Need your help!

[Tareksnow 0]

Hellp VJ members!

I need your experience to help me choose what to apply for.

I am currently engaged to a US citizen who lives in the USA. We are willing to get married in summer 2014 after which she will need to travel back to the US without us living together and we will start processing the visa.

What is the best path to go for?

Am i better to apply for the K1 as engaged or is the previous enough to go through K3 or IR1/CR1 visa?

Thank you in advance!

[lost_at_sea 995]

I think you already know your main two options, but just to reiterate;

I-129f for K1 means you'll be able to travel to the USA to marry and then adjust your status to immigrant without leaving. This might be preferential if in summer 2014 you'd like to move to the USA and not have to leave again. If you were to enter on the K1, marry, and then leave before you'd done the adjustment, you'd have to start over with the CR-1. The main downsides to the K1 path are having to do the adjustment of status after you marry, and not being able to work or travel outside the USA until you've filed and achieved the AoS and/or the EAD and AP. The upside is that the K1 is often faster to get than the CR-1, so you can move sooner.

If you want to get married in the USA (or anywhere else) and then return to your home country, you would be doing the I-130 for CR-1 visa. You could get married sooner than summer 2014, and start this paperwork sooner. The bonus of the CR-1 is you won't have to do the adjustment of status stage and you'll get a green card as soon as you enter the USA. The downside is the CR-1 can take longer to get.

There's a comparison of these paths here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

You can do either, but you should ask yourself what your priorities are:

Do you want to save money?

Do you want to work as soon as possible?

Do you want to permanently move as soon as possible?

Do you want to marry as soon as possible?

The answer to these questions may help you decide which path to take.

[Tareksnow 0]

Thank you for your reply!

In my case it is the best to go with the IR1/CR1 visa ( can wait more time but cannot stay without work for a long time ) but I am not sure if it would be approved since we would be newly married without having actually lived together.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thank you for your reply!

In my case it is the best to go with the IR1/CR1 visa ( can wait more time but cannot stay without work for a long time ) but I am not sure if it would be approved since we would be newly married without having actually lived together.

Well, pretty much everyone in this section of the forum will be submitting IR1/CR1 without living together because that's just the miserable way that visa works. It shouldn't be held against you. You should make sure you've got other good evidence of your bonafide relationship, though.

[NikLR 13,227]

*** moved to general immigration as OP is deciding on a visa path ***

[BOS_LHR 829]

Well, pretty much everyone in this section of the forum will be submitting IR1/CR1 without living together because that's just the miserable way that visa works. It shouldn't be held against you. You should make sure you've got other good evidence of your bonafide relationship, though.

Yep, this right here! When I first looked at the list of proofs of bona fide relationship posted on the USCIS website, I was a little alarmed by the suggestions. Comingling of finances, joint property, that sort of thing -- few things that a couple that had never lived together could pull off. But honestly, don't worry about it. Tons of people are in the exact same position, and even USCIS is understanding of that. Exchange postal mail, save emails and chat logs, get photos together and with your friends and family if you can, save receipts from joint trips, that sort of thing. It's also a little bit easier for married filers to deal with proof of relationship, at least from what I've seen. We don't have to do a letter of intent, etc. A marriage certificate is pretty solid!

If you can't be without work, I'd definitely recommend the IR1/CR1. That was my husband's and my main reason for going that route. He would've been really unhappy not being able to look for work or have the opportunity to travel while he adjusted status. This way he can stay employed right up until he's ready to move, and he'll arrive in the US with resident status and authorization to work right away

[Tareksnow 0]

Thank you! That was helpful.

I was told today that it is better to go for the K1 visa since it is a lot easier and i wouldnt need a work permit. I dont think that's correct no?

As i was checking the table, K1 requires a lot of processing after entering the US, while CR1 has no processing at all. Correct me if i'm wrong.

[Darnell 8,478]

you will be waiting anywhere from 90 days to 5 months after filing the AOS set, to get a 'work permit'

the aos set is filed after marriage in the USA,

if you come in on a K-1 visa

so if working immediately in the usa is a concern to you, you might want to study the guides section today.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thank you! That was helpful.

