Legal Question in Immigration Law in Virginia

Re: K-1 or K-3 from Pakistan

If you plan to marry in Pakistan, the K-1(fiance) visa would not be appropriate to bring your new

(presumably Pakistani) spouse to the United States since she would then no longer be your fiance but rather your wife. The K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa which permits a foreign national to come into the U.S. for the purpose of marrying either a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident within 90 days of entering the country.

The NVL part of the K-3 would appear to be the appropriate visa for the situation which you've described which would be applied for at the American embassy or consulate in Pakistan in behalf of your spouse after the marriage has taken place in that country. The application for the K-3 visa must be supported by the precedent filing of two other petitions in behalf of the K-3 visa applicant: the I-130(petition for an alien relative) and the I-129(F).

Re: K-1 or K-3 from Pakistan

It will be faster to apply for K-1, and then bring your fiance here and get married here, in the United States. Judging by the processing dates you may even be able to do it in summer 2007. However, if you want to get married in Pakistan, you will have to petition for K3 after your wedding. This means that after your wedding your wife will not be able to come to the United States for 6 or more months.