For those who haven’t been following Kari’s blog in detail, I thought a brief update might be in order, particularly in light of her latest entry.
We are currently in the process of applying for a K-1 fiance visa, which is the recommended route before getting married in the US. There are two stages to the processing, one in the US and one in the UK. While the visa is being processed in the US I can come and go freely on a visa waiver, but once that stage is completed I can’t enter until I enter on that visa.
Last Friday we heard that the US part of the process had been completed two months faster than expected. This means that once I leave the US (on Monday) I can’t return until I return on the visa. So we’re now rather eagerly awaiting the arrival of the police certificate and the form from the embassy that I need before I go to the US Embassy for an interview and medical. I have flights booked to come here on May 18th, and that now looks unlikely but it’ll be as soon as possible after that.
Once we’ve had the wedding we have to file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) which is the process which gets me my work permit (EAD) and green card. That process has lately been taking about three months and while it is in motion I can’t leave the US without Advance Parole, which can itself take a long while unless in emergencies.
So right now, it looks like we’ll be holding a wedding as soon as I can get the visa and jump on a plane. And then we’ll be trying to get Advance Parole or my green card as soon as possible so I can, hopefully, leave the US for the last couple of weeks of August.
For those who are making plans, the public celebration aspect of the wedding will still take place on October 22nd. No need to change your reservations.