K1 or K3 which is faster?

[EegyptA 41]

me and my fiance (lives in egypt) are trying to decide which route would be the quickest way to get him into the united states, we are wondering if we should get married in egypt and file for k3 or stay engaged and do k1............i have gone to a immigration lawyer who has suggested k1, he said k3 would be difficult to prove our marriage was real, i'm only going to egypt for a few weeks....i'm looking for other opinions, i dont want to base it solely on this one lawyer.....my finance is hearing it is faster if we get married in egypt and do k3.....so what is everyones' opinion??? is k1 faster or k3, or would it be hard for us to do k3? since i'm only going to egypt for few weeks, 2 trips max????

[belinda63 3,041]

First of all the K-3 has pretty much been eliminated as an option, they are mostly being converted to CR-1 as the benefits of a K-3 don't apply anymore. If both of you are certain about marriage I would recommend the CR-1 route as it is overall cheaper and he will receive his green card shortly after arrival in the US.

One caveat, he is from a Middle Eastern country so expect it to take additional time for him to receive his visa, he most likely will have to undergo security checks.

[aaron2020 11,651]

me and my fiance (lives in egypt) are trying to decide which route would be the quickest way to get him into the united states, we are wondering if we should get married in egypt and file for k3 or stay engaged and do k1............i have gone to a immigration lawyer who has suggested k1, he said k3 would be difficult to prove our marriage was real, i'm only going to egypt for a few weeks....i'm looking for other opinions, i dont want to base it solely on this one lawyer.....my finance is hearing it is faster if we get married in egypt and do k3.....so what is everyones' opinion??? is k1 faster or k3, or would it be hard for us to do k3? since i'm only going to egypt for few weeks, 2 trips max????

You have essentially 3 options;

• K-1 fiancee visa. 6-12 months. Fiancee enters US with a non-immigrant K-1 visa. Get marry within 90 days. File for Adjustment of Status and pay more $$$$. Spouse cannot work for 2-3 months while waiting for the EAD. Leaving the US before receiving Advance Parole is an abandonment of the AOS process. Green card at end of AOS.
  
• K-3 spouse visa. 6-12 months. Spouse enters US with a non-immigrant visa. File for Adjustment of Status and pay more $$$$. Spouse cannot work for 2-3 months while waiting for the EAD. Leaving the US before receiving Advance Parole is an abandonment of the AOS process. Green card at end of AOS.
  
• CR-1/IR-1 spouse visa. 6-12 months. Spouse enters US with an immigrant visa, and immediately gets a green card. Spouse can immediately work. Spouse can immediately leave US and return.
  

As you can see, the CR-1/IR-1 route is the cheapest way to go because you avoid having to pay for an Adjustment of Status. It also means your spouse can immediately work and leave the US.

With the K-1 or K-3 route, your lawyer gets paid for two processes. With the CR-1/IR-1, your lawyer gets paid for one process. What is best for him may not be what is best for you.

I suggest getting married in Egypt if you can. File for the CR-1/IR-1 visa.

Edited February 5, 2012 by aaron2020

[Ryan H 3,821]

First of all the K-3 has pretty much been eliminated as an option, they are mostly being converted to CR-1

A I-129F petition that was filed in conjunction with an I-130 to start the K3 process is not "converted" to a CR-1, that I-129F petition that was filed to start the K3 process is administratively closed by the NVC if the NVC has an approved I-130 on station.

[didopage 337]

In addition to what other members told you above, you can also look at this link to help you understand the differences and which path to choose: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[belinda63 3,041]

I stand correct Ryan, just trying to use clear, simple language. CR-1 is still the best way to go if they both feel they are ready for marriage.

