K1 or CR1/IR1 for my Jamaican

[b-e-x 0]

Wha gwaan....So I just got back from Jamaica and told my fiance to hold off on doing any shady visa action with a man I didn't really trust that was costing thousands of dollars we didn't really have....

Fiance is from Jamaica but is working/living in St. Maarten. I live in the US (citizen) but I will be going to London for 3rd year of med school in May/June for at least 1 year.

And now I have to decide whether I want to get a K1 fiance visa and marry him here in the US after he gets it, then CR1

-or-

fly over to St. Maarten to get married first then work on getting the CR1.

All of this visa stuff is very new to me, but I'm reading the timelines and it seems like it'd be a shorter waiting time for him to physically be with me with the K1 visa...

BUT... I'll be in London from this May until next year. If my fiance was able to get a K1 visa and then able to come to the UK to wed there, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I don't think that's possible (must wed in the US with K1 visa, right?)...

Then Again, getting all the paperwork done for the CR1 visa (or any visa) would be difficult and expensive as there are no embassies in St. Maarten (Netherland Antilles). Unless traveling to Curacao, where there is a US and Jamaican embassy, instead of back and forth from St. Maarten to Jamaica would be possible...

So I guess in Summary, My questions are

1) Is it longer to get a K1 visa than CR1 visa?

2) Can I get a CR1 visa if I marry outside of the US, i.e. in St. Maarten?

3) Does my Jamaican fiance need to do all the embassy interview/paperwork in Jamaica or can he do it in a Jamaican embassy overseas?

4) Do I need to be EMPLOYED to sponsor my fiance (for K1) or spouse (for CR1)?

5) If a CR1 visa is granted, can my spouse use that visa to travel outside of the US?

Please someone help...............bumboclaat immigration bs...........

[Ryan H 3,812]

So I guess in Summary, My questions are

1) Is it longer to get a K1 visa than CR1 visa?

2) Can I get a CR1 visa if I marry outside of the US, i.e. in St. Maarten?

3) Does my Jamaican fiance need to do all the embassy interview/paperwork in Jamaica or can he do it in a Jamaican embassy overseas?

4) Do I need to be EMPLOYED to sponsor my fiance (for K1) or spouse (for CR1)?

5) If a CR1 visa is granted, can my spouse use that visa to travel outside of the US?

Answers:

1. K1 and CR-1 have same published times from USCIS. 5 months from NOA1 to NOA2. CR-1 has additional processing at the NVC once the file arrives there. NVC is a mail stop for K1.

2. Yes (although it's your husband who would be applying, you would be petitioning)

3. Embassy interview would be at the US Embassy in Jamaica. Cannot be done at a foreign Jamaican diplomatic mission. If your fiance is a legal resident of another country, then it can be done in that country. Based on your post, he will be interviewing in Jamaica.

4. You must meet the income requirement (125% of poverty line). If you can't meet it by yourself, then a co-sponsor is required.

5. CR-1 is only for entry to the US. Your spouse is given a green card upon entry to the US on a CR-1. If you go the K1 route, then you have to marry within 90 days of arrival and then adjust status (AOS). In addition to AOS, your husband would need Advanced Parole (AP) to travel outside the USA prior to completion of AOS.

Edited March 30, 2011 by Ryan H

[Ryan H 3,812]

If my fiance was able to get a K1 visa and then able to come to the UK to wed there, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I don't think that's possible (must wed in the US with K1 visa, right?)...

Correct, must get married in the US with K1.

[sus 70]

Also - having a green card is not guarantee of admission into the UK - he would need a visa for the UK as well.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

Also - having a green card is not guarantee of admission into the UK - he would need a visa for the UK as well.

[b-e-x 0]

thank you all...

I guess it's gonna be a bit tougher than I thought...

does anyone know how I can find out what percentage of poverty it is for an independently filing US medical student on federal loans?

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

thank you all...

I guess it's gonna be a bit tougher than I thought...

does anyone know how I can find out what percentage of poverty it is for an independently filing US medical student on federal loans?

huh..? medical school or loans carries no weight at all.. the poverty lines depends on the household size.

lets review - http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

My recommendation would be that you do a lot more reading on the requirements for immigration process into the US from start to finish. Your previous post leaves one to think that you are confusing the different situations. The first and initial statement also lend one to believe that someone is looking for a quick and easy fix to their situation, note there is no quick process for legal immigration status into the US.

There are guides under their appropriate Forum or Guide tabular up above that will give you some of the best guidance into the legal immigration path to the US. On the USCIS.gov website there are guides which will give the intended immigration guidelines on what rules they must follow to maintain their legal status in the US after they have been granted a visa to enter. I strongly suggest that you'll read these guides as well, since it looks as if you'll were not tying to have residence in the US for a period of time.

Good luck on your journey.