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Comment by dudul | Hacker News Reader

Why would you need an immigrant visa to get married? As soon as you're married you're supposed to apply for a green card. Green cards through marriage are prioritized, not capped and all.

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After a year since we married, we are finally going in for our interview for conditional residency for my spouse.

You would have to have already been on a different visa to have been here in the first place and like nraynaud said, it takes time.

There is a visa for fiancees to join their future spouses in the US. I assume that while you're getting your interview after a year, your spouse received temporary documents allowing them to travel and work.

Now, if you're talking about meeting your future spouse in the US, then yes. They would have needed a visa to be in the country in the 1st place.

Yup, a handful of EAD renewals.

OK so I don't see the problem. I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything. I went through the same process. Is it a pain in the bum? Yes. Are the delays way too long? Yes. But at the end of the day, when you start the GC application process you usually get your temporary documents after a few months (it was 2 for me, another comment claims 6, I guess YEMV) and that's it. Then yeah, it's a pain to have to wait a year to have your marriage scrutinized by an immigration agent, but in the mean time, you can work, travel, etc.

My original comment was just wondering how a "immigrant marriage visa" would change anything.

Fiancee visas aren't approved overnight. And if you are out of the country and apply for one you can't come here on a temporary visa (like tourist or H-1) as your application for fiancee visa is considered prima facie evidence that you do intend to stay, hence you don't qualify for a temporary visa or visa waver.

because green cards take 1.5 years, EAD cards take more than 6 months (I have anecdotes of more than a year), and that's on top of the 7 months to get a K1 visa.

Hum, my experience varies then. The K1 visa is supposed to be used for entry, so you're not really waiting idle in the US at this point. I received my temporary worker card in less than 2 months. Yes, the GC takes a long time (you basically get the temporary one when it is time to apply for the permanent one!), but who cares? You have all the same benefits as soon as you get your temporary docs for work and travel.

nope, you can be expelled from the country at any time with a 30 days notice when you're on adjustment of status.

Your driver's license will expire with your EAD card, the renewal of your EAD card can't be done more than 90day before expiration, but it takes more than 6 months to get a new one.

You can work 180 days with an expired EAD but not drive nor leave the country, and E-verify will be weird so you might lose your job anyways.

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