K1 Visa or Wife visa, please help!

[dmitriy_zolotov 0]

Hello everyone, my name Dmitriy, immigrated from Russia, Moscow to US in 99'. Reside in US for 13 years.

Back in 99' I knew a girl, she was 12 back then, I was 15, very close friends of our family, her and I were just friends back then. Just recently (month ago) I went to Russia, Moscow to visit and met her again, she was 27 now and I'm 30. We fell in love instantly, we were dating for 3 weeks and at the end of last week I proposed to her and she said YES. We had a small engagement party at her place and I got her a ring. Now I came back to US and I want her to come over!

One detail, I am not a US citizen yet, never bothered, never needed it, so I was traveling with green card and a Russian Federation passport. I am in the process (already sent documents) for the citizenship. (That alone will take 4-5 months) So far I know there are several ways of getting her over here:

1) K-1 (I need to be a citizen and provide proof of our relationship, I was kind of aiming for this one, since I heard a lot of people did it and got their fiances to come to US in like 7 months, but then how strict are they with the proof of our love and serious intentions? I have ton of pictures from engagement, pictures from dating, plane tickets, receipt for the ring, pictures of the ring and conversations in russian on Russian classmates social network, I only write and speak to her in Russian, do I need to provide our conversations? Because we talk through some internet thing on our phones that doesn't really save conversations)

2) Go to Moscow again and get married there (although I heard it's a painful process, waiting time in Moscow is like a month in order to get married? Now I don't know if I can go to Moscow again before my citizenship and get married with my green card, is that even possible?)

3) She can somehow come here (which is nearly impossible) on a tourist visa or if I invite her and get married here (again, I know my mom did this option and she is not a US citizen, her husband came to US from Moscow to visit her and they officially got married in US, although he had to go back to Moscow but nevertheless it was possible)

Please, please, please, give me a piece of mind since my head is spinning and I don't know where to start!

I would highly appreciate your help!

[bigdog 376]

i appears to me that the least expensive way is to become a US citizen, and file a K-1. Coming on a tourist visa to get married is fraud.

[skiptex 225]

Become Citizen.. then Get K1.. any process is going to take 9-12 months..

you are not the first person to have this issue.. nor will you be that last!

it will take time.. BUT.. it pays off in the end

good luck

ps.. don't commit visa fraud!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Your options are:

1. Go to Moscow and marry her now. When you come back to the US file an I-130 petition for an F2A visa. Once you become a US citizen you can upgrade the petition to a CR1. Assuming no unreasonable delays, she would get a visa in less than a year. She'll get a green card automatically shortly after arriving in the US.

2. Wait until you become a US citizen. After that, go to Moscow and marry her. When you come back then file an I-130 petition for a CR1 visa. This will take at least 5 or 6 months longer than #1 above. The only reason I would even consider this approach is if there is any reason that getting married while your naturalization was pending would cause problems with your naturalization. I can't think of any reason it would. Maybe somebody else can.

3. Wait until you become a US citizen. After that, file an I-129F for a K1 visa. The K1 visa process is usually a couple of months faster than the CR1 process, but that's more than offset by the extra 5 or 6 months you had to wait to become a US citizen. This method also costs more because you'll have to pay the adjustment of status fees after she arrives in the US before she'll get a green card. How will she feel about sitting around the house for a few months without being able to drive or get a job? The only two advantages of this approach are that it's considerably easier to get married in the US - in most places it can be done in one day without an appointment, and that you don't have to make another trip to Moscow (unless you want to).

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

There is no indication at all that from date of filing to date of entry that a K1 is any faster than a CR1 at this time. In fact, many recent CR1 filers are taking months less than the K1s. Either way you are looking about 8+ months as a citizen. Now, with you being a LPR, I think that throws a wrench in it. The question becomes are you willing to brave getting married in Russia or would you rather wait and do the K1 after you become a citizen? That is something that you have to decide.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Nola123

[dmitriy_zolotov 0]

Your options are:

1. Go to Moscow and marry her now. When you come back to the US file an I-130 petition for an F2A visa. Once you become a US citizen you can upgrade the petition to a CR1. Assuming no unreasonable delays, she would get a visa in less than a year. She'll get a green card automatically shortly after arriving in the US.

2. Wait until you become a US citizen. After that, go to Moscow and marry her. When you come back then file an I-130 petition for a CR1 visa. This will take at least 5 or 6 months longer than #1 above. The only reason I would even consider this approach is if there is any reason that getting married while your naturalization was pending would cause problems with your naturalization. I can't think of any reason it would. Maybe somebody else can.

