Proposal in the US?

[Sarah055 0]

Hi! Im wondering if it is visa fraud/detrimental to the k1 process if my fiance proposes to me in the US and then returns back home when we file for the K1? I am not asking about switching status from a tourist visa while he is here, just if he can propose and return. We have been talking about getting married but he wants to visit before filing and I assume that is the purpose (as well as to discuss things in person). He has an ESTA already. 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

It is visa fraud ONLY IF he intends to enter the US via a tourist visa, ESTA, etc with the intent to remain and adjust status.  It is perfectly fine for him to enter the US, propose (and even marry you), then return to his country.

Edited March 4, 2018 by missileman

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

And another thing:  If you are considering which visa to get:

 

K-1

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until he/she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until he/she receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

Edited March 4, 2018 by missileman

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

The poster above is correct- however I'd like to add with a k1 visa you are spending your first year married together and with a cr1 you are apart for your first year as your spouse can not be in the USA 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

12 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

The poster above is correct- however I'd like to add with a k1 visa you are spending your first year married together and with a cr1 you are apart for your first year as your spouse can not be in the USA 

The time apart from filing to visa in hand is only 2 or 3 months difference between K-1 and CR-1.......It is perfectly legal for the the spouse to make visits inside the US during the CR-1 process.

 

The expense and hassle of having to go through the AOS process and the lack of a real status being between AOS filing and actually having the Green Card is enough to make the CR-1 a valid option, imo.

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by missileman

[JFH 12,190]

29 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

The poster above is correct- however I'd like to add with a k1 visa you are spending your first year married together and with a cr1 you are apart for your first year as your spouse can not be in the USA 

"Can not be in the US" is not strictly correct. They can visit as often as they can afford. 

 

I always find this to be an unusual comment. Especially in the OP's case as the intended spouse is from a VWP country and can visit very easily. I just find it odd that people whose relationship is anything but conventional (online dating or meeting, international long-distance relationship, contemplating moving to the other side of the world and starting a whole new life) suddenly have a hang-up about living apart for a year whilst married. I can understand it among very religious couples who can't sleep or even be alone together until they are married but for the vast majority it's not like the first year of marriage is the first time they've been under the same roof.

 

Being apart after the wedding is no different than before the wedding. Apart is apart. We felt no different after we were married than before. Once we had reached the stage where we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives (about a year before we got married), that was it. 

 

I notice that it's always K-1 applicants that consider this to be a negative but I've yet to see a CR-1 applicant that found it to be impossible to bear. It's not as bad as people think. I say that as someone who spent the first two years of married life living in a different country from my husband. 

Edited March 4, 2018 by JFH

[JFH 12,190]

1 hour ago, Sarah055 said:

Hi! Im wondering if it is visa fraud/detrimental to the k1 process if my fiance proposes to me in the US and then returns back home when we file for the K1? I am not asking about switching status from a tourist visa while he is here, just if he can propose and return. We have been talking about getting married but he wants to visit before filing and I assume that is the purpose (as well as to discuss things in person). He has an ESTA already. 

Being engaged is not a legal or official status. Who is to know whether he proposed or not? It's not illegal to ask someone to marry you as a visitor. CBP are unlikely to even ask this question when he visits because there is no reason to ask. It's meaningless. 

[TransAtlanticLove 31]

In my opinion when the process works as it's supposed to then the K-1 gets you and your partner to be together sooner. That was our main reason for doing it over the CR-1...a couple hundred dollars wasn't worth saving if it meant we would spend more months apart but that was personal preference.

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

1 minute ago, TransAtlanticLove said:

In my opinion when the process works as it's supposed to then the K-1 gets you and your partner to be together sooner. That was our main reason for doing it over the CR-1...a couple hundred dollars wasn't worth saving if it meant we would spend more months apart but that was personal preference.

The last time I checked, AOS was more than a couple hundred dollars.....but you are right in that it is a personal choice.  But I will add this:  I have seen many K-1 posters here on VJ who have said that they wish they had gone with a CR-1 instead........I have seen zero cases of the opposite.

[TransAtlanticLove 31]

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

The last time I checked, AOS was more than a couple hundred dollars.....but you are right in that it is a personal choice.  But I will add this:  I have seen many K-1 posters here on VJ who have said that they wish they had gone with a CR-1 instead........I have seen zero cases of the opposite.

It's about a $900 difference not to mention the difference in sponsor income limits being about $5k. But it was a personal preference considering my fiance could not visit.

[JFH 12,190]

2 hours ago, TransAtlanticLove said:

It's about a $900 difference not to mention the difference in sponsor income limits being about $5k. But it was a personal preference considering my fiance could not visit.

My husband couldn't visit me either because he is a felon and so has a lifetime ban from the U.K. We'd already been living apart for 4 years by the time we filed (although I visited over 40 times) so a few extra months wasn't a big deal when not being able to work for at least 4 months would have cost us at least $24,000 in my lost wages. Plus my employer provides health insurance at no cost up me. So that saved a few hundred a month too because I was working less than 2 weeks after I arrived. You couldn't pay me enough to sit at home for months with no job to go to. It's not what I spent 7 years at university for. 

 

If the financial requirements for a CR-1 are a concern, you need to question how you can afford to keep two people in a household where one of you cannot work for several months. Being a newly wed and having to live with your parents because you can't afford your own place, for example, is miserable

 

But, we all make our choices. Just giving the OP food for thought. 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

7 hours ago, JFH said:

"Can not be in the US" is not strictly correct. They can visit as often as they can afford. 

 

I always find this to be an unusual comment. Especially in the OP's case as the intended spouse is from a VWP country and can visit very easily. I just find it odd that people whose relationship is anything but conventional (online dating or meeting, international long-distance relationship, contemplating moving to the other side of the world and starting a whole new life) suddenly have a hang-up about living apart for a year whilst married. I can understand it among very religious couples who can't sleep or even be alone together until they are married but for the vast majority it's not like the first year of marriage is the first time they've been under the same roof.

 

Being apart after the wedding is no different than before the wedding. Apart is apart. We felt no different after we were married than before. Once we had reached the stage where we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives (about a year before we got married), that was it. 

 

I notice that it's always K-1 applicants that consider this to be a negative but I've yet to see a CR-1 applicant that found it to be impossible to bear. It's not as bad as people think. I say that as someone who spent the first two years of married life living in a different country from my husband. 

You are right “can’t be in the USA “ was not completely correct for everyone, however, in my situation it was. It is very difficult for people from my husbands country to get to the USA and we would have definitely been apart our first year of marriage not to mention none of my family would have been able to attend the wedding, we would have to get documentation translated etc. it is definitely personal preference which route someone takes, I’m just saying there are many angles to look at it and depending on which country your fiancé is from may make things easier or more difficult than others.

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

I did exactly what you said. I proposed in Hawaii and then we both returned to China where we filed for K1. And we got approved for the K1. Wasn’t a problem. 

 

Good luck!

[I.Kat 191]

The same here - I was visiting my boyfriend, now fiancé, on ESTA and he proposed to me in the US. We filed our K1 together and then I returned back to my country for the waiting game 

[CheeseMonstah 87]

Hey, I proposed to my now wife while visiting on an ESTA.

 

My case is a little different, because months later I came back on an L1, but still, proposed while on ESTA.