CR1 Final Interview

[DLL66 0]

Hi!

I submitted my wifes final packet the first week of January and surprisingly received an email today with an interview date for the second week of March.

Normally this would be great news but I expected it to be much longer and she will not be ready to travel any time soon. We have a 1.5 year old daughter and she is 2 months pregnant right now.

The notification states that all documents have been received and if all goes well she will need to return in a few days to get her passport and visa.

So my question is if she is approved how much time will we have before she needs to travel or with the CR-1 is she not required to travel right away?I'm hoping that there is a large window or I can ask for an extension.

Back Ground info:

1) She was issued a K-1 last year and has been to the states already but is taking the CR-1 interview in Bangkok

2) I'm working in the middle East and we all planned to go to the states together in about 1.5 years

Thank You!

Edited February 12, 2011 by DLL66

[Tero 105]

The visa is good for 6 months, so you do not have to use it right away. You can as well ask for the interview to be pushed forward to a later date. But I do not understand the K-1 and the CR-1. Was it a K-3 you meant instead of the K-1?

Edited February 12, 2011 by Tero

[Inky 1,110]

Your CR-1 will likely not be valid in 1.5 years since they are only good for 6months valid.

[coraliesolms 47]

Yeah, you have 6 months to use the visa, and if the IO is really nice, sometimes they will push it back further for you (up to 3 months I think). Either way, 1.5 years is waaay longer than they will let you use it.

Did you guys use DCF?

[DLL66 0]

The visa is good for 6 months, so you do not have to use it right away. You can as well ask for the interview to be pushed forward to a later date. But I do not understand the K-1 and the CR-1. Was it a K-3 you meant instead of the K-1?

OOps,Yes, It is a K-3.

6 Months is not good. I can't travel with her. This complicates things! If she does go to the states then what is the next step? Will she need to send her passport in to get her green card? When will she be able to leave again?

We have a business in Thailand. I guess I should have planned better but I really didn't think it would happen this fast!

Thanks for the help everyone.

[DLL66 0]

Yeah, you have 6 months to use the visa, and if the IO is really nice, sometimes they will push it back further for you (up to 3 months I think). Either way, 1.5 years is waaay longer than they will let you use it.

Did you guys use DCF?

What is DCF?

I wonder if I should contact the Embassy and have the interview changed?

Thanks!

[DLL66 0]

I did a little more searching (should have done that first!). I will post the links to what I found at the bottom of this post, they are just links to this very forum. There's a lot of knowledgeable people here!

It looks like I can request to have the interview moved to a later date and might be able to have the Visa extended. But before I try I have another question:

Will her medical and other docs expire at a certain time? I remember that when I sent in the Affidavit of support I was told that I had one year to act or the case would be dropped. That one year is up in Approx. April of this year.

1) I submitted the affidavit of support in approx. April 2010

2) She did her medical twice already due to delays in processing. The second time was approx. Feb. of 2010 when the K3 was issued.

3) Her police clearance was issued approx. July 2010

Thank You Again!

Visa Journey Link 1

Visa Journey Link2

Edited February 12, 2011 by DLL66

[Tero 105]

DCF means Direct Consular Filing. It is for USC living abroad and have been in that country for at least 6 months. That way when you file, you do not need to go through USCIS but the Consular office directly. You should contact the embassy for a change in interview date. Also, the K-3 visa allows for multiple entry. With your K-3 visa you can travel in and out of the country without restrictions You would ultimately need to consider your cost. Since you are both already in the states together, you can file for your other documents and compare the cost and time to paying for her to fly back for the CR-1 interview. Here is a link for the comparison. http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[DLL66 0]

DCF means Direct Consular Filing. It is for USC living abroad and have been in that country for at least 6 months. That way when you file, you do not need to go through USCIS but the Consular office directly. You should contact the embassy for a change in interview date. Also, the K-3 visa allows for multiple entry. With your K-3 visa you can travel in and out of the country without restrictions You would ultimately need to consider your cost. Since you are both already in the states together, you can file for your other documents and compare the cost and time to paying for her to fly back for the CR-1 interview. Here is a link for the comparison. http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Thank You Tero.

I didn't use DCF. The notice that I received is from the NVC.

My wife and daughter are in Thailand now and I'm in Iraq. The cost is definitely an issue but her health is even a bigger issue, with a new baby coming and an almost 2 year old already the traveling will be a nightmare!

[DLL66 0]

I just wanted to follow up. I've sent an email directly to the Embassy with my questions concerning either rescheduling the Interview or extending the validity of the Cr1. I will post again when I have a response.

If anyone has any info on the expiration of documents I would like to hear it. I've done a search and had no luck!

Thank You Again

[Darnell 8,478]

You can ask for the interview to be delayed, up to 1 year from casefile arriving at the Embassy.

THEN

after interview day - USUALLY there is 6 months validity on the VISA, to COME INTO THE USA.

Police reports and Medical exam have 1 year validity from issuance date to interview date - so plan accordingly.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Darnell

[DLL66 0]

You can ask for the interview to be delayed, up to 1 year from casefile arriving at the Embassy.

THEN

after interview day - USUALLY there is 6 months validity on the VISA, to COME INTO THE USA.

Police reports and Medical exam have 1 year validity from issuance date to interview date - so plan accordingly.

That is excellent info and news! Thank You!

If the embassy confirms this to be true then I will just delay it for 10 months or so.

Thank You again!

[coraliesolms 47]

Good luck!! And congrats on the soon to be new baby

[DLL66 0]

I just wanted to follow up on this.

The Embassy has always been good about answering my questions pretty fast and they did so on these questions also.

When i asked about rescheduling my appointment they responded that we should just come in as scheduled and that if approved we can request to have the case put on hold until she is ready to travel. I asked how long we can put it on hold and they replied possibly up to a year.

If this does work out it will be great for our situation. I wish that I could have some answers that were more clear or find some policy in writing but I have searched and had no luck finding the policy. It could be consulate specific or up to their discretion.

Either way they have been pretty accommodating so far. I will post again later after the appointment.

Thanks For The Help Guys!

[DLL66 0]

I just wanted to follow up on this.

The Embassy has always been good about answering my questions pretty fast and they did so on these questions also.

When i asked about rescheduling my appointment they responded that we should just come in as scheduled and that if approved we can request to have the case put on hold until she is ready to travel. I asked how long we can put it on hold and they replied possibly up to a year.

If this does work out it will be great for our situation. I wish that I could have some answers that were more clear or find some policy in writing but I have searched and had no luck finding the policy. It could be consulate specific or up to their discretion.

Either way they have been pretty accommodating so far. I will post again later after the appointment.

Thanks For The Help Guys!

We went to the Embassy on our scheduled date and everything went great! She was approved for the visa on the spot, she explained our situation and they basically said "No Problem". We just need to return with in the next year with new police certificate and medical check up because they are both expiring.

They will then issue the visa and give us 6 months to use it.

All in All it was a very simple process.

I hope that this helps some one else!