Time between POE and receiving EAD?

[MidAtlanticMerge 9]

Hello,

I am 99 percent sure that my fiancé and I are going to do the CR-1 option but I just want to double/triple check something before we actually get married...

If I am understanding this right, with the K-1, there will be about 3 months between POE and receiving the EAD. Therefore my fiancé can't work for three months? We just don't think this is feasible. We don't have savings, and we will be living in NYC so it ain't cheap.

Can someone tell me if my logic here is wrong? Also, I'd love to hear how other couples handled this waiting period?

Thanks!

[Zedayn 485]

You don't receive an EAD 3 months after your POE on a K-1 visa. You receive it about 3 months after you apply for it. The time it takes to apply for EAD depends on you and when you will marry and file AOS.

If you want to be able to work right away, you will need to do the CR-1 visa route.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Zedayn

[MidAtlanticMerge 9]

You don't receive an EAD 3 months after your POE on a K-1 visa. You receive it about 3 months after you apply for it. The time it takes to apply for EAD depends on you and when you will marry and file AOS.

If you want to be able to work right away, you will need to do the CR-1 visa route.

Hi Zedayn,

Thanks for pointing out that it is about a 3 month wait from when you apply for it. I now realize it takes time to get married/file AOS/apply for EAD.

So everyone who uses this visa and intends to work, needs to either have a lot of savings or have a spouse that can support the household entirely?

[Zedayn 485]

Pretty much. The benefit to the K-1 visa is you can be with your fiancé sooner, and you don't have to spend time apart after you marry. The drawback is, it will cost more overall and your fiancé cannot work until they have the EAD card. The benefit to the CR-1 visa is your spouse can work right away, will cost a bit less overall than the K-1 visa, will be a permanent resident upon arrival (so no need to file for adjustment of status. The drawback is, it will take a bit longer to process, and you may have to spend a lot of time apart while being married.

One of the factors in our case was, we wanted to be together as quickly as possible, but also we did not want to be married and living apart for the better part of a year. For a bit more help in deciding which path is the best for you, you can look at this link here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

It will give a lot of the pros and cons for each path you are considering.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K1 Process to Which Visa Do I Need Forum~

~Inquiry about family visas~

[NikLR 13,227]

For each couple this is an individual decision. For us, the K1 was not acceptable. There was no way I could possibly be stuck in the USA for 90 days considering my daughter stayed in Canada with her father. We went the CR1 route because of the travel issues.

[MidAtlanticMerge 9]

For each couple this is an individual decision. For us, the K1 was not acceptable. There was no way I could possibly be stuck in the USA for 90 days considering my daughter stayed in Canada with her father. We went the CR1 route because of the travel issues.

Thanks for sharing your story. Its really helpful to hear how others worked the process out.