K1 Visa with the Moroccan Consulate

[Bluesky123 1]

Good afternoon everyone,

 

I posted on here about two months ago and due to the advise received from you guys I decided to not apply until we had another visit. Well, I just came back last week and now have two visits and more pictures and more time spent so I am hoping for a positive result. My fiance and I hvae been together for six months and in this time i have been to him twice each visit being two weeks. I do have the following questions , I will be filing for the visa next week and want to make sure that I do this correctly.

 

-How long is the whole process taking?

 

- Our age difference is 8 years  (I am 33 he 25), do you think this could be an issue?

 

- I was divorced last year and need to provide a certified copy of the decree, my city provides this online and says its a "Certified Copy" with judges signature etc. I am assuming this is ok, its the same exact one as the original given to me on that date. Is this ok?

 

I am really stressed out, this whole process is taking a toll on me, I am normally strong but being away from him is like having half of me gone, its so hard to do anything on the day to day and do it pep talking myself. Sorry TMI but i figured you guys could relate, guess im just emo today.

 

 

 

Any advise or comments are sooooo welcome!!!

 

Bye 

[RJandHamid 1,133]

The K1 process is currently taking around  8-10 months total, though Casablanca is a little slow in scheduling interviews so I would estimate around 12 months for a K1 in Morocco. 

 

The age difference could be an issue, but I've seen larger age differences be approved. It will likely come up during his interview, so just be prepared to have an explanation of your relationship. 

 

Yes, the certified copy of the divorce decree should be ok.

 

My Moroccan husband came here successfully on a K1 in July, so I'm always open to talk about our experience. There are also multiple Facebook groups for women engaged/married to Moroccans where you can find others who can related to you very well. 

[Bluesky123 1]

 Thanks for the prompt response, this delay you're mentioning, is this something that was stated by the Consulate or is it based on peoples'experiences on here? Either way we need to wait, there's nothing more that can be done.  It's just frustrating that of all of the consulates, we got stuck with one of the roughest lol...guess that's life.

 

How long is the CR1 taking? I am not sure now if to do the K1, it's looking like it's best to just go the K1 route.

 

[Bluesky123 1]

I know this is off topic but how can i upload a picture, it's saying its too large but its a normal picture

[RJandHamid 1,133]

I agree, CR1 is actually a better option at this time. CR1 processing times are anywhere from 9-12+ months. The K1 option used to be much faster, but in the recent months processing times have really slowed down. A CR1 visa would also allow your husband to work and travel right after arriving in the US, unlike the K1 where there is a fee and the AOS process which takes several months. 

 

It will mean another trip to Morocco to get married, but that will make 3 total trips for you, which will help him come interview time. 

 

There is a fairly small size limit for posting photos, so you might have to re save your photo in smaller format in order to upload it.

[Bluesky123 1]

Thanks so much for responding, I agree that the CR1 seems to be the better option right now, I will definitely think about that and discuss it with him . Is there a possibility that the process could take 6 months or is it not possible at the moment?

 

[RJandHamid 1,133]

Possible? Yes, but the likelihood is very slim. I do hope that K1 processing times speed up again (the problem is that the I-129F approval step is taking around 5-6 months). I would say that if you know what steps to take, you could get an interview for the K1 visa in around 7 months taking into consideration current processing times. CR1 is a little more unpredictable. 

[EandH0904 1,184]

If you look at the US Dept of State website on Travel Visas issued, you will see that few K1 visas are issued out of Morocco: 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

 

There are about 8-10 K1s issued each month vs about 30-40 CR1/IR1 visas. 

I feel that I am prejudice/biased because I had an unsuccessful K1 and we recently got married on the 4th visit (12 days ago!) and will apply for CR1 soon. 

 

Having said that, I also think that CR1 is a better visa. It's cheaper, it's more proven to show a "bonafide relationship" and there are generally more issued. It *is* disheartening to me when I read on this site that even couples who have 3+ visits of 3-6 months each over the course of 3+ years still do not get approved either visa, or have LONG AP times (12 months or more) without resolution. It makes me concerned that even applying for CR1 may be unsuccessful at times but I try to remain optimistic. 

 

Your chance is 0 if you don't apply. If getting married in the US with your family is more important, do the K1, if just being married is more important, I would suggest CR1 - it's completely your call. They're taking about the same time (a year+) all in all. (I think him being here in 6 months is very unrealistic, but I guess something unheard of could happen - how do I know?). I agree with @RJandHamid that the benefit of being married is you'd have 3 visits. You want a SUCCESSFUL visa in the end, and waiting and putting in the extra visit or getting married may be more beneficial in the long run. 

