Advice on getting a CR1

[JFH 12,191]

For DCF you have to be a lawful resident for at least 6 months in your wife's country before you apply. Do you have a job there? Yes, it would be quicker by a few months but it is a lot of hassle just to save a few months when you have the rest of your lives together. You can visit her there during the process if you don't want to be apart the whole time.

[El_killer47 22]

Do it yourself. A lawyer will not make this process any quicker. It will take as much time as it needs to. Start with a whole lot of patience, you'll need it. Good Luck.

[joshuah57 14]

I just read your post and had to quick wish you the best of luck!!

I was in much of the same scenario as you. I met my wife online and we quickly built a relationship. We both were confident that we were right for each other and we got engaged before we physically met. On my first visit to see her, we got married. Fast forward 19 months and 7 total trips to Europe. Her visa has been done since October and we were just waiting for her to finish school. In just one week, we will finally be together. It is such an exciting time. There may be times where it is really difficult being apart. Hang in there and always remember that you have a whole life to look forward to being together.

[revdwyles81 3]

To answer your question about staying in the Philippines. I came here July 31 on a tourist visa. My wife and I got married September 5. I arrived with a one way ticket and another one way ticket out of the Philippines within 30 days which I had no plans on taking but in order to get out of the US I had to have it then you can extend for different fees up to one year. If you want to stay longer leave around the six month mark with your wife and marriage certificate stay in any other country with her for 48 hours and reenter through Manila and ask for a Balikbayan Visa which is free and good for one year. Staying here will not affect wait time but I absolutely love it here. You do not need dual citizenship. Just take a deep breath and fly to paradise. You need to look at the requirements for marriage here. There not hard but they are time consuming. It will be hard to marry here in 21 days but you and her need to have all your papers in order.

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Sounds easy enough. I have one other question though and its about the DCF. Her and I have discussed the possibility of me just staying in the Philippines until she gets her green card. I read that I would have to get joint citizenship as well as be in the Philippines for at least 6 months before being eligible for this. If staying there longer than my planned 3 weeks will help expedite the process than for me its an option worth considering. If not than I have no problem continuing down the CR-1 path. Thanks again for such quick responses guys and gals. It means a lot. Its my future on the line here! (as you all well know )

Can I ask one thing, cause after reading this plan of yours, honestly it sounds very very scary. This plan sounds like only someone barely 18 could make. My advice would be, just go and see her, do not marry her yet, cause chances are you'll make the biggest mistake of your young life. Then after you come back you'll make a better decision.

Best wishes

[travystats 0]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I can see how marrying someone the first time we meet in flesh can be seen as extremely risky but honestly all of this stuff is risky no matter what way you go about it. When you talk and skype with the person every single day for a long time it makes you not at all willing to spend any more time waiting. shes 30, im going to be 27 and neither her or I want to prolong starting our lives together. After reading some more I definitely will be only visiting for 3 weeks, marrying her and will get the CR-1 visa going. I do appreciate the concern however you must understand I am way beyond the point of reconsidering my decision.

[morgan.croft 210]

We used Rapid Visa for our case (before I found this website). They have been fine, but in all honesty, we could have saved ourselves the $ and done it ourselves. In fact, aside from the I130 petition, we have done everything ourselves. We just kind of stopped using them lol

[travystats 0]

We used Rapid Visa for our case (before I found this website). They have been fine, but in all honesty, we could have saved ourselves the $ and done it ourselves. In fact, aside from the I130 petition, we have done everything ourselves. We just kind of stopped using them lol

It looks like your CR-1 process went by quickly. I was thinking over a year at first but it looks like the majority people have it finished in under a year. I am glad I found this forum for sure. Super quick and helpful responses. I hope I was able to address others concerns as well. Her and I are looking forward to documenting the progress.

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

It looks like your CR-1 process went by quickly. I was thinking over a year at first but it looks like the majority people have it finished in under a year. I am glad I found this forum for sure. Super quick and helpful responses. I hope I was able to address others concerns as well. Her and I are looking forward to documenting the progress.

Just be careful man, she could be using you to get a Visa to the US. Just saying cause I don't want that on my conscience.

Good luck.

[morgan.croft 210]

It looks like your CR-1 process went by quickly. I was thinking over a year at first but it looks like the majority people have it finished in under a year. I am glad I found this forum for sure. Super quick and helpful responses. I hope I was able to address others concerns as well. Her and I are looking forward to documenting the progress.

Yes, our progres has been quick. A lot of the time it will take will really depend on which USCIS service Center your case gets assigned to. We were very lucky it was CSC. If it had been Texas or Nebraska, it could have been 6 months instead of the < 3 it took us.

The NVC stage went pretty smoothly, we did electronic processing which was very quick.

[JFH 12,191]

It looks like your CR-1 process went by quickly. I was thinking over a year at first but it looks like the majority people have it finished in under a year. I am glad I found this forum for sure. Super quick and helpful responses. I hope I was able to address others concerns as well. Her and I are looking forward to documenting the progress.

I would still err on the side of caution and prepare for a year. Currently the California Service Center is processing petitions faster than the others. But that may change. Or you may be sent to the Texas Service Center which is working a lot slower.

And the NVC stage - this goes quicker for Canadians because they can do this stage electronically. Not all applicants have this option. So be cautious when comparing timescales. Best to wait until you know which Service Center you have been set to and compare other applicants from the same country at the sane Service Center to get a better idea. Different embassies work at different speeds too.

I am planning on one year to get this done but looking at others it could be 10 months. But I'm sticking with 12 months and anything quicker will be a bonus.

[travystats 0]

I would still err on the side of caution and prepare for a year.

However long it takes is fine with me as long as the paperwork goes through smoothly. So I wont know what service center I get until I file the first papers? Also I am a little unsure about having my original copy of my birth certificate in the Philippines while I am not there. Is that standard for you to have to leave your personal papers like that with your spouse while you are out of the country?

[JFH 12,191]

However long it takes is fine with me as long as the paperwork goes through smoothly. So I wont know what service center I get until I file the first papers? Also I am a little unsure about having my original copy of my birth certificate in the Philippines while I am not there. Is that standard for you to have to leave your personal papers like that with your spouse while you are out of the country?

Yes, you do t know which service Center you have been assigned until they receive your papers. You send them to the lockbox and they send them to a (seemingly randomly selected) Service Center.

I don't know why you need to leave the original birth certificate in the Philippines?

[travystats 0]

My apologies I for whatever reason had misread what was necessary for the final interview. So far I understand everything very clearly. Just counting down the days until I get there so I can finally get this all started.

[JFH 12,191]

She needs her original documents for the interview, not yours.