I have the option of getting a CR1 or 1R1 but can not decide.

[PriyaB 13]

Because of the extended period of time that it took to process my CR1 visa, I am five months away from my second wedding anniversary. I need to redo my medical and send in my passport and then I will get my visa. This should all be done in the next month or so since I have my medical tomorrow and it only takes a week or two to process.

My husband would like me to come right away and just get the CR-1.

We will be visiting his family in Taiwan in March, and he would like us to travel there together instead going from separate countries. He misses me and is getting impatient with this process.

I feel the same way but from what research I have done, I realise that we might have to pay more money and get another extended waiting time for the AOS from CR1 to IR1. I read somewhere that there is a two-year waiting period from the date issued (probably Feb or March 2016) and within 90 days of the visa expiring (Dec 2017 or Jan 2018??) I would have to file for the Adjustment.

I think that from what I read, it states that within the year of the adjustment (2018??) that I would not be allowed to travel outside of the US. This depends on processing, if it is processed earlier, I can travel etc etc. Because of the nightmare from my CR1, I am just going with the greater estimate, though.

Is this true?

I think my husband and I wouldnt mind paying the fee etc but the fact we couldnt travel outside of the states for a year might be an issue. If anyone can help clear this up, I would be grateful.

To me, it seems pretty straight forward. Suck it up and wait until May for the IR1 but my husband is all by himself and really wants me there so he isnt seeing it as clearly.

[Alaska2012 462]

That is completely wrong. You can travel outside the states during that time.

[PriyaB 13]

That is completely wrong. You can travel outside the states during that time.

Awesome!

Can you show me where it says that? I was just really confused by what I read before.

Thanks!

[Alaska2012 462]

Your "old" green card together with the letter sent to you once you sent in the paperwork to get your 10 year green card is all you need. Even if that green card expires it's still valid during the process.

[Bzegurl 41]

With the IR you will get a green card that will be for 10 years. With the CR it will only be up to the time of your 2nd Anniversary. If you get your visa before your second anniversary you will get a CR. Both visa will make you enter the US as a Permanent Resident. You can travel back and fort if you wish and you can also work and get a SS card. So relax and move forward. Maybe they will give you the IR since you are close to your 2nd Anniversary. Good luck

[PriyaB 13]

With the IR you will get a green card that will be for 10 years. With the CR it will only be up to the time of your 2nd Anniversary. If you get your visa before your second anniversary you will get a CR. Both visa will make you enter the US as a Permanent Resident. You can travel back and fort if you wish and you can also work and get a SS card. So relax and move forward. Maybe they will give you the IR since you are close to your 2nd Anniversary. Good luck

I hope so!

It will be only a few months until our second anniversary. I think they are are quite literal with the two years though :-X

Your "old" green card together with the letter sent to you once you sent in the paperwork to get your 10 year green card is all you need. Even if that green card expires it's still valid during the process.

Awesome! Thank you so much. That is definitely a relief. We don't mind the paperwork as much as long as we are together.

[NikLR 13,227]

Because of the extended period of time that it took to process my CR1 visa, I am five months away from my second wedding anniversary. I need to redo my medical and send in my passport and then I will get my visa. This should all be done in the next month or so since I have my medical tomorrow and it only takes a week or two to process.

My husband would like me to come right away and just get the CR-1.

We will be visiting his family in Taiwan in March, and he would like us to travel there together instead going from separate countries. He misses me and is getting impatient with this process.

I feel the same way but from what research I have done, I realise that we might have to pay more money and get another extended waiting time for the AOS from CR1 to IR1. I read somewhere that there is a two-year waiting period from the date issued (probably Feb or March 2016) and within 90 days of the visa expiring (Dec 2017 or Jan 2018??) I would have to file for the Adjustment.

I think that from what I read, it states that within the year of the adjustment (2018??) that I would not be allowed to travel outside of the US. This depends on processing, if it is processed earlier, I can travel etc etc. Because of the nightmare from my CR1, I am just going with the greater estimate, though.

Is this true?

I think my husband and I wouldnt mind paying the fee etc but the fact we couldnt travel outside of the states for a year might be an issue. If anyone can help clear this up, I would be grateful.

To me, it seems pretty straight forward. Suck it up and wait until May for the IR1 but my husband is all by himself and really wants me there so he isnt seeing it as clearly.