[together4evr 360]

If I had to do this over again I would do the K1 fiance. Seems they go thru AP quicker or no AP

[NY_BX 397]

me and my fiance (lives in egypt) are trying to decide which route would be the quickest way to get him into the united states, we are wondering if we should get married in egypt and file for k3 or stay engaged and do k1............i have gone to a immigration lawyer who has suggested k1, he said k3 would be difficult to prove our marriage was real, i'm only going to egypt for a few weeks....i'm looking for other opinions, i dont want to base it solely on this one lawyer.....my finance is hearing it is faster if we get married in egypt and do k3.....so what is everyones' opinion??? is k1 faster or k3, or would it be hard for us to do k3? since i'm only going to egypt for few weeks, 2 trips max????

K-3 has been eliminated, so your only 2 options are CR-1 or K-1.

K-1 hands down, unbiased. It's a lot quicker for Egypt... a lot. They give you the interview date at the embassy whereas the marriage visa NVC gives you the interview dates. So the wait is longer. Go to our timelines and you'll see. In fact, I believe there's a member who has a NOA1 the exact same day as me: April 18, 2011. He's a CR-1 visa, I'm fiance visa. My fiance arrives this friday. I believe the member just got an interview date.

All this said, please remember, every case is different. There may be other factors that may delay your case, no matter what visa you're applying for. On a personal note, and this is just me (take it with a grain of salt): I'd never marry outside the US exactly because of that. It would've been extremely hard to marry, return to the US and wait for my spouse to come... for a long time. Anything goes wrong, you're legally married. A lot of people claim it is cheaper to do a spouse visa. Yes, it may be true for the fees. However, if you're waiting longer, I assume you'll want to travel and see your spouse. So add that expense, given you only want 2 trips max. I did 3 in one year and the helped tremendously. Egypt is one of the top 5 high fraud countries. If you only do to trips, K-1 is the way to go. See him/ her once, apply and the go again as proof of bonafide relationship. Do not marry in a first visit as it may look like fraud. So, your lawyer is right. In most countries this is not an issue, but again, MENA countries go under stronger scrutiny.

I hope this helps. Lastly, you don't need a lawyer unless you have a complicated case. If you follow the guidelines here, you can do it yourself.

Good luck.

Edited February 6, 2012 by NY_BX

[NY_BX 397]

If I had to do this over again I would do the K1 fiance. Seems they go thru AP quicker or no AP

Good point. AP is almost a given for all males. They turn that into torture on a spouse visa! OMG! I have 2 colleagues that were telling me about the system: they delay the process a lot longer on a spouse visa just because the foreginer will receive a green card upon "landing" in the US. They use AP as an excuse!

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

K-3 has been eliminated, so your only 2 options are CR-1 or K-1.

K-1 hands down, unbiased. It's a lot quicker for Egypt... a lot. They give you the interview date at the embassy whereas the marriage visa NVC gives you the interview dates. So the wait is longer. Go to our timelines and you'll see. In fact, I believe there's a member who has a NOA1 the exact same day as me: April 18, 2011. He's a CR-1 visa, I'm fiance visa. My fiance arrives this friday. I believe the member just got an interview date.

All this said, please remember, every case is different. There may be other factors that may delay your case, no matter what visa you're applying for. On a personal note, and this is just me (take it with a grain of salt): I'd never marry outside the US exactly because of that. It would've been extremely hard to marry, return to the US and wait for my spouse to come... for a long time. Anything goes wrong, you're legally married. A lot of people claim it is cheaper to do a spouse visa. Yes, it may be true for the fees. However, if you're waiting longer, I assume you'll want to travel and see your spouse. So add that expense, given you only want 2 trips max. I did 3 in one year and the helped tremendously. Egypt is one of the top 5 high fraud countries. If you only do to trips, K-1 is the way to go. See him/ her once, apply and the go again as proof of bonafide relationship. Do not marry in a first visit as it may look like fraud. So, your lawyer is right. In most countries this is not an issue, but again, MENA countries go under stronger scrutiny.

I hope this helps. Lastly, you don't need a lawyer unless you have a complicated case. If you follow the guidelines here, you can do it yourself.

Good luck.

Congratulations!!!!

