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My fiancee came over from London, UK and we married in the US a couple of weeks ago. She has now returned and we are trying to establish the best path forward to be with one another by traveling back and forth until such time her immigration paperwork (have not filed yet) will be completed. I have a US passport, traveled to London last month to see her, and would like to go to London for the next several months to temporarily stay and help her transition. She has a visitor visa for the US that is good for a year as well.1) Do I need to apply for a specific visitor visa to go to London to do this or is my passport fine? And if not will there be any issues if I say that I am here to visit my wife at the border?2) Since we are married in the US, and her visa is still valid, and since she is outside the U.S., do I just need to file a form I-130, and she can become a permanent resident (green card status) at the port through consular processing. She also has a daughter and am not sure if any other special paperwork is required.Thank you.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: California
Hello. Your questions span two different types of laws. We currently have no experts that have a license to practice in both the U.S. and the UK. So I can answer the U.S. part of your question and you can repost a new question in our UK Immigration law forum and ask that one there, or I can transfer your current question to our UK forum where they will most likely only answer the UK part of your question (they aren't supposed to answer the U.S. part without a license), or I can put in for a full refund for you. Please let me know how you would like to proceed. Thank you.
Please answer the US portion and repost in your UK immigration law forum. Thank you.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. After I answer, please do not forget to leave me feedback if that is available to you, and then I will transfer the question. She will have great difficulty coming back to the U.S. to visit. This is because she is now married to you and they will fear that she will just enter as a tourist and then apply to get Residency from inside. This is visa fraud if she uses a visitor visa with that intent, so I cannot recommend it. There are two ways to do this and neither is quick:
1) The K-3 Spouse Visa takes 6 to 9 months. The I-129F will cost $340 plus $420 for the I-130, and $350 for the visa processing fee. Then after she enters the U.S., you must still file the I-485 for $1070 and wait for the Marriage interview about 5 to 7 months later.
2) The CR-1 visa (or IR-1 if your marriage is more than 2 years old) takes about 1 year or so. You must be married. The fees are $420 for the I-130, $330 for the visa processing fee, $88 for an Affidavit of Support fee. But once she enters the U.S., she enters as a Resident and she does not have to file (or pay for) an I-485 nor does she have to attend an additional interview. She just gets her Green Card in the mail a few weeks later.
So the K-3 is faster but generally more expensive. The CR-1 (and IR-1) are slower, but generally cheaper. And no, there is no middle-visa that she can use to enter the U.S. while that process is pending. She will most likely have to wait outside.
Here is a link to both:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1315.html
As far as her daughter, you would file a K-4 for her or the same CR-2 process. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I would be happy to answer them for you without additional charge. If there is a delay in getting back to you it is either because I am answering other questions or I had to log off, but I will be back with you as soon as possible. My goal is to provide you with top-notch service - please don't forget to leave me feedback if that is available for you to do so and a bonus is always appreciated. If you would like to request me in the future, just go to http://www.justanswer.com/law/expert-guillermosenmartin/. Thank you!
Experience: 10+ years of experience in various aspects of U.S. Immigration Law.