CR1 and IR1 are the same visa except one is issued when you have been married for less than 2 years and needs to have the conditions removed. If you can get an IR1 visa and save yourself the $590 without otherwise costing yourself more, then do it. This way you don't have to send MORE relationship proof to the USCIS in 2 years (minus 90 days.) This is not an adjustment of status, this is a removal of conditions. To be honest the biggest hassle for the ROC is sending all the information again proving you have a legitimate marriage.

Either way when you POE you immediately have a green card. There is NO adjustment of status. You have a green card. You can travel right away and work. You can travel WHILE you are removing conditions as well as you get a letter that extends your residency for a year. After the removal of conditions then you become an IR1 with a 10 year green card.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Haha no there is no "maybe". If you enter the US prior to your 2 year anniversary you will get the conditional 2 year card. If you enter after your 2 year anniversary you get the 10 yr card. Theres no getting lucky because its not a matter of discretion.

Otherwise everything posted above is correct. If you get the 2yr card- there is no reapplication for AOS, its called removing conditions (ROC). You apply 90 days before your card expires and need to prove the bonafides of the marriage (again!). There is an entire subforum for ROC on VJ. Basically you apply for ROC and pay the fee (currently 590$), you go for biometrics and then simply wait. Your card will expire because theres no way they are going to process it before it does- but you get a NOA when you file which extends your status for 1 year while they work on it. Some people have an interview for ROC, some dont. (most dont).

The main issue people have during ROC is the fact that their card is expired and they just have a NOA extending their status. You can also go get a 551 stamp as proof of status. Trying to do anything in this period is usually a pain. In almost all states you can only get a drivers license up to the date you prove you have legal status until. So typically conditional residents get a DL that expires when their card does. They then have to go back to DMV with the NOA and get a renewal but that renewal will only be for a year. After getting the perm 10 yr card you go back again and get another renewal- this one is usually for the max time the DMV gives to citizens. Some places its 4yrs, some its 5 or 6. If you have to apply for health ins or loans or really anything that they want proof of status for- you have to use the NOA and again it makes a lot of people scratch their heads as they dont know what it is or what to do with it.

But overall ROC is not that big of a deal. You shouldnt have any problem with doing the paperwork yourself or the overall process as you do have a legitimate relationship. I do suggest if you go that route to read up about ROC now and follow the advice of creating a ROC 'box'. Its basically a bin where for the next 2 years you will drop in copies of things you need as they happen, collecting them so that when its time to apply you dont have to go searching.

Most people if they have the choice of getting the 2yr or waiting for the 10yr choose to wait for the latter. It saves you money and the overall stressful process of ROCing. You are 5 months away from being able to get the 10yr card. If it takes a month to actually get the visa in hand then you are only 4 months away. The visa will be good for 6 months- so it is do-able to wait.

Deciding whether or not to wait is going to be a personal choice. You have to decide how much the avoidance of additional USCIS involvement is worth being apart longer for. If he is intent on wanting to travel together and you are intent on waiting- perhaps he could fly to you and you guys could leave from there together in March?

[Harmonia 211]

In almost all states you can only get a drivers license up to the date you prove you have legal status until. So typically conditional residents get a DL that expires when their card does. They then have to go back to DMV with the NOA and get a renewal but that renewal will only be for a year. After getting the perm 10 yr card you go back again and get another renewal- this one is usually for the max time the DMV gives to citizens. Some places its 4yrs, some its 5 or 6. If you have to apply for health ins or loans or really anything that they want proof of status for- you have to use the NOA and again it makes a lot of people scratch their heads as they dont know what it is or what to do with it.

Is that true? Its not true in my state. I'm curious how the DMV would even know. For instance, my husband got his driver's license with the temporary stamp in his passport. It said it serves as temporary proof for 1 year, but his residency wasn't for 1 year. He got a license valid for 5 year, just like mine or anyone's.

To the OP- you definitely can travel once you're a permanent resident. You just don't want to spend more than 6 months out of the country in a year. The point of permanent residency is to permanently reside in the US, the majority of the time. It is tempting if you're that close to your 2 year anniversary. That will be a decision you'll have to make, but it is hard and fast. If you enter at POE at 1 year and 364 days of marriage, you'll get a 2 year conditional green card.