I was told today that it is better to go for the K1 visa since it is a lot easier and i wouldnt need a work permit. I dont think that's correct no?

As i was checking the table, K1 requires a lot of processing after entering the US, while CR1 has no processing at all. Correct me if i'm wrong.

What do you mean by "wouldn't need a work permit"? K1s can't work until they apply for and receive their work permit (EAD) or green card.

The second part is correct. More steps after arrival for K1 than CR1.

[Tareksnow 0]

What do you mean by "wouldn't need a work permit"? K1s can't work until they apply for and receive their work permit (EAD) or green card.

The second part is correct. More steps after arrival for K1 than CR1.

I guess the source was mistaken. CR1 sounds a LOT better in this case.

[d3adc0d3 186]

K1 visa

• Takes 5-8 months until you can move to the U.S.A. This is sooner than the CR-1 visa.
• Fees are greater in the long run.
• Once you're in the U.S.A. and married, you'll have to file for an Adjustment of Status (AoS) to get a green card (GC).
• If you want to work while waiting for your GC you'll have to file for your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or work permit and your Advance Parole (AP) with your AoS, this can take an additional 3-6 months before the EAD and AP is granted (will not effect the AoS processing).
• If you've been married less than 2 years when you are granted your AoS you'll have to apply to remove conditions in 2 years, which is additional fees and paperwork.

CR-1 Visa:

• Takes upwards of a year before you can move to the U.S.A.
• Fees are less in the long run.
• Once you enter the U.S.A. you get your green card and can start working immediately.
• If you've been married for more than 2 years at the date of entry to the U.S.A. on a CR-1 visa you will not have to apply to lift conditions.

Correct me if I'm wrong senior VJ'ers?

Edited July 8, 2013 by d3adc0d3

[stevie b 141]

K1 visa

• Takes 5-8 months until you can move to the U.S.A. This is sooner than the CR-1 visa.
• Fees are greater in the long run.
• Once you're in the U.S.A. and married, you'll have to file for an Adjustment of Status (AoS) to get a green card (GC).
• If you want to work while waiting for your GC you'll have to file for your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or work permit and your Advance Parole (AP) with your AoS, this can take an additional 3-6 months before the EAD and AP is granted (will not effect the AoS processing).
• If you've been married less than 2 years when you are granted your AoS you'll have to apply to remove conditions in 2 years, which is additional fees and paperwork.

CR-1 Visa:

• Takes upwards of a year before you can move to the U.S.A.
• Fees are less in the long run.
• Once you enter the U.S.A. you get your green card and can start working immediately.
• If you've been married for more than 2 years at the date of entry to the U.S.A. on a CR-1 visa you will not have to apply to lift conditions.

Correct me if I'm wrong senior VJ'ers?

the only variable is the cr-1 and which office approves it.. that is the big variable.. go to Washington DC.. wait a year.. go to California. .looking at less than 4 months

all depends on where the petitioner lives

I guess the source was mistaken. CR1 sounds a LOT better in this case.

I would also look at ap for your country specific

it is highly likely that ap will be involved after the interview.. if so, you have to do what you can to be patient.. it will be a wait.. could be a day, could be a year, nobody will be able to tell you

[Tareksnow 0]

the only variable is the cr-1 and which office approves it.. that is the big variable.. go to Washington DC.. wait a year.. go to California. .looking at less than 4 months

all depends on where the petitioner lives

I would also look at ap for your country specific

it is highly likely that ap will be involved after the interview.. if so, you have to do what you can to be patient.. it will be a wait.. could be a day, could be a year, nobody will be able to tell you

Petitioner lives in Michigan and i live in the middle east.

So what do you suggest? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

[stevie b 141]

Petitioner lives in Michigan and i live in the middle east.

So what do you suggest? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

I say file now

frontload the hell out of it to prevent as many delays as possible

the process will be a little more predictable in terms of time frame

yes, there is a small added cost with the adjustment of status and wait for legal work status, but if you can deal with that.. I say do it NOW

[Tareksnow 0]

How long does an AoS take?