What if my fiance leaves the US after we're married on a K-1?

Question

That way he can continue to work in his country and take care of financial obligations.

Can we apply for permenant residency AFTER he's left the US?

Would it be a K-3 or something else?

Answer 1

After you get married on a K-1, you must apply for adjustment of status and wait for your green card in order to be allowed to leave the country and come back. You could also get a re-entry permit (a.k.a. advance parole) while your green card application is pending, if you're not going to be out of the US for too long.

I think getting a K-1 just to get married and then leave is very counter-productive. In order for your husband to be allowed back, you would then need to apply for a K-3, which is a spousal visa (as opposed to K-1 -- fiance visa), and then he could apply for permanent residence. K-3 visas take about as long to process as K-1 visas do, so you're essentially doubling your time apart for what I think is a bad reason.

I might recommend that you simply get legally married somewhere (anywhere will do as long as it's a legal marriage), then you two can go do whatever you have to do wherever that is, and when you're ready, apply for a K-3 for him.

But the whole thing is up to you.

To address specifically what you're asking, yes, it's possible.

Like I said, the process would go like this:

1) Apply for K-1

2) Enter USA using K-1

3) Get married within 90 days of 2) above

4) Leave the US without applying for permanent residence -- at this point, understand he cannot come back to the US and apply for permanent residence without an adequate visa, which would be a K-3, or a CR-1

5) Attend his business in his country

6) When ready, you apply for a K-3 like you did for the initial K-1 and you wait some more

7) Enter USA on K-3

8) Apply for permanent residence

So as you can see, that's a sizable waste of time and money, but like I said, that's up to you.

Answer 2

Once he leaves after filing for AOS, USCIS will consider that he abandoned his application.

And regarding the long processing time and high cost of expanses, you need to be patiend about it. Besides, once you are married, you ( I assume that you are the US Citizen) need to prove that you will be responsible for him finacially. With his AOS, you need to includ I-864 proving that you make 125% above the federal poverty line for household of 2.

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

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