[Villanelle 4,122]

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/illegal-immigration/drivers-licenses.html

It varies by state. The above chart was dated Oct 15. I dont know how accurate it is still but Im guessing its not too far off. It was only a few months ago. Either way the best info will be found in the states official DMV webpage.

[PriyaB 13]

Haha no there is no "maybe". If you enter the US prior to your 2 year anniversary you will get the conditional 2 year card. If you enter after your 2 year anniversary you get the 10 yr card. Theres no getting lucky because its not a matter of discretion.

Otherwise everything posted above is correct. If you get the 2yr card- there is no reapplication for AOS, its called removing conditions (ROC). You apply 90 days before your card expires and need to prove the bonafides of the marriage (again!). There is an entire subforum for ROC on VJ. Basically you apply for ROC and pay the fee (currently 590$), you go for biometrics and then simply wait. Your card will expire because theres no way they are going to process it before it does- but you get a NOA when you file which extends your status for 1 year while they work on it. Some people have an interview for ROC, some dont. (most dont).

The main issue people have during ROC is the fact that their card is expired and they just have a NOA extending their status. You can also go get a 551 stamp as proof of status. Trying to do anything in this period is usually a pain. In almost all states you can only get a drivers license up to the date you prove you have legal status until. So typically conditional residents get a DL that expires when their card does. They then have to go back to DMV with the NOA and get a renewal but that renewal will only be for a year. After getting the perm 10 yr card you go back again and get another renewal- this one is usually for the max time the DMV gives to citizens. Some places its 4yrs, some its 5 or 6. If you have to apply for health ins or loans or really anything that they want proof of status for- you have to use the NOA and again it makes a lot of people scratch their heads as they dont know what it is or what to do with it.

But overall ROC is not that big of a deal. You shouldnt have any problem with doing the paperwork yourself or the overall process as you do have a legitimate relationship. I do suggest if you go that route to read up about ROC now and follow the advice of creating a ROC 'box'. Its basically a bin where for the next 2 years you will drop in copies of things you need as they happen, collecting them so that when its time to apply you dont have to go searching.

Most people if they have the choice of getting the 2yr or waiting for the 10yr choose to wait for the latter. It saves you money and the overall stressful process of ROCing. You are 5 months away from being able to get the 10yr card. If it takes a month to actually get the visa in hand then you are only 4 months away. The visa will be good for 6 months- so it is do-able to wait.

Deciding whether or not to wait is going to be a personal choice. You have to decide how much the avoidance of additional USCIS involvement is worth being apart longer for. If he is intent on wanting to travel together and you are intent on waiting- perhaps he could fly to you and you guys could leave from there together in March?

Woooooah.

So informative.

I think that $590 is enough to make my husband wait a few weeks. I will definitely let him know all of this! Thanks guys!

It doesn't make sense for him to come here...right now he is Alabama and I am in Toronto. Its too much flying if he did that, especially since we are going to Taiwan.

...and yes, we are going to be living together in Alabama.

[NikLR 13,227]

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/illegal-immigration/drivers-licenses.html

It varies by state. The above chart was dated Oct 15. I dont know how accurate it is still but Im guessing its not too far off. It was only a few months ago. Either way the best info will be found in the states official DMV webpage.

Well that chart isn't accurate completely. Colorado does require a legal presence document. I had to provide my green card AND a utility or bank statement from where I lived. Even when you renew you need those items.

However my driver's license was granted for 5 years when I only had a 2 year card, so you don't need legal presence to KEEP a driver's license but you need it to GET one.

[PriyaB 13]

This question is a little weird but since you guys seem to know your stuff, I was wondering if you can help with this too.

After I get the stamp in my passport, can I just visit the US befoe I decide to actually move down there so I wouldnt get the CR1 Stamp right away but visit then come back to Canada, then go to the US in May and get the IR1.

Or it just doesnt work like that?

[newacct 688]

Well that chart isn't accurate completely. Colorado does require a legal presence document. I had to provide my green card AND a utility or bank statement from where I lived. Even when you renew you need those items.

All states require a legal presence document for the regular driver's license, in order to comply with the federal REAL ID Act.

However, some states, including Colorado, have separate driver's licenses that don't require legal presence documents, which are not valid for federal purposes. Here is information about that type of license for Colorado.

[NikLR 13,227]

Cool interesting to know and of course, good info for the illegals who browse.

I wonder if their license looks different than mine