Difference between K3 and CR-1 Visa?

[Lara Rebecca 0]

Hello,

my name is Lara and I am new in this forum. Right now I am engaged to an american and we will get married

on the 4th of June, 2007 (in two weeks! ).

So after that we will apply for the visa as soon as possible. Right now I am still living in Germany and I will have to stay here until January of 2008 because of my job.

I already spent hours and hours of trying to figure out what we will need to apply for... and as soon as I thought I had most of it figured out, I read about the CR-1 Visa.

We wanted to apply for the K3 Visa... (I-130). I was never really sure though what the I-129F does...

So I would be so happy if anybody could explain to me what the difference is between the K3 and the CR-1 Visa... and which one will be better and quicker!

And is the I-129F necessary? What exactly is it for?

I am still a trainee right now and will (hopefully) be done with it in January of 2008. So thats when I plan on moving to the states... so which Visa would be best for me?

I thank you so so much for your answers and any help... because we will have to start applying for it right after the wedding. Just so we dont have to be apart longer than needed.

Lara

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

It is all down to your personal needs really. A K-3 is usually faster, a CR-1 in my opinion is the better visa as you come in already authorized to work. If you will not be financially strapped on one income by all means go for the k-3. It has been sometime since we filed so I can't say for sure what the difference is time wise between the two. Back in the day when we filed the CR-1 took on average 2-3 months longer than the k-3, it was worth the wait for us. Others will be a long soon to fill in the blanks.

Good luck and a speedy journey whatever you decide!

[milimelo 4,544]

Lara,

if you are getting married in Germany, and your USC spouse-to-be has been living in Germany for 6 months you are eligible for DCF. Through DCF you can get CR-1 immigrant visa (I-130) in couple of months. It is much better than K-3 visa as you do not have to adjust status - you only have to remove conditions 90 days prior to 2 year anniversary of entering the States. And, CR-1 gives you GC immediately and thus you can start working right away. Once you have visa in hand, you have six months to activate it which should be ok as you want to move to the States in January 2008.

Check out the DCF subforum for more info.

Best wishes for the wedding!

Good luck on your visa journey!

Mel

[simple_male 1]

Welcome to VJ! Congratulations in advance for your marriage. It is better for you to read the guides in this website which will explain you more about CR-1, K-3, etc.

CR-1 is the Immigrant visa for the spouse of the US Citizen. For that, your US Citizen husband will have to file an I-130 (plus all required documentations). After coming with the CR-1 visa, the foreign alien spouse does not need to adjust her status. He/she will have to remove the conditions between one year 9 month and 2 years from the time of his/her arrival in USA.

K-3 is the Nonimmigrant visa for the spouse of the US Citizen. For that, your US Citizen husband will need to file I-129F along with the proof that an I-130 was filed prior to filing I-129F. K-3 should be the quicker route to come to the USA (though it does not happen all the time). After coming with K-3 visa, the foreign alien spouse will need to adjust his/her status in USA.

Please keep readign the guides and things will be clearer to you, as you start your journey. Neging patient is helpful in this process which can be stressful at times. Hope my reply is helpful for you.

Hello,

my name is Lara and I am new in this forum. Right now I am engaged to an american and we will get married

on the 4th of June, 2007 (in two weeks! ).

So after that we will apply for the visa as soon as possible. Right now I am still living in Germany and I will have to stay here until January of 2008 because of my job.

I already spent hours and hours of trying to figure out what we will need to apply for... and as soon as I thought I had most of it figured out, I read about the CR-1 Visa.

We wanted to apply for the K3 Visa... (I-130). I was never really sure though what the I-129F does...

So I would be so happy if anybody could explain to me what the difference is between the K3 and the CR-1 Visa... and which one will be better and quicker!

And is the I-129F necessary? What exactly is it for?

I am still a trainee right now and will (hopefully) be done with it in January of 2008. So thats when I plan on moving to the states... so which Visa would be best for me?

I thank you so so much for your answers and any help... because we will have to start applying for it right after the wedding. Just so we dont have to be apart longer than needed.

Lara

Edited May 21, 2007 by simple_male

[homesick_american 1]

Hello,

my name is Lara and I am new in this forum. Right now I am engaged to an american and we will get married

on the 4th of June, 2007 (in two weeks! ).

So after that we will apply for the visa as soon as possible. Right now I am still living in Germany and I will have to stay here until January of 2008 because of my job.

I already spent hours and hours of trying to figure out what we will need to apply for... and as soon as I thought I had most of it figured out, I read about the CR-1 Visa.

We wanted to apply for the K3 Visa... (I-130). I was never really sure though what the I-129F does...

So I would be so happy if anybody could explain to me what the difference is between the K3 and the CR-1 Visa... and which one will be better and quicker!

And is the I-129F necessary? What exactly is it for?

I am still a trainee right now and will (hopefully) be done with it in January of 2008. So thats when I plan on moving to the states... so which Visa would be best for me?

I thank you so so much for your answers and any help... because we will have to start applying for it right after the wedding. Just so we dont have to be apart longer than needed.

Lara

The K-3 sometimes takes less time to process but requires you to adjust status once in the USA; it is a non-immigrant visa. The CR1 is an immigrant visa, aka green card, and you can work immediately but you will be required to remove conditions after two years to be issued a 10-year green card.

Any advice you get about DCF here should be re-verified with your local US embassy/consulate. They seem to have their own rules about who can do a direct consular file with them and who can't. There's a lot of inaccurate info flying around here about that. A lot of the info is accurate, but a lot of it isn't. Just save yourself the pain and double-check.

