Which is a better route the CR-VISA or K-1 VISA ?

[Love-always 1]

Hi,

I was wondering which is a better route if your Fiancé lives abroad . Which is faster ? The CR-1 Visa or k-1 Visa ? And if we decide to get married on a whim can we start the paperwork in the US and my fiancé goes back to his country to work ? Or do we have to wait and fill it out while he is abroad ? Any help appreciate, thank you 

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Love-always

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum.

[Love-always 1]

4 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum.

Thank you . If we get married can we file the I-130 paperwork right away while my spouse is in the US ? And can he leave to go to his country to work ? 

[geowrian 22,338]

Which is better depends on your circumstances. The only advantage (besides a rare situation with 18-20 year old children at the time of getting the visa) of the K-1 is it is a few months faster. K-1 is taking ~8-12 months. CR-1 is taking ~12-16 months.

The CR-1 is cheaper, lets you work almost immediately upon entry, lets you travel right away, etc. It also has a way to handle a refusal of the visa with a returned petition versus the K-1 (the I-129F for a K-1 dies if returned).

 

You can file while either, both, or neither of you are in the US for either option. Note there is a section on the I-129F asking for a couple more items if filing while the fiance is in the US.

In either case they would return home after any visit and complete the visa process abroad.

Just now, Love-always said:

Thank you . If we get married can we file the I-130 paperwork right away while my spouse is in the US ? And can he leave to go to his country to work ? 

Yes. Sure he can leave. He can visit again (subject to CBP inspection) too.

[Love-always 1]

Thank you . Yes I have children 18-20 , my youngest I share custody so I have to stay in the us . I’m thinking CR-1 VISA is best ? My fiancée wants to get a job in the US , as soon as possible and relocate 

I told him he cannot apply for a work permit or work until we are married and he gets a CR-1 VISA or we get the K-1 VISA route 

both are complicated 

also can I use my foreign fiancée income / assets as proof of support ? 

I’m a single mom so I’ll get denied unless I get a joint sponsor 

 

 

[Love-always 1]

6 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Which is better depends on your circumstances. The only advantage (besides a rare situation with 18-20 year old children at the time of getting the visa) of the K-1 is it is a few months faster. K-1 is taking ~8-12 months. CR-1 is taking ~12-16 months.

The CR-1 is cheaper, lets you work almost immediately upon entry, lets you travel right away, etc. It also has a way to handle a refusal of the visa with a returned petition versus the K-1 (the I-129F for a K-1 dies if returned).

 

You can file while either, both, or neither of you are in the US for either option. Note there is a section on the I-129F asking for a couple more items if filing while the fiance is in the US.

In either case they would return home after any visit and complete the visa process abroad.

Yes. Sure he can leave. He can visit again (subject to CBP inspection) too.

Thank you . So if we get married we can start the I-130 paperwork right away ? I was worried we needed to wait . 

I think he wants to get started on it while he is with me 

[Love-always 1]

5 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Thank you . So if we get married we can start the I-130 paperwork right away ? I was worried we needed to wait . 

I think he wants to get started on it while he is with me 

Also , do you recommend hiring  help or doing the paperwork ourselves? Like hiring a independent immigration attorney or rapid visa? I’m trying to save money if possible 

as this process is expensive. 

So my fiancée cannot apply for I-765 form to get a work permit first I found out so he cannot work here in the US before we get married ? 

Hes not happy about this but I told him we have to do it step by step . And get married first . 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Love-always

[geowrian 22,338]

9 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Thank you . Yes I have children 18-20 , my youngest I share custody so I have to stay in the us . I’m thinking CR-1 VISA is best ? My fiancée wants to get a job in the US , as soon as possible and relocate 

I told him he cannot apply for a work permit or work until we are married and he gets a CR-1 VISA or we get the K-1 VISA route 

both are complicated 

also can I use my foreign fiancée income / assets as proof of support ? 

I’m a single mom so I’ll get denied unless I get a joint sponsor

Will the children be immigrating with you? If so, the K-1 may be needed. They would still need to be under 21 by the time of coming to the US, but otherwise they are fine with a K-2 visa.

If you do a CR-1 visa, the petitioner (US citizen) cannot petition for the stepchildren since they would be 18 or older on the date of marriage. They would need to be petitioned by the biological parent after getting a green card...and then it would take another either 2 years or 7-10 year from that, depending on if they age out into F2B category.

 

One major drawback of a K-1 is that you must marry within 90 days of entry and then file for AOS to get a green card. You can also file for AP (to travel abroad and return) and an EAD (to work) alongside AOS. But those are taking ~4-6 months to obtain. So he won't be able to work for likely 4-6 months even if you married on day of entry into the US.

