K1/i-129 or K3/i-130 (US Immigration - Please help)

[Prashanth14485]

Happy new year, everyone!

I recently proposed to my girlfriend, & she said YES

To give you a quick background, my fiance is a US Citizen, while I am from India.

We both live in HK at the moment, but her employment contract ends in 10 months (November). So we'd have to move to the US either by then or soon after (hopefully without a huge delay).

So we're faced with two options at this point.

1. We apply for a fiance visa, get married in the US & subsequently apply for a status change, or
2. Get married here in HK & directly apply for immigration.

As long as I have legal right to work in the US, I can keep my employment at my current company as they have a branch office in the US.

We're not sure which of the two options will be faster & smoother. Anybody here has any experience with either one of these procedures? Any immigration lawyer in HK that I could consult?

I'd really appreciate your guidance. Thanks in advance for the help!

[MandM!]

There is no easy route when it comes to the US.

If you apply for a fiance marriage visa, there's a chance that you're denied entry into the US.

The safest option is to get a normal tourist visa to US. Go to US as a tourist, then get married, then you need to stay in the US for at least one year until you have your interview with immigration--you will have the right to work after 6 months. You could in theory leave during this period but may not be admitted back into the US.

Just had a friend go through this and this was their experience and they also used a lawyer.

[Tripsearching]

It’s going to be hard to get a visa that allows you to work. Is there any way your company can apply for a L1 for you which is inercompany?