A DCF will take less time than going through US service centers, so if it is an option for you then DEFINITELY go for the CR1. I think milimelo is being a tad optimistic about the processing times. It will take longer than two months to get a CR1. It may take longer than that just for them to adjudicate the I-130 petition.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Mononoke28 135]

I've done some research in this forum to compare K-3 vs. CR-1/IR-1 visas and the time you save by filing a K-3 is about 4-6 weeks, on AVERAGE. Of course you have a few people who had really bad experiences from the get go and has taken them a lot longer, but overall the difference is not much. If you can file for a CR-1 visa, go for it. But if you're DYING to get here faster, even if it's only by a few weeks or a couple of months, then the K-3 visa is something to consider.

[Lara Rebecca 0]

You guys are sooo great! Thank you so much!

I understand it a lot better now and think that the CR-1 will probably be better for us. Especially if it is only a time difference of a couple of months.

I am so excited about everything! The past year I've just been annoyed about being away from my fiance and I am so happy that we can finally start the whole process and do something, instead of just waiting for time to go by!

Thank you again and I will definitely keep you updated on whats going on!

Plus, I am sure that I will have soooo many more questions...

Lara

[simple_male 1]

Glad that things are makins sense to you. To file I-130, you will need G-325A (one set for you and one set for your husband), a passport size photo of each of you, a copy of marriage certificate, proof of his US Citizenship, Divorce Certificate (if applicable), etc. You can also fill out I-130, G-325A online and print them out from USCIS website provided that you have acrobat reader 7 version.

Good Luck and hope to hear from you soon.

You guys are sooo great! Thank you so much!

I understand it a lot better now and think that the CR-1 will probably be better for us. Especially if it is only a time difference of a couple of months.

I am so excited about everything! The past year I've just been annoyed about being away from my fiance and I am so happy that we can finally start the whole process and do something, instead of just waiting for time to go by!

Thank you again and I will definitely keep you updated on whats going on!

Plus, I am sure that I will have soooo many more questions...

Lara

[Lara Rebecca 0]

And we can do all of that as soon as we get married, right?

And then we will have to send the I-130 (in our case) to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. Correct me if I'm wrong!

And as soon as it gets approved will they let me know what to do next? And how long does it normally take for the I-130 to get approved?

Can I send them the I-130 and the I-129F and the two G325A all together at once?

...sooo many questions!

Thanks again though! I just cant wait for all of this to be over with!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

I don't believe there is a residency time limit for DCF through Frankfurt. In theory, he could just fly to Germany right after they are married, file for German PR through his wife, send the I-130 to Frankfurt, and leave again. Right now, processing time for DCF Frankfurt I-130 seems to be between 2-4 months. The I-130 is good for one year. Seems like the cheapest way to do everything if he has to go over there anyway after they are married.

[simple_male 1]

Yes, you can file as soon as you are married and you have a copy of your marriage certificate ready. It will depend whether you have to send your I-130 to Nebraska or not depends on where your husband's address is in USA. It is hard to say how long it will take to get your I-130 approved. It can take between 2-6 months. USCUS will send you the approval by postal mail. If yo usign up with USCIS website, you will also get an email confirmation. After the approval, your case would be sent to NVC from USCIS.

If you want to pursue only CR-1 route, you don't need to send I-129F. You would need I-130, G-325A for both, a copy of marriage certificate, proof of his US citizenship, etc.

I know you are excited, but just take one step at a time.

And we can do all of that as soon as we get married, right?

And then we will have to send the I-130 (in our case) to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. Correct me if I'm wrong!

And as soon as it gets approved will they let me know what to do next? And how long does it normally take for the I-130 to get approved?

Can I send them the I-130 and the I-129F and the two G325A all together at once?

...sooo many questions!

Thanks again though! I just cant wait for all of this to be over with!

[Lara Rebecca 0]

Ok... I am sorry but I have some more questions about this:

What does German PR mean?

He will be here in Germany anyways... so could we just fill the I-130 out together and send/bring it to the embassy in Frankfurt? I thought we have to send it to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center first and wait until it gets approved!?

Thank you so much for your help!!!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

German Permenent Residency. He can get it through you after you are married. It only takes about 2-4 days to process and there you go. It is valid for 3 years.

Yeah, if he has German PR, he can file his I-130 through Frankfurt instead of through one of the service centers in the US. It is normally faster than filing from the US. Check us all out in the DCF subforum.

[Lara Rebecca 0]

Hey guys,

I have another question.

Is it true that the DCF isnt working like it used to anymore?

"Thus, all I-130 petitions for family-based immigrant status must now be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office responsible for the petitioner's place of residence "

And is it also true that if we apply for the CR-1 Visa, I wont be able to visit the states until it is getting approved?

"Applicant will most likely not be able to enter the US during this time."

That wouldnt be nice at all!

If that is the case, we will most likely go with the K3-Visa.

[homesick_american 1]

Hey guys,

I have another question.

Is it true that the DCF isnt working like it used to anymore?

"Thus, all I-130 petitions for family-based immigrant status must now be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office responsible for the petitioner's place of residence "

And is it also true that if we apply for the CR-1 Visa, I wont be able to visit the states until it is getting approved?

"Applicant will most likely not be able to enter the US during this time."

That wouldnt be nice at all!

If that is the case, we will most likely go with the K3-Visa.

No, I think that's old news; there was a flurry of posts about it a couple of months ago. Check with the embasy you plan to file with, but I *think* they're doing DCFs again.

It's not a great idea to visit the US while the visa is being processed, but it can be done. Other people here have done it.