K3 or CR-1

[Aqid 1]

Hi all,

This is my first post here so let me start with introducing myself. My name is Nik and I recently married a USC in my home coutry, The Netherlands. We are both living here now since December last year. We are looking to move over to the U.S., so my wife can finish school. I checked which different path's there are and on this site I found theres three different options: DCF, K3 and CR-1. I checked with the U.S. embassy in Amsterdam and they informed me that DCF is not possible. That leaves two options, the K3 and the CR-1. So my wife called USCIS to ask which procedure would be best (read: fastest), and they said the K3 option. The woman was not very helpful though, my wife described her as somebody reading the answer of the USCIS website. I've read here on different topics that the K3 procedure is useless, as the I-129F and the I-130 often get accepted on the exact same date, rendering the I-129F useless. Although most of those topics were not recent. So I was wondering, at this very time, does the K3 offer any advantage (time-wise) to the CR-1? Either way, we have to file the I-130 first so that's what were gonna do now.

Thank you.

ps. I know that this website says that on average the K3 takes 9.5 months and the CR-1 takes 10 months. However, the USCIS woman said that the K3 now takes 5 months on average.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Aqid

[canadian_wife 1,822]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Look at the comparason guide. 5 months on average to approve through USCIS, then NVC will close it

Good luck

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Forget the K3, it is obsolete. The USCIS woman probably meant the K3 processing time at USCIS is about 5 months (from NOA 1 to NOA 2), but that is only part of the visa journey. The K3 routinely gets administratively closed at NVC stage, so there is really no point petitioning for it.

However, if your wife petitions you for the CR-1 spousal visa and she lives in Europe with you, it will get auto-expedited- it will still take several months, but should take less than the usual 9-ish.

[Aqid 1]

Thanks to you both! Yes I had seen the comparision guide, but now I understand where the 5 months were coming from. Yes both my wife and I are living in Europe, so I really hope the case will get auto-expedited. We are just going to file for the CR-1 then.