Q: I am a US citizen and I have a girlfriend from another country where I recently visited. I want to marry her.
I visited her country and we developed a relationship. Now I want to marry her, and bring her to live with me. ( I am twenty years old and she is 24) How should I proceed? Should I go there to marry her? Or can I apply for her to come here so we can get married here? Do i also have to hire an attorney? How long will everything take?
A: Government processing times can differ by several months between a case where you are already married (Petition for Relative followed by immigrant visa consular processing and/or K-3 visa processing) and a case where you are not already married (Petition for Fiance(e) followed by K-1 visa processing and thereafter adjustment of status). What would be best is for you to discuss your concerns with a competent immigration attorney at a consultation. If your fiancee or, in some cases you - the U.S. Citizen, have certain criminal history, then that can complicate matters. In my experience, the fiancee based approach has been a quicker path to actually getting the beneficiary here, but there can be advantages to going down the petition for relative/immigrant visa consular processing path instead (such as immediate work authorization for the beneficiary upon arrival and no need to pursue a third step, meaning adjustment of status). Again, I recommend that you address your concerns in the setting of a consultation with a competent attorney. Some attorneys offer online (Skype) or telephone consultations for individuals who may not be able to attend in person.
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