seemed to offer some promise for a quick visa for a wife, but experience with the visa has shown that this visa takes almost as long to process as does a K-1 visa. It also, of course, compels you to go through the complexity, time and expense of undertaking an overseas marriage. So, if you’re already married, a K-3 makes sense. If not, stick to the K-1 visa. If you’d like to learn more about whether the K-3 visa fits your particular case, please call us at (845) 623-1100. There is no charge for the initial consultation.