CR-1/IR-1 Colombia Club

[jediknight 0]

guys, someone in the colombian k1 forum brought up an interesting topic..what to wear for the interview. he mentioned that some people were dressed inappropriatley, like too casual or as if going to a party while others were very formal, conservative and business like.

can those that have already had the interview post what you and your wives wore and what did you see the other people wear? do your wives have any suggestions on what the women should wear, dress, suit, slacks and blouse. they seem to be more aware of what other women are wearing.

JK

[dougyceci 0]

Most people I saw were in slacks and a collared shirt, polo or button down. Ladies were dressed the same, casual but nice. Not many there in jeans the day we went through. Ceci work slacks, boots and a nice top. I wore a polo shirt and dockers. To be honest I really don't think the lady noticed what we were wearing but most people looked pretty sharp that day.

Doug

[Looking4Wife 0]

guys, someone in the colombian k1 forum brought up an interesting topic..what to wear for the interview. he mentioned that some people were dressed inappropriatley, like too casual or as if going to a party while others were very formal, conservative and business like.

can those that have already had the interview post what you and your wives wore and what did you see the other people wear? do your wives have any suggestions on what the women should wear, dress, suit, slacks and blouse. they seem to be more aware of what other women are wearing.

JK

We both wore jeans. She wore a simple blouse, and I wore a polo shirt. The sun was shining, but it was cold so we had on jackets, as did most people.

[cartagena2112 0]

Hi Everybody!

Yesterday, May 23rd, my wife in Colombia received a letter from the NVC.

The NVC had already transferred our completed 129F to Bogota and the 130 is almost

closed as well, so we were excited to get the package from the NVC...

Well...

It was a letter dated "April 1st" and was the "choice of agent form"! LOL, THIS is the

BEST part, the letter had a postmark from Germany, Frankfurt and had all kinds of nice

markings in Dutch on it... It only took 2 months to receive the letter! AND the letter got

a free vacation to Germany to boot! Charming.

I include this information for only one reason:

If anybody here is waiting for the Colombian spouse/fiancee to receive documents before they

process them and return them to the US Gov't, you may want to reconsider.

Cheers!

George

P.S. JK: you get a date in Bogota yet???

[Mononoke28 135]

Holy #######! That letter has travelled more than I have!

[cartagena2112 0]

Hi Everybody!

I promised an update about using my homemade DS-230 cover sheet. Yes, I used one I made to try and save some time.

My case was closed successfully today, so... it worked. I even had the date of the letter wrong and I forgot to add the

petitioner's name on the very bottom of the page.

One thing, if you use a self-generated DS-230 cover sheet you will have no way of knowing what date to put on it.

The NVC will not tell you on what day they generate their's, only that it was sent "the week of...". So you need to guess

and pick a date from that week. As it turns out, the date on my NVC DS-230 was a Monday and so was another peep's

from here, but I do not know if ALL NVC DS-230 cover sheets are dated for the Monday of the week.

Hope this helps.

Best,

George

[jediknight 0]

thank God for this forum, otherwise we wouldn't have known about emailing the nvc for the choice of agent.

can you imagine waiting all this time for that form?

george, still no date yet. hoping for a mid july interview, we'll see. congrats on the completion of your case!

take care

JK

[Mononoke28 135]

It's been over 2 weeks and the NVC still hasn't generated our choice of agent form. I really hope this doesn't take any longer or we'll be stuck at the NVC level for months!!

[cartagena2112 0]

It's been over 2 weeks and the NVC still hasn't generated our choice of agent form. I really hope this doesn't take any longer or we'll be stuck at the NVC level for months!!

Hi Diana,

I hope you didn't tell them that you are a "Broncos" Fan, that may account for the delay!

Mine took a solid 2 weeks, I think they will generate yours today.

Do you have the Choice Of Agent ready to send via email??? You can send that

the second you hear that the NVC has generated yours.

Cheers!

George

[lucho562 0]

What is CR1/IR1?

I believe it is for married couples, but whats the difference from k3 visas?

Sorry for being nosy. lol

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi Diana,

I hope you didn't tell them that you are a "Broncos" Fan, that may account for the delay!

Mine took a solid 2 weeks, I think they will generate yours today.

Do you have the Choice Of Agent ready to send via email??? You can send that

the second you hear that the NVC has generated yours.

Cheers!

George

Ok... you just lost MAJOR points with me buddy. GO BRONCOS!!!!

I'm all set with the choice of agent e-mail... all we have to do is click on send as soon as I hear it was generated. The anticipation is killing me!

[Mononoke28 135]

What is CR1/IR1?

I believe it is for married couples, but whats the difference from k3 visas?

Sorry for being nosy. lol

Luchito,

The CR-1 visa (conditional resident) is an immigrant visa for a spouse that has been married less than 2 years (your fiancée will get this once she files for AOS). This means that the beneficiary will come in to the USA as a legal permanent resident, receive their green card (valid for 2 years) and SS card within a month of entering the country. They won't have to adjust status nor get a work permit, but they will have to file for removal of conditions 90 days before the 2 year mark of entrance to the US.

The IR-1 visa (immediate relative) is for a spouse that has been married more than 2 years. They will also get their green card in the mail but it will be valid for 10 years.