3. Wait until you become a US citizen. After that, file an I-129F for a K1 visa. The K1 visa process is usually a couple of months faster than the CR1 process, but that's more than offset by the extra 5 or 6 months you had to wait to become a US citizen. This method also costs more because you'll have to pay the adjustment of status fees after she arrives in the US before she'll get a green card. How will she feel about sitting around the house for a few months without being able to drive or get a job? The only two advantages of this approach are that it's considerably easier to get married in the US - in most places it can be done in one day without an appointment, and that you don't have to make another trip to Moscow (unless you want to).

Dear JimVaPhuong,

Thank you for taking time and explaining! #1 is a very interesting way, since I don't have to wait 5 months for becoming a citizen. Now one question though, you have mentioned upgrading petition to CR1 visa (i assume thats for a US citizen and F2A for permanent resident) Will I need to upgrade it once I become US citizen or I can just get her here to US via F2A, does F2A takes longer than CR1? and if it is, how long approximately? Also, what is the less painful and more convincing way of getting my fiance to US, F2A/CR1 or K1 visa? I know K1 requiers a LOT of proof of our relationship and there is a very slight chance that something might go wrong at the interview (even though I have a "killer" proof, i'm still worried) or I can just avoid all the interviews and proof of our relationship by just marrying her in Russia and filling I-130?

Thank you so much for your help dear friend, you are an amazing person for doing what you are doing in here - helping people! I wish you all the best in 2013!!!!

[dmitriy_zolotov 0]

There is no indication at all that from date of filing to date of entry that a K1 is any faster than a CR1 at this time. In fact, many recent CR1 filers are taking months less than the K1s. Either way you are looking about 8+ months as a citizen. Now, with you being a LPR, I think that throws a wrench in it. The question becomes are you willing to brave getting married in Russia or would you rather wait and do the K1 after you become a citizen? That is something that you have to decide.

Dear friend,

I even heard from k1visaexperts.com website (don't know how legitimate the website is, but they seem very convincing) They say that time depends only on how well I prepare the K1 petition, so if it's done right and I attached all the necessary proof of our relationship, it can take 3 to 6 months the most, sounds too good to be true, but who knows.

Do you think going to Moscow with permanent resident status, getting married there, coming back here to US and applying for I-130 for F2A visa is an option? Or it's totally bad idea for doing it on permanent resident status? Do you think being a permanent resident will "slow" things down?

Thank you my friend, I appreciate your help! I wish you all the best in 2013!

[Darnell 8,478]

every where in this this process, there be queues.

so, study the queues for each visa type you wish to pursue, and plan accordingly !

[dmitriy_zolotov 0]

Dear JimVaPhuong,

Thank you for taking time and explaining! #1 is a very interesting way, since I don't have to wait 5 months for becoming a citizen. Now one question though, you have mentioned upgrading petition to CR1 visa (i assume thats for a US citizen and F2A for permanent resident) Will I need to upgrade it once I become US citizen or I can just get her here to US via F2A, does F2A takes longer than CR1? and if it is, how long approximately? Also, what is the less painful and more convincing way of getting my fiance to US, F2A/CR1 or K1 visa? I know K1 requiers a LOT of proof of our relationship and there is a very slight chance that something might go wrong at the interview (even though I have a "killer" proof, i'm still worried) or I can just avoid all the interviews and proof of our relationship by just marrying her in Russia and filling I-130?

Thank you so much for your help dear friend, you are an amazing person for doing what you are doing in here - helping people! I wish you all the best in 2013!!!!

I also found out, that with permanent citizen status, things usually take up to 3 years and once I upgrade to CR1 the countdown will go to a year, so I wait for 5 months to get citizenship and then upgrading it and adding a year to it anyway. I guess with K1, I can take a chance and see if it takes 6-7 months, that way 5+7 would make it only a year. What are your thoughts? I'm just looking for the fastest way of getting her to US...

[TBoneTX 45,329]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to General Immigration Discussion -- OP is deciding on a visa path. ***

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Dear friend,

I even heard from k1visaexperts.com website (don't know how legitimate the website is, but they seem very convincing) They say that time depends only on how well I prepare the K1 petition, so if it's done right and I attached all the necessary proof of our relationship, it can take 3 to 6 months the most, sounds too good to be true, but who knows.

Do you think going to Moscow with permanent resident status, getting married there, coming back here to US and applying for I-130 for F2A visa is an option? Or it's totally bad idea for doing it on permanent resident status? Do you think being a permanent resident will "slow" things down?

