fees

[journey11 0]

Can you guys please tell me if filing for a k3 visa is cheaper and better than the k1?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Can you guys please tell me if filing for a k3 visa is cheaper and better than the k1?

Specifically the comparison here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

The k3 is almost obsolete. I would be looking at CR-1 or K1 if i were you. Personally though I did K1, CR1 seems the superior visa.

[HeatDeath 430]

CR1's are cheaper than K-1s, and allow for employment and international travel immediately upon entry to the US, whereas with a K1 you can't work or travel outside the US (even back home for a visit or emergency) for a period of 2-3 months after entry. CR1s also avoid the time, effort, and extra expense of a post-immigration adjustment of status filing. The downside of CR1s [and K3s], as you probably know, is that you have to get married to start the process and face a significant period of separation from your new spouse while it processes.

On the other hand, K1s are slightly faster (1-2 months, not significant in and of itself) and allow you to stay with your spouse after the wedding. Some people find that worth the extra cost.

A K3 is the worst of both worlds: as expensive as a K1, requiring a tedious and expensive adjustment of status filing, and forcing a postnuptial period of separation like the CR1. They were designed at a time when CR1s took MUCH longer to process than they do now. There is no longer any meaningful time difference between applying for a K3 vs. a CR1, and so K3s no longer serve any useful purpose.

[pushbrk 13,043]

K3s no longer serve any useful purpose.

Actually, they can serve a number of good and useful purposes but none of them involve getting couples back together sooner.

Where they are useful is when actually establishing US permanent residence is not the immediate goal.

[HeatDeath 430]

I stand corrected. K-3 visas allow for multiple entries over a two year period, so what they allow is for your spouse to freely visit you in the US and return to their home country, multiple times over a two year period. This is particularly useful, as it can be much more difficult for spouses to get tourist visas, owing to the much higher perceived immigration risk. In some countries, as well, tourist visas are virtually impossible to get, even if you are not a spouse of a USC. A K-3 visa also allows your spouse to adjust status to permanent residence during one of these visits.

A CR1 visa, I should note, also allows for free international travel. The downside of a CR1 is that your international travel is restricted by the limitations placed on US permanent residents: You require a reentry permit to remain outside the US for more than a year, and remaining outside the US for more than 6 months delays your eligibility to eventually file for US citizenship.

So K3 visas continue to have a legitimate use: allowing the foreign spouse passage into the US for multiple visits over a 2 year period, with long periods of time between visits, with the possibility of adjusting status during a visit during this period. I think you'll agree though, that this is a fairly specialized application, and not the goal of the vast majority of people filing for fiance and spousal visas.

Edited January 29, 2010 by HeatDeath