... in response to Question for Ray, posted by Troy on Mar 17, 2004A woman who has no preference for the type of wedding? That’s highly unusual! Normally, I would highly recommend that you give your bride the kind of wedding she really wants and then use the visa that matches that choice. However, if you assume that she actually has no preference, and both of you are fully committed to and ready for marriage, then the rest depends on several factors.
If you want the shortest time between filing and approval of a visa, the K-3 will beat the K-1 every time unless you live in a state where you come under the jurisdiction of the Vermont Service Center, in which case the K-1 will usually be faster.
For amount of red tape, the K-1 and K-3 will be about the same overall.
For costs, as in immigration filing fees, the K-1 will be a little cheaper (by about $130) up to the point that the visa is issued, but in the long run they will probably be very close in total costs.
Since a relatively small number of spousal or fiancée visas are outright disapproved, the likelihood of approval would be almost identical. In the cases where there are grounds for disapproval, it would probably result in a visa denial no matter which visa you went for.
There are other options available. If you marry overseas and don’t apply for the optional K-3 visa, then it will take longer for the IR-1 visa to be issued, but the amount of red tape involved will be much less in the long run and the overall costs will be about the same. If the country where you marry will allow you to file directly with the U.S. Consulate, then that may be the fastest and least complicated way overall.
Ray
