K3 or CR1????

[dinu 0]

Hi!

I"m sending the I-130 for my husband tomorrow (Vermont Service Center) and would like to know if I should go ahead and apply for K3 for him or just wait and do the CR1. We've been married for almost two years and some people think it'll be better to wait for the I-130 to be approved but it might be faster to apply K3. The waiting time for an interview at the Embassy is about two months for both CR1 and K3 and therefore, the processing time here is what makes the difference. The question that I have about K3 is that he wont be able to work as soon as he gets here since he has to apply for EAD and it takes a few months right? Please let me know what you think. Any ideas are highly appreciated. Many thanks!!!

[Euro 3]

Hi!

I"m sending the I-130 for my husband tomorrow (Vermont Service Center) and would like to know if I should go ahead and apply for K3 for him or just wait and do the CR1. We've been married for almost two years and some people think it'll be better to wait for the I-130 to be approved but it might be faster to apply K3. The waiting time for an interview at the Embassy is about two months for both CR1 and K3 and therefore, the processing time here is what makes the difference. The question that I have about K3 is that he wont be able to work as soon as he gets here since he has to apply for EAD and it takes a few months right? Please let me know what you think. Any ideas are highly appreciated. Many thanks!!!

Only you can decide, BUT if i were you and going through VSC i would just do the CR1/IR1 as vermont are so much faster than CSC (which process ALL other I-130)

Good Luck in which ever you decide!!

EDITED to say with the K3 your right he would have to apply for EAD by the time he got that you could be useing your CR1/IR1

Edited March 21, 2006 by euro

[Marilyn. 340]

it would actually be the IR1 visa you would be getting because you have been married over 2 years.... the IR1 visa entitles you to a 10 year green card...

Ok, I just read your post more carefully, you said you have been married almost 2 years..... Would you be married 2 years before the CR1/IR1 interview?

I personally had no luck with the K3 visa so my suggestion would be just wait for the IR1 visa but it is totally your own decision to make.....

with the K3 you have to apply for AOS once you have moved here, I am not usre about the EAD and the SSN though

with the IR1 you get your Greencard and SSN usually within a month or two of moving to the United States

Edited March 21, 2006 by MarilynP

[MaryandMian 1]

Personally if the wait time for both interviews is only two months I would go the CR1 route since you have been married as long as you have. Plus, you will not have to do the AOS stuff and can get your ss card within weeks and work very shortly afterwards. Good luck.

Mary

[meddykomp 0]

There are many factors with the K-3 v. CR-1/IR-1. It will be IR-1 if he enters the country with his visa after your 2nd wedding anniversay. Vermont does in general process faster than California. This is not a guarantee. I cannot tell you how often I see posts about people who assumed that since they were going through Vermont that it would be fast. You are not required to AOS when you get a K-3. Your husband can come here on a K-3 and still continue to pursue the IR-1. it just means he will need to return to his country for the interview if he chooses this route. Whether the K-3 is worth it or not is entirely up to you. You can always file for it and abandon it if your I-130 gets to the embassy quickly. The K-3 spends less time at NVC from my understanding so it could be quicker. What you have to decide is whether the money is worth the possibility of being together sooner. If you choose to pursue K-3 and he does come in on that visa, he then needs to decide whether he wants to AOS or return to his country to complete his interview there. Good luck

[pbgirl 1]

As everyone else has already said, it is all personal choice.

Personally, we chose the K-3 because it was faster. I had to go through Nebraska and they took 7 months to approve the I130. In those 7 months, we have already completed the processing and interview for the K3 instead. True, you have to either do AOS or go back to the home country for the CR-1, but we found it was more important to be together quicker and give him time to get use to the culture anyway (and we can afford to wait for the EAD to take a few months). I have seen some people's timelines where they got the CR-1 in the same amount of time it took us for the K-3 (and most were through Vermont). But you never know what the luck of the draw is, one center could slow processing or could get faster. You just never know.

[sheila526 2]

Since you're in VSC, I would go for IR1

Sheila

[aussiewench 9]

We were going to do the K-3 as well. We went through Vermont and our I-130 was approved in 42 days so we decided against the K-3 particularly as the CR-1 meant no AOS and I would have the Green Card. I figured that the K-3 would possibly still have gotten me to the US a couple of months earlier but the benefits for us far outweighed that. Vermont has slowed down just a little since the end of 2005 when our I-130 was approved but is still a lot faster then other service centers. As others have mentioned though things can change and things can affect how long the process will take....security checks can add time. As you most likely will be IR-1 come entry, that has huge benefits compared to the K-3.

You can also opt to file the I-129F petition for spouse and also continue with the I-130 through NVC. If the I-129F makes it to the Consulate prior to the I-130 then your spouse could enter on the K-3 so you can be together (not adjust status) and then return to Consulate for the CR/IR-1 interview and enter with PR and the Green Card. Many do this when finances permit and they can travel easily. Its all up to you. You can cover your bases and file both petitions and see what happens. If both reach Consulate together the CR/IR-1 will over-ride the K-3.