Just venting

[joevegas 67]

Just want to get some things off my mind and on paper...First,I WISH THE I KNEW ABOUT THE CR-1 VISA BEFORE FILING FOR THE K-1!...the K-1 is nothing but a pain in the ####,how hard is it to get married,then go back to your own country and file for CR-1?..not hard!..CR-1..cross boarder get green card,free to travel!..just the way it should be...K-1,pay thousands before getting it,pay thousands after entering the USA,basicly doing the same thing twice and paying more money each time!..I'm pissed for not knowing about the CR-1!..thanks for listning

[Dodi 69]

It does seem ridiculous, doesn't it. I wish I'd known too. The idiot attorney we'd listened to prior to filing our K1 had told us that it would take twice as long and cost just as much to file a spouse visa (she still thinks they're using K3 visas) so she advised us to just do a B2 visitor's visa and get married on it, and she'd help us fudge it along when it came time to AOS. A LOT of good that did us. Cost us several months and an entire wedding's worth of deposits.

We filed for the K1 and THEN found VJ. I'm kicking myself now for ever listening to her in the first place. She even screwed up our K1 process, and to add insult to injury, her assistant called me a week ago asking for help in putting her own K1 packet together, because the attorney in question had given her the same bad advice. Some people never learn.

At least you're on your way now. Good luck with the rest of your journey.

[joevegas 67]

Yup..It's a stupid systum that makes no sence what so ever!..apply for a CR-1..same as a K-1 in my opinion,except lets screw you and make you do it again!and then the second time around it's even harder!..everybody DO THE CR-1..WHAT A JOKE THE K-1 IS!!

[HeatDeath 430]

In defense of the K-1, CR-1s used to take a LOT longer than they do now. In fact, the K-1 and K-3s were created (in the 70s or early 80s I think) because of the massive amount of processing times spousal visas had at the time.

The really nice thing about K-1 visas is that there is no period of enforced separation after you get married. This was important for me and my now-wife. We were reasonably ok with having to wait until the paperwork was done before being able to get married. I was teaching in Canada, so I wasn't going to be able to come down for another 10 months regardless of how fast the paperwork got approved. But there is a very big qualitative difference, for us there was anyways, between being forced to wait for paperwork approval to get married, and being forced apart after being married.

I'm glad we did the K-1, even though it is somewhat more expensive, because it means that there was never a forced period of separation from my wife. [it also helps, that, having lived in Western Canada during this process, choosing the K-1 route had me going through the Vancouver consulate (which rocks!) rather than the much slower and backlogged Montreal consulate ]

Edited August 14, 2010 by HeatDeath

[AMERICAN/CANADIAN 0]

My husband and I are doing the CR1 visa but it still costs money and takes time. We are looking at 8-10 months from our filing date before we can move down. Which sucks..... As for being forced to be apart after you are married when going the CR1 route I have NEVER heard that. It is harder to prove domicile in the US when you both technically live in Canada but not impossible. My husband and I considered hiring a lawyer and I called one in my hometown (pop 80,000) in farm country basically and he knew all about the CR1 and told me as I was already in Canada to do DCF filing and how to go about doing it. He was very helpful. And didnt charge me a dime as he only gave me advice but didnt actually do anything for me!

Good luck. I hope things go smoother for you from here on out:)

[Hendea3 4]

Just want to get some things off my mind and on paper...First,I WISH THE I KNEW ABOUT THE CR-1 VISA BEFORE FILING FOR THE K-1!...the K-1 is nothing but a pain in the ####,how hard is it to get married,then go back to your own country and file for CR-1?..not hard!..CR-1..cross boarder get green card,free to travel!..just the way it should be...K-1,pay thousands before getting it,pay thousands after entering the USA,basicly doing the same thing twice and paying more money each time!..I'm pissed for not knowing about the CR-1!..thanks for listning

Just an fyi if you did the CR1 you would have to go through the Montreal consulate and incase you have not noticed there are some poor Cr1's that have waited over 300+ days for their interview date! Personally my FI have always had a long distance relationship and I would definetly rather have to wait now vs get married and then wait....

