What is faster a fiance visa or a spouse visa?

[nick050183 9]

I apologize if this has already been asked many times. I seem to be finding conflicting information. Some say the K1 is faster. Some say the K3 is dead and you use a I130 instead.

 

Can someone please help me out.

 

Thank you ahead of time. 

[TBoneTX 45,763]

Thread is moved from US Immigration News forum to the "What Visa Do I Need" forum.

-------------------------

Nutshell:

K-1 is a little faster, but has deadly steps after U.S. entry (can't work or travel immediately).

K-3 is essentially a dead visa.

CR-1 is superior.

Read read read the Guides and all the forums.  Good luck.

[geowrian 22,337]

K-1 is a little faster than a CR-1. K-3 is dead, yes...the CR-1 (or IR-1 is married 2+ years) is the only viable spousal visa.

An I-130 is used for a spousal visa. An I-129F for a fiance/fiancee visa.

Edited November 30, 2019 by geowrian

[nick050183 9]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

K-1 is a little faster than a CR-1. K-3 is dead, yes...the CR-1 (or IR-1 is married 2+ years) is the only viable spousal visa.

An I-130 is used for a spousal visa. An I-129F for a fiance/fiancee visa.

Thank you very much for answering

 

Reason I asked is because I went to this site

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

The Vermont processing center had times of 13-17 months. Which is slower then a CR-1 visa according to google.

 

I am a resident of Florida. I think I fall under the Texas USCIS center. But they don't have anything listed for K1 only k3. 

 

I have read on this forum already to take those processing times with a grain of salt.

I also read the wait times you have compiled. But I'm honestly not sure how to read them because I don't understand the lingo.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?history=90

 

So it takes approximately 212 days to get the interview? How long after the interview do we get the actual visa for the entry?

Thank YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.

[JFH 12,191]

Your state of residence has no bearing on the service center your petition will be forwarded to. California handles all I-129F petitions (K-1 visas). I-130s (spousal visas) are processed at Nebraska, Texas, California or Potomac. Where your I-130 ends up is completely random - it’s based on workload, not your location. 

[nick050183 9]

6 minutes ago, JFH said:

Your state of residence has no bearing on the service center your petition will be forwarded to. California handles all I-129F petitions (K-1 visas). I-130s (spousal visas) are processed at Nebraska, Texas, California or Potomac. Where your I-130 ends up is completely random - it’s based on workload, not your location. 

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

why does this site even have processing times for Vermont then? 

 

The time listed for California is 5.5 to 7.5 months. Is that about right? 

[geowrian 22,337]

24 minutes ago, nick050183 said:

Reason I asked is because I went to this site

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

The Vermont processing center had times of 13-17 months. Which is slower then a CR-1 visa according to google.

 

I am a resident of Florida. I think I fall under the Texas USCIS center. But they don't have anything listed for K1 only k3. 

Your residence does not determine the service center. All I-129Fs for a fiance/fiancee go to California (CSC) initially. A small handful later go to Vermont...specifically those with certain criminal histories.

 

24 minutes ago, nick050183 said:

So it takes approximately 212 days to get the interview? How long after the interview do we get the actual visa for the entry?

That sounds about right. How long it takes after the interview depends on how the interview goes, if there are any additional documents to provide, and if there are additional background checks, etc. In most cases, barring missing documents, it's a matter of days to a couple weeks. But it can take weeks to months or longer - not common except for certain countries with extended background checks, but it is a possibility. Don't make any firm plans until the visa is in hand and correct.

 

14 minutes ago, nick050183 said:

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

why does this site even have processing times for Vermont then? 

 

The time listed for California is 5.5 to 7.5 months. Is that about right? 

Vermont does handle a select set of cases as noted above. These are after being sent to CSC initially.

[JFH 12,191]

6 hours ago, nick050183 said:

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

why does this site even have processing times for Vermont then? 

 

The time listed for California is 5.5 to 7.5 months. Is that about right? 

The I-130 is a multi-purpose firm. Not every I-130 is for a spouse. Vermont handles I-130s for other relatives.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Processing times are always changing as well. Be aware there’s so much more in deciding which visa to go for other than “the fastest”.

[bakphx1 789]

Being together a bit sooner sounds wonderful but comes with serious restrictions that should not be taken lightly.

 

1) The beneficiary can’t work or do anything requiring a SS# for up to six months.  Having a full grown adult to support for half a year is often a financial strain for many couples.  The person who must be at home doing nothing with no family or friends nearby can grow depressed quickly.  This in itself had led to breakups before AOS is done.  
 

2)  If a family emergency comes up soon upon arrival on a K1 visa, the immigrating spouse can be forced into deciding not going and seeing a loved one for the last time or losing the visa and starting a new one.  There is Advance Parole to travel sooner but USCIS never acts immediately on anything for any reason.  If they find they need to go in a day or two, there’s no exception-just a very hard choice to make.

 

 

[JeanneAdil 6,603]

many different answers here and all are good

but so much of what visa you apply for depends on the embassy you deal with

if beneficiary is from a high fraud country ,  it is best to have quality time spent together and marry and do the CR1 because many K1 in those countries are denied

so, always tell the VJ community what country and closely follow the above portal to see what is happening in your embassy

 

but to many of us the spouse visa is far more superior for all the above post answers

[nick050183 9]

25 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

many different answers here and all are good

but so much of what visa you apply for depends on the embassy you deal with

if beneficiary is from a high fraud country ,  it is best to have quality time spent together and marry and do the CR1 because many K1 in those countries are denied

so, always tell the VJ community what country and closely follow the above portal to see what is happening in your embassy

 

but to many of us the spouse visa is far more superior for all the above post answers

What are the high fraud countries? Does this site have stats for different countries?

[Boiler 45,813]

7 minutes ago, nick050183 said:

What are the high fraud countries? Does this site have stats for different countries?

There are regional forums, high fraud are just the obvious ones.

[nick050183 9]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There are regional forums, high fraud are just the obvious ones.

What are the obvious ones?

I'm sorry this is first time hearing this.

You mean to tell me they deny them no matter what? that sounds horrifying. 

[geowrian 22,337]

5 minutes ago, nick050183 said:

What are the obvious ones?

I'm sorry this is first time hearing this.

You mean to tell me they deny them no matter what? that sounds horrifying. 

They are not denied to matter what...many people go through them fine. But they do have a high level of scrutiny of relationships and you need to have - and present - a strong case (lots of time spent actually together is best).

 

Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. are probably the most well known ones. That is not a complete list by any means...just some of the most common ones.