 

If you decide to get married feel free to msg me and I can help you with the steps. 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

Cr 1 use to be slower but now K1 is taking almost a year

as for your photo,   resize it either with photo shop or other or scan it and  use scanner to make it smaller

your age differnce is not as big an issue as you are still of child bearing age and muslim countries consider that an important issue

the certified copy of your divorce is good enough / be sure you have a copy for yourself

in the future any documents immigration asks for make sure all have your case number both your names and both DOB's in upper right hand corner (USCIS will give you a case number and when ur case is at NVC a new one starting with CSBxxxxxx) 

don't let this wipe you out

the paperwork and instructions on this site and USCIS are self explanitory

just need a lot of patience as you go months without hearing anything / and put a good email ID on your application as when you do get info it is faster

BTW  i am the one with the big age difference and we did make it  

good luck to you both

try at this time to make the best of your chats and do the courting thing / romance is important now and immigraiton wants to see that for a real relationship

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

we don't have all 2017 stats yet but in 2016 in Morocco

489 CR1 visas were given

276 K1's

32 IR1  

compare this number with the first 2 quarters of 2017 where  21,267 finance visas given for all countries and see how difficult a K1 is in Morocco

 

Edited December 6, 2017 by adil-rafa

[Bluesky123 1]

18 hours ago, CynthiaBen said:

Thank you 

17 hours ago, RJandHamid said:

Possible? Yes, but the likelihood is very slim. I do hope that K1 processing times speed up again (the problem is that the I-129F approval step is taking around 5-6 months). I would say that if you know what steps to take, you could get an interview for the K1 visa in around 7 months taking into consideration current processing times. CR1 is a little more unpredictable. 

7 months , I guess I will just have to accept that this is going to take a while and just go with it. Thanks again for your  help , greatly appreciated

[Bluesky123 1]

Thank you all for all of the useful information, adil-rafa, EandH0904, RJandHamid   

 

Lets say that I decide to go for the CR-1, is it possible to file and live in Morocco while it's being processed? I ran this by my husband last night, you guys' suggestion about the CR1 being the better option because Morocco is so difficult, his answer, "once we are married, there's no way I am letting you go back, your place would be with me". In other words, if the CR-1 requires me to have to come back here and wait, it would be a no go. So, I am frustrated because the K1 is unlikely to be approved just based on stats and our relationship situation  and if we do the CR-1 I would want to stay in Morocco but I read somewhere that being there would be an issue during the process because of some thing or another, I think because of proof of domicile or employment or something like this.

 

Another thing that I wanted to ask was, I live in Miami and I don't feel that this is the place where I would want to live permanently, for many reasons one being that work opportunities for my fiancee would be limited. I know that in Orlando there is a large Moroccan community and I think it would be a good thing for him but I am not sure that I would like it there, any suggestions on what cities would be a good place for him and us as a whole (affordability, work, etc) just based on your experiences? 

 

Thanks again for all of the help,

 

CYnthia

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

1 for the future

Try chattanooga as we have a new VW plant and 2 amazon facilities in the area with several muslims working for them from many different countries 

we also have 2 mosques

2 Now

yes you can go and marry and stay but you need to show US residency (a home address)

you need to file US taxes as they will ask for tax  returns for last 3 years (if married)

you will need a cosponsor if you do not fulfill the 125% poverty guidelines for income

being out of the US makes it very hard to collect any documents needed in case immigration sends you an RFE (request for evidence)

my RFE demended my son's (grown up and married) birth certificates and my dad's death certificate    why????  no idea

along with several other documents and i was in morocco when the RFE came and had to fly home to gather and submit these within the 30 business days allowed

 

BTW another VJ member tried this 

married 10/2016 and planned to stay  / she lasted 3 months as it was clear she was a financial burden on an already poor family like most of Morocco is

 

message me privately and i will give you my whatsapp and phone number as we all from morocco know what you go thru and we try to support

some of what we say may discourage you but do not take it that way // we tell our experinces to try to help you get thru this and we know you can when you are sincere and serious 

[Bluesky123 1]

50 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

1 for the future

Try chattanooga as we have a new VW plant and 2 amazon facilities in the area with several muslims working for them from many different countries 

we also have 2 mosques

2 Now

yes you can go and marry and stay but you need to show US residency (a home address)

you need to file US taxes as they will ask for tax  returns for last 3 years (if married)

you will need a cosponsor if you do not fulfill the 125% poverty guidelines for income

being out of the US makes it very hard to collect any documents needed in case immigration sends you an RFE (request for evidence)

my RFE demended my son's (grown up and married) birth certificates and my dad's death certificate    why????  no idea

along with several other documents and i was in morocco when the RFE came and had to fly home to gather and submit these within the 30 business days allowed

 

BTW another VJ member tried this 

married 10/2016 and planned to stay  / she lasted 3 months as it was clear she was a financial burden on an already poor family like most of Morocco is

 

message me privately and i will give you my whatsapp and phone number as we all from morocco know what you go thru and we try to support

some of what we say may discourage you but do not take it that way // we tell our experinces to try to help you get thru this and we know you can when you are sincere and serious 

I swear this situation is frustrating, I am not sure how to proceed. I will message you privately..

 

 

 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

it is not confusing 

just a lot of paperwork telling immigration all personal information to establish a relationship

the hardest part is the waiting game as you don't hear anything for months

the steps are easy to follow / just be prepared to get documents and send all to immigation

don't be frustrated especially at this point

this is time for romance and getting to know each other