 

Your fiance's income can only be used if it will continue from the same source (i.e. same exact job with the same company) upon coming to the US. His assets can be included, but note that assets need to be at least 3x the required income level.

 

7 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Thank you . So if we get married we can start the I-130 paperwork right away ? I was worried we needed to wait . 

I think he wants to get started on it while he is with me 

Yes...as soon as your marry and have all documents (sometimes the marriage certificate can take weeks in some states).

 

2 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Also , do you recommend hiring  help or doing the paperwork ourselves? Like hiring a independent immigration attorney or rapid visa? I’m trying to save money if possible 

as this process is expensive. 

Whether or not you need help is a personal decision. Most people here DIY...save the money as the forms may be overwhelming at first but generally as pretty simple. You would basically be telling the same info to somebody else who just puts it on the forms. I highly suggest reading the guides here, all forms,a nd all forms instructions. Ask questions if needed. Then see if you still want to spend money to have somebody else do the same thing.

RapidVisa usually is fine and many people have used them. They just follow a checklist as well...they aren't some high level pros handling cases. Sometimes they mess up pretty majorly too....and they almost never issue a refund when they do.

 

2 minutes ago, Love-always said:

So my fiancée cannot apply for I-765 form to get a work permit first I found out so he cannot work here in the US before we get married ? 

Hes not happy about this but I told him we have to do it step by step . And get married first . 

If  doing a K-1, correct - he won;t be able to work for at leastr ~4-6 months after marrying.

If doing a CR-1, he just needs an SSN to work after entry....so likely a couple weeks.

[Love-always 1]

8 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Will the children be immigrating with you? If so, the K-1 may be needed. They would still need to be under 21 by the time of coming to the US, but otherwise they are fine with a K-2 visa.

If you do a CR-1 visa, the petitioner (US citizen) cannot petition for the stepchildren since they would be 18 or older on the date of marriage. They would need to be petitioned by the biological parent after getting a green card...and then it would take another either 2 years or 7-10 year from that, depending on if they age out into F2B category.

 

One major drawback of a K-1 is that you must marry within 90 days of entry and then file for AOS to get a green card. You can also file for AP (to travel abroad and return) and an EAD (to work) alongside AOS. But those are taking ~4-6 months to obtain. So he won't be able to work for likely 4-6 months even if you married on day of entry into the US.

 

Your fiance's income can only be used if it will continue from the same source (i.e. same exact job with the same company) upon coming to the US. His assets can be included, but note that assets need to be at least 3x the required income level.

 

Yes...as soon as your marry and have all documents (sometimes the marriage certificate can take weeks in some states).

 

Whether or not you need help is a personal decision. Most people here DIY...save the money as the forms may be overwhelming at first but generally as pretty simple. You would basically be telling the same info to somebody else who just puts it on the forms. I highly suggest reading the guides here, all forms,a nd all forms instructions. Ask questions if needed. Then see if you still want to spend money to have somebody else do the same thing.

RapidVisa usually is fine and many people have used them. They just follow a checklist as well...they aren't some high level pros handling cases. Sometimes they mess up pretty majorly too....and they almost never issue a refund when they do.

 

If  doing a K-1, correct - he won;t be able to work for at leastr ~4-6 months after marrying.

If doing a CR-1, he just needs an SSN to work after entry....so likely a couple weeks.

Thanks for your help  

i was wondering if Boundless Immigration is a good site ? Or you were ok with doing the paperwork yourself ? 

Also if we get married in the US and my fiancé goes back to work at his job in his country and we file the I-130 form 

can I use his income and assets if he will continue his job in his country until he gets a his CR-1 VISA Greencard ? 

Also it says he has 6 months to immigrant to the US after getting the CR-1 visa and geencard 

is he allowed to still go back to his country too ? 

thanks 

[Boiler 46,277]

Forget RapidVisa, so many sad stories on here who have used them.

 

Does sound like you need a Lawyer and the CR1 will be the best option.

 

You can marry, apply for an Immigrant Visa, you will need to be the Sponsor, of you can not meet the requirements than you can use a Joint Sponsor - Family or Friend is common. They need to be a USC or LPR.

[geowrian 22,338]

3 minutes ago, Love-always said:

i was wondering if Boundless Immigration is a good site ? Or you were ok with doing the paperwork yourself ? 

I'm not familiar with them, sorry. A quick search shows they have 1 attorney on their team and the others are design, marketing, engineering, and management (https://www.boundless.com/about/). They are a technology company with a network of other attorneys (their words, not mine). Not that it is bad in anyw ay..just pointing that out for consideration (for a little comparison, my coworker's bank is a technology company but backed by a large bank, and he loves it).

