CR1 or B1 with AOS

[rboston 1]

Hey everyone, first time poster with a question about the best way to get my future-wife into the US. I am a US citizen, and she is from Costa Rica. She has a B1 visa and has been here several times to visit. We are looking for the best option for getting her permanent residency here in the US.

Our ceremony will take place in Costa Rica this November (she on her B1 visa), and then we were planning on coming here for Christmas. After that she has to go back to finish her last year of medical school, so we have to spend a year with her out of the country no matter which path we take. We are going to make an appointment with an immigration attorney to sort all of this out, but wanted some preliminary advice.

One option that seems really appealing is to go the route of Adjustment of Status (AOS). I've heard this costs more, but it also sounds like the least complicated. She is already able to enter the US with her B1 tourist visa, and we will already be married, so this should be all that is needed. What are the drawbacks of this approach?

The principal option we've been considering is CR1. We have to wait a year anyway, and I've heard it's cheaper. Will this require more paperwork than an AOS? What are the drawbacks of this approach?

We have also looked into a K1. I think we're past the deadline on this one, as the wedding ceremony is in November.

Given that she already has the ability to enter the country, and given that we will be married in her country, and given that we have to be apart a year anyway, which of these options do the members here think would work best for us?

Than you all so much!

P.S. We also have an issue about how to file for marriage (filing there or filing in the state where I live), but I'll save that for a different thread.

[TL2016 208]

Entering the United States on a B1/2 visa with the intent to adjust status is immigration fraud.

Your best bet is really the CR-1 visa. Get married in Costa Rica and get the process going when you go back to the US. This process will roughly take a year, which is perfect for you guys. The good thing about this visa is that she will be able to work and travel instantly after entering the country.

And just a little side note: This is a DIY site, and if your case is pretty much straight forward and has no red flags or other big issues (criminal convictions etc.), then you can easily go through this whole process without a lawyer.

Edited September 15, 2016 by TL2016

[rboston 1]

Entering the United States on a B1/2 visa with the intent to adjust status is immigration fraud.

Yes. Until recently we were planning on going the "safe" route of CR1. However, we read on us USCIS website that this was a valid path for U.S. Citizens whose spouse is already in the US (in particular this PDF).

This sounds like it involves the least amount of paperwork and hassle, even if it costs more.

She's not entering the US to marry, and we're planning on filing the I-485 while she's here in December, after which she'll leave, so will really be visiting on her B1 visa.

What is the worst that can come of visa fraud?

[Illiria 980]

'What is the worst that can come of visa fraud?' - She can be banned for life from the country

If she is not already in the US then you are planning on using a non immigrant visa for immigrant purposes. The information in that PDF is for those who are already in the US and whose circumstances have changed. If she leaves after the 485 is filed then she abandons it.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Illiria

[TBoneTX 45,319]

Welcome to the forum. Take the highly accurate advice in the first reply that you got, for the reasons explained.

[JFH 12,190]

You really only have one option, the CR-1 and in your case it has no drawbacks. For most people the drawback is the one year apart but we have all survived. It's the price we pay for being able to spend the rest of our lives together.

The K-1 is not suitable for you because she will not be able to leave the country to return to Costa Rica to finish medical school. People on K-1 visas must apply for advance parole to be able to leave and re-enter the country and that takes about 90 days after filing (which must happen after marriage) to get. So if you marry in December on a K-1 she's "stuck" until March. No good. Also you don't have enough time now for a K-1 to be completed in time for a December wedding. You can't use a K-1 for a wedding held outside the USA. So for several reasons the K-1 is out.

Don't even think of anything fraudulent. Not only is it morally wrong to lie to an immigration officer and to enter with a non-immigrant visa with he intention of staying, it's also illegal. It could get her a ban. You say she is at medical school so she's an intelligent woman with the chance of a very good career ahead of her. Don't throw that away.

The CR-1 is perfect for you. You are going to be spending a year apart anyway (she can still visit you in her B2 while that's being processed). Once she has that she can start work immediately and is free to come and go as she pleases. No 90-day restriction like she would have with the K-1.

Good luck to you both.

Edited September 15, 2016 by JFH

[MacUK 983]

Yes. Until recently we were planning on going the "safe" route of CR1. However, we read on us USCIS website that this was a valid path for U.S. Citizens whose spouse is already in the US (in particular this PDF).

This sounds like it involves the least amount of paperwork and hassle, even if it costs more.

But your spouse isn't already in the US

She's not entering the US to marry, and we're planning on filing the I-485 while she's here in December, after which she'll leave, so will really be visiting on her B1 visa.

Even if you do go ahead with your illegal plan, if she leaves after you've filed the I-485 but before receiving her GC or at least her AP then the adjustment of status is abandoned and you'll have to do the CR-1 anyway, as well as losing all the money spent on the AOS.

What is the worst that can come of visa fraud?

Only a lifetime ban from the US...

Just do the CR-1, in your circumstances with her needing to finish her education in Costa Rica it's pretty much the ideal route. The process will be finished around about the same time as her graduation and you can live happily ever after.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

If you just file I-485 (which isn't the right amount of paperwork but we won't get into that) and then she leaves, her application will be abandoned and you will lose $1070.

[rboston 1]

But your spouse isn't already in the US

She will be when we go to file AOS. What exactly is the difference?

If it's that she's entering the US on a B1-visa, if she entered for the most touristy reason and stayed for a long time doing legitimate B1 stuff and then filed, is that still counted as visa fraud?