Thank you my friend, I appreciate your help! I wish you all the best in 2013!

I can tell you for a fact that it won't take you less than 7 months and many of the filers here take 8 to 11 months with a K1. It has nothing to do with how well prepared you are, the service centers are really back logged in processing applications. Our perfectly prepared I129f took 183 days to get approved for the first part and would have been about another 3 months until visa was in hand. That is 9 months. Perhpaps you should read the K1 forum here and see how long it is actually taking people.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Dear JimVaPhuong,

Thank you for taking time and explaining! #1 is a very interesting way, since I don't have to wait 5 months for becoming a citizen. Now one question though, you have mentioned upgrading petition to CR1 visa (i assume thats for a US citizen and F2A for permanent resident) Will I need to upgrade it once I become US citizen or I can just get her here to US via F2A, does F2A takes longer than CR1? and if it is, how long approximately? Also, what is the less painful and more convincing way of getting my fiance to US, F2A/CR1 or K1 visa? I know K1 requiers a LOT of proof of our relationship and there is a very slight chance that something might go wrong at the interview (even though I have a "killer" proof, i'm still worried) or I can just avoid all the interviews and proof of our relationship by just marrying her in Russia and filling I-130?

Thank you so much for your help dear friend, you are an amazing person for doing what you are doing in here - helping people! I wish you all the best in 2013!!!!

Yes, CR1 is for the spouse of a US citizen, and F2A is for the spouse or minor child of a permanent resident. CR1 is classified as an "immediate relative" visa, while F2A is classified as a "family preference" visa. What's the difference? There are annual numerical limits to the number of family preference visas that can be issued each year. This almost always means that the visa applicant has to wait for their turn, sometimes many years, before they can apply for the visa. The current wait for an F2A is a little more than two years.

There are no annual numerical limits for immediate relative visas. This means that the only delays will be the normal bureaucratic ones - waiting for the petition to be approved, waiting for the consulate to notify the beneficiary and for the beneficiary to respond, and then waiting for the visa interview. CR1's are currently being processed in less than a year, from petition filing to visa issuance, for most people.

If you become a US citizen then your wife would no longer be eligible for an F2A. If you didn't upgrade the petition to CR1 then either the NVC or the consulate would do it automatically when they discovered you had become a US citizen, but USCIS isn't going to automatically tell them that. It would be foolish for you not to upgrade the petition since it cuts more than a year off your total waiting time. All you need to do is send a written request along with a copy of your certificate of naturalization or US passport to whomever has the petition, either USCIS or the National Visa Center.

EVERY VISA INVOLVING A VOLUNTARY RELATIONSHIP WITH A FOREIGNER WILL REQUIRE PROOF THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS BONA FIDE, AND NOT PRIMARILY TO EVADE IMMIGRATION LAW!

I thought the above should be emphasized. Regardless of which type of visa you pursue, proof of relationship is going to be required. Whether the consulate will be stricter with a K1 vs. a CR1 or vice versa depends on the consulate. If a particular country has a high level of visa fraud with K1's and not so much with CR1's then they'll probably scrutinize K1's more. People who've dealt with the consulate in Moscow would be able to offer specific advice.

I even heard from k1visaexperts.com website (don't know how legitimate the website is, but they seem very convincing) They say that time depends only on how well I prepare the K1 petition, so if it's done right and I attached all the necessary proof of our relationship, it can take 3 to 6 months the most, sounds too good to be true, but who knows.

This is utter nonsense. There is nothing a visa application service or even an immigration lawyer can do to speed up the process, though they'll be more than happy for you to believe they can. Once your petition is received by USCIS it will be assigned a case number, placed in a box, and shipped to the service center that will ultimately adjudicate it. When it arrives at the service center the box will go into a storage room, and there it will wait, along with all of the other boxes full of petitions. Boxes are pulled by adjudicators in the order they are received. Until an adjudicator pulls the box containing your petition, which will be months from now, they will have no idea who prepared your petition package nor how nicely they organized everything. In other words, your petition will make it to the front of the line on it's own without anyone ever knowing that "visa experts" prepared the petition.

Do you think going to Moscow with permanent resident status, getting married there, coming back here to US and applying for I-130 for F2A visa is an option? Or it's totally bad idea for doing it on permanent resident status? Do you think being a permanent resident will "slow" things down?

Do the authorities in Moscow care if you're a permanent resident of the US and not a US citizen? I would doubt it.

