Provisional Visa for CR-1...?

[Yuilicious 65]

Hello everyone!

 

I may be posting on a wrong place, but I have a question...

 

A girl-friend of mine who is a US citizen got married to an Italian citizen man in Italy in December, 2017. 

She asked me about the visa process since I am going through K1 visa process since July. K1 visa and CR-1 are not the same visa at all, but she just wanted to get an idea of visa process in general. So I told her what I know about CR-1 and also gave her a few websites to help her including VJ.

Then in January, she told me that she has paid a lawyer to get a visa for him, and this lawyer told them that it should be issued within 5 months. I told her that is very unusual assuming they are applying for a CR-1, but hopefully the lawyer is right. And she told me that if it's taking longer than they thought, she could still stay in Italy with him since it is very easy to stay in Italy as a spouse. She also has a family in Italy as well although I believe she is not an Italian citizen (yet). I don't know if this has nothing to do with it, but I'd just say it to give you a whole information. 

So a few days ago, I messaged her and asked her how they were doing. She told me that they were on their way to get a visa now and planning to go back to the states in April. I asked her what exactly the visa  is called, and she said, "I don’t know what it’s called. It is the provisional visa before the green card— so when he arrives he is a 'green card holder'." So, I told her to let me know the name of the visa once they have it in their hand only because I'm curious why I've never heard of this. After she told me about "provisional visa," I looked up online and also on here, and it seems like the US government stopped issuing it a while ago...?

Just now, she has replied to my message, but talked about different topics; like they are looking for a place to live in NYC and she asked me if I knew any website for a short term lease rent in NYC (I lived in NYC for a while so that's probably why she asked me). But she did not mention anything about the visa and what its called. 

 

I don't want to come off rude and ask her again "Please tell me what the visa is called!!" LOL

But is this a thing at all? Has anyone heard about this..? I'd be happy if this "provisional visa" is legit and they can go back to the states together next month.

She has told me that they went to the city hall in Italy and did all the paperwork to officially be married, so I am almost sure that they are not a K1 filer. Also, as a Fiancé visa filer myself, I know it can't be that quick to get Fiancé visa if they just applied for it in January. I know every case is different, and if a beneficiary is in danger or something, "maybe" US government gives the visa immediately, but her husband is not in danger. USCIS hasn't started processing for October filers yet, so there is "kind of" no way that they, as a December filer, get a K1 visa.

 

I hope my question makes sense. I am only posting this because I don't wanna be like "that's what I thought" if her husband got turned away at the immigration in the airport, and they'll be apart. But I also don't wanna warn her that yet unless I get some opinions/proofs from you guys.

 

Thank you for reading my post. It would be very helpful if you can share your thoughts/knowledges about this with me!

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

If she is currently living in the US, his CR-1 process will take 12-14 months or so.  The only possible way to get the CR-1 faster is if she was also a resident of Italy, and they did Direct Consular Filing  (that's only if Italy consulate does that).  It sounds as if that attorney is not too well versed on US immigration processes.

 

Tell her to create an account here on VJ if she has questions....

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

14 minutes ago, Yuilicious said:

It is the provisional visa before the green card— so when he arrives he is a 'green card holder'.

The ONLY visa that allows a spouse to be a Green Card holder when he arrives is a CR-1 as explained above.

 

Edit:  or an IR-1 if the couple has been married 2 years or more when the spouse enters the US.....same processing, 12-14 months

Edited March 22, 2018 by missileman

[Roel 7,192]

Sounds like she wasted money on that lawyer. 

[Crispyxx 36]

Maybe she does not wanna tell you because what she really is doing is trying to travel there and get an AOS for him. It is illegal to do so and as far as I know you mostly get denied for AOS but I have also seen people stating on here before that they supposedly still got an AOS approved under said circumstances....

In the end it´s the officers decision...