Even if you do go ahead with your illegal plan, if she leaves after you've filed the I-485 but before receiving her GC or at least her AP then the adjustment of status is abandoned and you'll have to do the CR-1 anyway, as well as losing all the money spent on the AOS.

Ah, good to know. Thanks for the heads up!

[JFH 12,190]

She will be when we go to file AOS. What exactly is the difference?

If it's that she's entering the US on a B1-visa, if she entered for the most touristy reason and stayed for a long time doing legitimate B1 stuff and then filed, is that still counted as visa fraud?

But she would have entered with immigration intent. The fact that you are discussing it now before she's even arrived demonstrates that you are planning to adjust and file the I-485 (and a bunch of other forms). As has been mentioned before, such a situation is reserved for people who, after arriving, experience a change in personal circumstances that results in them staying. It's not for people who feel they shouldn't have to go through the visa process that everyone else patiently goes through. Do you think if it was legal I'd still be sitting here in the UK waiting for the NVC? One example I saw for this was, for example, a wife who during a visit with her husband went into pre-term labour and the baby was born some months early. The baby was very sick, as was the mother, and there was no way she could return home. Life-changing events like that are what the adjustment is for. Does it get abused? Heck yes! Doesn't make it right to abuse it though.

[rboston 1]

If Alice were visiting Bob on a B1 visa, while she was there Bob proposed to Alice and they went and got married, does that qualify as a legitimate change in personal circumstances? And would that be seen as visa fraud?

[JFH 12,190]

If Alice were visiting Bob on a B1 visa, while she was there Bob proposed to Alice and they went and got married, does that qualify as a legitimate change in personal circumstances? And would that be seen as visa fraud?

If Alice and Bob had not discussed this prior to her arrival, nor researched it on the web, nor asked about it on visa journey then yes. But since Bob (and possibly even Alice) has researched this, asked questions about it, considered it, then it would be visa fraud.

We've said it more than once. Planning to adjust from B2 status (or any other non-immigrant status) is visa fraud.

I think it's time this thread was closed. You asked the question. You've had the answer numerous times. Just because it does not fit into your plan, doesn't make the answer wrong. And asking the question again in a variety of formats will not change the answer. The wait sucks. We get it. We are all doing it. Not one of us is enjoying this. Not one of us can bear being apart from their spouse any more than you can. I don't even get why you are even considering this when you said all along the plan was for her to go back home and complete her studies.

Edited September 15, 2016 by JFH

[Wooderz 314]

I don't understand the problem. She has to go back for her last year of medical school anyway? Are you now considering that she drop out?

If you were to go the fraud route after her last year of med school and didn't get caught for the fraud, she would have to wait several months to be able to work, drive and travel out of the US. It literally makes zero sense why you're so intent on adjusting from a b2 given that you have to wait a year anyway and the benefits with a cr1 are greater. Plus the whole fraud thing.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Wooderz

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

CR1 fits your plan much better. It's also less paperwork than AOS, and cheaper. So there is literally no upside to AOS for you. You just misunderstand the requirements.

[Pennycat 880]

The difference is really about intent and also about how you present yourself at the border.

Basically, by using the B1 or the visa waiver program, you are claiming that you are here as a visitor-- temporary. Even if they don't ask you questions at immigration (which they usually do), that is what you're claiming. It's in the terms of the visa (or the visa waiver program, whichever is applicable). Plus, if they do ask questions (which again they usually do), what's she going to do? Lie? Because that's even worse. That there is what incurs the lifetime ban.Using a non-immigrant visa with the intent to immigrate is fraud plain and simple.

No one here will advise you to take that route because we can't (site's terms of service) and also because it would be a huge disservice to you. Other people (people you know, shady lawyers, whoever) may give you advice over what you can probably get away with but I personally wouldn't listen to them at all. It's too big a risk-- you've got a guaranteed legal way in with an automatic green card. Why gamble with that situation?

Plus, and what I actually came here to say, in your situation, a CR1 is the actual perfect solution. I'm wondering if you don't realize the order of events you're talking about. Basically, a CR1 takes about a year to process and the spouse has permanent residency on arrival. Adjustment of Status (adjusting from non-immigrant to a green card) also takes about a year. So instead of spending the year you're already planning on her living in CR also waiting for her CR1/green card, you'd have her wait for the green card for a year in the US. Plus on TOP of it, adjusting from a tourist visa is *not* more straightforward anyhow. It is more paperwork, and more fees. Even more paperwork than simply "more paperwork" if you want her to get a work authorization while you wait for the green card. Everything else is the same-- getting birth certificates, divorce decrees, having those things translated*, medical appointments, vaccinations-- everything-- ALL of that has to be done whether you go for a CR1 visa, or plan to adjust from a non-immigrant visa (which, remember, would be fraud). And all of that is cheaper in Costa Rica anyway.

*Note on the translations: if you adjust in the US, all those things must be translated. It was my experience at the US embassy in Costa Rica, that they did not require translations. So there was time, money and hassle saved right there. The difference, I believe, is that the embassy folks are State department diplomats and have been trained in the local language, whereas USCIS employees in the US have not. Your mileage may vary on this, because we did a K1 visa and maybe the guidelines are different for different visas).

The only major downside to the CR1 process is the year or so of separation-- that's a main factor why people decide to go for K1, or to illegally immigrate-- trying to avoid that year. But you need to and are planning on being separated for a year anyway. So, why would you choose any other route? Especially when those other routes are more expensive, more difficult, results in a delay in green card and ability to work and which are illegal?

Edited September 15, 2016 by CatherineA