The bottom line is you can't file a spousal visa petition until you're married, and you can't file a K1 visa petition until you're a US citizen. From what you've said so far, it sounds like you could get married sooner than you could become a US citizen. If I were in your shoes, and I could afford the trip to Moscow, I'd go and get married and file the petition as soon as I got back, and then upgrade to CR1 when I became a citizen. It's the fastest route available to you right now.

[dmitriy_zolotov 0]

Yes, CR1 is for the spouse of a US citizen, and F2A is for the spouse or minor child of a permanent resident. CR1 is classified as an "immediate relative" visa, while F2A is classified as a "family preference" visa. What's the difference? There are annual numerical limits to the number of family preference visas that can be issued each year. This almost always means that the visa applicant has to wait for their turn, sometimes many years, before they can apply for the visa. The current wait for an F2A is a little more than two years.

There are no annual numerical limits for immediate relative visas. This means that the only delays will be the normal bureaucratic ones - waiting for the petition to be approved, waiting for the consulate to notify the beneficiary and for the beneficiary to respond, and then waiting for the visa interview. CR1's are currently being processed in less than a year, from petition filing to visa issuance, for most people.

If you become a US citizen then your wife would no longer be eligible for an F2A. If you didn't upgrade the petition to CR1 then either the NVC or the consulate would do it automatically when they discovered you had become a US citizen, but USCIS isn't going to automatically tell them that. It would be foolish for you not to upgrade the petition since it cuts more than a year off your total waiting time. All you need to do is send a written request along with a copy of your certificate of naturalization or US passport to whomever has the petition, either USCIS or the National Visa Center.

EVERY VISA INVOLVING A VOLUNTARY RELATIONSHIP WITH A FOREIGNER WILL REQUIRE PROOF THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS BONA FIDE, AND NOT PRIMARILY TO EVADE IMMIGRATION LAW!

I thought the above should be emphasized. Regardless of which type of visa you pursue, proof of relationship is going to be required. Whether the consulate will be stricter with a K1 vs. a CR1 or vice versa depends on the consulate. If a particular country has a high level of visa fraud with K1's and not so much with CR1's then they'll probably scrutinize K1's more. People who've dealt with the consulate in Moscow would be able to offer specific advice.

This is utter nonsense. There is nothing a visa application service or even an immigration lawyer can do to speed up the process, though they'll be more than happy for you to believe they can. Once your petition is received by USCIS it will be assigned a case number, placed in a box, and shipped to the service center that will ultimately adjudicate it. When it arrives at the service center the box will go into a storage room, and there it will wait, along with all of the other boxes full of petitions. Boxes are pulled by adjudicators in the order they are received. Until an adjudicator pulls the box containing your petition, which will be months from now, they will have no idea who prepared your petition package nor how nicely they organized everything. In other words, your petition will make it to the front of the line on it's own without anyone ever knowing that "visa experts" prepared the petition.

Do the authorities in Moscow care if you're a permanent resident of the US and not a US citizen? I would doubt it.

The bottom line is you can't file a spousal visa petition until you're married, and you can't file a K1 visa petition until you're a US citizen. From what you've said so far, it sounds like you could get married sooner than you could become a US citizen. If I were in your shoes, and I could afford the trip to Moscow, I'd go and get married and file the petition as soon as I got back, and then upgrade to CR1 when I became a citizen. It's the fastest route available to you right now.

Thank you for your quick response! So you are saying that going to Moscow, getting married there, coming back, filling the I-130 (as a permanent resident) by that time my citizenship will arrive and I will upgrade to CR1 when citizen, is this a safe way as far as "upgrading" to CR1 (will it speed things up as soon as its upgraded or there is a chance that it will be sitting on a back burner for 2-3 years, because of some glitch or something, since originally it was started as a permanent resident? Just a thought.) Also, in your opinion, what is the safe and fast way, let's say if you compare side to side, time for citizenship + K1 and time for citizenship + [married in Moscow] + upgrade, is there a big difference in time? I know you have mentioned that CR1 usually processed in less than a year, would they then count my petition time as a permanent resident and just add whatever time is left after upgrade, or there is a possibility that it will take a year after issuance of an upgrade? Thank you so much for walking me through this and giving me a piece of mind!

[Darnell 8,478]

make a revision chart on each path you are thinking about,

and put in the timeticks on each step,

then study the queues.

Do that? you'll have your answer.

Jim's already given you _the_ answer, but you're questioning him about it - I strongly suggest you put pen to paper, and chart it our yerself, for the weekend.