Ok, I'll get this out of the way first... I'm differrent, my situation is not like everybody elses, we are really in love, etc. etc. etc. ;) Before the flames start, let me say that we've been together for 8 months or so, I've been down 5 times to see her, stay at her house while there, met the family, been to her church several times (even had the Pastor say a prayer for us), and roughly spend $300/month on phone bills (and that's with a VOIP service!).

I've spent a few hours searching through the threads here and it seems the more I read, the more I am confused...

She "Loves" Brazil and "likes" America. I "like" America and I "like" Brazil. Where we end up is a minor concern at this point (but we both agree that living in American is best for the long term). We just want to be conjunto.

Current processing times for a K-1 Visa interview appears to be at 120+ days (including I-129f appeal). Does anyone know anything about a "DCF"?
Ideally, I am looking for the fastest way that we can be together.

Should I wait out a K-1 and visit her a few times before it's approved? If we marry in Brazil, how fast can she come here? What if we 'slipped' away to Argentina ( or another country that they can freely travel to) and got married there? Or... Should I just pack it in and move down there?

Ugh.

Well, IMHO, if you can get her in the US, by all means get married here. But, she has to commit to two years here, until her green card is processed. After you get married you can apply for a "parole visa" (not sure of the exact wording but that is what it is more or less) that will allow her to travel back to Brasil for some amount of time while waiting on her green card. A buddy of mine's wife spent a few weeks in Brasil at the end of the summer but is back in the US now.

Getting married in Brasil is certainly the slow way, plus you have all of the bullshit paperwork Brasil hits you with. Then, you have a real long wait for a visa for her to come in. Even getting a tourist visa for her is no certain thing.

So, in summary, K-1 her or find an alternate legal method for her to get to the US, but with the knowledge that she would have to live here for a year or two. After her green card is approved, of course, she can come and go as she pleases and you can live anywhere. After you're married here, you can apply for your residency visa for Brasil (similar bullshit paperwork as for a wedding), pay the money and you are good to go.

Eric have you talked to a lawyer yet? My first hand experience is she'll never get a US visa if you've only seen her 5 times! I hired 2 lawyers back in April(I didn't like what the first one told me), both told me K-1 would take over a year and I had 50/50 chance of even getting it. After you talk to a lawyer, think about moving to Brazil and living there for a couple of years.

bluelight - my friend works with a guy who 2 years ago married a girl in Phil, only saw her twice in Phil and had no problem getting a k-1 fiance visa.
The amount of time takes to get depends where u live. Some parts of US are much quicker than others.

I`ve never heard of anyone ever being turned down for a k-1 fiance visa. Not sure why those lawyers of yours would say 50-50 chance, every lawyer i talk to claims they have 100% success rate.

I have a friend who just married a girl in manila back in october, when i get a chance i`ll find out the status of his situation.

From what i understand there`s a new visa for marrying a girl in a forgien country which allowsw the girl to come to the US while the paperwork is being processed,as it can be a long processing time for marriages in a forgien country, also allows the girl to come and go. It takes just a bit longer then a k-1 fiance visa to get her here.

Sad to say your best bet is a Fiancee VISA.

Look at some of the new choices there. Processing time is almost ALL on the front end here in the US, and depends on where you live (what processing center handles your application).

I too have never seen a case where a K-1 was turned down as long as 1) both parties met all the requirements, and 2) all the paperwork was done correctly. I always tell people it's the only VISA that never gets turned down.

Now, that assumes you both meet the requirements. That (in this case) may further assume that she will be telling lies. If she slips up, then all bets are off.

I just recently went thru this with a chica from Mexico, who during her interview mentioned that she had met her future husband in TJ. That raised a red flag, and the Consulate discovered she had a health card issued in her name in TJ.

End of the line.....

She came to me asking for help after the fact, and I had to explain that once they know about her health card, she will never get the VISA. (It's supposed to be a 10 year wait, but how do you show them you are NOT doing something?)

