I-130...I-129F? Confused Newbie!

[Mrs. P 6]

Hi and thanks in advance for any responses.

My husband and I have been married for going on 1 yr at the end of this month. We are now deciding for him (the U.S citizen and resident) to petition for myself (Canadian citizen and resident) for an immigration visa. We have a son as well that was born in Canada. To my understanding all I need to do is apply for my son's "Consular Report of Birth Abroad", and he will get his passport and such with that. So does this means that my husband does not have to petition for him as well?

Also, I know he needs to apply for the I-130 for an alien relative, but is there any sense in also applying for I-219F so that I'm able to travel while my I-130 is being processed/pending status? Reason I ask is that I already get hell crossing the border to visit him, secondary inspection has become a regular when I travel now, it's stressful and ridiculous. Will this petition be in my favour or will I still be in the same boat in taking a chance in being denied entry to the US? The immigration officers seem to have a problem with the fact that I've been traveling so much with no intent to make a decision on where to live, so now we plan on going through with the process this month.

So to reiterate does he need to petition for our son as well and is there a benefit in applying for both the I-130 and I-129F?

[Bobby+Umit 161]

The USC usually applies for the birth abroad. Read this - (which will give the baby full USC rights - passport, etc...)

Follow the guides above for the CR-1 (you can travel during processing, however, you will still be subject to border patrol procedures)

You can still be turned away - however, it will not affect the visa petition (unless, of course, the reason you got turned away was criminal in nature).

[Mrs. P 6]

Thank you for your response!

The USC usually applies for the birth abroad. Read this - (which will give the baby full USC rights - passport, etc...)

Follow the guides above for the CR-1 (you can travel during processing, however, you will still be subject to border patrol procedures)

You can still be turned away - however, it will not affect the visa petition (unless, of course, the reason you got turned away was criminal in nature).

With this CR-1 and the I-129F, does it make sense, I've heard stories where approval for this came the same time as the K3 Visa...and ended up being a waste of money. Would I be better off just applying for the K3 and waiting it out? I'm currently in school and wont be graduating until December 2010. That gives me one more year. Is it true that the process times for the visas are around 6 months? or is it more?

Thanks

[milimelo 4,479]

Just follow the CR-1 visa - so only I-130, do NOT send in the I-129f - that will SLOW down the case.

Current times for approval of I-130 are 5 months, then it's onto the NVC stage and then to the consulate. Not sure which one you will get - Montreal has a long wait time to interview. You're looking at around 12 months of processing altogether until visa is in your hand.

[christeen 966]

the K3 is a waste of time and $$ and requires a whole lotta hassle and $$$ once you arrive as you have to apply for adjustment of status, cannot work etc... The CR1 is a FAR superior visa... Also, filing the 129 (which is for the K3) can hold up the approval for the CR1 cince they hold your CR1 application (I-130) until the other one catches up... K'3s are pretty much obsolete now...

[Mrs. P 6]

Just follow the CR-1 visa - so only I-130, do NOT send in the I-129f - that will SLOW down the case.

Current times for approval of I-130 are 5 months, then it's onto the NVC stage and then to the consulate. Not sure which one you will get - Montreal has a long wait time to interview. You're looking at around 12 months of processing altogether until visa is in your hand.

Thank you! Ok wow. I need to read a bit more, this CR-1 is new to me. I'm confusing myself with K3 and the I-130. Ok so CR-1 and I-130 are the same thing? I'm gonna go read up a little more. 12 months is fine for me even if a little longer, it's a major move! Do you know if when I receive my visa how much time I have to enter the US? Is there an expiration on it? 1 mos, 3 mos, 1 year? We were just recently dealing with a lawyer, who was confusing and misleading and was charging us an arm and a leg, all these new fees came out of the woodworks after a few months, so we decided to no longer continue with his services and just do it all ourselves.

the K3 is a waste of time and $$ and requires a whole lotta hassle and $$$ once you arrive as you have to apply for adjustment of status, cannot work etc... The CR1 is a FAR superior visa... Also, filing the 129 (which is for the K3) can hold up the approval for the CR1 cince they hold your CR1 application (I-130) until the other one catches up... K'3s are pretty much obsolete now...

Seems to be what everyone is saying on this site, thanks for the advice!

[christeen 966]

If you have a straight-forward case then you can use this site and not bother with the lawyer Afterall nobody cares more about your case then you...

Yes, the CR-1 is the I-130. Upon approval they put the visa in your passport and you have 6 months from that date to activate it. It is activated by crossing into the USA... With the CR-1 you get a conditional green card that is good for 2 years (if by the time you enter you have been married for 2 years, you will automatically get the IR1, wich gives you the 10 year unconditional green card, they are both the I-130 forms to start with)...

With the CR1/IR visas, you can come and go from the US as you wish. The CR1 will however require you to file for removal of conditions about 90 days before the 2 year mark...

Just read up on the CR1 guides and they will get you started... Good luck...

[ZaheersShezadi 0]

Yeah man, we applied for both but only pursued the K3 (so far). had the interview in Nov. And its been 10 weeks now of Administrative Processing. I think the CR1 is the better choice. we are probably gonna go ahead with it now, and just see if it passes the other one. On the AP Spreadsheets, you can see that the K3 visas are taking like over 100 days to process in Islamabad and the CR1s are taking anywhere from 3 to 75 days, generally, for Administrative Processing. So..... you take a guess which is better. haha. take it from me. I think it is not worth it.

Good Luck.

~Tara

[Mrs. P 6]

CR-1 it is! Thanks All!!