K3 vs. IR-1/CR-1 Visa for Spouse

[arislan667 0]

My wife, Oksana, and I married while I was working in Ukraine -- was there for the past 4 years. In July I returned to the states and began filing the paperwork. Turns out I should have done everything there -- since I was officially a resident of Ukraine, I could have filed everything with the embassy and they would have approved the petition on the first day!

I received my I-130 NOA1 on Aug 25th 2006 from the California Service Center.

We had been planning on just getting the standard Immigration Visa, but now I've been reading up on the K3 Visa.

Should I go ahead an file for a K3 Visa. even though it's been almost two months since my NOA1? Will the k3 be faster? And what are the negative aspects of the K3 over the Immigration Visa? I know that the K3 doesn't give the applicant a Green Card before coming here, and it requires a future change of status.

Anyway, any suggestions or comments would be really appreciated. I have to wait a week or so anyway before I could file the I-129f for the K3 because I ran out of passport photos of my wife and she has to send me another, so I'll wait and see what people think.

Thanks,

~john

[rebeccajo 14]

I suppose it's too late to go back to the Ukraine and file the DCF?

[YuAndDan 153]

You might as well stay with the course that you are on. From what I have been reading lately the CR-1/IR-1 visa is not taking much longer than the K-3 in most cases, maybe a month or two. The advantage of the CR-1/IR-1 is that you will have green card and be Legal Permanent Resident with out having to go through the AOS process.

As of April 2005 many applicants have reported that IR1/CR1's are faster than the K-3 option. This may change at any time though.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Edited October 13, 2006 by YuAndDan

[arislan667 0]

You might as well stay with the course that you are on. From what I have been reading lately the CR-1/IR-1 visa is not taking much longer than the K-3 in most cases, maybe a month or two. The advantage of the CR-1/IR-1 is that you will have green card and be Legal Permanent Resident with out having to go through the AOS process.

As of April 2005 many applicants have reported that IR1/CR1's are faster than the K-3 option. This may change at any time though.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Thanks. That's pretty much what I figured from looking at things. And I didn't want to mess around with the extra paperwork once she comes to the states. We're only going to be here for a year or two before I transfer back to Ukraine or Russia anyway, so I wanted to get the whole Green Card thing going right off the back.

Course, now it's all this annoying waiting.

~john

I suppose it's too late to go back to the Ukraine and file the DCF?

Yeah, once I gave up my registered address in Ukraine I lost my status as a registered foreigner. You have to have an address and register with the police department and be there for over six months for the US Consol to consider you a American Residing in Ukraine. I had been there for 3 years, so that wouldn't have been an issue, had I known before.

~john

[YuAndDan 153]

A few things to consider.

Maintaining Permanent Residence

Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

* Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/PermRes.htm#maintain