K1 Visa... to file or not?

[Cheburashka34 228]

16 hours ago, Mike V said:

Our son (20 at the time) had no trouble enrolling in a local community college, and my wife started taking adult ed classes from our school district to improve her English & math skills.  This was right after we mailed mailed the I-485 & I-765 forms, nothing approved at that point.  We got the adoptions filed first, then did the I-485 & I-765 filings.

 

Really? That's great! So would they only need a social security number to enroll?

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, Cheburashka34 said:

So would they only need a social security number to enroll?

It'll depend on the educational institution's enrollment policies.

[HRQX 4,145]

5 hours ago, Unlockable said:

And finally, the pandemic has shown that K1 visas are not processed at the same importance as spousal visas. So during a shut down, the K1 visa interviews may get put on hold while spousal visas continue to be processed.

Yup. Thus, K-1 being "faster" in terms of US entry might not be the case in the immediate future. DOS has designated IR-1/CR-1 as "mission critical" and K-1 backlog should be expected. In June 2020, 952 IR-1/CR-1 visas were issued and only 151 K-1 visas were issued.

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyIVIssuances/June 2020 - IV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyNIVIssuances/June 2020 - NIV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf

Edited August 18, 2020 by HRQX

[Mike V 56]

10 hours ago, Cheburashka34 said:

Really? That's great! So would they only need a social

security number to enroll?

Not even that, schools can't require that you have one.  Similarly you can't be required to have SSN's to add your new dependents to your benefits (health, etc.).

 

K-1 spouses can get one immediately, but derived beneficiaries (the kids) have to wait until their employment authorizations arrive.

 

If you need one sooner to file your tax returns, you can append applications for temporary taxpayer ID's to your income tax filings.

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Mike V

[SHANE (USA) 12]

On 8/18/2020 at 2:24 AM, Sophiecheshire said:

Thank you! I am actually currently in a third country fortunately so my fiancé can visit me some weekends. If this is the case where if we can see each other currently do you recommend cr1? Or should we stick to k1? Thanks again

     If a couple's #1 priority is to physically be together as soon as possible in America🇺🇸, and they do not care about the other pros and cons, then the fastest way to achieve this is via the K1 Fiancé Visa.

     Disclaimer:  Due to the world's reaction of the COVID-19 virus, there are rumors that some U.S. Embassies in certain countries are only currently processing CR1 Spousal Visas at this time and are not processing K1 Fiancé Visas.

     However, if you or your fiancé has not even submitted a I-129F (K1) or a I-130 (CR1) packet to the USCIS yet, then the delays that some U.S. Embassies are currently experiencing may never affect you in the future because the USCIS takes SEVERAL MONTHS to approve those forms and advance them to the next step in the Visa process. 

     That is why I chose the K1 and submitted my I-129F to the USCIS a couple months ago. 

Furthermore, I can not currently marry my fiancée in the Philippines even if I wanted to because some islands/provinces keep going back on another lockdown and a lot of government agencies are closed. So even if I was trapped there, I still would not be able to get married. 

 

     Hope this helps🙏🏻

...And you're very welcome! 🙂

Edited August 19, 2020 by SHANE (USA)
Misspelled word(s)

[HRQX 4,145]

On 8/19/2020 at 9:49 AM, SHANE (USA) said:

Disclaimer:  Due to the world's reaction of the COVID-19 virus, there are rumors that some U.S. Embassies in certain countries are only currently processing CR1 Spousal Visas at this time and are not processing K1 Fiancé Visas.

Not just rumors. Government documents obtained in pending litigation confirm that resumption of routine K-1 is slated for later phases:

 

Also, remember that @Ellie__ is subject to Schengen Area proclamation. That proclamation is in effect indefinitely. Expect lasting K-1 backlogs in areas affected by proclamations (Schengen Area, UK, Ireland, mainland China, Brazil, and Iran).

Edited August 20, 2020 by HRQX

[SHANE (USA) 12]

23 hours ago, HRQX said:

Not just rumors. Government documents obtained in pending litigation confirm that resumption of routine K-1 is slated for later phases:

 

Also, remember that @Ellie__ is subject to Schengen Area proclamation. That proclamation is in effect indefinitely. Expect lasting K-1 backlogs in areas affected by proclamations (Schengen Area, UK, Ireland, mainland China, Brazil, and Iran).

Not sure if you read my entire post but I couldn't due the CR1 Spousal Visa even if I wanted to! 

