Venezuelan situation and my girlfriend

[D0UBLEO76 0]

Hello i need some help and guidance, my girlfriend and I have been dating for a little over a year now and i want to bring her here to the US through the Cr-1 or K1 visa process. heres the story

i met my girlfriend online and i have talked to her over video and direct message message for the past year, she lives in Venezuela and i am a US citizen, it took us a long time to get the passport but after a lot of money and time it finally arrived. we are now working on getting her personal documents and criminal records so that she can travel out of the country legally (we don't want anything holding us up in the future). we are doing everything we can to be together but the current situation in Venezuela is very bad and not making it easy. that being said we have been trying to get her out of the country to Peru, so that i can visit her and actually start the visa process. she does not want to return to Venezuela for any reason! 

i have a couple questions to help me decide my best course of action. 

 

1. which spousal visa would be the best in my situation the cr-1 or the K1?

2. with either of these routs would she have to travel back to the country of origin to start the visa process, or would it be her current country of residence?

3. what are my options moving forward with this?

4. what is the expected wait time for this?

5. will her not wanting to return to Venezuela be a problem?

 

thank you so much for the responses!

[Khallaf 650]

9 minutes ago, D0UBLEO76 said:

Hello i need some help and guidance, my girlfriend and I have been dating for a little over a year now and i want to bring her here to the US through the Cr-1 or K1 visa process. heres the story

i met my girlfriend online and i have talked to her over video and direct message message for the past year, she lives in Venezuela and i am a US citizen, it took us a long time to get the passport but after a lot of money and time it finally arrived. we are now working on getting her personal documents and criminal records so that she can travel out of the country legally (we don't want anything holding us up in the future). we are doing everything we can to be together but the current situation in Venezuela is very bad and not making it easy. that being said we have been trying to get her out of the country to Peru, so that i can visit her and actually start the visa process. she does not want to return to Venezuela for any reason! 

i have a couple questions to help me decide my best course of action. 

 

1. which spousal visa would be the best in my situation the cr-1 or the K1?

2. with either of these routs would she have to travel back to the country of origin to start the visa process, or would it be her current country of residence?

3. what are my options moving forward with this?

4. what is the expected wait time for this?

5. will her not wanting to return to Venezuela be a problem?

 

thank you so much for the responses!

Either the CR1 or the K1 will result in her having the interview in her home country that she is a resident of.

 

CR1 by far is the cheaper route to go it takes 12-14 months you will of course have to be married

 

K1 is taking little less time 8-12 months from start to finish and in the end cost a lot more out of pocket.

 

every consulate is different every country is different and so is every situation.

 

to file a K1 you will have to have met in person within 2 year of filing.

 

if she can get resident status in another country then she could have the interview in that country.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Khallaf

[D0UBLEO76 0]

3 minutes ago, Khallaf said:

Either the CR1 or the K1 will result in her having the interview in her home country that she is a resident of.

 

CR1 by far is the cheaper route to go it takes 12-14 months you will of course have to be married

 

K1 is taking little less time 8-12 months from start to finish and in the end cost a lot more out of pocket.

dang, alright i will let her know the news. thanks for the information

 

[Unlockable 7,314]

*** Moved from "IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures" to "What Visa Do I Need" ***

 

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

Since you haven't filed yet, I offer my analysis:

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/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 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 Adjustment of Status  (I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US. 

My Final Analysis:  If you can marry your fiance in his/her country, CR-1 is a much, much better option

[Boiler 45,531]

Meet first, then decide what to do.

[Unlockable 7,314]

@D0UBLEO76

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Looks like you have a lot of research to do. First you should learn the difference between the marriage based visas. K1 is a fiance visa. IR/CR1 is a spouse visa.

 

Use this site's guides to help you learn.

https://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/

 

Also, there are some differences between the fiance and spouse visa that you may have to consider. Our valued member @missileman just provided you with details of the differences.

 

Take the time and resources on this site to educate yourself on the process and you will be ok.

[JJ89 13]

On 11/14/2018 at 8:52 AM, D0UBLEO76 said:

dang, alright i will let her know the news. thanks for the information

 

Meet her first. Spend time with her in person. Get to know her family. Family is a very important indicator of what personality a person has.  I know you are not seeking relationship advice, but I just thought I could give you some quick advice. Sorry!

 

My wife is from Venezuela and I was in your shoes once too. The difference being I met her in person and not online. Here is everything I can help you with.

 

1. She can get her police certificate online for free. (GET THIS APPOSTILLADO)

2. Before she leaves, she needs to get:

                         her birth certificate (original copy  from the book)

                         vaccination record (if there is still one on file)

                         Termination of previous marriage certificate (if she was previously married)

                         Court records ( if she has any)

                          If she has a professional degree get it (APPOSTILLADO) so she can use it in other countries where it is accepted

                         PASSPORT

 

3. Finding work in any South American country as a Venezuelan is difficult. Don't expect it to be easy for her. 

 

4. Expect at least a year for everything. 

 

Please reach out to me if you have any questions. Take care bro.

 

4. If you do all of this and then decide to apply for cr-1 or k1, then you can do your interview at the embassy in Ecuador if she decides to go there.

    Ecuador has a program where they give residency to people from Venezuela. It is called Mercosur. You can read more about it. I think I made a post about  in the past . If you cannot find it, let me know. 

 

[JJ89 13]

On 11/14/2018 at 9:11 AM, Boiler said:

Meet first, then decide what to do.

Good advice, but its preferable that she has all documents necessary before leaving the country. There are options to get residency in other countries that would allow her to interview in the us. embassy there. 

 

OP meeting her in Venezuela is not easy. political instability and difficulty in obtaining a visa to Venezuela as an American contribute to this. 

Edited November 15, 2018 by JJ89