I am a US citizen who is planning to get married to a non-US immigrant/citizen, in Hong Kong.?

Question

After getting married in Hong Kong, I would like to petition my wife so she can acquire a US visa. What are the necessary steps I have to take? Is this task going to be difficult or extensive? I would really appreciate any info regarding my case. Thank You!!!

Answer 1

This is the wrong way to go about it. A friend of mine did the very same thing. He was apart from his wife for two years before she was allowed here. Go to the following site for more information:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Answer 2

The initial petition that needs to be filed once you are married is the I-130. And it no longer takes the many years that it once did to be approved. On average I-130's are being approved in say 6 months. Some may be quicker, others a little longer. There is also the option of also filing a I-129F which when used for a spouse will allow your spouse to apply for a K-3 visa. In many cases this is a faster option, but not always. A good immigration forum is very advantageous during this whole process as they often contain guides and step by step instructions as well as many resource links and experiences from members. One such board is below but if you do a search you can find others. Look for forums on the below link

Answer 3

First, you have to be patient. There are alot of steps, and you'll have to forgive me if I forget a few.

You can get married in Hong Kong. I got married in Indonesia at a church and then had to get the marriage legalized in a Civil Court there. Before that, I had to file and pay for a letter of intent before I was allowed to get married. You will need to research Hong Kong and make sure to take the necessary steps to ensure you can get married and that the marriage is legally recognized here in the United States. Start at the consulate or embassy there and KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS! I cannot stress this point enough. You will have to be patient through the whole process, and make sure every step is covered.

Once you get married, you have to file a petition for a visa for your wife. I forget the name of the form, I think it's a I-570 or something like that. You'll have to go to the INS and ASK ALOT OF QUESTIONS! Did I stress that point before? They will make sure you get the right form and will give you the list of requirements to send in the form. When you send in the form, the form takes 1 to 5 years to process. I spent a large time on the phone bothering INS, it got done in 9 months.

Once the form is approved, your wife will have to go to the Embassy for an interview. It's not much of an interview, it's just to make sure everything is in order, then they give the wife a Conditional Resident Visa. You then have X number of days to get her a ticket here.

Once here, you have to petition to get the conditional status removed. There is a time limit of X number of years that you 2 have to live here before you can petition. Once the conditional status is removed, she is a permanent resident.

Once a permanent resident, you can petition to have her become a United States Citizen. There is also a limit of X number of years that you both have to live here together. Once the petition is approved, they will mail you a date to have her come in and take the citizenship test. There are plenty of questions about what's on the test online. Look for Civics Questions or something like that.

OK, did you get all that? Your exact steps may differ slightly from mine, after all, you are talking about a different country. However, I know that what you must do is spend alot of time at the US Embassy there and at the INS here and ASK ALOT OF QUESTIONS! That's the last time I will stress that. It took 10 months after I was married for my wife to arrive here. She is now a citizen. Don't give up, be strong, it is worth it, GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 4

Just take her to mexico ,then sneak her across the border ,then get married here..it would be a lot cheaper