# A little disheartened...



## Ajk1984 (Sep 20, 2013)

Hello all - after a period of self-research, which resulted in only me hitting lots of blind alleys, I discovered this and wondered if anyone could help.

I am a doctor working in the UK, roughly equivalent level with a Resident in the States. I met my partner on a trip in Germany, who's based in Philadelphia. The plan is that I will finish my contract in late summer 2014, and I will relocate to the US - we'd both like to travel, and ultimately would like to open a bar together in the future.

We're a gay couple. I've looked into various ways and means to apply for visas etc and I'm totally bamboozled! My income means I can put some savings aside quickly, but he will need to work on a while longer before we can set off together - we're obviously keen to be with each other as soon as possible, though.

If anyone had any ideas about which visa I would be best applying for, so I can work there whilst we save (I'd considered the K1 fiancé via, but was uncertain about how long that would take with allowing me to work), and I can't apply for medical jobs, sadly. I get the feeling applying for a visa to just do bar/restaurant work would be very successful!

It all looks unbelievably complicated and I already feel defeated before having really had a chance to try! Help?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Your options are K1 (fiancé) or CR1 (spouse). travel.state.gov walks you through from start to finish.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

for a fiancee visa 
K1 Process Flowchart

US Citizen can apply for a special visa to allow a non-citizen (their fiancée) to enter the country in order to get married to a US citizen inside the US.

Once issued, the K1 visa will allow the non-citizen to enter the United States legally, for 90 days in order for the marriage ceremony to take place. Once you marry, the non-citizen can remain in the US and may apply for permanent residence. While USCIS processes the application, the non-citizen can remain in the US legally
The US citizen income must meet the require minimum to fulfill the affidavit of support
currently$19400


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## Ajk1984 (Sep 20, 2013)

Thanks for that information guys - I take it this K1 also applies to same-sex relationships?

I also wondered if anyone had any suggestions for applying for employment in advance? Would my skills translate into Physician's Assistant? Would advance employment help my application?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Ajk1984 said:


> Thanks for that information guys - I take it this K1 also applies to same-sex relationships?
> 
> I also wondered if anyone had any suggestions for applying for employment in advance? Would my skills translate into Physician's Assistant? Would advance employment help my application?


Google AAPA; PAs have to graduate from an accredited program, be nationally certified and licensed on state level. 

Employment of the sponsored party has no bearing for fiancé/spouse visas.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year (2013) struck down a law called DOMA, and consequently the U.S. federal government now must treat legal same sex marriages the same as legal opposite sex marriages. So yes, the K-1 visa is available to fiancè(e)s with no gender distinctions. (So is the CR-1 for that matter. USCIS is now gender blind at least in terms of marriage.)

Only certain states (at this writing) perform same sex marriages, so there might be a bit more travel, but otherwise the process is the same. For example, if your U.S. fiancè(e) lives in Alabama and is of the same gender, you won't be able to marry in that state but you could travel to marry in Iowa, the District of Columbia, or some other state where same sex marriages are available. Each state is slightly different in terms of waiting periods (for example), but none of the states with same sex marriage has particularly onerous requirements.


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## Ajk1984 (Sep 20, 2013)

Thanks for your help, everyone. Short of nepotism, I guess I'm gonna have to do it the hard way. The fiancé visa seems like a good back-up. Hopefully, we'll work out something that means one of us can propose without it being a Green Card matter!


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