US citizenship for a Domincan native

What town in the DR would you like a Lawyer recommendation?

Easier to get maried in the DR for sure. Is your fiance living in the US? It is very difficult to get visas to the US for Dominicans if they are not on the top of the food chain in the DR.

Good luck.

Congrats on you engagement April

Hi April,

From my own experience with this kind of situation (although it was Colombia, not DR), I suggest going to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, not your local INS office. You already said thats your plan - and its a good one! The embassy will have first-hand knowledge of the process, time delay required, etc. They can probably issue a visa for your fiancee on the same day or within a few days. He'll need to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to the family. So plan a two week minimum stay and go to the embassy on the first day there - but call the embassy before planning your trip and get the details first.

I don't think INS will care where the marriage took place, so long as its documented and legal.

Procedures change all the time (as will the delay), even asking someone that did last year what you are doing now, will not be as good as going to the embassy.

Since USA and DR have an excellent relationship as countries, this should be easy and quick.

Bestwishes on your marriage.

Una feliz boda y vida con el para Ustedes!


Randy

I think minerran is underestimataing the trouble you are likely to have getting a visa. If you really want to get married, and very soon, do so in the DR.

There was a time when it was easy for Dominicans to get a visa, but not now. Too many have gone into drugs, etc. Already they have shipped more than 3000 back after they served their sentence. I am not saying your fianace is of that type, but the image of the Domincan is not what it once was.

Ken,

Let's be optimistic for her now. You could be right so she needs to call the embassy and find out. Since he lives in the DR, he should visit the embassy ASAP too. Then, they can compare notes on what each was told.

Anyway, I'll pipe out of this discussion because I cannot add anything more to help her.

Regards,


Randy

I respectfully disagree..........

.............with all of you.

Through my own experience and my friends (2 of them) (have any of you gotten married in the DR and then tried to go to the US??), the ABSOLUTE WORST THING YOU CAN DO is get married in the DR.

You should apply for a fiance visa IN THE US, get it approved there and then bring your fiance to the US and get married.

Otherwise, you better plan on moving to the DR to be with your "husband".

more details

Stephen,

I suggest giving her more details.

Explain to her why its better to get married in one place v.s. another and what the pitfalls are. Same for the issue about getting the visa. She needs specifics.


Randy

OK

Through our experience only, and in harsh and simply terms:

It is too complicated.............if you call OR visit the embassy in the DR they will tell you that it doesn't matter, but once it's done, it's too late... and believe me it does.

If you get married in the DR you have to "immigrate" your spouse to the US and it takes much longer than getting a fiance visa from the US.

If you get married here (in the DR) and then want to try to get a tourist visa for your spouse, they won't let you. They will want you to "immigrate" or will give you a tourist visa ONCE you (the US citizen) have been married to the person for over 2 years AND have residency in the DR. They consider all DR marriages FAKE.

It basically comes down to this:

A SURE THING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING:

It is NOT "that hard" to get a fiance visa from the US side. Once you have the Visa, your "future" spouse is able to travel to the US and once he is there you have a certain amount of time to get married. Once this is done, who cares how long the paperwork takes, cause he is already with you on US soil. If you do it in the DR you will feel like you went to hell and back and will end up getting divorced over the deal. (I know of 1 case like this)

Even though you will still have to deal with the Embassy in the DR for the final travel papers, you are **NOT** married and you don't have to go through all the "are you really married stuff".

BASICALLY.........DON'T MAKE ANY DECISIONS UNTIL YOU TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED IN THE DR AND THEN RETURNED TO THE US. I DON'T THINK YOU FIND MANY OF THESE "UNFORTUNATE" PEOPLE!!!!!!

My qualifications for having an opinion: Lived in the DR since 1993 (have residency), have obtained a total of 6 visa's over the years for Dominicans including a wife and adopted child. Travel back and forth on the average of 10 times per year for over 9 years. Have had 2 friends (females) marry Dominican males (through fiance visa's) and are living in the US. I have had one female marry a domincan in the DR and he never got to the US. (They are now divorced).

ONLY MY OPINION!~ ..........and how does anyone consider that the DR and the US has an excellent relationship...... have you ever heard any of the comments made by the immigration people at JFK??????

I'm not here to debate

Stephen,

I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. People on this board love to cherry-pick a comment or two from a post, take it out of context, and attack it - like my "excellent relationship" comment. Whatever.

I said up front that I had no direct experience in this, so my ideas about how it might go were merely supposition. I did not challenge what you said and did not question your qualifications - I suggested you provide more details - which you did and I'm sure April will appreciate. If its as bad and horrible as I get the impression it is from your post, then the only solution is for her to seek legal counsel from a qualified attorney who specializes in DR.