[marlea 84]

Just want to get some things off my mind and on paper...First,I WISH THE I KNEW ABOUT THE CR-1 VISA BEFORE FILING FOR THE K-1!...the K-1 is nothing but a pain in the ####,how hard is it to get married,then go back to your own country and file for CR-1?..not hard!..CR-1..cross boarder get green card,free to travel!..just the way it should be...K-1,pay thousands before getting it,pay thousands after entering the USA,basicly doing the same thing twice and paying more money each time!..I'm pissed for not knowing about the CR-1!..thanks for listning

Many people don't want to spend the first year of their marriage in two different countries. For example. my fiance and I have been long-distance for a few years now and don't currently live in the same country. If we wanted to do the Spousal visa instead of the Fiance visa, we would have to spend our engagement apart, see each other at the wedding, then be apart in our two separate countries for almost a year, spending that first year apart, while waiting for the visa. Yes, the fiance visa may cost more, but I would MUCH rather pay a bit more but be able to spend our first year of marriage together. Sometimes things are worth paying more money.

[GJen 9]

I am happy with our K1 process and we got our interview date in 2 months! or maybe a little less than that, it was super fast which is a plus because I have heard spouse visas take longer than that.

I have to agree with heatdeath, the forced separation time is awful, I have a friend who applied for a spouse visa a while back and they were apart for over a year!.. I mean if dealing with distance just being boyfriend and girlfriend is hard! imagine as husband and wife!... imagine after your lovely honeymoon to have to go back to each ones home country... !.. I think that must be a hard experience... thats why we went for the K1... after our honeymoon I want to go straight home with my soon to be WIFE! and no matter how much it costs! its totally worth the trouble

of course this is just my opinion!

[joevegas 67]

It took us a year after filing for K-1 untill we got accepted,so the time differance does not matter..I still say the K-1 is a big pain in the butt...really wish I would of known about the CR-1...But if It workedbetter for some people,all the more power to you

[sorchaine 10]

My fiancé and I considered both. But after dealing with the bureaucracy of trying to marry in Brazil, we decided just to do the K1 route. We would have had to wait around 90 days from the time we filed to marry at the cartório till the time we could have actually married there and by then I would have had to come back to the US. So for us it was more of a K1 being the only possible option since I had already spent 6 months in Brazil and had to come back for school. Although it'll cost more money in the end and a bit more paperwork to deal with, I think it'll be better. Like others have said, it'll be nice to spend that first year of our marriage together rather than being separated. It's already hard enough being separated now as it is.

[menina 50]

My fiancé and I considered both. But after dealing with the bureaucracy of trying to marry in Brazil, we decided just to do the K1 route. We would have had to wait around 90 days from the time we filed to marry at the cartório till the time we could have actually married there and by then I would have had to come back to the US. So for us it was more of a K1 being the only possible option since I had already spent 6 months in Brazil and had to come back for school. Although it'll cost more money in the end and a bit more paperwork to deal with, I think it'll be better. Like others have said, it'll be nice to spend that first year of our marriage together rather than being separated. It's already hard enough being separated now as it is.

Good luck on your upcoming interview!

[Nik+Heather 121]

Sometimes I sort of thought I might have liked the CR-1 route as well, but just like the other posters here, not being separated after the wedding was a biggie - plus, you can't file the papers until you get married, so while K-1s can process the paperwork during their engagement, CR-1s have to wait out their engagement until after their wedding to even start, so although the CR-1 process has sped up lately the delayed start to the whole process means you're apart longer. we are lucky enough to be able to afford the K-1 route, and I'm glad that we've been able to be together!

[ryna 132]

Since this thread is just a vent, I'm tired of them all and am ready to head to Vegas! (If she could only get there!)

[sorchaine 10]

Good luck on your upcoming interview!

Thanks!