Dating Irishman for a year....what to do next?

[KULtoATL 1,551]

15 minutes ago, americaninlove said:

Thank you that does make sense. So just so I understand, you can get married anywhere (US, Ireland, France) and then apply for the CR-1 visa. That takes about a year, he can visit in be US anytime he wants during that time (and stay up to 3 months at a time on a tourist visa). Once his visa is approved he can come right away, get work right away, and go back to Ireland anytime he needs. I think that sums it up?

Can you just explain the above? Does this mean he cannot come on a tourist visa in that year he is waitingflr the approval? 

 

Thanks again for all your help. No idea what to do next, but at least I have accurate info! 

He can visit the US while waiting for the petition to be approved in order to proceed with the CR-1 application at the embassy level. But obviously he cannot stay in the US on ESTA or B2 till his CR-1 is issued.

[RO_AH 1,659]

14 hours ago, KULtoATL said:

So choose wisely. K-1 route is faster but he cannot work till he gets his EAD. That's the only downside.

I wouldn't say that is the only downside. To me there is only 1 upside to the K-1 and that is saving a little time.

[Scandi 4,166]

1 hour ago, RO_AH said:

I wouldn't say that is the only downside. To me there is only 1 upside to the K-1 and that is saving a little time.

Yes, the only upside to the K-1 is that it's a little faster than the CR-1. Other than that CR-1 is better in every aspect. 

 

We chose the K-1 because it's generally faster and also that we didn't want to be apart from each oher after the wedding. If I had to do it again I would choose the CR-1, I think.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

I, my entire family, and most of our friends married without living together first. It used to be the norm for more people, but it is still entirely doable. You could try marrying first and then going for a spousal visa. That way he could work as soon as he got here.

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*moved from "K-1 fiancé visa process and procedures" to "what visa do I need" as OP is still exploring options*~*~*

[americaninlove 381]

3 hours ago, Scandi said:

Yes, the only upside to the K-1 is that it's a little faster than the CR-1. Other than that CR-1 is better in every aspect. 

 

We chose the K-1 because it's generally faster and also that we didn't want to be apart from each oher after the wedding. If I had to do it again I would choose the CR-1, I think.

Why would you choose the CR-1? Just curious for your insight. Thank you!

[Scandi 4,166]

5 minutes ago, americaninlove said:

Why would you choose the CR-1? Just curious for your insight. Thank you!

Because:

-We could get married anywhere and anytime we wanted to, we would have all the time in the world to plan and get ready for the ceremony, we could even pick any date we wanted to.
-It's cheaper
-I would get a greencard upon arrival in the US, I would with that also have rights that I didn't have when I arrived on a K-1

With the K-1:
-Had to marry within 90 days, had to marry in the US
-Bigger costs for the visa process
-Had to file yet another application (AOS, once we got married) and go through the wait and the stress of that
-Had no rights to travel abroad or work from the day I entered the US until 7 months later when I received the EAD/AP (moved in the end of October, married in November and filed for AOS as soon as the marriage certificate was available in the end of December, got my EAD in the end of May). Couldn't even get a simple driver's license or a state ID.

Also, in my specific case, the K-1 took way longer than expected, we were stuck at USCIS for 6 months instead of 2-3 months. So all-in-all the K-1 really wasn't much faster at all than what the CR-1 would've been, AND I would've gotten so much more out of it than I got from the K-1.

So yes, all in all the CR-1 is much better. I'm still glad me and my hubby didn't have to be apart after the wedding, so it has definitely been a good thing too.

[moemac59 192]

Honestly if I had to do the whole process over again I would do the CR1 visa over the K1. I wish that I had educated myself more about the CR1 visa at the time but to me it seemed much more complicated and overwhelming.

When I went for my citizenship interview the IO jokingly said "Geesh you and your husband went the long way around this by doing the K1 visa". Hope that this sheds some light for you.

[Dashinka 24,499]

8 hours ago, RO_AH said:

I wouldn't say that is the only downside. To me there is only 1 upside to the K-1 and that is saving a little time.

There are other upsides as well.  Couples cannot always easily find a place to get married either in the home country of their partner, in the US due to the partner not allowed access, or in a third country again either due to marriage laws or travel restrictions.  For the OP, they appear to be in a much more flexible position (partner from an ESTA country, etc.) which would make the CR1 much more attractive.

 

To the OP, I agree with the above responses that say the CR1 appears to be the best option.

