Can I start applying for CR-1 with my spouse still in the US?

[Timeshifter 1]

Hi everyone, I'd appreciate your insight into our situation:

I am a US citizen, and my fiancee is here from Taiwan on an F-1 student visa with an I-20. She'll graduate in 4/2012, and due some poor planning, she already has a plane ticket purchased to depart the US on 4/21/12 (to take care of some family-related things at home). Our plan has been to get married within the next few weeks, although we're willing to be flexible depending on what would be safest for her coming back. The current plan is for her to come back somewhere around 8/2012 to let her take care of all her things at home (I'll also visit her at least once during that time).

We were originally planning on going the marriage --> I-130 & I-485 adjustment of status route, but we have concerns about the timing of interviews and getting an I-131 advance parole before she leaves.

Now, it seems like the best way to proceed would be with a CR-1, since we could take care of everything before she comes back to the US (and there's time for that), and we wouldn't need to go through any adjustment of status (like for a K-1) after she returns. However, does anybody know if we can the application before she leaves the US?

Does anybody think that a K-1 would be a better choice given our timeframe/situation?

Thank you for any help that you can offer!

[Rachie07 4]

You can submit all the documentation for both applications before she leaves. Thats fine. You can submit the I-129F or I-130 in the US and she can return home to wait for the documents to be processed.

It depends on what you would want to do. Would you like to get married before she leaves? If so, the I-130 is the way to go (8-10 monts approx to complete the process). However, if you want to wait to marry, the I-129F has a time frame of 6-8 months. However not all cases are the same and their is no way to calculate processing times, these are just estimates.

We went through the I-130 route but it really is all down to choice.

[Timeshifter 1]

You can submit all the documentation for both applications before she leaves. Thats fine. You can submit the I-129F or I-130 in the US and she can return home to wait for the documents to be processed.

It depends on what you would want to do. Would you like to get married before she leaves? If so, the I-130 is the way to go (8-10 monts approx to complete the process). However, if you want to wait to marry, the I-129F has a time frame of 6-8 months. However not all cases are the same and their is no way to calculate processing times, these are just estimates.

We went through the I-130 route but it really is all down to choice.

Thanks for your reply! We're going to be having lots of plus/minus discussions with the families over the next few days.

[Darnell 8,478]

I see two caveats, for filing to pursue a CR-1 visa -

1. It must be abysmally clear in the paperwork that she's to interview in Taiwan, not in USA.

Pay particular attention to the 'current address' blocks on the I-130 and G-325A - make certain that you put the address in Taiwan down as the 'current address'.

2. Be certain there is no coding in her current visa that requires her to stay in Taiwan for 2 years.

Good Luck !

Edited January 28, 2012 by Darnell