? bout ladies with K3 visas

[5150]

I was told that when my wife get's here we can NOT vacation out of the country? I was planning on us going to Cancun on a vacation/honeymoon but was told she would NOT be allowed to re enter the US? Is this true?

[Bruno]

From http://www.usembassy.ru/consular/wwwhcikr.html

" The K3 visa is designed to allow spouses of U.S. citizens awaiting processing of their immigrant visas to enter the United State as non-immigrants. The K3 visa is meant to be a speedy mechanism for the spouse of a U.S. citizen to re-join that spouse and obtain the immigrant visa in the United States, rather than wait for long period of time outside the United States. K3 visa is a two-year validity multiple-entry visa. "

She can go in and out from US during these two year. Be carefull, K3 is a non Immigrant-Visa... she stay russian until she receive her green card... Take care about the validity datum from her russian passport...

And don't forget... for visit/trip in other country, she is always russian and may use the same rule that for russian citizen about tourist visa...

She can apply for a tourist visa for Cancun Mexico in one of the ambassy/consulate from Mexico in US but the rule for her will be not the same that for you... ( US citizen : easy and Russian citizen : more difficult ).



[align=justify]FOR FURTHER INFORMATION[/align]


[align=justify]You may also contact the Mexican Immigration office in Ciudad Juarez at 615-11-44 (If calling from the U.S. dial 011-52-1 before the number) or the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, Texas at (915)533-3644. If you are not in the area, you may also check with the Embassy of Mexico's Consular Section, 2827 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009-4260 (202/736-1000) or with the nearest Mexican Consulate General: Phoenix, AZ (602/242-7398), Los Angeles, CA (213/351-6800), San Francisco, CA (415/392-5554), Calexico, CA (619/231-8414), Denver, CO (303/331-1110), Miami, FL (305/716-4977), Atlanta, GA (404/266-1913), Chicago, IL (312/855-1380), New Orleans, LA (504/522-3596), New York, NY (212/689-0460), PR (809/764-0258), Brownsville, TX (210)227-1085, Dallas, TX (214)630-7341 or Houston, TX (713)542-2300.[/align]

[5150]

Thanks for that info Bruno. I REALLY appreciate it. I guess we WILL be going to Cancun & I guess we can go eat in Mexico every Sunday.

[Bruce]

How fast did those of you with K-3 visas take from the time it was processed until the visa was approved?  Is it dependent upon where you live in the USA?  I believe the time it takes depends on which State you are a resident, but I could be wrong.  I also believe it takes about 1 year.  The reason I ask is because my wife has an acquaintance from Washington, DC who is trying to get in this way.

[Bruno]

How fast did those of you with K-3 visas take from the time it was processed until the visa was approved?  Is it dependent upon where you live in the USA?  I believe the time it takes depends on which State you are a resident, but I could be wrong.  I also believe it takes about 1 year.  The reason I ask is because my wife has an acquaintance from Washington, DC who is trying to get in this way.

 some info :

* MARRIAGE OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS ABROAD : http://travel.state.gov/family/family_issues/marriage/marriage_589.html

* several info about :

Immigrant visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1 or CR1)

Nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3)

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1315.html

I hope can help ...

[jb]

We married in Moscow right after 9-11-01, in fact I was on an airplane coming home from Moscow on 9-11-01 and was diverted to Quebec for an additional 3 days vacation.  I called her up and said,,,, "ya know, honey,,, if we are ever going to make this relationship real,,, we'd better do it now, 'cause the sh*t has just hit the fan",,, she asked if this was my idea of a romantic marriage proposal.  

Luckily for me she has a sense of humor.

The anticipated clamp-down on visas caught us square in the face.  We waited 14 months for the K-3 visa.  I hope the BCIS has got the kinks worked out of the procedure by now and people are not left hanging the way we were.

BTW, it doesn't matter what state you live in, all K-3's are processed by the same BIS office, unlike K-1's which are processed in your regional service center.

[Bruce]

http://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/NBCprocesstimes.jsp?

Thanks JB / Bruno - It looks like they are up to August 23, 2004 right now.  The key information was that it is a national processing center for K-3's.  That might explain the huge delays compared with K-1's at least through Vermont.