 

Good Luck!

[Dashinka 24,499]

3 hours ago, Scandi said:

Because:

-We could get married anywhere and anytime we wanted to, we would have all the time in the world to plan and get ready for the ceremony, we could even pick any date we wanted to.
-It's cheaper
-I would get a greencard upon arrival in the US, I would with that also have rights that I didn't have when I arrived on a K-1

With the K-1:
-Had to marry within 90 days, had to marry in the US
-Bigger costs for the visa process
-Had to file yet another application (AOS, once we got married) and go through the wait and the stress of that
-Had no rights to travel abroad or work from the day I entered the US until 7 months later when I received the EAD/AP (moved in the end of October, married in November and filed for AOS as soon as the marriage certificate was available in the end of December, got my EAD in the end of May). Couldn't even get a simple driver's license or a state ID.

Also, in my specific case, the K-1 took way longer than expected, we were stuck at USCIS for 6 months instead of 2-3 months. So all-in-all the K-1 really wasn't much faster at all than what the CR-1 would've been, AND I would've gotten so much more out of it than I got from the K-1.

So yes, all in all the CR-1 is much better. I'm still glad me and my hubby didn't have to be apart after the wedding, so it has definitely been a good thing too.

While I don't disagree with the CR1 advantages, the K1 has its upsides as well besides time.  Overall, with us we took almost the entire validity period of the K1 to plan the wedding and get her affairs in order, filed the AOS immediately and had a GC in about 5 months, so the overall timeframe was similar to a CR1, and we did not have to deal with foreign laws for marriage and making sure it was legal for the US.  As I said above, if the partner is from an ESTA, or country with easy access to the US or vis a vis the other partner to the foreign country, then yes, the CR1 is superior.

[Boiler 45,516]

 Looking at it again I would have married and adjusted whilst visiting, obviously not having entered with the intent to do so.

[NikLR 13,227]

We purposely chose the CR1 for all the upsides.  We had a small wedding and honestly didn't file the I-130 until 4 months afterwards.  Our CR1 process went faster than they do now however, but many at the time were less than 6 months total.  I had all the time of the petition and visa process to get my affairs in order to move, plus you have 6 months from the medical date to use the visa.  The inability to travel was a no go for me for the K1.  I have a chlid who chose to stay in Canada with their father so I needed to be able to jump on a plane in a moment's notice. 

[Dutchster 1,107]

I chose the K-1 route because we just could not be apart after getting married. While I have the greatest respect and admiration for those who can, I couldn't do it and my husband (then fiance) couldn't either. He has a good job, so we could afford the me-sitting-at-home-for-a-few-months. But that doesn't mean I wasn't worried a lot of the times that I had no Advance Parole for several months. My parents are close to their 60's, what if they get a heart attack? Or die? What about my sisters? I can't go back right away as I would have to file an emergency AP, that aren't easy to get either. Plus I had no clue sitting at home, not being able to drive (be free) for so long, would impact my mental health so much.

Compare, compare, compare. Both journeys aren't easy, but worth it. You both just have to find out what works the best for both.

[moemac59 192]

On ‎8‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 11:10 PM, Boiler said:

 Looking at it again I would have married and adjusted whilst visiting, obviously not having entered with the intent to do so.

LOL I always think that too. One of my best friends did that

[javadown2 308]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:11 PM, americaninlove said:

Not really sure why I'm writing here, but need some advice if anyone is game. Met this man a year ago when traveling overseas for business (I am an american). Had a fun weekend, stayed in touch by text for a few months, and then on a whim he came here to see me and that's when things changed. Since then we have gone back and forth to see each other every 4-6 weeks for a week at a time, facetime every night, text every day...it is wonderful, but it's a VERY long distance relationship and one that is made infinitely more complicated by the non-US citizen issue (not to mention the cost of all this travel!). I would move there in a heartbeat, but I have two teenagers so that's not happening for another several years. He would move here, but obviously cannot just come and move in with me without taking a BIG next step. So what do people do in this position? We are both divorced...not opposed to marriage again, but do people do that without even living together first? Are there any other options? We are in love, but this is complicated (or maybe love is always complicated??). Any advice would be helpful. Does this ever work? If we do decide to jump into this, what's the next step?

K-1 or CR-1 visa, and yep people do that....meet online or abroad from different countries and never live together before getting married....it is in fact what happened in my relationship with my wife and we are happily married.