Can you take your fiancée to the US? You are single and you fell in love after you moved to Costa Rica. Now you have to decide if you want to stay in Costa Rica to start a family or move with your partner to the US?
You will find there are lots of reasons your partner will prefer to live in the US instead of living in Costa Rica. And you probably have lots of reasons to stay in Costa Rica. Well, I’ll leave that discussion to you and your fiancé but you should probably look at all your options.
You might one day want to introduce your fianceé to the rest of your family in the US. Being married or not, it doesn’t make much difference at the time or requesting a visa for your partner. Costa Ricans do not get a tourist visa for the US as easily as you got yours from the Costa Rican authorities.
So do you want to get married in Costa Rica or is it a better choice to do so in the U.S.? What are your options?
A Green Card
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services states that if you already married a foreign national 
outside the United States and you want to reside with your partner in the US, you need to apply for a green card. There are several categories to apply for a green card but in this case, the only option you have is to have your partner apply as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen.
As an immediate relative, you have special immigration priority and you do not have to wait in line for a visa number to become available because there is an unlimited number of visas for their particular categories. For more information on the Green Card option, see the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website
A Fianceé Visa
The Fianceé Visa or K-1 nonimmigrant visa is an option you might have never heard of, but it does exist. This option gives you the possibility to take your fiancée to the US and get married in the United States. You can file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé (e) and if you do, you must be able to show the following:
• Show you (the petitioner) are a U.S. citizen.
• Intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé (e) entering the United States.
• You and your fiancé (e) are both free to marry and any previous marriages must have been legally terminated by divorce, death, or annulment.
• That you met each other, in person, at least once within 2 years of filing your petition.
Two exceptions
There are two exceptions that require a waiver to take your fiancée to the US:
1. If the requirement to meet would violate strict and long-established customs of your or your fiancé(e)’s foreign culture or social practice.
2. If you prove that the requirement to meet would result in extreme hardship to you.
For more information on the Fiancé Visa option, see the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website
Your property in Costa Rica
Hopefully, you now have enough information to decide if you want to take your fiancée to the US or not.
Once you have decided which of the options suits you the best, you need to take care of your property in Costa Rica if you own one. You can put it on the market to sell it or you can rent it out. Our American European Real Estate Group’s members can give you all the recommendations necessary to take an educated decision. Don’t wait; contact us now for more information.