However...if she is trying to do that she should better not be joining this website because this behavior is what causes issues for all the ones of us doing things lawfully and the right way. Those people are the ones that cause everyone getting questioned and triple checked and possibly getting denied entry when you travel to the US. I am always carrying a whole bunch of paperwork with me in order to be able to proof that I will fly back to Germany because just a return flight just sometimes isn´t enough proof for the officers.

[Yuilicious 65]

20 minutes ago, missileman said:

If she is currently living in the US, his CR-1 process will take 12-14 months or so.  The only possible way to get the CR-1 faster is if she was also a resident of Italy, and they did Direct Consular Filing  (that's only if Italy consulate does that).  It sounds as if that attorney is not too well versed on US immigration processes.

 

Tell her to create an account here on VJ if she has questions....

Thank you so much for your reply! I had no idea about Direct Consular Filing so I looked it up and found this post on VJ: 

 

Since she is married in Italy, I think DCF is what she did! I am glad to know that they got the visa this fast, and it seems legit. I probably didn't know this because my country (Japan) doesn't really accept DCF unless it is an emergency criteria (WHY JAPAN WHY haha).

Thank you so much for such a quick answer. I am learning a new thing everyday!

[Yuilicious 65]

Thank you for your reply! I was very worried about that since I was once about be fooled by a greedy lawyer. But it seems like she got the legit visa by DCF in Italy:) Thank you again for even just reading my post and commenting on it!

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

3 minutes ago, Yuilicious said:

Thank you so much for your reply! I had no idea about Direct Consular Filing so I looked it up and found this post on VJ: 

 

Since she is married in Italy, I think DCF is what she did! I am glad to know that they got the visa this fast, and it seems legit. I probably didn't know this because my country (Japan) doesn't really accept DCF unless it is an emergency criteria (WHY JAPAN WHY haha).

Thank you so much for such a quick answer. I am learning a new thing everyday!

This is the DCF guide from VJ:  http://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf

It states the following:  " In most cases permanent residence abroad must be legally established for a period of six months prior to submitting an I-130 petition (reference). "

[Yuilicious 65]

18 minutes ago, Crispyxx said:

Maybe she does not wanna tell you because what she really is doing is trying to travel there and get an AOS for him. It is illegal to do so and as far as I know you mostly get denied for AOS but I have also seen people stating on here before that they supposedly still got an AOS approved under said circumstances....

In the end it´s the officers decision...

However...if she is trying to do that she should better not be joining this website because this behavior is what causes issues for all the ones of us doing things lawfully and the right way. Those people are the ones that cause everyone getting questioned and triple checked and possibly getting denied entry when you travel to the US. I am always carrying a whole bunch of paperwork with me in order to be able to proof that I will fly back to Germany because just a return flight just sometimes isn´t enough proof for the officers.

Thank you for your reply! I understand.. I have told her that it is illegal to do so and that's why I am applying for K1 visa and not just entering the states with ESTA, getting married and applying for CR-1. I don't think she would have done it, but since we had such a crappy internet connection when we talked about the general visa process, I was worried that if she hasn't heard it, or misunderstood what I meant. I am so sorry you have to deal with such a hustle. I hope one day all the process will get better! Thank you so much for sharing your thought. Really appreciate it!:)

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

11 minutes ago, Yuilicious said:

Thank you for your reply! I was very worried about that since I was once about be fooled by a greedy lawyer. But it seems like she got the legit visa by DCF in Italy:) Thank you again for even just reading my post and commenting on it!

So, where are they right now?

[Yuilicious 65]

 

4 minutes ago, missileman said:

This is the DCF guide from VJ:  http://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf

It states the following:  " In most cases permanent residence abroad must be legally established for a period of six months prior to submitting an I-130 petition (reference). "

Yes! I have read that part, and I was like oh no!!! But also on the link I posted, the person who posted that forum said, "I called the U.S. Embassy in Milan about 5 times just to ask questions and to clarify anything I was not sure about on the checklist. In example, I had read that you needed to be a resident of Italy for at least 6 months before being apply to apply, but when I called, they told me that it didn't matter, just as long as I had my "permesso di soggiorno." Though, I did have a temporary permesso by June 2016 and received my permanent one until January 2017. I included copies of both in my packet. "

