Is it faster to get a fiance visa or marriage visa for foreign fiance/husband?

Question

i would like to know whats the fastest way to get my international fiance here? does the foreign country matter? Hes in Africa and im trying to find the fastest way for me to bring him back home with me..i know about the fiancee visa but i have heard its easier to marry there and then apply for visa here in the states for him to come over? anybody done this before?? i need to know asap!!

Answer 1

I am married to to a non-American (he's Tunisian -North Africa).

Anyways, the fiance visa takes a while to process because you are implying that after the marriage he is going to want to become a US Citizen, so they will do background checks and so forth. I have heard this can take anywhere from 3 months to 1 year to complete. This is the first step of him becoming a legal US resident, but you must get married within 90 days of him being in the US, and you must file for a change of status immediately after the marriage.

If you marry him first and then apply for a spousal visa (which is a petition for an alien relative) the time frame will vary depending on where you submit the forms. If you submit the forms from the US with the USCIS the time frame can be anywhere from 10 months to 1 year for him to get his immigrant visa. In the meantime, you are free to try to get a tourist visa for him, but it will be harder (not impossible) because he will now be considered as having strong ties to the US and will have more to overcome in showing that he intends to return to his country (at least until his immigrant visa is processed).

If you file with the Embassy in his country, it goes a LOT faster, but you would have to have lived in that country for at least six months. I have been living here in Tunisia and married for 6+ years and we just now decided to apply for citizenship for my husband. We did it through the US Embassy here and our I-30 was approved the same day we filed. She said within 2 weeks we will get our paperwork to move on to step two, and my husband should have his immigrant visa within 3-6 months. If you do it this way, you are also allowed for him to apply for a tourist visa, but again, he must be able to show significant proof that he intends to return to his country and not stay in the US until his immigrant visa is approved.

So, basically, those are your choices. The one you pick will depend on your time frame. I wish you the best of luck, and if I can be of any more help or assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

It is faster to get a marriage visa.