What to do? K3 is gone!

[monky 0]

I filed the I-130 to bring my wife to USA, and i was going to file for a K3 visa but now i see that if the I-130 and the K3 visa are approved then the I-130 is prevalent over the K3, and it will be closed. so only the I-130 will continue as an immigration process to bring my wife. My question is how do i expedite the process to bring my wife here? i read the other option is the CR1 but how do i apply for it? how long does it take? is that my best option?

Thanks for any replies!

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Here is the link to the CR1 guidelines.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide1

[Lia792 5]

Hi Monky,

The I-130 is the application for an immigrant visa, that visa being the CR-1 if you have been married less than 2 years and the IR-1 if you have been married more than two years. The CR-1 is a two-year conditional green card and the IR-1 is a ten-year green card. You have already applied for it. The K-3 was really not that much of a benefit, and often was a loss, because people would pay more money (adjustment of status $1000+) and have to wait until they adjusted status to work or get other benefits. It was only used as a sort of "expedite" as you say, of the CR-1/IR-1. However, in recent years, the CR-1s/IR-1s had gotten faster so it was practically as fast to do that and much cheaper. There is no other expedite that I know of unless you are in the military. Read the guides where they compare the visas.

[pushbrk 12,569]

Hi Monky,

The I-130 is the application for an immigrant visa...

No, it is not. It is a petition for an alien relative. The DS 230 is the application for an immigrant visa. Perpetuating the incorrect use of the word application for petition is the main reason the OP is confused.

To the OP, you filed the correct petition for your spouse. Now follow the CR1/IR1 guide for the rest of the process. After the petition is approved, your spouse will apply for a visa. US Citizens do not apply for these visas. They petition for their relatives' privilege of applying.

[monky 0]

Hi guys! thanks for replying.

Well my question now is what to do? do i have to wait for the CR1 package that USCIS is supposed to send or do i take action and file for the CR1?

I really don't get is how the process is supposed to work? do i wait or do i take action?

[sachinky 464]

You will wait till your I-130 is approved. You will receive a NOA2 which will inform you that your petition has been approved. It could take anything between 3-5 months from your NOA1.

[monky 0]

You will wait till your I-130 is approved. You will receive a NOA2 which will inform you that your petition has been approved. It could take anything between 3-5 months from your NOA1.

Basically what you are saying is to wait for the USCIS to send me the paperwork to continue with this process? so there is nothing i can do to expedite this whole process?

[tracy1970 0]

Basically what you are saying is to wait for the USCIS to send me the paperwork to continue with this process? so there is nothing i can do to expedite this whole process?

hi sorry if im ignorant but im confused to your saying 3-5 to complete is that when the wife can go to the states or is that when its complete and then will be sent to the uk to continue and the interview etc take place?? thanks

[pushbrk 12,569]

hi sorry if im ignorant but im confused to your saying 3-5 to complete is that when the wife can go to the states or is that when its complete and then will be sent to the uk to continue and the interview etc take place?? thanks

From filing to visa issue is usually 5 to 7 months. You've been advised to study the guide but have not done so. Please do. Here's a quick overview of the process from beginning to end.

The Spouse Visa Process General Outline IR1 and CR1 Visas

Immigrant Visas

The CR1 or IR1 visa enables US Citizens to bring their foreign spouse to the USA in

The CR2 or IR2 visa allows unmarried children under the age of 21 to move to the US as well, provided the marriage to the natural parent occured before the 18th birthday.

CR1 and CR2 visas are issued to applicants when the visa is obtained prior to the two-year anniversary of the qualifying marriage to the US Citizen. IR1 and IR2 visas are issued to applicants when the visa is obtained after the two-year anniversary of the qualifying marriage. IR1 and IR2 visas result in Legal Permanent Resident Status upon entry to the USA and a "Green Card" expiring in 10 years. CR1 and CR2 visas result in Conditional Permanent Resident Status upon US entry (unless entry occurs after the two-year anniversary of marriage) and a "Green Card" expiring in 2 years. Conditional Residents must apply to remove the conditions between 21 and 24 months after entering the USA.

CR1/IR1 and CR2/IR2 Immigrant Visa Process Outline:

The Immigrant visa entitles the qualifying spouse or child to enter the USA with Legal Permanent Resident Status (a green card) based on a marriage to a US Citizen. The steps involved in immigrating to the US via an Immigrant Visa can be generally described as follows:

The US Citizen files the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with a USCIS Service Center. Where you file depends on where you live. The petition phase is very straightforward. Approval timelines vary with each Service Center, with the processing times ranging anywhere from one to five or six months.

