Marriage with Dominican citizen best route on visa/residency

@DRVisitor As an American that has (no applause needed) married twice to Dominican citizens, once via a fiancé visa and the other via permanent residency, I will tell you that it depends on what service center your petition is sent to.  Some processing centers are quite behind and if a petition is sent there you could be waiting solely based on backlog.   If you file for a K-1 visa, the burden of proof of authenticity of relationship is not quite the same as if you're married.  With a K-1 visa you toss in a bunch of pictures and evidence that you know each other and if everything else is clean, then you get the K-1.  If you marry first, then you need to let time pass before you apply if she's not here already as there is a greater burden of proof, such as commingling of assets, children together, a will, a joint bank account.  When I remarried, I did so in the DR as we loved each other enough that we found no reason to do a K-1 visa and basically wait a full year just to get her to the US to see if marriage could work.  We married, and about three months later sent a book of evidence of authenticity.  We applied in late March and she was stateside by Thanksgiving of the same year.  We did this as we both acknowledged that if something went upside down while waiting for her green card, she would still be in her home country, which was much less complicated than if she arrived, things did not work out and now you're dealing with the hassle of a divorce as well as advising USCIS.  It was a bit of a pain getting my records apostilled and everything that came with being able to marry in the DR, but five plus years of marriage later, I think we chose the right path.  Benny also is that you can file your tax return jointly with your wife even if she is not in the US. That's not a hard process, but an added bonus that proves you're commingling lives and taking benefit of the preferential tax rate afforded to married jointly filers.  Sorry for the long response, but I'm one of the few you would meet that married twice there and did it both ways, K-1 and CR-1.  Take care.

@DRVisitor Yes in both you do provide evidence of authenticity, but the burden of proof is much greater with a CR-1 petition. The government wants proof that the marriage is bona fide, something not achieved by the same level of evidence you would submit on a K-1 application.  With a K-1, pictures, plane tickets, emails texts, the occasional western union, etc. are adequate.  For CR-1, the proof they want to see is a commingling of lives, which is achieved through, yes picture, plane tickets and western union, but by doing things such as adding your wife as the beneficiary to a life insurance policy and a named party on the will, have a joint bank account, own common property, etc.  Having a child is also good evidence, though after marriage looks better than before so the government doesn't think you had a shotgun wedding and that's why you're petitioning to bring her to America. It is about proving you are really married rather than its being a paper marriage. It's for that reason why if you go the CR-1 route you should wait a few months until you can evidence the authenticity.

@AlaPlaya There are delays, but not nearly the delays that exist for the visitor visas awaiting adjudication in the DR.  I applied in September 2020 to bring my mother in law here to visit us.  After three cancellations, we were not rescheduled until May 2023.

@DRVisitor Yes. That is the point of the K-1.  You bring your fiancé here to marry her within 90 days. The K-1 visa is a one way, one time visa.  From there you prepare what's needed to get her a 2-year conditional permanent resident card (green card). If you don't marry within 90 days, she has to leave the country.

@DRVisitor The burden of evidence for a K-1 is less because you're not married and typically have nothing to show that anything more than fiancé and fiancée.  They only have pictures, plane tickets, statements from friends, sending money, etc.  The USCIS basically says, "ok, it looks like a real relationship. We'll give your girlfriend 90 days to marry you in the US. If she doesn't she goes home." 

What does a DR female citizen have to do to qualify for a tourist visa to the US?

I  suspect you need to ask on the USA forum for that.

@jas1962 My wife, a DR citizen, applied for a Canadian VIsa & a US "visitor" visa - both were deinied for basically the same reasons. She did not own property/house/car & did not ahve sufficient funds in a bank account. Both denials stated she was at risk for remianing in country. It did not matter that I could/would guarantee her as I financially support her as her spouse - they did not even enter that into their considerations nor that the majority of her family are in the DR - especially her daughter and grandkids. Even though she has many relatives in the USA (a sister in NY for one) and a sister in Alberta Canada. It's pretty stiff....just to visit....

This is an interesting topic. Here's our situation and welcome any insight and feedback from the group. I'm a natural born US citizen that went to the DR and married my wife Yngris in 1990. She is a natural born DR citizen but applied for US visa and became a US citizen. Now we're only five years away from the option to retire and take benefits when I'm 62.

We're both like constantly watching Youtuber's in the DR, dreaming about leaving freezing Michigan USA to retire back in Santiago, DR. We do own an apartment in Santiago thats paid for so besides the friendly Dominican people, growing Expat community, tropics, beaches, awesome food we won't have a rent or mortgage payment so we'll have lower overall costs of living.

However, my question is if my spouse is a US citizen but originally a Dominican citizen is there any way for us to retire back in the DR without having to apply for a retirement visa? Just curious what others have experienced that may have a similar scenario. I will be wanting to buy a car and need a DL and get insurance as well. Some have talked about just overstaying your tourist visa and paying the monthly fines when leaving but to me if I'm going to be retiring there may not be the way to go.

Also, any thoughts on ways to show your income for the retirement visa? I know to qualify it currently requires proof of $1,500 monthly for myself and I think $250 more for my spouse. I'm sure I could show SS monthly benefits in bank deposits easily enough but is there another way to set up a personal retirement fund just for this purpose? Any thoughts on these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Don't Worry be Happy,

Nick

She is a Dominican citizen and has the right to retire here. As her spouse you qualify for residency (but still have to do the process)  then  citizenship!

