Choosing b/w CR1 & K1 when US Citizen is living abroad

[Nitas_man 3,100]

15 hours ago, Kuneesa said:

Thanks. We thought the same, so CR1 it is!  

 

She has work approval for 2 more years here so we can decide when we want to leave. We are planning to leave together once I get the CR1 visa. Also, would her working abroad be a problem while filling up the I-864 Affidavit of Support? She does file US taxes and has savings/assets in US bank accounts. Thanks for the help! 

You guys have time - CR1 is probably the best route.

Will she be working for the same company in the US?  If her income will continue after return you’re good to go.  If not, she can sponsor you on her assets - have to be at least 3X the USCIS poverty guideline and best if they are easily accessible and very liquid.  

They don’t count overseas income at all if the USC cannot show that the emplyoment income will continue when the USC returns  leaving the USC the option of sponsoring on assets or obtaining a co-sponsor in the US. (if you guys want to return together).  The other option is for her to DCF file for you then return to the US ahead of you, start working, and use that income to sponsor you.

Good luck!

[sunshinelove 52]

I agree with the many folks above me. I'd totally go the CR1 route. You're already together and by the time her work visa is set to expire would be around the time you probably would get the visa to come to the US. It would leave you plenty of time to gather evidence and you'd have your LPR status as soon as you got here, making life easier all around. Definitely go for the CR1

[NikLR 13,227]

Doing reading at the US embassy website in new dehli, DCF may no longer be possible.  Regardless my vote is still for CR1.

 

https://in.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

[Kuneesa 92]

19 hours ago, Jorge V said:

Anyone who meets the residency requirements can file, as long as you live in one of these countries, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices . The exceptional circumstances requirement comes into play when someone lives abroad but does not live in one of these. You can read more if you click through to India's field office site ( https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office ). There's a section titled "Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative" that you have to expand, there you'll find this:

 

 

 As you can see, if you reside in India then you qualify just by residing there. If you live outside of India but wish to file at that office you need to show exceptional circumstances.

 

FYI I did DCF in Mexico last year and the total process only took 49 days vs the 12-14 months the standard process takes.

 

18 hours ago, ddtenor2 said:

I'm pretty sure it's available to anyone who meets the requirements.

 

17 hours ago, Pennycat said:

I'd say in your case, the clear winner is CR1 visa. That's because you live in a DCF country and are eligible (DCF results in a CR1). That will bring the wait time down to half or less of that of the K1. The K1s main advantage is speed over the CR1. Everything else is a downside-- a period of unemployment in the US (at least 3 months, but increasingly it's been approaching 6), the expense and stress of Adjustment of Status, the fact it's a bit of an odd visa and state DMVs don't always know how to deal with it. For you in this situation, CR1 is likely to be faster than K1 and cuts out all that hassle. 

 

14 hours ago, felipeTAYA said:

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office

 

Do direct consular.

 

14 hours ago, Pennycat said:

 

 

Superior in those ways for sure but not for time. In some situations, it makes sense to deal with the expense and the downsides in exchange for time (maintaining 2 houses in 2 countries can be expensive, some people have contract jobs, or jobs like teachers with firm "quit by" dates, meaning they'd be unemployed in their home countries waiting to move etc).

 

But in this case with DCF a possibility, the CR1 wins on time, too and so it is a no-brainer.

 

We did K1 and I'd do it again for us and our situation, but usually caution people about the expense and hassle of AOS and the reality of months of unemployment.

 

11 hours ago, Scandi said:

Hardly any reason to mention "time" as a reason to do the K-1 at this time since the K-1 is almost taking as long as the CR-1. It might have been different when you filed, but today it's taking much longer, and you get nothing out of it compared to the CR-1.

 

I too went the K-1 route and would never do it again. I would definitely go for the CR-1, especially considering the processing times of today.

 

And if OP can do DCF too, then that's a no-brainer. Definitely CR-1.

 

11 hours ago, NikLR said:

You guys can do DCF.  https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office

 

CR1, no questions asked.  It would be ridiculous to do anything else IMHO. 

 

 

9 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

You guys have time - CR1 is probably the best route.

Will she be working for the same company in the US?  If her income will continue after return you’re good to go.  If not, she can sponsor you on her assets - have to be at least 3X the USCIS poverty guideline and best if they are easily accessible and very liquid.  

They don’t count overseas income at all if the USC cannot show that the emplyoment income will continue when the USC returns  leaving the USC the option of sponsoring on assets or obtaining a co-sponsor in the US. (if you guys want to return together).  The other option is for her to DCF file for you then return to the US ahead of you, start working, and use that income to sponsor you.

Good luck!

 

8 hours ago, sunshinelove said:

I agree with the many folks above me. I'd totally go the CR1 route. You're already together and by the time her work visa is set to expire would be around the time you probably would get the visa to come to the US. It would leave you plenty of time to gather evidence and you'd have your LPR status as soon as you got here, making life easier all around. Definitely go for the CR1

 

THANKS A LOT GUYS! I love this community. I was so confused regarding everything and all these will definitely help us in deciding the best route. I guess we will do CR1 and file it via DCF.  

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Doing reading at the US embassy website in new dehli, DCF may no longer be possible.  Regardless my vote is still for CR1.

 

https://in.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

I checked this. To me, it seems that interview process from Delhi office has been shifted to Mumbai but they still accept the CR1 petition via DCF. Checked a couple other threads in the DCF forum and it looks like that to me. Regardless, we plan on calling the embassy the coming week and ask them how should we proceed forward. Thanks a lot for your help!

 

*EDIT: On the USCIS website, it says that I-130 petition is a service that the USCIS field office provides in Delhi and it is letting me make an appointment from the InfoPass website. Will still call the embassy and clarify. 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2018 by Kuneesa
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[Ryan H 3,812]

13 hours ago, NikLR said:

Doing reading at the US embassy website in new dehli, DCF may no longer be possible.  Regardless my vote is still for CR1.

 

https://in.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

 

That only pertains to visa interviews, not petition filings.  If the USCIS field office in New Delhi is still open, they will accept a petition (provided that DCF qualifications are met).