The beginning of stress

[Journeyer 17]

The K-1 is faster than the CR-1/IR-1. Bring him over as a fiance and he will be here sooner.

For getting a GC? Must have changed since wife and I went through the process. Also, the CR-1 process seemed a lot easier to me when I researched it.

[christeen 966]

K1 is currently significantly faster to get your loved one here on USA soil... The xr1 takes longer but does not require AOS and green card is granted upon arrival... But to physically get together, the k1 is the fastest.

[Misha'sgirl 44]

AOS is even more expensive than filing the I-129f. Having a baby is even more expensive than that combination. I highly suggest waiting on the baby, unless he is making excellent money.

As far as getting started, if you can afford a lawyer to do all the work for you, go that route. Otherwise, use the GUIDES. mmmmmmuch luck to you!!!!

[Avery Cates 1,141]

My Fiance and i are about to start filing for the K-1 visa. he lives in the united kingdom and plans to come to the united states to live with me. honestly we are both extremely stressed and totally lost. we have no idea how to start any of this and we fear that when he comes over and we get married that something will happen and he will have to go back to England because paperwork will not be finished. when he comes over the first things we wanted to do is get the marriage license and to start trying for a baby, we were both hoping that maybe if we became pregnant if things would be easier or would it make it more stressful? like i said we are both in desperate need of some kind of direction and help. anything at all will help. thank you.

Let's get down to brass tacks here. Getting pregnant right now is quite possibly the worst idea I've heard in a long time, and it will have 0 bearing on your immigration. Between the time it takes for everything to get approved, and then the months after he's here that you'll have to be supporting him before he's even eligible to work, it's just terrible terrible terrible.

All you need to do is read and follow the guides here for a successful petition, and ask specific questions if for some reason you have any.

The London embassy is a cake walk though, there's not a lot to worry about. Just follow the same rules as everyone else and don't try to do anything "clever" to try and Jimmy the process. This will not be USCIS and the embassy's first rodeo by far.

[THETIMEISNOW 37]

Think of this as the beginning of the rest of your lives together... Its a journey you are both sharing and will talk about for many years.

As with any visa, if you have everything they require, and you are organized then everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about.

Start thinking about making a family once everything is approved and your partner is in the states permanently.

Good luck!

Thank you for such a comforting response! This website can be a bit intimidating if you are new, so it is good to have people like you who are very encouraging.

[Maria and Jason 55]

Do you have sufficient salary to support the green card process or a sponsor for him? Look up USCIS poverty guideline.

[QueenComley 295]

Think of this as the beginning of the rest of your lives together... Its a journey you are both sharing and will talk about for many years.

As with any visa, if you have everything they require, and you are organized then everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about.

Start thinking about making a family once everything is approved and your partner is in the states permanently.

Good luck!

Thank you for such a comforting response! This website can be a bit intimidating if you are new, so it is good to have people like you who are very encouraging.

Your welcome

It took me and my husband 3 years to get to where we are now. I understand the stress, the tears, months apart. I also had 2 step-children to consider in the whole process.

All I can tell you is this. If you are organized and have prepared well then the interview will be plain sailing. There is nothing at all to be scared of or worried about at all. When I had the appointment date through for my AOS I spent 2 months living on 2 or 3 hours of sleep through the stress of it all.... I could have kicked myself because my interview turned out to be so basic and I was out of there in less than 5 minutes after having my case approved.

Edited March 29, 2014 by QueenComley

[Lakehouse 293]

Journeyer, on 28 Mar 2014 - 4:27 PM, said:

Anyway. I think the best thing you can do, if you are sure about marriage, is for your fiancé to come here on a tourist visa, get married and then file for a CR-1. CR-1 is the route my wife and I went. We knew each other for 2 years first and spent about one year of that actually living together.

I am of the opinion that marriage based visa process is better than fiancé based visa process, from all that I've read. Look into both options and see what you think.

Hope that helps.

I merely want to ensure it's clear to the OP that when the above poster mentioned... "if you are sure about marriage, is for your fiancé to come here on a tourist visa, get married and then file for a CR-1.", ... after marriage your husband would have to return to the UK and only come for visits until the CR1 visa process was complete. He could not stay permanently in the US right after the marriage as it would be fraudulent to arrive on a tourist visa with the intention of marriage and staying/adjusting status.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Edited March 29, 2014 by Lakehouse

[Journeyer 17]

I merely want to ensure it's clear to the OP that when the above poster mentioned... "if you are sure about marriage, is for your fiancé to come here on a tourist visa, get married and then file for a CR-1.", ... after marriage your husband would have to return to the UK and only come for visits until the CR1 visa process was complete. He could not stay permanently in the US right after the marriage as it would be fraudulent to arrive on a tourist visa with the intention of marriage and staying/adjusting status.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Well, I did tell the person to check out both processes and see what they thought. I was only saying that IMHO, I think CR-1 is better. But thanks for clarifying that.

My wife had to go back to her country, of course, and we were apart for 8 months, except that I was able to go visit her a couple of times, and that helped a lot.

The nice thing though is that you arrive with your 2 year GC, there is no need to AOS. If I'm not mistaken, getting a CR-1 will save you money over fiancé visa and AOS.

Also, you do know that there are people who have come here on a tourist visa, married, and were successful with AOS, right? I didn't and am not suggesting to try that, but it has been done.

It's clear that no one here, so far, agrees with me that CR-1 is better. I'm only saying that for us, we thought it was better. Other person needs to research both options and decide what is best for them.

[SparklePony 238]

As much as being a part sucks, use that time to your advantage and research, research, research. The process might seem intimidating at first because it seems like there's so much to understand, but once you familiarize yourself with the process, it's really not that complicated. There is so much great information on here - study it. Read the guides and the tips and the FAQs on here. Get acquainted with the process and the terms.

Good luck!