Your application will be by family reunification as you have a Dominican spouse.

Planner,

I did not know that. It's good to know and will look into it.

I thought there had to be another way.

Thanks so much,

Nick

Nick, I am in the same position - my husband was born in the DR, has a U.S. passport, and we are retiring there. I'm born and raised in the U.S. Have been married many years.

Everything for the process begins in the U.S., as far as submitting paperwork, etc... And all paperwork has to be apostilled (legally translated). It's a bit of a process. Believe it or not, it's difficult to get information online, on exactly what has to be done/when/how, etc. I do know that, in your situation, you don't want to go down there on a retirement Visa.

I finally called the Dominican Consulate in Miami and spoke with them after months of coming up empty handed when trying to "Google" the steps to take. I asked the consulate tons of questions but I plan on going to their office to speak to them in person as well, before we even begin the process, so that I know I have all my ducks in a row.

They advised that when I do, they will give me all the details on what him and I both need (we each have different requirements to fulfill the steps needed).

Also, you'll be eligible for a one-time discount (not sure what the proper term is to be honest) on moving your personal goods from the U.S. to the DR since your wife is a returning national who has lived out of the DR for a number of years.

Does your wife have her Cedula? If not, she should get that to begin with. It's one of the first things the consulate asked me regarding my husband. He has his and keeps it updated.

I'm not an expert on this, by any means, and have not yet started this whole process, so I won't be a huge help to you but look at this link below, from this site. It should help get you started. It's from a couple of years ago and has some very good information.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=894660

And, once you do go through the process, it would be great if you can post about your experience as I'm sure there are a number of other people in the same situation.

Colleen

Returning citizens AND new residents are eligible to import belongings

Wise to take advantage of both options

@rms171

good morning! thank you for sharing your expierence with the CR1 visa after marrying your dominican wife. may i ask how long ago this was? ive heard processing and wait times are very long now, averaging 2 years! but you said you applied in march and she was in US by November?

@Gylla we were married in January 2017 and applied for conditional residency status in March 2017. The approval came in the first part of November, and my wife arrived in the US in late November 2017.

Two years for a marriage visa sounds very long to me, but I know that these timelines move based on volume and more importantly where the file goes for review 

@rms171 wow thats amazing! and thank you for getting back so quickly. When you say conditional residency, do you mean CR1?

yes, every single american person that ive talked to with marriage or fiance visa from DR has said its taken 2 years (but all of these have been post-covid).

did your wife do an in person interview in november and then  was in the US later that same month? had she applied for a tourist visa before?

@colmcb

Collen, I so much appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts on the process. I will definitely check out the link you posted to the article. Once I have a plan to share with the group it will be posted for sure. Expat.com has been my go to for researching all things DR. We're looking forward to retiring in Santiago.  Just turned 58 April 6th so I now am in literal countdown mode! Obviously I intend to take my SS as early as possible. Now only have 1,458 days till I'm 62. It will take a burning bush to redirect us now. Blessings and Success to you and all Expat readers planing to relocate.

Lots of good info here, but I need to ask about a different but similar situation.  Mine.

-I am a US citizen living in the DR under the 'retirement' residency (retired military).  I have a cedula and my residency card.  I own no property in the US.  I have legal status in the DR and live here permanently.

-I will be marrying a Dominican man who has a Dominican passport but no US visa.

-We are currently living together, mostly.  I say 'mostly' because he maintains/rents a room in a house with one of his co-workers.  He has a few belongings there, but basically, he's using it as storage. 

-He is not on my current apartment lease because I signed for this before he moved in.  He will be on the lease for the next apartment we move into together.

-We have photos of us together at various points in our relationship and will continue this. 

-We have a joint bank account.

-We don't have emails or what you would call 'text messages' but we do have an extensive WhatsApp history.

-He does not own real estate here; only a van and a motorcycle.

-He has family here in the DR, but his mother and sister live in Canada.

-After marriage, we don't know where we want to live.  Maybe here in the DR, maybe in the US, maybe Puerto Rico.  Maybe we'll split our time between two countries.  We just want that freedom to travel and live where we want, when we want.

-He is not a beneficiary on my life insurance yet.  I had planned to do that once we married.  Should I do this now, before marriage?

-I haven't updated my will with him in it yet. 

Should we:

A)  get married in the DR then apply for his US visa as a spouse?  (is this the CR-1?)  If this option, about how long would it take for him to get his visa/residency in the US?  We are both living in the DR at this time.

B) apply for a finance visa (K-1?), then go to the US together to be married.  Remember, I'm living in the DR so, we would be able to travel there together.

I already have my residency in the DR as a retiree, so I'm not concerned about my status.  I'm here legally as long as I keep my status updated.  We just want him to have the same freedom to move/travel between the US and the DR.

Is there anything else we can be doing right now to document our relationship that might help speed things along?

Basically, I'm looking for the best option (least hassle, quickest).

Thanks!

As I understand it there is no way to speed up the process. Keep documenting everything and follow the process.