Curious,

Not to start a pissing war with whats left of the Mexican monger crowd on this board, but your average garota is quite a bit smarter than your average mexicana puta. I would be very confident that just about any brasilera can make it through the interview process even if 99.9% of the information she's given is a lie.

Thanks for all your input so far.

Yes, I have spoken to a immigration lawyer. We pass all of the requirements with no problems and she is checking over the forms each step of the way for me. She's good, but she's strictly a paperwork type person, not one to think out of the box and explore other avenues if available.

There is the new K-3 visa, and some are saying the processing is slightly faster (only by a few days from what I can make out of the Embassy's web site). Currently, my processing center is at about a 2 month backlog and Rio Counsel is looking around 110+ days or so. Total insanity

If anyone is going through what I am currently (or someone reading the archive...) This link will show you the approximate processing times for your Processing Center.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?pg=times

For the processing times for the Embassy, you can reference this link and select your city at the bottom;

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php

Does anyone know if the person lives in Rio, can they go to the Recife Consul office? Also, does Rio offer Direct Consular Filings? I didnt see that listed when I checked...

Ok let's get a few things cleared up first.

1) She's not locked into staying in the US for 2 years if she gets a k-1 visa. After the wedding you file for adjustment of status, (AOS) and Advanced Parole (AP). The AP doc lets her leave the country and come back at any time before she gets her green card. Usually takes about 2 months.

2) You can only do a DCF (Direct consular file) in Brazil if the US citizen LIVES in brazil.

Dood,

My point was, yes, you can apply for Advanced Parole, which does take a few months depending on what part of the US you're in. However, I don't believe that allows the new wife to take off for two years and then come back to the US to collect her green card. What's the max time per trip/max number of trips over a period of time that's allowed out of the country with AP?

From my understanding, there is no Max. It's basically a travel document that lets her come and go as she pleases while the card is in process.

To apply for advanced parole one must give an explanation and may require evidence as to why there are circumstances that require leaving the country, I`m not 100% sure but it appears advanced parole is for emergency situations and not just because she wants to visit friends and family.

One thing I am sure about is advanced parole is good for 1 reentry into US, you must apply again before you leave a 2cd time.

Well, I quess I`m not sure of anything, I was on a site that explained this very well but can`t find it now.
According to visajourney.com, advanced parole is supposed to be issued to anyone who wants it for any reason but that some offices will require proof of a serious emergency.
They didn`t go into any detail on length of time but did say that assuming your AP is good for multiple enties, but no details on who or how to get a multiple entry AP, it appears you can get AP with multiple entries.

I have friend married to a Brazilian in July 2003, did the application at the Counsulate in Rio in Aug 2003, and had papers end of Oct 2003. When wife got to US, she had greed within 3 days.

Friend did not live in Brazil.

Brazil seems to be the only country in South America where the US citizen spouse does not need to live in country. Argentina US Embassy requires US citizen spouse to live in country.

Anyway, it can happen rapidly is done correctly.

MM

MM,

The DCF (Direct consular filing) rule for Brazil changed a few months ago. You can only do it if the American is a resident in Brazil.

I guess my friend was lucky because he did it in 2003.

MM

I just went to a immigration lawyer with a friend for a different matter , I asked the same question and she told me the fastest way to get a brazileira here would be to get married in brazil

Well, your immigration lawyer is wrong. I'm not surprised at the mis-information though because the rule has recently changed. Trust me, I'm going through the process right now.

It USED to be the case but is no longer true. A few months ago, you could get married in Brazil and do a direct consular filing (DCF). This process takes just under 2 months. They changed the rule, and you are no longer allowed to do a DCF if the American citizen is not a living resident of Brazil.

I have Brazilian residency (perm visa with resident alien card) but I am no longer living in Brazil. They said sorry but no dice, It will actually take LONGER if you marry in Brazil and try to get the visa if you don't live there.

You can email the consulate in Rio to confirm this info for yourself.

http://www.embaixada-americana.org.br