However, thank you for sharing that info as there may be other couples that might be in a position to marry their fiancé/fiancée in some other foreign country and then submit their I-130 to the USCIS for approval. 

[Dav88 1]

Travel to Hong kong. A lawyer can marry u for 1900 hong kong dollars ...250 usd. They can get u a license in less than 30 days then u travel there and get married in a few minutes in a nice decorated place or anywhere like beach or restaurant for extra money. U can evem bring guests

 

http://www.hkm.mobi/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4f35BRDBARIsAPePBHxD87gQ52_nMAptWRGKqp9aajOnRWr9z8mrLrw8W447ABG5vTAmq3EaAuBJEALw_wcB

[Ellie__ 8]

On 8/22/2020 at 3:10 AM, Dav88 said:

Travel to Hong kong. A lawyer can marry u for 1900 hong kong dollars ...250 usd. They can get u a license in less than 30 days then u travel there and get married in a few minutes in a nice decorated place or anywhere like beach or restaurant for extra money. U can evem bring guests

 

http://www.hkm.mobi/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4f35BRDBARIsAPePBHxD87gQ52_nMAptWRGKqp9aajOnRWr9z8mrLrw8W447ABG5vTAmq3EaAuBJEALw_wcB

We decided to wait if and when the situation will improve a little, he cannot go anywhere because of the military and I don't feel okay spending 14 days out of Schengen, my option was Croatia as I am super close since I am from Italy but now it's a mess.

Let's just hope some good news will come soon. 🤗

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

On 8/18/2020 at 4:24 PM, Sophiecheshire said:

Thank you! I am actually currently in a third country fortunately so my fiancé can visit me some weekends. If this is the case where if we can see each other currently do you recommend cr1? Or should we stick to k1? Thanks again

I am living in a third country too and started my immigrant process from here. I would suggest to just go with the CR1. I have a friend who went to the US with K1 visa and she is frustrated right now because it has been 9 months since she is doing the adjustment status there and till now she still haven't got her green card. Also, because of this pandemic, the CR1/IR1 has more advantages, because they consider you as immediate relatives and will still work on your case even it might take time, but seeing the current condition in everywhere, K1 application might take longer than CR1.  

 

Also, effective Oct 2, the fees for adjustment status increase 62% from the current fees, so if you still wanna go with K1, you need to make sure that you are ready to deal with paying those expenses and wait time until you can get your green card or if you want to travel outside US. Once you get to the US with CR1 you just need to wait till you get your green card (i have heard most people get it around 1~3 months after their arrival in the US).

[HRQX 4,145]

47 minutes ago, S & C said:

Some of those amounts are inaccurate. After the change, biometrics for Adjustment of Status will be $0: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-16389.pdf "Although DHS eliminates the separate biometrics service fee of $85 for many application types in this final rule, it establishes fees for most forms to reflect the estimated full cost of adjudication, including the cost of biometric services that are typically associated with that form. Thus, DHS will continue to recover the cost of providing biometric services, but it will do so by adjusting form fees to reflect the total cost of an adjudication, including providing biometric services. DHS will not forego any revenue associated with the biometric services fee because of this change." The amount listed above for I-130 will be for paper filers. Online filers will pay $550 instead.

 

AOS total cost is going down by $95 (or either $70-$80 if they have to file I-130; I-130 filing fee is going up by $15-$25) for those that take the risk and don't file I-765 and I-131; i.e. only file what is required (I-130 and/or I-485).

[Carol000 12]

On 7/26/2020 at 10:49 AM, Ellie__ said:

Do you think it is still a good plan to file for K1 during these times or just wait for the situation to improve? 

 

[Cheburashka34 228]

34 minutes ago, Carol000 said:

 

Waiting does no good. Only puts you further back in line

[Blackbeekeeper 12]

On 7/26/2020 at 10:49 AM, Ellie__ said:

Do you think it is still a good plan to file for K1 during these times or just wait for the situation to improve? 

I must say I have been discouraged BUT I have been checking the uscis site for processing times and they are moving pretty fast. They are up to February 2020. I filed in March so I’m hoping to be moving to the next step within the next few months! 

[B@C 76]

On 7/27/2020 at 8:35 AM, Rose2019 said:

Totally right. I wish I could go back and do the spouse visa. Unfortunately we couldn’t get married at the time and had to go with the K1 visa. Best of luck to everyone going through this heartache.

totally agree.we started the K1 visa just because we couldn't meet each other and get married under the travel ban.:(