After the I-130 Petition has been approved, the petition is sent to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC) where it is processed and forwarded to the correct Embassy or Consulate. The process of sending the approved I-130 from the Service Center (through the NVC) and arriving at the Embassy or Consulate usually takes from six to 12 weeks. While at the NVC, an Affidavit of Support is provided by the US Citizen Petitioner and the foreign spouse submits an actual "Visa Application" and the visa fee is paid. Once NVC has completed their work, the case file is forwarded to the Embassy or Consulate in the foreign national's country of residence. The visa interview may be scheduled during the NVC stage for some stations abroad but some Embassies and Consulates wait to schedule the interview until the case file arrives on station. The actual visa interview process is generally similar in all countries, although each Embassy or Consulate will vary a bit in their requirements.

Once you have the Immigrant Visa it is good for only one entry into the United States within 6 months of the issue date. The passport stamp given at entry is temporary evidence of Legal Permanent Resident Status and the "Green Card" and Social Security Card arrive in the mail shortly thereafter, usually in two to six weeks.

If you were given a "conditional permanent residency", 21 to 24 months from the date you were granted this status, you will have to apply to have the "Conditional" status removed; if approved you will get a full 10 year green card. If you had a full permanent residency status without conditions then this step is not required.

In three to five years, depending on circumstances, you can apply to become a US citizen (naturalization).

[Mononoke28 134]

It takes the USCIS an average of about 6-12 months to approve the I-130. This all depends on which service center you send it to, CSC is known for approving these petitions faster than VSC.

After it has been approved, they will send it to the NVC for processing. The NVC will assign it a case number and will let you know what the next step will be.

Once the NVC completes the case, which can take anywhere from 1-3 months on average, they will make an appointment with the embassy and forward them the completed case for interview.

Diana

[monky 0]

I just came back home from an interview with an immigration lawyer. He told me that since my I-130 isn't approved yet, I can apply for a K3 visa for my wife. Which is great but here are the bad news. Since I applied for my wife's I-130 already chances are that if I apply for a K3 visa and my I-130 is approved before the approval of the K3 visa; this option(K3) will be closed and only the process for the CR1 continues. This tells me that any money expended and time put into the K3 will be lost. Also we will have to wait the same time as just leaving things how they are right now.

So what would be your best advise guys!

any replies would be great also if the lawyer's logic is right or not. What can i do on this matter?

[sachinky 464]

K-3s are NO LONGER being processed by NVC post 02/01.

Edited February 19, 2010 by sachinky

[pushbrk 12,569]

I just came back home from an interview with an immigration lawyer. He told me that since my I-130 isn't approved yet, I can apply for a K3 visa for my wife. Which is great but here are the bad news. Since I applied for my wife's I-130 already chances are that if I apply for a K3 visa and my I-130 is approved before the approval of the K3 visa; this option(K3) will be closed and only the process for the CR1 continues. This tells me that any money expended and time put into the K3 will be lost. Also we will have to wait the same time as just leaving things how they are right now.

So what would be your best advise guys!

any replies would be great also if the lawyer's logic is right or not. What can i do on this matter?

You already have our answers. You cannot apply for a visa. You are a US citizen. You could file an I-129F petition but it would not result in your spouse being able to apply for a visa for reasons already clearly stated.

Please do the reading you've been advised to do.

Evidently this attorney is unaware of the NVC processing change effective the first of February.

[Christi and Ian 24]

Your lawyer will tell you that you can apply for the K-3 via I-129F so that he can get an extra filing fee from you. K-3 is obsolete as of February 1st. If you apply for it, you'll only be giving your lawyer free money. NVC is no longer processing the I-129F. Go CR-1/IR-1.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Christi and Ian

[Ready2Kl 1]

Your lawyer will tell you that you can apply for the K-3 via I-129F so that he can get an extra filing fee from you. K-3 is obsolete as of February 1st. If you apply for it, you'll only be giving your lawyer free money. NVC is no longer processing the I-129F. Go CR-1/IR-1.

Totally Totally incorrect. NVC is still processing K3's. K3 is abandoned by NVC only if the I-130 approval occurs and they receive the approval at the same time. So it looks like they are phasing out K3 but at this point they are still being processed and it is totally incorrect to say that you cannot apply for K3.

It is truly sad that they are abandoning K3's because in our case K3 definitely saved us 2-3months of time. I say this because we got approved for I-130 and I-129F at the same time other September filers got theirs approved. I saw a lot of people drop K3 because of the advice they got on this site. K3 has its own set of advantages and I-130 has its own set of advantages. And in our case time of unity was our number one priority. We called NVC and they clearly said that K3 is faster than I-130. WE listened to them and we are glad we did. Our interview for K3 is approved as of today. So I am saying this with FIRST HAND experience and not just some hearsay that K3 does still work.

Our advice is apply for K3 immediately(as soon as possible) after you get your I-130 receipt. Then learn the pros and cons of both and then decide . Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Further if they get approved at the same time then you will have to go with I-130 anyways. Otherwise for some reason if your I-130 gets slowed down by an RFE or something you always have something to fall back on. You will not regret it. Applying for K3 will not SLOW you down. Our I-130 approval came on the date of our NOA1 for 130 and adding our 129F app did not push us back into the line of anything like many on this site claim.