US Born Sponsor & Canadian Citizen Beneficiary

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

9 minutes ago, NAIndians2020 said:

I've done months of research. Both K-1 & CR-1 have their benefits. Not that worried about money. Everyone's worried about my fiancee sitting around and going crazy with idle time waiting for work authorization and green card etc, but like I said we want to start a family. She'd just be going on maternity leave anyway so they point start that by the time she comes.

 

Either way, I searched many forums in the past and other sites about both options. I decided to make an account because we are concerned about timing and want a little bit of closure on timing which I think we can safely say will be a year +/- a month or if we're lucky two.

Everyone has their opinions about K1 and CR1 as well as priorities. If you don't care that your wife will be unable to work or travel for months, possibly not be able to drive and no concerns about finances then keep doing what you planned. If you will freak out you don't have enough money, your wife can't work or travel to see friends or family or possibly drive and say you want to plan a wedding, are okay not living together after marriage then go the CR1 route. It really is a personal decision. We did k1 and my husband and I wouldn't go back and change it if we could but as I said everyone has different priorities. No one can predict the future and what USCIS/embassies consider more of a priority than others; it can be one thing today and change tomorrow. 

[Cndn 98]

Precovid I had to wait 8 months to get an interview at Montreal. It was 2017 when I filed and 2018 by the time the interview came around. Now I would guess it’s at least a year. 
 

I feel compelled to also reiterate what other users have said. I could kick myself for going the K1 route and not the CR1. Save yourself the huge headache that is AOS later on. 

[RCable 75]

We started with the CR1 (my husband is Canadian). We sent off the I-130 in early June 2019. We had that approved in December. It took a little over a month our paperwork to be sent to NVC. We submitted the next set of paperwork right away with our NVC fees in late January. We had all of our documents approved in early April. No RFEs at any point. 
 

At that point, the Montreal Consulate had about a 4-6 month wait for an interview from this point.

 

But, it’s been closed since March and they haven’t opened yet and keep pushing back potential opening dates. So now I’m guess g that 4-6 month wait for interview could be up to 8-10, maybe longer. K-1 can be a little faster, but because of COVID-19 it might still be a long wait. Especially if they furlough USCIS employees. 
 

The fees for AOS are $1225 (for the AOS, EAD, and AP). But I’ve heard that they might start charging for EAD & AP despite filing together. So that alone could hit $2000...on top of you I-129 fees. And, once you’re in the US, you can’t travel until you get that AP. 
 

So, you’ll really have to weigh the pros and cons and figure out what’s best for you, especially since everything is taking longer now. But, since you’re Canadian, it definitely won’t be a 4 month process since Canada had a super long wait before everything happened this year.

[geowrian 22,338]

4 hours ago, Luckycuds said:

I've never heard of petition submittal to visa in hand in 4 months; that's absurd although a dream. Expect it to take a year with COVID and be happy if it is less. 

It is very possible USCIS will furlough the majority of their workers so expect the petition to go through the process slow; plus no one can tell you when the embassy will actually open to process.

Well, expedites are always possible.   Or just very, very lucky people.

That said, back when I filed the I-129F for my now wife the average I-129F processing time was about 30 days. Then add in a month or so for USCIS->NVC->consulate handling. Then another month or so to get an interview.

There were a bunch of people who got the visa in under 4 months w/o expedites or anything.

 

Of course, that didn't last very long...literally the month I filed, the backlog grew to around 4 months for I-129F processing. Those who filed a month or 2 after me were taking closer to 7 months for the I-129F.

 

Anyway...point of the story for the OP is that timelines change in either direction al the time. Planning timelines with immigration is often not a wise use of time (although you extend the timeline fairly easily if needed).

With a K-1, planning a timeline is even more difficult.

 

3 hours ago, payxibka said:

Adjustment of status is not a hardship if your eyes ARE WIDE OPEN.  If you caught with your pants down, it most likely will be. 

It's manageable. I wouldn't quite go as far to say that it's not a hardship. My wife and I were both pretty well prepared for it, but it was still a difficult time. Knowing you'll be home unable to do mostly anything else for at least several months is nothing like actually being home for several months.

[Henry357 70]

Do K1s still go to Vancouver if they live in western Canada?   Could make a difference

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

6 minutes ago, Henry357 said:

Do K1s still go to Vancouver if they live in western Canada?   Could make a difference

No. Only in Montreal since  4 years ago.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Just Paul 4,595]

5 minutes ago, Henry357 said:

Do K1s still go to Vancouver if they live in western Canada?   Could make a difference

Stopped processing there April 1, 2016.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

FWIW, we did something similar to what the OP and his fiancee want to (our son was born a little more than a year and a month after my wife arrived on a K-1). 

Though we mostly did a K-1 due to logistical issues in actually getting married that the OP (with a Canadian fiancee, not a Russian one) shouldn't have (at least in non-COVID19 times) which meant we would have added a few months to our timeline (to set up a 3rd-country meeting and get married) beyond the differences in processing time.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,477]

Another thing to consider is the current EO through the end of the year banning certain immigration.  Spouse visas are exempt from that EO, and it seems spouse visas are given priority for processing.  At least, that was my case.  Filed in Feb 2020, approved in May 2020, NVC complete June 2020.   4 months from submittal to approval.  Much faster than a K1 now.  

 

I am not sure about Canada, but right now the only visa interviews that were conducted in Ukraine this month and last month were spouse visas.   No K1s, no other family visas.

 

[Gii 48]

I would go with the CR1 visa if you can. Big regret of mine doing the K1 and the whole COVID has just highlighted to me that we have zero rights as a couple when we aren't married. My partner can't even come to Australia to visit and I can't leave because he isn't considered a spouse or de facto. 

[Devint 47]

Applied August 2018.....still going.....

[U2k 34]

Who else that applied for k1 visa and waiting for interview in Montreal, have Vancouver also open on https://ais.usvisa-info.com as an option for interview? I thought they do interviews in Montreal only. Waiting patiently. Thank you

[payxibka 10,047]

Just now, Ksena said:

Who else that applied for k1 visa and waiting for interview in Montreal, have Vancouver also open on https://ais.usvisa-info.com as an option for interview? I thought they do interviews in Montreal only. Waiting patiently. Thank you

Montreal only 

[U2k 34]

10 minutes ago, payxibka said:

 

Hm

Edited July 8, 2020 by Ksena
Na

[payxibka 10,047]

3 minutes ago, Ksena said:

I know. But i see Vancouver also as an option on my account, just asking.

Canada and Mexico would both benefit from a second IV unit, however,  no country has more than one.