want to marry in the DR but will live in U.S.

MarieG said:

Ok so I have read all of the info about having to get married within 90 days after entering the U.S. when receiving a fiance visa. But what if we wanted to get married in the DR? ( I have always wanted a destination wedding anyways) and also that way his family could be there too. So I guess my question is, is that if we get married in the DR will he be able to come back to the U.S. after the wedding.

Click to expand...

No.

MarieG said:

I just don't want to get married and then have my husband live in another country for 4 months, 1 year, 2 years who knows how long right?

Click to expand...

One and a half years if you do everything right the first time and at the earliest possible moment. More likely two.

MarieG said:

Would I still apply for a fiance visa and if and when it gets approved would he be able to come to the U.S. for a bit to see where he might live and then return to the DR to get married.

Click to expand...

No. The minimum damage that would do to your plans is to start the clock on your spousal visa at that point (the wedding day). It's possible that it might be considered a reason for increased scrutiny of your application by immigration.

MarieG said:

What is the best way to go about this? Hope this was not too confusing.

Thanks for all the help
MarieG

Click to expand...

I've been told that the fiance visa takes just as long as a spousal visa, but there are no residency priiviledges. After the wedding you still have to apply and get approved for residency. The whole process of getting the fiance visa, getting married and getting residence takes about twice as long and costs $740 more ($1565 as opposed to $825). Residency comes with a spousal visa (ten year residency if the marriage is two years old when the visa is issued and two years for a newer marriage). It's your decision which is best.

Both spousal and fianc? visa won't get him to the US any faster but there are different benefits to one over the other.

Read the post above again.

Unless you move to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC you'll be apart for a year to a year and half if all goes well.

You may also want to check out this site http://dominicanstotheusa.com

MarieG said:

Thanks for your response. So no matter what even if we get married in the U.S. within that 90 days he will still have to go back for at least 1yr.

Click to expand...

You need to understand this 90 day thing. If you go for the fianc?e visa ( K1 visa ) it will take 1 to 1 1/2years to get him approved and then when he arrives in the US you have 90 days to get married.

If you get married in the DR and then apply for a spousal visa ( K3 visa) it will take over a year as well for him to get to the US.

He will not be arriving in the US unless he already has a visa to travel.

Please check out the website I posted

MarieG said:

Ok I guess I am confused with the answers. So I should not get married in the Dominican? I should just wait until everything goes through with the fiance visa, have him come to the U.S. and get married within 90 days?

Click to expand...

It?s not my nature to tell someone whether or not to get married, but if you have decided to get married doing it in the Dominican Republic seems to be the better of the two options, for several reasons.

1. Being married your relationship has attained legal status, and the burden of proof is now on them. They have to prove that either your marriage is a sham or your spouse is a criminal to deny your application.
2. The end result that you are looking for (legal residence for your spouse in the US) will arrive sooner and will cost about half as much.
3. At one time the fianc? visa allowed for a quicker arrival of your loved one in the United States, but this has passed because the US Consulate in the Dominican Republic is taking much longer to investigate each case. I think they believe that this procedure has been fraudulently abused in the past.

MarieG said:

Ok now I don't understand this spousal visa. You say it takes less time and costs less but that would mean we would be living apart until we received that type of visa? Right. .

Click to expand...

That is correct, but the same is true for the other case of obtaining a fianc? visa.

MarieG said:

Sorry all this is very new to me.

Click to expand...

AnnaC said:

You need to understand this 90 day thing. If you go for the fianc?e visa ( K1 visa ) it will take 1 to 1 1/2years to get him approved and then when he arrives in the US you have 90 days to get married.

If you get married in the DR and then apply for a spousal visa ( K3 visa) it will take over a year as well for him to get to the US.

Click to expand...

This is true.

AnnaC said:

He will not be arriving in the US unless he already has a visa to travel.

Click to expand...

I?m not sure of that. Until now all of the information I?ve given in this thread was from a professional immigration counselor here in the United States. The following is not: I?ve read in other threads in DR1 that when you apply for a spousal or fianc? visa any other visas the individual has are revoked.

wuarhat said:

I’m not sure of that. Until now all of the information I’ve given in this thread was from a professional immigration counselor here in the United States. The following is not: I’ve read in other threads in DR1 that when you apply for a spousal or fianc? visa any other visas the individual has are revoked.

Click to expand...

Thank you for that info.

MarieG said:

Wuarhat, I understand that it may cost less if I get married in the DR but we would have to live apart for a year or two so in my mind I'm thinking how does that make any difference in waiting a year or two to get married when he gets his fiance visa? I would absolutely love to marry him in the Dominican so that his family could be there too since mine has no problem getting there. I do appreciate all of this advise you have given me. I guess the more info I gather the better I will understand what option is the best one for us to take. It is so nice to be able to talk with others who have gone through or are currently going through the same things we are. Thanks again.

Click to expand...

You are going to live apart for a year or two regardless of whether you apply for a fianc? visa or spouse visa. The only difference there will be your marital status. The real difference is with a fianc? visa, after the year or two is up and you are married with your spouse in the US you still have a year or two of bureaucratic BS and $750 more in fees to get your spouse's legal residence status. If you don?t he will be in limbo the rest of his time here, and if he ever visits his home again he won?t be able to return here.

AnnaC said:

Thank you for that info.

Click to expand...

You are welcome.

To clarify, if he comes here on a fiance' visa, you MUST marry within 90 days. The K-1 fiance visa is a single entry visa. If he goes back before he gets his green card or his advance parole travel document, he will have to start all over again.

Your best bet as has been suggested, is to get married in the DR (it's much cheaper) and apply for a spousal visa (CR-1). The CR-1 is multiple entry, and is good for 6 months which is plenty of time because he will have his green card in about a month after arriving. It's just an all around better visa and has other benefits as well.

It is NOT true that all other visas are canceled after you apply for a petition for alien relative. If he already has a visa and is in good standing with it, he may use it as long as he doesn't overstay. He may get a hard time at the point of entry, but ultimately if he has not abused the visa they will let him pass, he will just be scrutinized more than usual. I am assuming that he does not already have a visa or you wouldn't be asking these questions. Don't even bother trying to get a tourist visa after you apply for his residency visa because it isn't going to happen. They know he will stay once he gets here.

It is no longer taking a year or more to do the process, married or not. Lately it has been 6-9 months, but of course things can and do change with immigration all the time.

Just one word of caution though. In the last few months on my web site, dominicanstotheusa.com, we have had several guys take off and leave their wives right after they got to the USA. One couple was together for 5 years before they brought him here and when he got here he beat her, and abused her, took some of her things and left. She is currently trying to get him deported. BE CAREFUL. If you don't know this guy, or worse yet if you are a gringa, you have been warned. Please visit our site for more information, the stories are all there.

-Tim