Work Greencard or CR1 VISA? Please help

[Vanessa&Ryan 0]

Hi all, this is a first post for me and I am hoping someone can help. My fiancée is a US citizen living in the US we are planing to get married on a tourist visa then I will return to South Africa to begin the filing process. However I have also since been offered a job by a company that is prepared to sponsor my Greencard,in Utah where we are planing to live, so my question is this is it better to go through the employment based Greencard or through the CR1 visa? If we choose the employment visa can he an I still get married and the apply for adjustment of status? I don't know anything about the process and would appreciate any and all advise. Thank you.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

What sort of visa would your company bring you over on?

I'd like to know if the company would expect you to be with them for a certain amount of time. It is expensive to sponsor immigrants, do they expect you to stay with them for a certain period of time?

Good luck

[Vanessa&Ryan 0]

Yes, they expect me to stay for a period of 5 years. All was told was they would arrange and sponsor what visa is required. As I said I have no idea of the process I am just trying to find out which is better a work visa or marriage.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Vanessa&Ryan

[JFH 12,190]

OK, first you need to find out what work visa they are planning on petitioning for you. If it's an H1B I would forget it. The soonest you would be able to arrive would be October next year. That's if you are successful. There are far more applicants for this visa type than there are visas available. So only about a quarter of those who apply are successful. It's a lottery.

There is no immediate green card for workers. Workers have a visa that *may* become a green card later down the line if the employer feels so inclined as to sponsor you for it. They may not. They don't have to. Also a work visa is tied to a job. If the job goes, so does your visa and you must leave the country (or adjust status by virtue of marriage). Something to think about in case the company goes broke.

Does the company know what is involved in bringing in an overseas worker? Many companies that have not done this before have no clue about the fees and paperwork involved and think the process is a lot simpler and cheaper than it is. Also some work visas require that the person has a degree and that the job requires a degree in that field. There are strict conditions attached to work visas.

The CR-1 visa would take about a year and would give you an instant green card the day you arrive in the country with your visa. With the green card you are then free to work in almost any job you want (you can't stand for public office and there are some jobs in the federal government that are reserved for citizens only but other than that you can work for any company, anywhere in the country, at any level). If you lose your job or the company goes broke, your status does not change. You just find another job and carry on.

Personally, I think the answer is obvious. CR-1 gives you permanent residency from day one, has an almost guaranteed approval rate (unless you are committing immigration fraud), there are no restrictions on numbers, and you have no restrictions on your job or place of work. You can move around the country wherever the mood takes you. And for me it's all about status. I want to enter the country as "wife of xxx" not "employee of xxx". To me, my marriage is more important and has more status than my job. Leave those with no other path into the country to fight over the limited number of work visas and follow the CR-1 route. It's a far superior visa to any work visa.

Edited November 23, 2016 by JFH

[Vanessa&Ryan 0]

Thank you for your advise, yes the company have worked with bring people over before. The other problem is my fiancée is in prison before anyone passes judgment it was a stupid thing he did and is now serving 5 years, we don't want to wait until he is out to get married, what concerns me is having to prove our marriage is a real marriage. We are worried they will deny the petition because he is in prison and proving a valid marriage is difficult especially since I come from the other side of the world and I can't keep flying out to visit him as its expensive. It's just through a friend I was offered a job through a company who is prepared to take me on and sponsor the visa. I am so worried the CR1 could be denied.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

So you are not married yet, have you met your fiance in person?

Also, figure out what type of visa is on the table.

Many people have married partners in prison and posted here. Have you done a search using the search tool to read their stories?

good luck

[Vanessa&Ryan 0]

Yes, we have met we have been together for 4 years, he just did something stupid and it landed him in prison. Thank you for your reply, I will look up some of the stories

[Thegirl 225]

Can you get married in prison? Legit question. Sorry I have no advice for you. I'm just curious.

[David-1 3]

Yes, we have met we have been together for 4 years, he just did something stupid and it landed him in prison. Thank you for your reply, I will look up some of the stories

The fact that you have been together for 4 years prior to his incarceration may be in your favour.

Marriages in prison is fairly common, but not sure how easy it will be for him to participate in the CR1 process.

You say that it was something stupid that got him incarcerated, but bear in mind the authorities believe its something criminal that got him there.

What line of work do you do, how many years experience, and do you have a Bsc degree in that field of work?

The company that is sponsoring me started the H-1B and GC process at the same time, we did not make the H-1B lottery and continued with the GC process - it's a lengthy and costly process, and something most US companies aren't prepared to do, particularly if they can recruit locally - the first stage of the process they have to provide evidence that they could not find a US citizen for the post.

I estimate that the lawyers fees to date is around $20,000 so far.

Why not start planning for the CR1 and Work options and see which pans out first.

Good luck with whichever direction you follow, and please keep us posted.

[Vanessa&Ryan 0]

Thank you for your reply, I have no form of degree, but I have over 13 years work experience in my job which involves me doing a verity of things like, management skills, bookkeeping skills and general office management. Another thing video would like to know is if we go the CR1 route do I need to return to my country until it gets approved or can we get married in the US and then file from rather then me retuning home?

Can you get married in prison? Legit question. Sorry I have no advice for you. I'm just curious.

Yes

[Boiler 45,558]

Sounds like EB3 GC, see no harm going for it, no cost to you.

[AstroCanada 206]

Thank you for your reply, I have no form of degree, but I have over 13 years work experience in my job which involves me doing a verity of things like, management skills, bookkeeping skills and general office management. Another thing video would like to know is if we go the CR1 route do I need to return to my country until it gets approved or can we get married in the US and then file from rather then me retuning home?

Yes

I'm not sure what visa they plan to sponsor you for. H1-B usually requires a specialty occupation. Other visas are intra-company transferees. You should make sure there really is a visa they can sponsor you for first.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

if you're going t try for it, do it soon. foreign work visas will likely be the first to go.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum.

[mindthegap 2,590]

Find out exactly what it is they are offering. As above, H1 is very different from an EB3.

EB3 will probably take around the same time as a CR-1 from time of initial filing to approval, and that is without factoring any delays due to incarceration. However, with a CR-1 you have to do the removal of conditions rubbish in a couple of years. EB3 is full and final green card wth nothing further to do.

Also worth pointing out that being tied to the sponsoring company for five years is not a USCIS requirement - once you have your EB3 GC you can (depending on your contract of course) find a new job at any time and it will not affect your immigration status.

Recently, a friend of mine here on an L1 had her company sponsor her for an EB3, and she quit a few weeks after her card arrived, after another company unexpectedly offered her a position. The new company also paid the sponsoring company some money to effectively buy her out of her contract (both senior positions in big firms with big salaries).

The actual EB3 isn't that expensive in itself - it is the lawyers fees that tend to eat it up.

EB3 all the way if you are eligible and they are willing.

There is no immediate green card for workers.

EB3. You could also add EB2 and EB1 to that, albeit both with a higher standard than EB3 and no labor certification needed for EB1, or for EB2 if filing a national interest waiver.