 

Yes, she had a temporary permesso (permission..?) by June, 2016 which makes her stay in Italy more than 6 months, but what she wrote said that "they told me that it didn't matter, just and as long as I had my 'permesso di soggiorno.'" Since my friend is married officially in Italy, I think she has permesso di soggiorno, and that's probably why she was able to get CR1 by DCF,  I think...? Very lucky for whoever's fiancé is an Italian citizen... But I am just really happy to know that it is possible to get CR1 this quickly depending on the country:)

[Yuilicious 65]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

So, where are they right now?

They are still in Italy! They are going back to the states next month. I will ask my friend if she applied for CR1 by DCF. I didn't know about DCF, so I couldn't ask her about that! Also she probably didn't know much neither since she probably let the lawyer to do them. (I mean she probably didn't know the difference between DCF and non DCF just like me!)

[Crispyxx 36]

1 minute ago, Yuilicious said:

Thank you for your reply! I understand.. I have told her that it is illegal to do so and that's why I am applying for K1 visa and not just entering the states with ESTA, getting married and applying for CR-1. I don't think she would have done it, but since we had such a crappy internet connection when we talked about the general visa process, I was worried that if she hasn't heard it, or misunderstood what I meant. I am so sorry you have to deal with such a hustle. I hope one day all the process will get better! Thank you so much for sharing your thought. Really appreciate it!:)

I hope you are right and she has done DCF so she does not run into issues later on...If someone gets denied AOS under such circumstances it can cause the Greencard being denied in the end. A lot of people just don´t wanna hear advice like that because everyone knows the Greencard process can be a nightmare.

 

&no worries....I am pretty fortunate to be a student and am currently in my last year so I can travel back and forth a lot and luckily I did not have problems with travels myself yet where I would have needed the pile of papers but I have a friend who got questioned and therefore missed her connection flight(she did not get send back home). I think it is right that they do that tho...keep the country safe!  

[Yuilicious 65]

9 minutes ago, Crispyxx said:

I hope you are right and she has done DCF so she does not run into issues later on...If someone gets denied AOS under such circumstances it can cause the Greencard being denied in the end. A lot of people just don´t wanna hear advice like that because everyone knows the Greencard process can be a nightmare.

 

&no worries....I am pretty fortunate to be a student and am currently in my last year so I can travel back and forth a lot and luckily I did not have problems with travels myself yet where I would have needed the pile of papers but I have a friend who got questioned and therefore missed her connection flight(she did not get send back home). I think it is right that they do that tho...keep the country safe!  

I will ask her if this is what she did, and if she says she doesn't know, then I will tell her all the issues she may face it later on. I really hope DCF is what she did! I also appreciate VJ more and more everyday. I learn a new thing every day, and people are just so willing to help each other without asking any return.

 

Oh that is good to hear! I wish I could do that too, but it really makes me happy to know that some people can visit their fiancé or their spouses while they are waiting for the proper visa:) I am so sorry what happened to your friend though. It is terrifying to be in that situation even when she was doing absolutely nothing wrong, then missing a flight is just soooo horrible in general... But yes, I like the way you look at it. Keep the country where we are gonna be safe! haha Thank you again!:) 

[NikLR 13,227]

3 hours ago, Yuilicious said:

Thank you for your reply! I understand.. I have told her that it is illegal to do so and that's why I am applying for K1 visa and not just entering the states with ESTA, getting married and applying for CR-1. I don't think she would have done it, but since we had such a crappy internet connection when we talked about the general visa process, I was worried that if she hasn't heard it, or misunderstood what I meant. I am so sorry you have to deal with such a hustle. I hope one day all the process will get better! Thank you so much for sharing your thought. Really appreciate it!:)

Just fyi, there is nothing wrong with entering the USA on ESTA or a tourist visa and marrying then going the CR1 route.  What is illegal is intending to enter the USA on a non-immigrant visa with intent to immigrate.  It is also illegal to lie to the CBP about your intentions.