Re-uniting with my ex-wife

[question123 0]

Hi,

I have someone unusual situation here. I'm a naturalized US citizen (from Russia originally) and I brought my wife from Russia on IR-1 visa in 2010, we have a child together, US citizen as well. Then we divorced in Russia in 2011, she and a child lived in Russia with her parents since then. So she lost her permanent resident status by now because she was out of US for 2+ years.

Now we want to re-unite the family and I need to bring her back to US, I'm thinking about filing for K-1 visa, is it the best way to go here?

Thanks!

[Hypnos 6,576]

Yes, you could either file for a K-1 or marry somewhere (US or Russia) and file for a CR-1.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Hypnos

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Check out the comparison guide > http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

You can decide if you wish to file for the K-1 and marry in the US, or marry there and file for the CR-1. The K-1 is a bit faster at the moment, but the CR-1 is cheaper and results in her getting permanent residency upon entering.

~ Moved from K-1 Process to What Visa Do I Need - OP weighing visa options ~

[question123 0]

Hm... Can I file for K-1 now and then marry in Russia and adjust the case to CR-1 type? I'm not in Russia right now but will go there again later this year.

[Hypnos 6,576]

No, you can't "convert" a K-1 to a CR-1. If you filed for a K-1 and then got married, you'd lose the I-129F fee for the K-1 and would need to start from scratch with an I-130 for a CR-1.

[question123 0]

Hi,

One more question: how much time K1 foreign beneficiary has to collect and send all the docs once she gets the package from the embassy? Do they consider the application abandoned if she fails to submit all the forms in time?

Thanks!