K1 or IR-1/CR-1 for an Egyptian spouse ?

[A.Elsharkawy 0]

Hello all, 

I am a US citizen and I am trying to decide the best route to take to bring my fiance to the US, she is currently living in Egypt. I have the option to apply either for K1 now or get married in Egypt and then do IR-1/CR-1 ?? What would be the safe option to do at this time. I have read so many topics/cases regarding the slowdown processing time and it is really frustrating me. I have been overthinking about it and can't make the decision.

Thank you in advance and your advice would be much appreciated. 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by A.Elsharkawy

[Crazy Cat 42,215]

Your Bride?  If you are married, you have only one option:  CR-1.   If you are not yet married, then I suggest looking at this:

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 she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until 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. 

[Roel 7,193]

The title say "spouse", the post say "fiance".

Better decide which is it Especially if you decide to apply for K1 - do not call your fiance "spouse".

[A.Elsharkawy 0]

4 minutes ago, missileman said:

Your Bride?  If you are married, you have only one option:  CR-1.   If you are not yet married, then I suggest looking at this:

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 she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until 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. 

I really appreciate your response. Okay I see, and No not married yet.

[geowrian 22,338]

Personally I'd suggest the CR-1 for Egypt since it is a difficult embassy. You have more paths in the event of an initial visa refusal vs the K-1.  Hopefully that doesn't happen obviously, but it is something to be planned for just in case.

[A.Elsharkawy 0]

7 minutes ago, Roel said:

The title say "spouse", the post say "fiance".

Better decide which is it Especially if you decide to apply for K1 - do not call your fiance "spouse".

Sorry disregard the title. I am trying to edit but It is not allowing me to do so  !

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Personally I'd suggest the CR-1 for Egypt since it is a difficult embassy. You have more paths in the event of an initial visa refusal vs the K-1.  Hopefully that doesn't happen obviously, but it is something to be planned for just in case.

Good point. I appreciate it. Thanks !

[Crazy Cat 42,215]

The average processing times from NOA1 to interview for both the CR-1 and K-1 are shown below.  In addition to the superior benefits of a CR-1, the processing time trend seems to be  decreasing while the K-1 average processing time is increasing...since April.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by missileman

[A.Elsharkawy 0]

1 hour ago, missileman said:

The average processing times from NOA1 to interview for both the CR-1 and K-1 are shown below.  In addition to the superior benefits of a CR-1, the processing time trend seems to be  decreasing while the K-1 average processing time is increasing...since April.

 

 

@missileman This processing time doesn't reflect cases that goes through AP.  that's what makes me worry - the AP that takes long time. I am not sure how often the cases can go into AP in Egypt.

[Crazy Cat 42,215]

10 minutes ago, A.Elsharkawy said:

@missileman This processing time doesn't reflect cases that goes through AP.  that's what makes me worry - the AP that takes long time. I am not sure how often the cases can go into AP in Egypt.

All cases go through some form of AP, but there is currently no metric within VJ to measure that...to my knowledge. AP can be a few hours , a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or (in some rare cases) years.......

[TBoneTX 46,067]

Thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the "What Visa Do I Need" forum.