Fiance Visa or Marry First?

I am just curious. To bring a boyfriend to the U.S., is it better through a fiance visa or to get marry first in DR and then petition for that person to come to the U.S.? Which way has the greatest possibility of approval? Need opinions/advice/comments.

Thank You,

Evelyn

P.s. I am a U.S. citizen and have a good/decent salary.

Evelyn-

"Better" is a relative word. If by "better" you mean "faster" then you must go the fiancee visa route, which will typically take less then 6 months while the marriage route will take 1-2 years, and the liklihood of you being issued a visa is far less. (For some reason the US looks more favorably on marriages conducted within its own borders).

We have a side newsgroup of about 15 Americans married to Dominicans or going through the fiancee visa process. I can send you more info on that if you are interested. Send me an email at gstern@email.com.

Evelyn,

Hi, I read the first response to your question. I, too, was in the same situation but it was in 1987. At that time, it was easier to marry first in the DR. After the wedding, we went to the American Consulate (in Santo Domingo) and set up an appointment. I am from Iowa and were lucky to get someone whose roommate in college from Iowa who met with us. He told us everything we would need for the appointment. That was in February. The interview and appointment was set for April. I was able to return to the DR for it (which was a big help). We got the VISA that day. It only took 2 months. I know immigration is different now but at that time, fiancee visas were not always a sure thing. We did have to meet with immigration and naturalization 2 years later to prove we were still married, besides all the other things we needed for the first interview to prove the whole thing was not farce. Good luck! We have been married 12 years now and have a 19 month old little boy-a beautiful child (as he is 1/2 Dominican and 1/2 Irish). We are going to be in the DR in September for his first visit. My husband's family still lives there. Keep me posted and if I can be of any help, let me know.

Sincerely,

Pat Serra

I applied for a fiance visa in August 1998. We went through the process and got the Visa in December 1998. I think we were lucky and the "better" route may depend on how long you've known your fiancee, under what circumstances etc., how often you travel to the D.R., the ease in which your fiancee can get and deal with the consulate. Someone told me that a fiancee application only indicates intent whereas an acutal marriage indicates committment.

We now have a side email group of about 15 people who have gone through the fiancee visa process. And I can now categorically say that there is no logic whatsoever in the process.

There was absolutely no consistency in their handling of the applications. In fact, of the group, mine would have logically been the easiest. We had known each other a year, I had traveled to the DR 7 times in that year, I had a high-priced immigration attorney that only dealt with fiancee visas and I am a vice president at a large company, with plenty of assets. Still, my application kept getting "lost" and finally if it had not been for the intercession of my congressman's office 9 months later, our applications would likely still be getting lost.

I have said this a number of times to numerous people: applying logic to the immigration process with the US Consulate in the DR is a futile process. They are under tremendous pressure because the DR has been identified by the Justice Department as being one of the few countries in the world with an "extremely high" visa fraud rate and I read somewhere that they process some 40,000 applications a year. The only logic worth applying is that these people are likely overworked and understaffed and problems flow from that.

Still, unless your Dominican friend qualifies for a visitor visa (owns their own home, has lots of assets and a great job), the fiancee visa is just about the only way to go.

I talked to the consular section chief at the DR consulate. He said that the K-1 way was the fastest by far. IF you go the Marriage visa route, your application goes through more steps in the US before even being sent to the DR. Then, they told me that for immigrant visas, there is a 7 month wait for appointments.

Interestingly, I was told that if you get a Dominican resident card (equal to our green card) then you can apply directly to the US INS office (NOT the consulate) in the Dominican Republic for a marriage green card for your spouse.

I sent in my Fiancé visa app May 23 and it was approved July 14 by Nebraska.

I have gone through the fiance visa process and I must agree that it is the fastest.

I sent in my application to the INS in Feb. and my husband was here w/me in Sept.

We live in Alaska.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Most of what had been discussed applies to the US. Do any of you know what the process is like for a Canadian? Is the Fiance visa route faster than the Marriage one? I will be returning to the DR in August and need to find quick. Thanks.

>>>I talked to the consular section chief at the DR consulate. He said that

Loren

The head of INS in SD is a WOMAN, Maria Aran. Sounds as though you talked to one of her staff who was a bit more gracious than she (Aran) tends to be.

I have fought with her (Through a US Congressman) know for a fact that she wouldn't cooperate with him until he personally talked with her on the phone.

The Consular section is her little fiefdom and she rules like Hitler

Tom

I talked to the chief of immigrant visa operations, uhhh, Steven was his name, (found it on DR consular website) He was really nice. I think that lady you are talking about is his boss, and is over the whole thing. then under her, you have immigrant & nonimmigrant sections. They now have a phone # that you call for general information, and someone actually answers it! I have called a few times and the people seemed helpful (but I did not have a case # yet, either!) I forget the number, but if someone here needs it, I will dig it up. It is a toll call from the DR, they charge you like $20 pesos per call (like a 976 number in the states) but it is a regular international call from the US