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

me and my fiance (lives in egypt) are trying to decide which route would be the quickest way to get him into the united states, we are wondering if we should get married in egypt and file for k3 or stay engaged and do k1............i have gone to a immigration lawyer who has suggested k1, he said k3 would be difficult to prove our marriage was real, i'm only going to egypt for a few weeks....i'm looking for other opinions, i dont want to base it solely on this one lawyer.....my finance is hearing it is faster if we get married in egypt and do k3.....so what is everyones' opinion??? is k1 faster or k3, or would it be hard for us to do k3? since i'm only going to egypt for few weeks, 2 trips max????

As stated above...K1 or CR1 are your options...and READ the GUIDES on VJ here. Also in the Mena forum read past people have gone through their journey then you come to what is best for you and your loved one. Only you can finally decide which is the least arduous way of obtaining your Visa.

Inform yourself before you file...this is a great site. And good luck!!!

[skiptex 225]

there is NO MAGICALLY FASTEST WAY.

it will still take time

you will have to be patient..

good luck..

read the guides to figure out what is best for you..

[Robert&Karen 264]

I understood that for K1 you have time to get shots after you get to the US, but with CR-1 you need to met all medical standards while still overseas. Kinda tough when some shots are very expensive. When we did it we opted for K1 for a few reasons. CR-1 was slower at the time but about 30-45 days, also she'd be married in the UK and now my finances would come into play in her life, not a bad thing but possible a tax nightmare. Also we had to get approval from her kids' dad to take them out of the country, something you want to make sure you can do.

[X Factor 1,112]

Both K-1 and K-3 has pros and cons. But I have several friends that apply - some for the K-1 and others for K-3 and the ones with K-1 had their siginficant other come over to the United States much quicker.

[Matt & Rocio 28]

me and my fiance (lives in egypt) are trying to decide which route would be the quickest way to get him into the united states, we are wondering if we should get married in egypt and file for k3 or stay engaged and do k1............i have gone to a immigration lawyer who has suggested k1, he said k3 would be difficult to prove our marriage was real, i'm only going to egypt for a few weeks....i'm looking for other opinions, i dont want to base it solely on this one lawyer.....my finance is hearing it is faster if we get married in egypt and do k3.....so what is everyones' opinion??? is k1 faster or k3, or would it be hard for us to do k3? since i'm only going to egypt for few weeks, 2 trips max????

I was in a similar situation last year. I was trying to decide whether to go the Fiance visa route or the CR-1 visa route. I hadn't discovered VisaJourney at that time and instead relied on advice given to me by an immigration attorney who is a relative of a friend. I was told the fastest way to get my significant other here was to get married in Chile and then file the I-130 petition directly with the US Embassy in Santiago. What he failed to tell me was that in order to qualify for direct consular filing I would have to be a legal resident of Chile for at least 6 months, otherwise I would have to file through the Chicago Lockbox. I didn't discover this requirement until after I got married. We were getting everything ready for a visit to the Embassy when I found this website and discovered that I was ineligible for DCF. I at least saved a trip to the Embassy, but it was still disappointing. I ended up filing the I-130 petition at the end of July and as of today I am still waiting for USCIS to adjudicate the petition.

When I check Timelines for VJ members who submitted their I-129f petitions for a K1 visa around the same time I find that nearly all of them have moved beyond the USCIS phase and are now on to the interview.

If I could go back and start over I would go the K1 visa route. I could have filed earlier (March instead of July) and would most likely have the Visa issued for my wife.

As long as you have met your fiance in person once within the last 2 years and you are both free to marry you can file the I-129f petition for a K1 fiance visa now. The main drawback to the K1 visa is the cost. You pay less with the USCIS phase, but when you file for AOS after you marry the cost ends up being more than the CR-1 visa.

I can't speak to the difference in processing time for AP that is typical with males from Egypt.

This is just my opinion and is based on my personal experience. Good luck to you and your future spouse and be prepared for a journey with a lot of waiting.