Am I committing Visa suicide by going CR-1 instead of K-1?

[undependable 1]

Hey everyone.  Long story short, I was planning to legally marry my Japanese fiancé (in Japan) in week. While we always planned on getting married, the initial reasoning behind getting married in Japan was I thought it would be an easy and quick way to enable her to come live and work in the US with me. California right now is so expensive a 1 income situation would be difficult to maintain, she's also an active woman and does not want to be stuck on a couch for X amount of months.

 

However,  it looks like the application time for a CR-1 Visa is potentially a year or even more. This is a brutal amount of time to be separated.

 

Can anyone give me advice on how long it takes to get an Adjustment of Status and EAD(work permit) approved on average?(if we file the paperwork immediately after she arrives/we marry in the US). If the timeline for a K-1 Visa is around 7 months, and generally no more then a 2 month wait to get an EAD, it seems like it might be better to cancel the marriage and pursue this path instead.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited June 10, 2017 by undependable

[aleful 1,905]

hi

 

if you decide to go the k1 route, expect her to not be able to work for 3 or 4 months, that's how long the EAD can take

 

just bear that in mind before you decide to change things. she won't be able to work immediately, it will take a while

 

on the other hand, if you pursue the CR1, she will be able to start to work right away,

 

 

[millefleur 5,039]

I don't have personal experience with this, but I've seen on VJ that if the spouse gets a job offer, then the EAD can be expedited. Again, I don't know the in's and out's of how it works myself or how much faster it makes it, but it's something to also consider.

 

And I agree with @aleful that 3-4 months is a much more realistic waiting time for EAD.

 

You can live with your wife in Japan while the CR-1 is processing, by the way. So, if that's an option, you could still do the CR-1 and just stay together there while it's processing. Getting a Japanese spouse visa is a thousand times easier than getting a US one. I have personal experience with that and I can tell you it's disturbingly easy.

[undependable 1]

1 minute ago, aleful said:

hi

 

if you decide to go the k1 route, expect her to not be able to work for 3 or 4 months, that's how long the EAD can take

 

just bear that in mind before you decide to change things. she won't be able to work immediately, it will take a while

 

on the other hand, if you pursue the CR1, she will be able to start to work right away,

 

 

The finances would not be an unbearable strain, but she would not be happy being a couch potato for 3-4 months. If that is the norm and 1-2 months is totally unrealistic...I guess CR-1 might be the way to go.

[undependable 1]

2 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I don't have personal experience with this, but I've seen on VJ that if the spouse gets a job offer, then the EAD can be expedited. Again, I don't know the in's and out's of how it works myself or how much faster it makes it, but it's something to also consider.

 

And I agree with @aleful that 3-4 months is a much more realistic waiting time for EAD.

 

You can live with your wife in Japan while the CR-1 is processing, by the way. So, if that's an option, you could still do the CR-1 and just stay together there while it's processing. Getting a Japanese spouse visa is a thousand times easier than getting a US one. I have personal experience with that and I can tell you it's disturbingly easy.

Thanks for the kind reply. Unfortunately, I have a good job offer back in cali that is far more then I could get here. Ironically unless the housing market becomes less insane we would probably move back to Japan in the long run, nice to know that part will be less of a nightmare.

[millefleur 5,039]

Just now, undependable said:

Thanks for the kind reply. Unfortunately, I have a good job offer back in cali that is far more then I could get here. Ironically unless the housing market becomes less insane we would probably move back to Japan in the long run, nice to know that part will be less of a nightmare.

Totally understandable. I think if working right away is really important for you guys, the CR-1 is really the only way to go. Unfortunately spending time apart is required in this process...the only people who don't have to are us lucky folk who can do DCF. Other than that, everyone has to wait.

 

She can visit you in the US on the VWP. For those who can, that helps ease the time apart for a lot of couples.

[undependable 1]

15 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Totally understandable. I think if working right away is really important for you guys, the CR-1 is really the only way to go. Unfortunately spending time apart is required in this process...the only people who don't have to are us lucky folk who can do DCF. Other than that, everyone has to wait.

 

She can visit you in the US on the VWP. For those who can, that helps ease the time apart for a lot of couples.

That's actually really good to know. Being from Japan (a country in the VWP) can she just grab a ticket to the US and visit me whenever? I was under the impression that when a CR-1 Visa is pending this was frowned upon (or not even possible). That might considerably ease the strain of separation.

[geowrian 22,336]

53 minutes ago, undependable said:

That's actually really good to know. Being from Japan (a country in the VWP) can she just grab a ticket to the US and visit me whenever? I was under the impression that when a CR-1 Visa is pending this was frowned upon (or not even possible). That might considerably ease the strain of separation.

It's possible, but be sure she carries her ties to return home (job, house, family, etc.) in case she is questioned. They're usually pretty good with VWP travelers, though. As a general rule of thumb, she should stay outside of the US at least as long as she's inside it. Twice as long is preferable. She can stay for as long as her I-94 permits, which is up to 90 days for VWP.

Edited June 10, 2017 by geowrian

[NDB052714 122]

6 hours ago, undependable said:

The finances would not be an unbearable strain, but she would not be happy being a couch potato for 3-4 months. If that is the norm and 1-2 months is totally unrealistic...I guess CR-1 might be the way to go.

There's no reason for her to be a couch potato for 3-4 months. There would be so many new "things" for her to experience and learn about her new home...exploring, making friends, volunteering, taking classes. If I were in your situation I would want her here as soon as possible, even if it meant a few idle months. 

