Want to bring my wife from Thailand: K-3 or immigration visa?

I 130/k3 visa questions-Costa Rican/US Citizen?

• hey everybody, I have a question and hope you can help. I started dating my wife about two years ago before I was deployed to Iraq with the national guard. I went on leave to go visit her during the deployment and have been down three more times since then, last time I married her. I thought it would be easy to bring her back to america with me but it wasnt, they just kind of looked at me like I was retarded at the US embassy in San Jose. Anyway I left her in Costa Rica and then moved back down there to be with her until her visa is approved no matter how long it took. I filed a I-130 application with all the required paperwork and proof of relationship like a lease contract that shows we live together in San Jose and share a bank account and everything. Shes been in the US before until she was 15 and then went back to costa rica on good terms-she didnt overstay her time period allowed. I just got the receipt for the I 130 and am about to mail it back to the US to my mother (I left all the forms and stuff back there so she could send them out while I was with my wife) so she can put it in with the K3 Visa and send it off. What should I expect? How long does all this take? What are the required steps still needed? I am doing everything immediately and keeping a log and copies of everything because even though it is beautiful, we want to get on with our lives instead of just chillin in a little apt. next to her sisters house waiting. Thanks for your help.

• Answer:

  we did exactly the same, and my K3 took 6 months... and a lot of money.