Travling on a K-3 with an approved CR1?

[BeeNee 0]

Hi guys, I'd like your advice on a visa dilemma I'm in right now. My wife interviewed for a K-3 visa at the embassy in Islamabad last week. She was approved but the bad news is she's going to have to wait 1-2 months for administrative processing before they send her passport.

In the meantime, our CR1 petition which was running concurrently with the K-3 was completed today and NVC is now arranging an interview date for the immigrant visa. Problem is, January is all booked up so the earliest she would be able to receive an interview would be mid-February. That's not too long of a wait but again we may likely have to endure administrative processing and who knows if it might taken even longer than the timeframe quoted for K-3. All of that is going to tack on months to this already grueling wait.

At this rate, we're tired of the waiting and just want to get her into the country ASAP. If say she receives her passport w/ K-3 visa in January, then she is willing to travel in on that rather than pursuing the CR1. When I suggested this to the NVC phone rep, he was unsure if you could adjust your status after your immigrant visa case had been approved. Does this mean she would be forced to wait for her CR1 visa before she can travel to the US? And do you think its worth it to take our chances and wait for the CR1?

Thanks!

[Dakine 26]

Hi guys, I'd like your advice on a visa dilemma I'm in right now. My wife interviewed for a K-3 visa at the embassy in Islamabad last week. She was approved but the bad news is she's going to have to wait 1-2 months for administrative processing before they send her passport.

In the meantime, our CR1 petition which was running concurrently with the K-3 was completed today and NVC is now arranging an interview date for the immigrant visa. Problem is, January is all booked up so the earliest she would be able to receive an interview would be mid-February. That's not too long of a wait but again we may likely have to endure administrative processing and who knows if it might taken even longer than the timeframe quoted for K-3. All of that is going to tack on months to this already grueling wait.

At this rate, we're tired of the waiting and just want to get her into the country ASAP. If say she receives her passport w/ K-3 visa in January, then she is willing to travel in on that rather than pursuing the CR1. When I suggested this to the NVC phone rep, he was unsure if you could adjust your status after your immigrant visa case had been approved. Does this mean she would be forced to wait for her CR1 visa before she can travel to the US? And do you think its worth it to take our chances and wait for the CR1?

Thanks!

The K3 was originally designed to allow people to reunite sooner and go to the US while the CR-1 was being processed and then return and do the CR-1 interview.

Definitely worth getting the CR-1 rather than the K3 no matter what it takes.

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi guys, I'd like your advice on a visa dilemma I'm in right now. My wife interviewed for a K-3 visa at the embassy in Islamabad last week. She was approved but the bad news is she's going to have to wait 1-2 months for administrative processing before they send her passport.

In the meantime, our CR1 petition which was running concurrently with the K-3 was completed today and NVC is now arranging an interview date for the immigrant visa. Problem is, January is all booked up so the earliest she would be able to receive an interview would be mid-February. That's not too long of a wait but again we may likely have to endure administrative processing and who knows if it might taken even longer than the timeframe quoted for K-3. All of that is going to tack on months to this already grueling wait.

At this rate, we're tired of the waiting and just want to get her into the country ASAP. If say she receives her passport w/ K-3 visa in January, then she is willing to travel in on that rather than pursuing the CR1. When I suggested this to the NVC phone rep, he was unsure if you could adjust your status after your immigrant visa case had been approved. Does this mean she would be forced to wait for her CR1 visa before she can travel to the US? And do you think its worth it to take our chances and wait for the CR1?

Thanks!

This is what I would do. Since she already interviewed for the K3 visa and is only waiting for the AP to be completed, I would go back to the embassy and ask if they can give her the approval for the CR1 visa instead, that way she can enter with it instead of the K3. Since all fees were already paid at the NVC, I think it would be a mistake to use the K3 visa to enter the US instead of simply asking the embassy to change the approval for a CR1.

Diana