K1 or CR1? Covid Situation

[Bluegirl55 0]

Can someone send me a link describing how to start the CR1 process?

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

5 minutes ago, Bluegirl55 said:

Can someone send me a link describing how to start the CR1 process?

Check the guides section here:  https://www.visajourney.com/guides/

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Bluegirl55 0]

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

Check the guides section here:  https://www.visajourney.com/guides/

 

Sorry I have another question, what do you think about K3 visa? :3

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

5 minutes ago, Bluegirl55 said:

Sorry I have another question, what do you think about K3 visa? :3

K-3s are obsolete.....In 2019, I think only about 5 were even issued world-wide.   The number of issued K-3s has been decreasing for years.  ..The I-129Fs are almost always administratively closed.  The I-130 then continues to be processed as a CR1/IR-1.  

Edited August 9, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Bluegirl55 0]

10 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

K-3s are obsolete.....In 2019, I think only about 5 were even issued world-wide.   The number of issued K-3s has been decreasing for years.  ..The I-129Fs are almost always administratively closed.  The I-130 then continues to be processed as a CR1/IR-1.  

Thank you so much

[Luu 5]

28 minutes ago, Bluegirl55 said:

When did you submit the petition for K1 and where is the office?

Where are CR1 cases usually sent?

When -- August of last year. They get sent to one of like 5 random offices. I live in NY but mine was sent to California. 

 

I have no idea about CR-1. I think they're sent to random offices too but I'm not sure. 

[Loren Y 2,755]

I agree with other posters in the K1 now. When I did it it was fast, 8 months from day of filing to her entering the US Visa in hand. AOS was cheaper then, and for our situation she had 5 months of schooling full time to complete to get hours for transfer of her license and English school, so the 5-6 months waiting for the work permit didn't matter to us as she wouldn't be working anyway. Managed to get her here and got the AOS interview and green card in February this year right before the covid hit( got lucky I that one) now we can not worry about anything for another year and a few months when we go to ROC, but that's an easy thing and fees are not too bad even with the increase in cost ( an extra 80 bucks or so). Citizenship went up 81%, that hurts everyone though, doesn't matter how you come.

[JFH 12,190]

56 minutes ago, SmilingDuck said:

For us, cr-1 was too expensive upfront, we wanted to get married in the usa bc I want my family there, the wait was much less before he got to the usa, and k1 was not that much more expensive last year when we filed.  The fees hadn't gone up and there wasn't yet any talk about fees going up.  

We got married in the US and did a
CR-1. I got married while I was visiting. It is possible to have a wedding in the US and not have to do the K-1. 

[JFH 12,190]

And anyone thinking of doing the K-1 because the I-134 financial requirements are lower has clearly misunderstood the whole process. 
 

You have to be at 125% of the federal poverty level for AOS anyway (or find a willing co-sponsor who is). Also, the cost of AOS will soon be over $2000 and even more if K-2 children are coming along too. If 125% of the federal poverty line is a deal-breaker for the visa choice (and the federal poverty level is extremely low and in many parts of the country it’s not possible to survive on it), then paying over $2000 for AOS and supporting another adult for 6 months who cannot work, cannot claim any form of welfare and who needs healthcare (and has no access to Medicaid, etc) is going to be a lot harder than you think. 
 

Unfortunately too many people base their visa choice on timescales and don’t look at the whole picture which covers the immigrant’s first few years in the country. The most frequent question is “which visa is quicker?” when the question should be “which visa makes the most sense in the long-term?” The quickest route isn’t necessarily the best route. 

[Cathi 5,755]

4 hours ago, SmilingDuck said:

K-1 usually has shorter wait times and money spread out into different forms.  It winds up costing a little more but your fiancé is in the usa quicker and the cost is spread out. You still have to do a lot of the paperwork when they get to the usa bc they don't have their green card / residence permit and you need to pay for the form for them to work.  

 

Cr-1 i think takes about a year before your fiancé is in the USA but all the money and forms are done at once so the cost is all upfront.  When they come they have their green card already.  I think they can work automatically too. 

 

Bc of Coronavirus everything is taking longer and uscis is increasing the price of all their forms.  

 

Idk about the cr-1 requirements bc I'm doing the k-1 Visa.  It's been about a year at this point and he's still not here but that's bc of coronavirus.  Unless the situation with covid 19 improves I'd suggest the cr-1. Idk how you will do it with no income though bc I think the income requirements are higher.  Please look it up and see.  

A K-1 doesn't cost a "little more", it costs almost double. Plus there are a lot more steps to a K-1 and you cannot work for quite or leave the for a while after entering the US.

The CR-1 is by far the superior choice.

