Help! Filed K3, was this right to do!?

[CallMeShams 34]

But with a K3 she will still have to apply for a green card, no? That was the big disadvantage of K3 over other spousal visas.

She will had to apply for an adjustment of status in order to get the green card.

It does cost more but in cases where the spousal visa is taking a while to process the spouse can come to the United States earlier.

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Post merged with existing thread. Please post in your own thread instead of hijacking threads started by other members.***

What is the different between CR-1 and K3?
My husband and I got married in Canada, this last April, he is American. I still live in Canada and he in the U.S. So we both can work.

We filed for I-130 and received the receipt, so we then filed I-129F (k3) we just got an email yesterday that said it has been received and is being processed. What is the next step? Do I wait for an interview? Do I need to get a medical? We are trying to do this asap so we can live and work together the fastest way. I hope the CR-1 isn't faster.
Any advice?

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

i was told by USCIS that you can not have 2 applications in at the same time

i had to rescind the I 129 application when we married and apply the CR 1

[dwheels76 5,468]

i was told by USCIS that you can not have 2 applications in at the same time

i had to rescind the I 129 application when we married and apply the CR 1

Okay were you married when you submitted your I-129F (I-129 is a totally different petition)

To get a K3 petition you have to first be married than you submit the I-130 petition and once you get your receipt letter (I-797 what we call the NOA1) you can submit the I-129F.

[Pennycat 880]

See how this can be confusing, everyone is saying something different. How do you know the right thing to do.

Also, I-129F is also for spouse. On the form it gives you the option to choose k3-spouse.

Of course it is confusing. People here are all going through different processes, at different times (things were different just 18 months ago). You're getting free advice. It may not always be accurate or updated. You are free to consult an attorney if you want someone to hold accountable. Speaking of your attorney, it really doesn't matter that she "usually deals with Mexicans". It's all the same. The only difference between you and a Mexican in the immigration process (not visitor's process but immigration process) is that you are free to visit as often as you please for up to 6 months at a time--a golden ticket situation that you really ought not take for granted.

As it is, you have gotten some good advice here. You are already married so you have to go the CR1 route. This can take up to 16 months (or more if there are any complications), but could be as little as 10 or 12. The K3 is/was essentially a visa that allowed spouses to wait for the immigrant visa in the US. This is from when spouse visas were taking literally years to process. Because now they've sped up the spouse visa process, that is usually faster than the K3, but you'll just have to see. I'm not totally sure you'd need a K3, because as a Canadian, it is easier for you than anyone in the world to visit and stay for a prolonged period of time. The Canada forum should have much more insight into this.

In terms of timeline, I have no idea who told you a week but that is beyond incorrect. *Maybe* a week to get your receipt? Meaning USCIS says "we've received it, wait until we tell you we've processed it". That is NOA1 (Notice of Action 1). Then, they have to process it and send it to the State Department. Once they've finished processing it, they'll tell you (NOA2). The time between NOA1 and NOA2 varies based on service center. If you've seen anyone go from NOA1 to NOA2 in a week or less, they were a fiance visa filer at the California Service Center. Guaranteed. Then, you wait at the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). This is where, again when you're looking at others' timelines, to pay attention to who has applied for what visa. Fiance visas don't spend more than a few days at NVC because a fiance visa isn't technically an "immigrant visa". Fiances arrive on a temporary visa with the ability to marry and stay and apply for permanent residence. Spouses arrive with permanent residence and are therefore immigrant visas. It is this processing (waiting at NVC for an immigrant visa vs non-immigrant visa) that makes the difference between the two.

You can see here http://www.visajourney.com/content/ir1cr1historical that NOA1 is taking 5 days at TSC, NOA2 151 days and NVC 165. Then it takes a month or so to deal with the embassy. These are user-input and rely on people updating their timelines, and so may not be completely accurate but it's the best we've got.

[katietw95 16]

This is our experience: my husband came in early March on a K3 visa.

We applied for both just in case one was faster than the other. However, both of our petitions were approved at the same time, so we assumed we would automatically get the CR-1 visa. But, apparently, NVC got their hands on our approved I-129f petition before the I-130 petition, so they sent our file to the embassy. We took a risk and went with the K3.

Once he got here, we immediately sent the stuff in for the Adjustment of Status. He has had his greencard now for like two weeks.

So, in total, if you include AOS, it took us a little over a year. This includes the fact that we did get an RFE during the AOS process.

The biggest differences are that: 1. K3 route costs much more; 2. If you come on the K3 visa, you cannot work until you receive your EAD (which you apply for with the AOS); 3. You typically will get here faster.

Personally, I am glad we went the K3 route because I know people who started the CR-1 process around the same time we did, and they are either not done with that process yet or they just recently have finished and immigrated to the US. Really, it depends on your personal situation. It also depends on which petition NVC sees first (if both are approved at the same time--which they most likely will be).