 

We did the paperwork ourselves. AOS was approved a couple days go.

 

3 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Also if we get married in the US and my fiancé goes back to work at his job in his country and we file the I-130 form 

can I use his income and assets if he will continue his job in his country until he gets a his CR-1 VISA Greencard ?

No. The income needs to continue from the same source upon coming to (and living in) the US.

 

3 minutes ago, Love-always said:

Also it says he has 6 months to immigrant to the US after getting the CR-1 visa and geencard 

is he allowed to still go back to his country too ?

The visa will be valid for up to 6 months, usually limited by the validity of the medical examination  (also 6 months). With a CR-1 visa he would get a stamp on the visa upon entry, which acts as a green card for 1 year. The physical card will arrive in the mail later.

He can leave the US at any time and return (subject to CBP inspection, although this is almost never an issue except limited circumstances like criminal activity).

But he must maintain permanent residency within the US...so spend more time in the US than out of it to be safe. Travel abroad in excess of 6 months a year may raise suspicion of abandoning residency. Travel abroad of 1 year or longer in a single trip has a legal presumption of abandoning residency.

[Love-always 1]

13 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I'm not familiar with them, sorry. A quick search shows they have 1 attorney on their team and the others are design, marketing, engineering, and management (https://www.boundless.com/about/). They are a technology company with a network of other attorneys (their words, not mine). Not that it is bad in anyw ay..just pointing that out for consideration (for a little comparison, my coworker's bank is a technology company but backed by a large bank, and he loves it).

 

We did the paperwork ourselves. AOS was approved a couple days go.

 

No. The income needs to continue from the same source upon coming to (and living in) the US.

 

The visa will be valid for up to 6 months, usually limited by the validity of the medical examination  (also 6 months). With a CR-1 visa he would get a stamp on the visa upon entry, which acts as a green card for 1 year. The physical card will arrive in the mail later.

He can leave the US at any time and return (subject to CBP inspection, although this is almost never an issue except limited circumstances like criminal activity).

But he must maintain permanent residency within the US...so spend more time in the US than out of it to be safe. Travel abroad in excess of 6 months a year may raise suspicion of abandoning residency. Travel abroad of 1 year or longer in a single trip has a legal presumption of abandoning residency.

Thank you for your help . My fiancé wishes he could get a job here then marry me . Unfortunately I told him we have to do things accordingly to the law step by step .

I’m still not sure if the k1-visa is better ? Or cr-1-visa , it’s tough and I have to get a joint sponsor with me being a single mom , I’m thinking the CR-1 VISA Route might be best . 

But I told my fiancé we will have to wait to file the I-130 paperwork when he is back in his country as we would get married on a tourist visa during Christmas time 

he mentioned he would want to start on the papers while he is here after we marry. 

But Is it true it’s safer to wait to start the I-130 form when my spouse then would be back in his country ? Since we got married on his tourist visa ? I don’t want to cause any issues with this process 🙏

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Love-always

[Love-always 1]

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Forget RapidVisa, so many sad stories on here who have used them.

 

Does sound like you need a Lawyer and the CR1 will be the best option.

 

You can marry, apply for an Immigrant Visa, you will need to be the Sponsor, of you can not meet the requirements than you can use a Joint Sponsor - Family or Friend is common. They need to be a USC or LPR.

Thank you  is it ok my Dad is my joint sponsor ? What’s USC or LPR ? 

[geowrian 22,338]

Just now, Love-always said:

Thank you for your help . My fiancée wishes he could get a job here then marry me . Unfortunately I told him we have to do things accordingly to the law step by step .

im still not sure if the k1-visa is better ? Or cr-1 visa , it’s tough and I have to get a joint sponsor with me being a single mom 🙏

Correct....he can only get a job in the US beforehand if he got a work visa first (which is not easy and you have no role in the process).

 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that. Generally I lean more towards a CR-1 unless you really know what you are getting into regarding work and travel.

Comparison: https://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Ignore the K-3...that's obsolete nowadays.

 

1 minute ago, Love-always said:

Thank you  is it ok my Dad is my joint sponsor ? What’s USC or LPR ? 

If he earns enough, sure.

USC = US Citizen

LPR = Legal Permanent Resident (green card holder)

[Love-always 1]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Correct....he can only get a job in the US beforehand if he got a work visa first (which is not easy and you have no role in the process).

 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that. Generally I lean more towards a CR-1 unless you really know what you are getting into regarding work and travel.

Comparison: https://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Ignore the K-3...that's obsolete nowadays.

 

If he earns enough, sure.

USC = US Citizen

LPR = Legal Permanent Resident (green card holder)

Thank you . My parents are retired actually but have assets I hope I can use 🙏house , stocks etc