 

It costs far less, you receive a green card immediately,  you can work immediately and you can travel outside the country immediately upon entering the US. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Cathi

[visaquestion1234 27]

3 hours ago, JFH said:

A “little more” is debatable. After the October fee increase the K-1 will cost over $2000 more than the CR-1. Adjustment of status is increasing in cost from $1225 to $2170. There is no adjustment of status for CR-1. That’s an extra $2170 the K-1 people have to pay to be in an “inferior” status for months when they arrive. 
 

I never saw the benefits of a K-1 before the fee increase but even those who previously thought the K-1 was a good idea must now be re-thinking that. 

I’m luckily through the K-1 process. I understand completely the logistical and financial differences, but I wish people really considered the “every couple has their own priorities” part more than they seemingly do when they are giving advice. People tend to scoff at the idea of a K-1 and those who choose to do it. For me and my wife, the CR-1 route felt a little too impersonal. It would place the marriage at an odd place in our journey through life together. Perhaps it’s too traditional, but there was something that felt odd about getting married, putting a ring on your finger, then immediately separating from your spouse for upwards of a year. The K-1 gave us time to be engaged, to plan (kind of) a wedding, then start our marriage together and never be apart from that day on. It just seemed to be a more appropriate life/relationship transition. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but it’s something that the K-1 inherently provides.

 

edit: I also want take this chance to thank you for the advice you give on here. Your experience and knowledge is greatly appreciated.

Edited August 9, 2020 by visaquestion1234

[retheem 566]

1 hour ago, Cathi said:

A K-1 doesn't cost a "little more", it costs almost double. Plus there are a lot more steps to a K-1 and you cannot work for quite or leave the for a while after entering the US.

The CR-1 is by far the superior choice.

 

It costs far less, you receive a green card immediately,  you can work immediately and you can travel outside the country immediately upon entering the US. 

And you are forgetting that in this covid, you don't have to contact your senator to be made mission critical because by definition as a spouse you are mission critical

[HRQX 4,145]

3 hours ago, SmilingDuck said:

The fees hadn't gone up and there wasn't yet any talk about fees going up.  

Fees (if filing I-485 on or after Oct. 2) after entering the US with K-1 will depend on the following;

• Filing for I-485, I-765, and I-131 new total fee: $2270. ($1045 more expensive than right now)
• Filing for I-485 and I-765 new total fee: $1680. ($455 more expensive than right now)
• Filing for I-485 and I-131 new total fee: $1720. ($495 more expensive than right now)
• Filing only I-485 new total fee: $1130. (It's actually cheaper than right now by $95)

4 hours ago, Bluegirl55 said:

How much time do you think we need to take CR1 visa and can I send immediately 7 days after the wedding?

As soon as you have the official marriage certificate.

3 hours ago, Bluegirl55 said:

Where are CR1 cases usually sent?

I-130 petition has an online filing option: https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 After marriage, the US citizen submits I-130 petition. Eventually it's going to ask the US citizen: "For whom are you filing this petition? Select the relationship the beneficiary has to you (e.g., if the beneficiary is your parent, select "Parent")." When the US citizen selects "Spouse" it says the following:

You selected you are petitioning for a spouse

You will need to upload the Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary (I-130A) as a part of the evidence for this application.

 

 

Since you are currently outside of the US you don't have to sign I-130A supplement, but it still needs to be uploaded by the US citizen. Later in the Evidence upload section:

Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary (I-130A)

If you are filing for your spouse, he or she must complete and sign Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary (I-130A). If your spouse is overseas, the I-130A must still be completed, but your spouse does not have to sign the I-130A.

 

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Edited August 9, 2020 by HRQX

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

1 hour ago, visaquestion1234 said:

For me and my wife, the CR-1 route felt a little too impersonal. It would place the marriage at an odd place in our journey through life together. Perhaps it’s too traditional, but there was something that felt odd about getting married, putting a ring on your finger, then immediately separating from your spouse for upwards of a year. The K-1 gave us time to be engaged, to plan (kind of) a wedding, then start our marriage together and never be apart from that day on. It just seemed to be a more appropriate life/relationship transition. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but it’s something that the K-1 inherently provides.

We did the CR-1.  We had time to be engaged.....we had the kind of wedding we wanted........life is full of choices and consequences.....in my mind, there are emotional, short term choices and there are practical, bigger-picture choices.....and consequences.  That's why we CR-1 proponents try give couple as much accurate information as possible when they ask "Which visa is better". Each couple can weight a K-1 & a CR-1.   Many posters made decisions without all the information...and regretted it later......but we all make our own decisions....

Edited August 9, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[HRQX 4,145]

3 hours ago, SmilingDuck said:

When -- August of last year. They get sent to one of like 5 random offices. I live in NY but mine was sent to California.

Almost all I-129F petitions for fiance go to California Service Center. Some go to Vermont if the US citizen has certain history (like AWA type crimes).