Fiance visa versus Cr1 Immigrant spouse visa

[Jen&Barry 0]

I meet Barry 1 year and 8 months ago. We want to do the fiance visa, but also looking into the CR 1 visa. He will be visiting me in July. November 2011 will be the 2 year cutoff of the requirement to have met in person. We want to get married, yes. But would it be easier for us to get married when he visits this summer and when he goes back home, I file a CR1 visa, or the fiance visa. Decisions, decisions.

What I want to know is which is easier? Is the CR1 income requirement at 125% right away, more strict. I know he would be a permanent resident right away and he could work.

With the fiance visa we would get married within the 90 days required and he could stay here while he adjusts status to be able to work.

Anyone with experience with either, and did you have this decision playing in your head like mine is now?

I do have a cosponsor but her helping us is taking longer than expected, and its doing my head in. At this point I can petition for Barry on the fiance visa, but when I help him to adjust status, I don't meet the income requirement for the 125%. I only have a retirement/stock funds/401k combined worth about 6,000 plus I make 26,000 average a year not including all the overtime I do on a weekly basis. I do get child support (6,000 a year) but that soon will be cut in half since my eldest child turns 18 in August.

At this point we don't have anyone else to co-sponsor, can't convince my sister to. Having him meet the family when he visits to convince her, maybe.. So we are in limbo now and getting frustrated.

Kinds comments please.thank you all. Cheers <we are a household of 4 btw>

Edited May 18, 2011 by Jen&Barry

[JoannaV 174]

The UK require you to prove the 125% income for the K1 visa too, as they know that is what will be needed when you adjust status.

As he is visiting in July it would probably be better (in my opinion) to get married and file for CR1. CR1 is cheaper than K1. The exception would be if a costly flight was needed in order to meet and marry, but as he is visiting anyway this does not apply to you.

Hopefully someone will be willing to cosponsor once they have 1) met him and 2) he is your husband.

For a household of 4 you need an income of £27,937. I'm assuming you have 2 children, right? It sounds like you may be ok. You can include the child support, so even $3000+$26000 is enough, and that's not including your overtime. Remember also that is adjusted gross income they consider, not after tax :-) Any accessible savings you have can be divided by 3 and then added to your income.

[Jen&Barry 0]

Thank you for yer quick reply. I told him I'd look into the CR1 and have sent him the guide on VJ for the different visas, and info from the USCIS website. VJ is most helpful and the members too. Is that the route you took?

So if we would go this way then he couldnt come into the states until the cosponsor? You thought I was ok income wise? I think I am too.

I just want to get this started since it will take months to get done.

Cheers

Jen & Barry

[Done--Really 331]

Many many people visit the US while the CR-1 is in process--there is always a risk of being refused entry, but so long as there is plenty of evidence of ties to the UK, it will usually work out. This might be evidence of a job, a lease, a business, a return ticket, and so forth.

As far as staying here, he can stay 90 days if he enters on the VWP or 6 months if he has a B1/B2 visa. In either case, you can file the CR-1 paperwork very quickly and in either case he can stay for a reasonable amount of time, but will have to return for the final stage of the process--interview at the consulate--and in NO CASE should he contemplate overstaying--that opens a whole can of worms.

And to be sure you understand that the minimum income requirement falls on your shoulders--even if he got a very high paying job right away, it won't count.

[JoannaV 174]

I did the CR1, yes. For me it was an easy choice: cheaper (I visited all the time anyway), I didn't want a big complicated wedding anyway, and it meant we got to get married sooner :-)

He can visit you whilst waiting for the visa. The time it takes varies, and sometimes the K1 is quicker sometimes the CR1. But it's all about the same. Like you said, it's good to get started as soon as possible! If you decide to go the CR1 route then, if you are organised, you can send off the I-130 and supporting documents as soon as you get married. Well, as soon as you receive your marriage certificate.

I think you should be fine for the sponsorship requirement. I wouldn't delay anything because of that. Worst case scenario is that he goes for his interview at the London Embassy and they say it's not enough, and so you need to get a cosponsor. But, like, I said, if your income is what you say then that scenario doesn't have a chance of happening :-)

[Jim Brown 5]

My wife and I chose the CR1 route. We filed our I-130 Petition 2 days after our wedding, though I had it ready to go out that night (certificate in hand and all!). I just thought, erroneously, that she had to be out of the country to file the I-130.

We were approved at USCIS and are now in NVC, so it is a valid and acceptable option. I was also initially worried that the short duration of our marriage would raise flags, but it didn't, apparently. We sent in about 10-11 photos from various times we'd met, and the court-house wedding, as well as sworn statements from her parents and mine, and about 2930482309842 pages of e-mails and chat logs.

The income guidelines, as several have said, will be the same no matter what. IR-1/CR-1 is cheaper, and eliminates the entire AOS step once they enter the US. K1 is more expensive, but may (may being the operative word) be about 1 month faster for entry to the US, but then the spouse has many limitations until they AOS, which is somewhat costly, esp. when factoring in the opportunity cost of not looking for/having a job for those few months.