Why???

[Joshua@Tinz 52]

Anyone have an idea why a K-1 visa is usually so much faster then IR-1/CR-1?

I mean wouldn't it make more sense if it was the other way around? I cant imagine a situation where a couple that has been married a few years and know each other very well, would be more of a fraud threat then a couple who have only just met,

This is not intended in any way to offend or belittle anyone, just an honest question, all opinions are welcomed

[Transborderwife 4,666]

This question comes up often. Cr1 you get a greencard upon entry thus more background checks taking more time. K1's still have to marry and aos to get it. It's not about time apart, it's about full process time

[heo luoi 206]

I heard previously the spouse visas used to be faster but now typically not the case. Overall process time is similar just entry time different.

Unless you live together, I think engaged couples have just as much opportunity to know each other as a separated married couple. If an engaged couple of few years and a married couple of a few years I'm sure the same level of engagement/communication could be had so I don't really think I understand this argument unless living together abroad.

From a threat perspective, its really pretty easy to just get married abroad. Nothing stopping anyone w/ means/funds/time to marry. So I don't think this really adds any weight/merit to anyone's case as there's certainly been a lot of marriage fraud that had messed up the system.
GL to us all , hope your track picks up some steam.

Edited September 24, 2015 by coldhands

[AnGeLxX 154]

Hmm yea it's probably because of the full process time. I did a K1 in sep 2013 it got approved on march 2014. We got married in may 2014, applied for the AOS in June. Green card got approved in may 2015. Good luck to everybody that is doing a visa. Hopefully it goes fast and you can finally start your life together.

Edited September 24, 2015 by AnGeLxX

[Joshua@Tinz 52]

Yea I was more curious then anything about it, the GC issue is probably the most relevant in the scope of things, We lived together in China for about 3 years, but I was on a Business visa always so no chance of DCF, plus the fact that DCF would have had to be done in Philippines, Im assuming.

I realize i was making a huge generalization in my OP , I now see how it could be looked at as a troll post, not my intention at all

Hmm yea it's probably because of the full process time. I did a K1 in sep 2013 it got approved on march 2014. We got married in may 2014, applied for the AOS in June. Green card got approved in may 2015. Good luck to everybody that is doing a visa. Hopefully it goes fast and you can finally start your life together.

Thanks and to you as well

[TBoneTX 45,267]

*** Thread moved from CR-1 Process forum to the General Immigration Discussion forum. ***

[mallafri76 1,012]

A couple of years ago, a CR/IR-1 visa took about six months from start to finish. My dad has a colleague whose daughter lives in DC. When she went through the CR-1 process pre-9/11, it took a month. So I guess terrorist laws/threats followed by higher volume of CR/IR-1 visa requests makes that process take longer. You would think immediate relatives of US citizens would have priority but then again the K-1 visa is not seen as an immigration visa per say, most of their process is done once they're in the US and have gotten married.

Most of us do have the option of choosing between the K-1 and CR/IR-1 visa. My husband and I knew before we got married that the K-1 visa was a shorter process, but for us, the CR/IR-1 visa was better for our situation. There are good and bad sides to both visas. Yes, the K-1 visa is a shorter process before you can move over, but on the CR/IR-1 visa, you can work straight away.

Edited September 25, 2015 by mallafri76

[MacUK 983]

I cant imagine a situation where a couple that has been married a few years and know each other very well, would be more of a fraud threat then a couple who have only just met,

Why assume that a K-1 couple 'have only just met'?

Couples can be engaged or been in a relationship for years before they decide to go for their visa.

[notusinganymore 31]

I'm thinking of two reasons:

One, as stated from above, is because when you enter US soil in a spousal visa you are granted a greencard. When you enter in a K1 visa, it might take 3 to 4 months or longer to get your greencard.

Second is the person you can apply for the visa. For a K1 only a US citizen can apply. For a spousal visa, a legal permanent resident (LPR) and a US citizen can apply. If nothing apply at the same time, that's already twice of what a K1 receives.

Overall, it's a waiting journey really because centers also process things differently.

[Shauneg 762]

My fiance and I have known each other nearly six years, we did not just meet. Just because two people are engage and not married does not mean they just met. You have to look at the process from applying to green card and see which is truly faster and cheaper....you are solely looking at applying to getting to the U.S. which for spouses is all there is, but there's more to the process for fiances.

[Pennycat 880]

Basically, as others point out, it comes down to the green card issue. Spouses get them on arrival, fiances have to marry, apply and wait for them. From a paperwork/background check perspective, the US government still has the opportunity to deny the foreign national legal residency with the fiance visa; they do not with spouses. Green cards seem to take roughly a year, which is why the fiance visa process is roughly a year faster (on average).

When deciding futures together, lots of people have the opportunity to decide "fiance visa or spouse visa", and can weigh the merits and drawbacks of both (we certainly did). We could have gotten married instead of engaged but opted for the faster (but more difficult and expensive) route. To us, it came down to "wait for the green card apart from each other or with each other" Others are already married and don't have this option. I'm not saying that this is fair or right but *literally nothing* about the US immigration process is fair, so may as well get used to it.

The only thing I can think that could level this out a bit is that it is more common for spouses to be living together abroad than it is for fiances to be living together abroad, and if such people plan ahead (if possible...job losses and transfers and family concerns can often make this impossible), they can seriously limit or eliminate the time spent living apart. Again, this is not everyone by a long stretch and it's not fair or right but...again... there is *literally nothing fair* about US immigration.

Did you get engaged after you'd "just met"? Or did you date for a while and take the decision seriously? Extrapolate that to other people, please.

Edited September 25, 2015 by CatherineA

[CallMeShams 34]

A couple of years ago, a CR/IR-1 visa took about six months from start to finish. My dad has a colleague whose daughter lives in DC. When she went through the CR-1 process pre-9/11, it took a month. So I guess terrorist laws/threats followed by higher volume of CR/IR-1 visa requests makes that process take longer. You would think immediate relatives of US citizens would have priority but then again the K-1 visa is not seen as an immigration visa per say, most of their process is done once they're in the US and have gotten married.

Most of us do have the option of choosing between the K-1 and CR/IR-1 visa. My husband and I knew before we got married that the K-1 visa was a shorter process, but for us, the CR/IR-1 visa was better for our situation. There are good and bad sides to both visas. Yes, the K-1 visa is a shorter process before you can move over, but on the CR/IR-1 visa, you can work straight away.

Wow, a month. Was that DCF?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Wow, a month. Was that DCF?

Pre 9/11 the visa game was much easier! R1s can be sketchy now? It was even easier back then!

[Alaska2012 462]

It goes in waves. When I applied CR visa were faster, it still took 10 months lol but it was faster than K visa at that time.

[HK12 273]

I knew my husband for 2.5 years when we applied for the K1, so we had not "just met", as you say. Besides, I see many CR1's on here who have barely known each other for 6 months and seen each other once when they apply for the visa. Just being married does not necessarily mean you know each other better or have a better relationship than the couples who decide to go for a fiancé visa.

Anyway, K1's are not always quicker. In fact, sometimes spousal visas are quicker than K1's, sometimes it is the other way around. Back when I was applying, both K1's and spousal visas took an equal amount of time (8-12 months), and while the spousal visas were done after that, we K1's still had to go through the AOS process after POE'ing. So it's all relative.

Edited September 25, 2015 by HK12