Should I do a spouse visa or a fiancé visa?
There is no right answer or wrong answer. A lot of times it’s going to be what fits best for that particular couple. That’s why we highly recommend having a consultation with an immigration attorney so that we can get to know you as a couple.
That’s one of the things that we focus on in our initial consultations. Learning what your goals are, what kind of future you see with each other, and getting to know you as a couple to figure out what might be the best route for you.
That’s why it’s always very dangerous to base yourself off of somebody else’s experience because you don’t know what their goals, desires, and deal breakers were. That’s why we get to know you individually and figure out what the best option for you is going to be.
If somebody is engaged, then they through the fiancé process. If somebody is already married or planning on marrying very soon, then we would normally go the spousal visa route. This means doing the consular processing which means having an interview in your home country.
Advantages of a Spouse Visa
1. Residency upon approval
One of the advantages of seeking the spousal visa is that whenever you are approved, you’re waiting this whole time to get approved for your actual residency, you’re going to be approved for your green card. All these steps that are being taken are to meet that ultimate goal of getting your green card and your residency.
Once you do that consular process and you go to your final interview, at that point, once they approve you, you’re approved for an immigrant visa. You can enter the US but you’re entering as a resident. All that time and work leads up to getting your residency.
Once you enter the US, you’re already a green card holder or a resident which comes with other benefits such as getting a work authorization immediately. That means you don’t have to apply for an external authorization because you’re already a resident.
You can work immediately, you can get your Social Security number, apply for a driver’s license. Pretty much all of the planning that you did beforehand to get you to the actual interview and then beyond that means you’re set. You’re ready to start your life in the US.
The difference between that and a fiancé visa is that most of the time, the fiancé visas mean you’re going to enter as a fiancé and you’re in limbo. You’re going to be in a waiting period until you can actually work, get a license, get a Social Security number, and things like that. There’s a larger waiting period.
2. Time to Plan
Another advantage is that you have time to plan your move. You’re going to be waiting for about two years or so. You need to make plans to start preparing for the move, you can figure out where you’re going to live, where you’re going to work and start making those movements a little bit more calmly because at the end of this process, you’re going to get an interview notice and at that point, you can really start seeing the future together.
If you happen to have your heart set on getting married outside of the US, so if you’re wanting to get married in a certain location if you really really want um certain family members to be able to be there and you know that that might not be possible in the US. If you really want your complete family to be there, if you want to be if you’ve always had your dream wedding in a certain church in a certain spot that’s always important that’s always going to be the reason why getting married outside could be something that you really really want and so that’s o
3. You have control over when and where you get married
One of the advantages of the spouse visa is that you have control over when and where you’re going to get married. You can plan it at your leisure, you can plan when and where, and have control over your guest list outside of the US.
One of the disadvantages to the K1 is that you don’t know at what point you’re going to get approved and you don’t know if your families can travel to join you in the US.
Disadvantages of a Spouse Visa
1. Time
It’s going to take a while, around two years or sometimes more depending on the situation. It’s going to be time that you’re not in the US or even if you’re in the US. You’re going to be waiting maybe apart or you’re gonna be visiting less frequently. That’s one of the disadvantages. You may not be able to be together the whole time that you’re waiting.
It is a long process. However, every process is different so we always recommend getting advice on how long each process is going to be. Sometimes there’s extra steps that need to be taken that can add or detract from that.
2. No benefits while waiting
If you are in the US, you’re not going to be able to work or get a license things. Even if you are waiting for your interview in the US, you don’t get a lot of those benefits.