[geowrian 22,336]

14 minutes ago, NDB052714 said:

There's no reason for her to be a couch potato for 3-4 months. There would be so many new "things" for her to experience and learn about her new home...exploring, making friends, volunteering, taking classes. If I were in your situation I would want her here as soon as possible, even if it meant a few idle months. 

To each their own. For some people, not having a career to go to and being able to contribute to the finances is unbearable...especially while trying to adapt in a new country and way of life. I've seen far too many stories here about how hard the adjustment period is, and being cooped up really gets to them and hurts the relationship. For others, the period is a nice period to help adjust to the new way of life. Being in love or married doesn't mean being physically together as soon as physically possible.

 

Keep in mind that in some states, K-1 holders are unable to even get a driver's license...so they are pretty much stuck in the house most of the time except when their spouse can take them somewhere. Other states let them only drive until their I-94 expires, then they need to wait until the EAD comes in to get a new license.

Edited June 11, 2017 by geowrian

[JessieRC 8]

We were debating between these two options years ago but eventually we went with CR1 and I'm glad that we did. My husband petitioned me from California, too and our CR1 journey took 8 months. But again it was back in 2013 and I'm not sure about the current processing time frame. Taking CR1 route saved us lots of trouble with EAD/AP and AOS later on. No matter which route you guys decide to take, I would say take it easy when she finally gets here. Don't rush her into anything before she feels settled and ready. 

Originally I also planned to find a job ASAP because back in my home country I had been working full time for more than 8 years since graduating from unversity. However, it actually took my almost a year to settle down and adjust to new life here - getting SSN, green card, adding me to my husband's insurance/401k/other employee benefit plans, opening secured credit cards, getting a DL, getting around places and making friends, etc. And most importantly we dealt with my culture shock and homesickness. Needless to say, that was a very stressful time for us, not much easier than our CR1 Journey. I have been and will always be forever grateful to my husband for being patient and supportive along the way. 

Best of luck on whichever route you decide! :-D

[optlh0 19]

7 hours ago, JessieRC said:

We were debating between these two options years ago but eventually we went with CR1 and I'm glad that we did. My husband petitioned me from California, too and our CR1 journey took 8 months. But again it was back in 2013 and I'm not sure about the current processing time frame. Taking CR1 route saved us lots of trouble with EAD/AP and AOS later on. No matter which route you guys decide to take, I would say take it easy when she finally gets here. Don't rush her into anything before she feels settled and ready. 

Originally I also planned to find a job ASAP because back in my home country I had been working full time for more than 8 years since graduating from unversity. However, it actually took my almost a year to settle down and adjust to new life here - getting SSN, green card, adding me to my husband's insurance/401k/other employee benefit plans, opening secured credit cards, getting a DL, getting around places and making friends, etc. And most importantly we dealt with my culture shock and homesickness. Needless to say, that was a very stressful time for us, not much easier than our CR1 Journey. I have been and will always be forever grateful to my husband for being patient and supportive along the way. 

Best of luck on whichever route you decide! :-D

Good point about getting the drivers license! Where I live it's close to impossible to have a job without being able to drive. No buses, or Uber. My wife had never driven before coming here and it took awhile before she passed

[NikLR 13,226]

Personally I feel the CR1 is the better visa.  She can visit on the vwp. She can travel and work right away. If she is already an independent person and wants to remain that way throughout marriage, the CR1 is the way to go.  

I have personal reasons for needing to travel at the drop of a hat, but either way i never would have gone with the k1 even back when it was $200 cheaper than now.  

[NikLR 13,226]

~~moved to what visa do i need from k1 process and procedures. Op is deciding on a visa path~~

Edited June 11, 2017 by NikLR

[DJWS 4]

I wished I filed a fiance visa instead of the spousal visa.

Rationally on paper, the IR-1/CR-1 sounds like a better choice and better bang for the buck IF you consider the total time and cost to finally obtain the green card, and the fact that your spouse gets to work immediately.

 

But there are other factors:

The problem is the incredible wait times for the CR-1/IR-1 for your spouse to obtain a spousal visa to come to the US.   It's much faster for your spousal to obtain a finance visa.   

You also have to consider the additional housing/rent cost you have to pay waiting for the CR-1 visa vs being reunited in the US and living together quickly with the K-1 visa.

The long separation time away from your spouse can add stress to your relationship.  I'm in the US establishing domicile while my wife is in Japan waiting.

The AVERAGE timelines on visa journey might be skewed where CR-1 wait times don't look too different from K-1 fiance visa. In reality from my experience, CR-1 takes way longer than a K-1.   I noticed some folks from the Phillipines have a much quicker Cr-1/IR-1 timeline as well as folks who might have a military spouse which might make the CR-1 timeline look not as bad.  

NVC processes Japan filers through paper mail instead of electronically.  The current NVC time for paper mail processing is 11 weeks vs less than 6 weeks for countries with electronic processing.

The USCIS center that handles K-1 visa is much quicker and faster than USCIS centers that handle the CR-1/IR-1 visa.

 

We filed IR-1/CR-1 last year in late August 2016.  We were unlucky and were processed by Nebraska USCIS which took more than 6 months.  (I hear the wait time at USCIS is now at 9 months).  We are now in the NVC stage and still waiting.  Meanwhile, I've checked the timelines for folks who went through the finance visa and they've already obtained their visas earlier in the year and are reunited in the US already.

 

There are tons of volunteer/community college/meetups that your spouse can participate in while waiting for a green card in the US.  Although my wife will get a IR-1CR1 visa when she comes over to the US, it'll take some time for her to get adjusted to life in the US vs Japan.

Edited June 29, 2017 by DJWS