K-1 Visa for Russian fiance

[retheem 564]

Just out of curiosity, why not pursue a spousal visa ( CR1 / IR1)? It's cheaper, gives you more time to organize yourself financially and also you will bypass some of the steps like AOS and possibly ROC. Also, your spouse will get a green card immediately he gets to the US. And  three are slightly greater chances of approval being a spouse. 

[Cheburashka34 228]

13 minutes ago, retheem said:

Just out of curiosity, why not pursue a spousal visa ( CR1 / IR1)? It's cheaper, gives you more time to organize yourself financially and also you will bypass some of the steps like AOS and possibly ROC. Also, your spouse will get a green card immediately he gets to the US. And  three are slightly greater chances of approval being a spouse. 

I was considering this but no one ever replied to my post about it. He only has a foreign passport, no visas, so we are limited to only the countries he can visit to get married in. If we were to get married in Russia we would have to wait a month for approval. Do you have any suggestions or advice? I really appreciate it.

[millefleur 5,046]

9 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

I was considering this but no one ever replied to my post about it. He only has a foreign passport, no visas, so we are limited to only the countries he can visit to get married in. If we were to get married in Russia we would have to wait a month for approval. Do you have any suggestions or advice? I really appreciate it.

He will have difficulty getting approved for a US tourist visa with an American fiancee.

 

You can try to marry in a third country, such as Mexico. I don't know how practical attempting to get married is right now given the whole virus situation and travel restrictions. Normally I would advocate for a CR-1 spousal visa, but in this case, since nothing is normal right now, maybe a K-1 makes more sense.

 

CR-1 is by far the better visa. K-1 just might make more sense because he doesn't have a visa and travel to third countries is weird right now because of the virus.

 

P.S. Getting married in Russia would actually require an obligatory trip to Moscow for you as a USC to get this paper they require, which then requires another obligatory notarization, which also has to be done in Moscow...so it's kind of a pain, in addition to the general 1 month wait requirement.

 

https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/

Edited April 20, 2020 by millefleur

[Cheburashka34 228]

5 minutes ago, millefleur said:

He will have difficulty getting approved for a US tourist visa with an American fiancee.

 

You can try to marry in a third country, such as Mexico. I don't know how practical attempting to get married is right now given the whole virus situation and travel restrictions. Normally I would advocate for a CR-1 spousal visa, but in this case, since nothing is normal right now, maybe a K-1 makes more sense.

 

CR-1 is by far the better visa. K-1 just might make more sense because he doesn't have a visa and travel to third countries is weird right now because of the virus.

 

P.S. Getting married in Russia would actually require an obligatory trip to Moscow for you as a USC to get this paper they require, which then requires another obligatory notarization, which also has to be done in Moscow...so it's kind of a pain, in addition to the general 1 month wait requirement.

 

https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/

Oh I already gave up on the tourist visa long ago! I know he would be denied. I have a three year Russian tourist visa. I heard it takes a month to get approval for marriage there though. So I could stay with him for a couple of months and get married there? Or is there another third country?

[millefleur 5,046]

Just now, Cheburashka34 said:

Oh I already gave up on the tourist visa long ago! I know he would be denied. I have a three year Russian tourist visa. I heard it takes a month to get approval for marriage there though. So I could stay with him for a couple of months and get married there? Or is there another third country?

Marriage certificates from any country would be accepted, as long as the marriage is legal in that country.

 

If you want to get married in Russia, first thing you need to do is go to Moscow, make an appointment with US Citizen Services and get the "standard affidavit form (svidetel’stvo)" done and signed that basically says you are free to marry. After that, you have to take it to the Department of Legalization of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow to get it "authenticated" (similar to notarized) by the Russian government. This has about a 5-day to one week turnaround, and it cannot be expedited. You would then need to wait until it is ready, and again, pick it up in person in Moscow. So, if you could spend about 1-2 weeks in Moscow, you would be able to get "Step 1" done for marriage. Once you have that part done, you have to take it to the local ZAGS and they will schedule your wedding 32 days or so from that day ("Step 2").

 

So, you should plan to spend at least 1-1.5 weeks in Moscow to get those documents, then you would need to go to the ZAGS in the city where your fiance lives and schedule the wedding. So, you could in theory do all of this in 2 months in Russia. You would just have to factor in that necessary week long trip to Moscow otherwise ZAGS won't schedule it without the required docs.

 

The problem with all of this is, US Citizen Services right now in Moscow is currently closed until further notice, except for emergency passports: "Attention: The U.S. Embassy in Moscow and U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg are Only Accepting Emergency Passport Requests due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Unfortunately, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) and notarial services will be suspended until further notice."

 

So, unless you're planning to just wait it out, you will probably have to plan to marry in a third country where both of you can travel and marry without problems.

 

 

[Cheburashka34 228]

Well we were planning to maybe the end of the year

[millefleur 5,046]

16 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

Well we were planning to maybe the end of the year

If there is no rush, I think it's better to do the CR-1 visa. That's good that you have a 3 year Russian visa, you will be allowed to stay in Russia for up to 6 months at a time. Plenty of time to get everything in order for a marriage. But the K-1 or marrying in a 3rd country are totally viable options as well should you decide to go with that.

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

Just posting this for your consideration:

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US   
    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
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    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.
  �

 

[Cheburashka34 228]

1 hour ago, Lucky Cat said:

Just posting this for your consideration:

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US   
    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
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    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.
  �

 

Wow this is so helpful! Thank you! What do you mean by slower arrival though?

[Dashinka 24,488]

16 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

Wow this is so helpful! Thank you! What do you mean by slower arrival though?

The spousal visa generally takes a bit more time before it is approved and issued, so the wait time of actually coming to the US is a bit longer than a K1.  Other than that, I agree, the CR1 is definitely a superior visa if one can deal with the bureaucracy, especially in Russia.

[Cheburashka34 228]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

The spousal visa generally takes a bit more time before it is approved and issued, so the wait time of actually coming to the US is a bit longer than a K1.  Other than that, I agree, the CR1 is definitely a superior visa if one can deal with the bureaucracy, especially in Russia.

If I don't currently have my own place in the US, I live with my parents, is that okay?

[Dashinka 24,488]

2 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

If I don't currently have my own place in the US, I live with my parents, is that okay?

Sure.  A lot of young people still live with their parents.

[Cheburashka34 228]

Just now, Dashinka said:

Sure.  A lot of young people still live with their parents.

How much longer does it take for the spouse visa?

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

3 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

If I don't currently have my own place in the US, I live with my parents, is that okay?

Of course......

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

1 minute ago, Cheburashka34 said:

How much longer does it take for the spouse visa?

CR-1 visas are currently taking 12-18 months from filing to visa-in-hand........but that was pre-Corona.