April, here is a link that I found for you
===========================
http://santodomingo.usembassy.gov/Consular/ACS/marriagelegal.htm

Randy

Legal

I just went through this process. I was married in the Dominican Republic in April. I was advised that it would be a lenghty process either way. Once back in the States you apply for the Fiance Visa and a Non-Immigrant Visa at the same time. You will hear back from the BCIS within 60-90 days on the fiance visa status...at that point your husband/fiance will receive a package from the consulate in the DR...the package takes an additional 4-6 weeks, once they obtain the package, then more paperwork, your physical needs to be done, as well as immunizations. Then once all that is done you then wait for your appointment with the consulate for your interview...After contacting my state representatives, (Congressional and Senate) for some type of help and intervention, the interview was set and then its approximately a 6-8 hour wait in the lovely waiting room of the consulate, only to be told you have to come back next week because the computers are not working???? Needless to say, my husband arrived in the United States 5 months after the process began. At this point you register for a work permit and change of status that will allow him to stay until the non-immigrant visa is actually available for him.
So where you get married isnt the issue, you have along process either way. I suggest some cheap calling cards to stay in touch and be persistent with help from your congressmen and senate. And good luck if you need to call the consulate because you will get ABSOLUTELY NO HELP, DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM EACH PERSON, AND MOST LIKELY HUNG UP ON...
Good luck....and best wishes on your marrage. The tough part is the adjustment once hes here....

In response to minerran, and to add to what Stephen posted (and having gone through all of this as well - except getting my spouse deported that is)-

Although getting a "Fiancee Visa" may take about as much time as getting a visa for a spouse, the US Consulate will STILL be more likely to grant a Fiancee Visa, simply for the reason that if the Dominican misbehaves, or does something they don't like, they can deport their ass IMMEDIATELY. Next flight out.

If the naughty Dominican is married to a US Citizen and is already in the US, then they have to fight tooth and nail to deport them, probably also involving congressmen or senators, and lawyers all clamoring against "breaking up a family" boohoohoo. It's a lot tougher to deport a foreign spouse of a US Citizen (at least this is how it was explained to me over some beers by a consular employee one night).

visa

also...in response to Stephen's question about the comments from the immigration officers in JFK... I had an absolutely horrible experience with the immigration officers in Philadelphia....they were saying things to this woman who didnt speak english about her husband and laughing and then saying things to my husband about not working and their tax money paying for the crap that the plane brings in everyday from the Dominican Republic...I keep my mouth shut only because it was my husband they would of detained and caused problems for but I would love to know how to file a complaint or who to speak to about the treatment, even though it would do no good....if anyone knows please let me know......:angry:

I was married in the DR and my wife is here in the states with me now. I know many people that used the K-1 (fiance visa) and a couple that used the K-3 (spouse visa). The biggest thing to look at with the K-1 is the service center you will be using and their time frame. Right now the vermont is by far the quickest with a 2-3 week turn around time. Others like Nebraska are like 7 months. With Vermont the total time for BCIS(old INS), NVC (national visa center) and consulate is about 4 months.

The K-3 right now is in the neighborhood of maybe 6 months start to finish. These times assume that all your paperwork is complete and they do not kick it back for further info or wrong fees. Also very strange things happen when dealing with the BCIS so timelines are not always accurate. And even stranger things happen with the consulate.

here is a group that deals with K-1 and there are a couple K-3s there also.
K-1visa_DR-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Also you need to look at your plans after they are here as the 2 visas do not have the same benifits.

Jerry

Basically a lot depends on this woman's fiance.

Does he already have a tourist visa?
Does he have a Job waiting for him in the US?
Is he Financially well off?
Does he have a Education/Degree?

If the answer is yes to all 4 of these questions the process is simple and quick.
If the answer is no to more than 2 get ready for a long wait and don't be surprised by a "NO" answer.
In my case I got married in the DR. My wife had a yes answer to all 4 questions. We just flew back to Miami on her Toursit Visa appllied for her residency and 6 months later had her "green card"!

INS is horrible

Hi ya all.

I am reading many horror stories here about the U.S.
INS and I could add a story too. I think we all agree
that dealing with INS is difficult at best.

My advice is to know your rights, know how the process
should work (according to INS), be prepared with the
facts and try to approach the challenge with a sense of
humor to help get through it.

Regards,

Randy

Just curious

Does it matter at all if the person requesting the fiance is Dominican-American?

If you marry him in DR he will have to wait anywhere from 1-2 years possibly more to be issued a residence visa to USA, I am telling you this because I know of several people who got married in DR and the time it takes to get their husband/wife into the US. If you get a fiance visa and marry in US he will still have to go back to DR and wait for residency to be approved, not sure how long that will take but in that case at least he will be here for 90 days before going back to wait on permanent visa. Also if you marry in US you get your prenup done here also.
Good Luck

I don't agree with badpiece

........once he's in the US for the fiance visa and gets married he WILL NOT HAVE TO LEAVE.....but I do agree that NOONE should get married in the DR.