Applying for EEA family permit or K-1/K-3/CR1

[sstukes]

Hello everyone. We are new to these forums but my partner and I have been trying to figure out the best way for us to be together. We have been dating for six months and have never met each other, but we spend so much of each day together. We are hoping to find an effective solution to be able to live together in the near future, hopefully before the end of 2017. We don’t care where we live but we have planned to either live in the UK or US. We have a some questions we would like answered and any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Context: My partner is an EU/EEA national who is on her last year of school in the UK and is about to graduate. She has permanent residency in the UK but doesn't have a permanent residency document to prove it. She isn't sure whether she will go to university in the UK or look for work in the UK/US yet. I am a US citizen who is currently in university in the US but would be willing to drop out and go work in the UK if need be, then study there in 5 years once I can get permanent residence (UK student loans are better). We are considering getting married in the US (she doesn't need a visa to come here for 3 months and get married) then apply for an EEA family permit while still in the US and move to the UK. We could also stay in the US. My partner has permanent residency in the UK but doesn't have a permanent residency document to prove it.

Here are our questions:

1.If we apply for an EEA family permit in the US, how long should we expect the decision to take? We don't want to get married too soon after she comes here as this could be seen as suspicious, but we only have 3 months in total. We are worried that she may need to return to the UK without me while we're still waiting.

2.If she comes to visit me and get married in the US right after she finishes her exams, and stays here for 3 months, would she need to be a qualified person in the UK or would she only have to become one (continue studies or become a jobseeker) within 3 months of arriving back in the UK with me? We've read that if the EEA national is not in the UK they have the right to reside as a jobseeker for the first 3 months after arrival, but she is already resident there.

3.She never had comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) while going to school. Does she need to have had CSI as a student during the last five years of school to be considered a qualified person for an EEA family permit? Would getting it for university be enough? If she becomes a jobseeker does she need to show that she had CSI during those last five years? What if she goes on to study in university?

4.If she gets married in the US and gains residency here what happens to her permanent residence in the UK if she doesn’t have a permanent residence document? Could she go back to the UK after 2-3 years and still be eligible for a UK student loan? How long would she have to live in the UK for to be eligible once she returns?

5.If we were to live in the US, what visa would be processed faster (K-1, K-3 or CR-1) and which one would be the most beneficial in our situation? Could she come here without a visa just to get married, with the intention of going back to the UK after applying for an EEA family permit, but remain and become resident here if the EEA application is rejected? We have read that this option may work if she comes to the US without a visa to get married with the intention to return to the UK but could apply for residence here in the case of an “unexpected” engagement. Otherwise, and also if the marriage takes place too early after arriving here, this could be suspected as visa fraud. Instead, we could get married in the UK if I got a marriage visitor visa, or she could apply for a K-3 fiancée visa for the US, but we are worried that this would take too long. How long would she have to wait before being allowed to stay in the US if she applied for a K-1 visa instead?

6.Another issue is proving that our relationship is genuine. We have never met before and haven't been in a relationship for very long. How could we show that it's genuine? I applied to the UK universities she got offers from but haven't received replies, and she applied to my university (US) but didn't get in. Could this be used to show that we just want to be together and aren't getting married just to gain residence in a particular country for other purposes? We could also provide FaceTime call logs and proof of transfer of money, and take dated pictures of us together in the US before and after getting married. She would also be living in the US with me for the duration of her stay (before and after marriage) but she can only stay for up to 3 months without a visa.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, we really appreciate it!

Shaihi and Ineida.

[Wanderer]

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