Marriage and Visa

[circle110]

My Fiancee (she's a Mexican citizen) and I (US citizen) will be getting married this year and I'm trying to sort out the best way to do it regarding getting her a visa to visit the US with me since I have to return several times a year. Should we get married here and get a K3 visa, marry here and go the tourist visa route or get a K1 fiancee visa and marry in the US? This is our dilemma.
I have read a lot of conflicting information on K1, K3, B2 tourist visas etc.
It appears that K1 and K3 visas are for folks that wish to live in the US. We will live here in Mexico, so that wouldn't help us. Someone suggested that I check with someone in San Miguel de Allende - perhaps a lawyer - because marriages between Mexicans and "Norteamericanos" are common there.
Does anyone have a website or a contact in San Miguel they could share with me?
Or, does anyone have any experience with such matters?

thanks!

[RVGRINGO]

I can't give you anything but a general indication of what is happening. It seems that it helps a lot if a Mexican citizen owns property and has money in the bank in Mexico, has family and business connections in Mexico and is educated at university level.
A friend, with most of those qualifications, married a US citizen and had a terrible time getting a visa for the USA, even after several expensive applications. I think they finally got one with some assistance from another person with 'connections' at the consulate. They now live in the USA, but her adult children remain in Mexico.
Sadly, it isn't an easy process and it can take a very long time to accomplish; perhaps years.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by circle110

My Fiancee (she's a Mexican citizen) and I (US citizen) will be getting married this year and I'm trying to sort out the best way to do it regarding getting her a visa to visit the US with me since I have to return several times a year. Should we get married here and get a K3 visa, marry here and go the tourist visa route or get a K1 fiancee visa and marry in the US? This is our dilemma.
I have read a lot of conflicting information on K1, K3, B2 tourist visas etc.
It appears that K1 and K3 visas are for folks that wish to live in the US. We will live here in Mexico, so that wouldn't help us. Someone suggested that I check with someone in San Miguel de Allende - perhaps a lawyer - because marriages between Mexicans and "Norteamericanos" are common there.
Does anyone have a website or a contact in San Miguel they could share with me?
Or, does anyone have any experience with such matters?

thanks!

If you are going to live in Mexico, you don't need either the K1 or K3 visa. As an aside, the K3 is no longer particularly attractive and most would be better off with a CR1/IR1 immigrant visa. But you don't need that either!

The right visa to travel to the US and get married with the intention of returning back to Mexico to live is the B2. However, getting one can be quite a feat! The onus is on the applicant to prove that they intend to return after the marriage. Things like a job to return to, a house to return to, or -- creme de la creme -- aging and infirm parents to return to are the sort of proofs you would gather for a successful application.

If you're really going for it, I'd use a qualified and experienced US immigration lawyer to put your case together. At all costs those nasty but prevalent notarios -- they are not going to help your case. Any lawyer who says their office can guarantee you a visa or fails to take a full history beforehand is also off the list. It's also easy to use the services of a US-based attorney by email or phone -- you don't have to use a local one. AILA's Immigration Lawyer Search

[RVGRINGO]

Thanks, Fatbrit. It is nice to have someone who knows the ropes regarding US immigration.

[circle110]

Thanks to you both for your input. The problem with the tourist visa is that she has no property, has no job (and needs no job) because my income supports us both and, although she has an aging grandmother, grandma lives with my fiancee's mom who is not that aged and not at all infirm. That's why I was looking into other possibilities. Of course most single women here live at home and that was the case with her as well. Her job was pat-time and wouldn't have been enough to make a case. So, I guess we continue exploring... aybe I should try to make a friend or two in the US consulate!

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by circle110

Thanks to you both for your input. The problem with the tourist visa is that she has no property, has no job (and needs no job) because my income supports us both and, although she has an aging grandmother, grandma lives with my fiancee's mom who is not that aged and not at all infirm. That's why I was looking into other possibilities. Of course most single women here live at home and that was the case with her as well. Her job was pat-time and wouldn't have been enough to make a case. So, I guess we continue exploring... aybe I should try to make a friend or two in the US consulate!

How about a marriage in a third country? Just an idea.

[jamesmetairie]

Originally Posted by circle110

Thanks to you both for your input. The problem with the tourist visa is that she has no property, has no job (and needs no job) because my income supports us both and, although she has an aging grandmother, grandma lives with my fiancee's mom who is not that aged and not at all infirm. That's why I was looking into other possibilities. Of course most single women here live at home and that was the case with her as well. Her job was pat-time and wouldn't have been enough to make a case. So, I guess we continue exploring... aybe I should try to make a friend or two in the US consulate!

1987 i got engaged in mexico. my finacee had a college degree and extensive family,including a priest and baptist minister,s etc. etc. all over mexico. i brought my finacee to the border. got a border visa for only 1 day. her aunt walked with her over the border . we were married by a "JP" in texas. then married in mexico in her uncle,s church a week later. applied for permanent visa at a US Consulate and got it a few months later. we lived in mexico and i worked aboard ship about 6 months annually for many years. now and then we would visit the USA on vacation. after so many years moved to the USA and have no intention of going back to mexico permanently. i prefer a tex/mex menu anyway.

[circle110]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

How about a marriage in a third country? Just an idea.

I'm not sure I see how that would help us. She'd still be a Mexican national and the visa would still be a problem, right?

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by circle110

I'm not sure I see how that would help us. She'd still be a Mexican national and the visa would still be a problem, right?

She wouldn't need a US visa! She may well need a visa for the place you celebrate the marriage. But in a third country, they're not immediately going to be suspecting her of moving in if she's coming to marry a USC who doesn't even live there.

Canada or Caribbean come to mind. Or South America.

[circle110]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

She wouldn't need a US visa! She may well need a visa for the place you celebrate the marriage. But in a third country, they're not immediately going to be suspecting her of moving in if she's coming to marry a USC who doesn't even live there.

Canada or Caribbean come to mind. Or South America.

Thanks Fatbrit but our problem isn't a visa for the marriage since we can marry here in Mexico without a problem. The problem is getting some kind of US visa for her to enter the country with me since I have to return a few times a year to do consulting work for a month or so.