The K-3 visa is to get your spouse here "sooner" than the CR-1 visa. This is a non-immigrant visa, which means the beneficiary will have to file for AOS and EAD (just like a K-1 recepient) once they enter the US. The good thing is that you MIGHT get your spouse here faster, but according to my calculations the difference is only a couple of months difference than the CR-1 on average. The bad thing is not being able to work as soon as they get here and having to file for AOS which might take months and for some people, years. It's a personal choice really.

Diana

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho:

Of course, as you know, you do not have this option....since you are not married yet. The K-3 program was reportedly created because of the amount of time it was taking for CR-1/IR-1s. The time gap has decreased....although there are no guarantees. Based on recent CR-1/IR-1 timelines (and compared to mine), the time gap is about 2 months to the favor of the K-3 (which is significantly less than it was less than a year ago). Barring some problem, the K-3 will almost always beat the CR-1/IR-1 with regard to time. It just depends on how fast you want your spouse to join you in the U.S. Some folks can wait. Some folks (like me) want to begin the process of assimilation as soon as possible (this was especially true for us since we have a daughter that we wanted to get into school. If we had waited for IR-1, school here would have been about over and she would have been a year behind).

Actually, my original plan was to get my wife and step-daughter here on a K-3/K-4 and then send them back down when the CR-1 petition got to the interview process. However, the U.S. government changed their process last fall, after we had already begun our process (late September/October). Once the I-129F gets sent to the NVC and then to the embassy, the I-130 process essentially is put on hold....the government assuming that the beneficiary will pursue AOS after receiving a K-3 visa. So, the way things work now....is that you select one process or the other (K-3 or IR-1/CR-1, but not both).

With regard to work....Mononoke is correct, K-3 visa holders cannot work right away (although I'm not sure how many spouses, regardless of visa type, work right away). A k-3 holder must apply for EAD, which takes about 3 months. Of course, if the K-3 holder does not plan to work for the time being, there is not reason to get EAD (and pay the $180 fee). Once AOS is finished (typically 6 months or so, depending on the office handling the interview), the K-3 holder has employment authorization. My wife is not working and will not be working in the near future (she is focusing on improving her English). However, I chose to get her an EAD so that she could apply for a social security card.

One clarification....the K-1 recipient will NOT be eligible for AOS unless he/she married the petitioner.

Mike

The K-3 visa is to get your spouse here "sooner" than the CR-1 visa. This is a non-immigrant visa, which means the beneficiary will have to file for AOS and EAD (just like a K-1 recepient) once they enter the US. The good thing is that you MIGHT get your spouse here faster, but according to my calculations the difference is only a couple of months difference than the CR-1 on average. The bad thing is not being able to work as soon as they get here and having to file for AOS which might take months and for some people, years. It's a personal choice really.

Diana

[parkpapa 0]

Lucho:

Of course, as you know, you do not have this option....since you are not married yet. The K-3 program was reportedly created because of the amount of time it was taking for CR-1/IR-1s. The time gap has decreased....although there are no guarantees. Based on recent CR-1/IR-1 timelines (and compared to mine), the time gap is about 2 months to the favor of the K-3 (which is significantly less than it was less than a year ago). Barring some problem, the K-3 will almost always beat the CR-1/IR-1 with regard to time. It just depends on how fast you want your spouse to join you in the U.S. Some folks can wait. Some folks (like me) want to begin the process of assimilation as soon as possible (this was especially true for us since we have a daughter that we wanted to get into school. If we had waited for IR-1, school here would have been about over and she would have been a year behind).

Actually, my original plan was to get my wife and step-daughter here on a K-3/K-4 and then send them back down when the CR-1 petition got to the interview process. However, the U.S. government changed their process last fall, after we had already begun our process (late September/October). Once the I-129F gets sent to the NVC and then to the embassy, the I-130 process essentially is put on hold....the government assuming that the beneficiary will pursue AOS after receiving a K-3 visa. So, the way things work now....is that you select one process or the other (K-3 or IR-1/CR-1, but not both).

With regard to work....Mononoke is correct, K-3 visa holders cannot work right away (although I'm not sure how many spouses, regardless of visa type, work right away). A k-3 holder must apply for EAD, which takes about 3 months. Of course, if the K-3 holder does not plan to work for the time being, there is not reason to get EAD (and pay the $180 fee). Once AOS is finished (typically 6 months or so, depending on the office handling the interview), the K-3 holder has employment authorization. My wife is not working and will not be working in the near future (she is focusing on improving her English). However, I chose to get her an EAD so that she could apply for a social security card.

One clarification....the K-1 recipient will NOT be eligible for AOS unless he/she married the petitioner.

Mike

The K-3 visa is to get your spouse here "sooner" than the CR-1 visa. This is a non-immigrant visa, which means the beneficiary will have to file for AOS and EAD (just like a K-1 recepient) once they enter the US. The good thing is that you MIGHT get your spouse here faster, but according to my calculations the difference is only a couple of months difference than the CR-1 on average. The bad thing is not being able to work as soon as they get here and having to file for AOS which might take months and for some people, years. It's a personal choice really.

Diana

Mike, as soon as you answer this question I know I'll slap my forehead, but what is "EAD"? I know about the AOS process, but the EAD is a new monogram to me.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Employment authorization - necessary if for those on a K-3 or K-4 who have not gotten AOS yet, but want to get a social security number (and, presumably, work).

Mike, as soon as you answer this question I know I'll slap my forehead, but what is "EAD"? I know about the AOS process, but the EAD is a new monogram to me.