Asking for opinions

[Mahza 3]

Hey all,

 

I have been lurking around these forums, they have answered a lot of questions for me and a lot of people are in a similar situation, I just thought I'd present my specific situation to see if anyone has advise for me as well. 

 

I got engaged to my fiancee in July last year, she is a British national and a permanent resident of France. We wanted to get married sometime early 2021so we were trying to time our K1, unfortunately that didn't work and now we are confused. We would apply for a CR1 but we can't get married anytime soon, even if we think of a third country to get married we both work and can't take vacation days till December. I have a stable job and she is doing an internship which lasts till April 2021. Our goal is to be together here in the US as close to April as we can, Here are our options:

 

1. Apply for a k1 right now and wait it out, I know no one knows for sure how long that would take with the backlogs, but the USCIS is taking applications and at least we will go through that stage for now till the next step is NVC. 

2. Get married in a third country and file for the CR1 in December, on Visajourney it shows the cases of May 2019 are being processed right now

3. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states and then get married, apply for spouse visa, she stays the amount of days her visit visa is approved for then leave and we spend the time after that apart.

4. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states then apply for a K1, spend the amount of days her visit visa is approved, then come back once it's approved.

 

Working is not that much of an issue right now, being together after April is of high priority. I will appreciate any input you guys have.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

There is no way she will be in the US as of April 2021. I suggest to either go the K1 route now or get married and apply for CR1. Please note if you go the K1 route fiancé will be unable to work/leave US for approx a minimum of 6 months. (to give you an estimate our cousin's wife came here in December on a k1 and she doesn't have her EAD/AP yet..so they are going on 9 months and haven't even had biometrics yet) If that will be an issue for you both then don't even look at the K1 and get married & file CR1. You may think working is not much of an issue right now but can you afford to care for someone for say 6months-1 year on your salary (this includes health insurance as well) and will she be okay with not saying goodbye to a dying loved one being unable to leave the USA without abandoning her status? Many things to think about. 

This is of course I am assuming you have met in person in the last 2 years (which is required of k1 applicants). Do not assume one visa will get her quicker here than the other- when people go by that they tend to regret what they choose. Choose whichever is logistically best for you both.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Luckycuds

[Crazy Cat 41,844]

19 minutes ago, Mahza said:

Hey all,

 

I have been lurking around these forums, they have answered a lot of questions for me and a lot of people are in a similar situation, I just thought I'd present my specific situation to see if anyone has advise for me as well. 

 

I got engaged to my fiancee in July last year, she is a British national and a permanent resident of France. We wanted to get married sometime early 2021so we were trying to time our K1, unfortunately that didn't work and now we are confused. We would apply for a CR1 but we can't get married anytime soon, even if we think of a third country to get married we both work and can't take vacation days till December. I have a stable job and she is doing an internship which lasts till April 2021. Our goal is to be together here in the US as close to April as we can, Here are our options:

 

1. Apply for a k1 right now and wait it out, I know no one knows for sure how long that would take with the backlogs, but the USCIS is taking applications and at least we will go through that stage for now till the next step is NVC. 

2. Get married in a third country and file for the CR1 in December, on Visajourney it shows the cases of May 2019 are being processed right now

3. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states and then get married, apply for spouse visa, she stays the amount of days her visit visa is approved for then leave and we spend the time after that apart.

4. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states then apply for a K1, spend the amount of days her visit visa is approved, then come back once it's approved.

 

Working is not that much of an issue right now, being together after April is of high priority. I will appreciate any input you guys have.

I would strongly consider a CR-1.......but it won't happen by April.  Pre-Covid times were 12-18 months from start to visa in hand.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

25 minutes ago, Mahza said:

Hey all,

 

I have been lurking around these forums, they have answered a lot of questions for me and a lot of people are in a similar situation, I just thought I'd present my specific situation to see if anyone has advise for me as well. 

 

I got engaged to my fiancee in July last year, she is a British national and a permanent resident of France. We wanted to get married sometime early 2021so we were trying to time our K1, unfortunately that didn't work and now we are confused. We would apply for a CR1 but we can't get married anytime soon, even if we think of a third country to get married we both work and can't take vacation days till December. I have a stable job and she is doing an internship which lasts till April 2021. Our goal is to be together here in the US as close to April as we can, Here are our options:

 

1. Apply for a k1 right now and wait it out, I know no one knows for sure how long that would take with the backlogs, but the USCIS is taking applications and at least we will go through that stage for now till the next step is NVC. 

2. Get married in a third country and file for the CR1 in December, on Visajourney it shows the cases of May 2019 are being processed right now

3. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states and then get married, apply for spouse visa, she stays the amount of days her visit visa is approved for then leave and we spend the time after that apart.

4. Wait till April till her internship finishes, have her come to the states then apply for a K1, spend the amount of days her visit visa is approved, then come back once it's approved.

 

Working is not that much of an issue right now, being together after April is of high priority. I will appreciate any input you guys have.

Unfortunately with immigration, you cannot and should not attempt to "time" things. It will take as long as it takes. Do not attempt to schedule anything until she has the appropriate visa in hand. Even after the "approval" notification, it can take longer than expected to receive the passport with the visa stamp and the appropriate documents. Whether you do K1 or CR1, there's no way she will be in the US on a permanent basis by April 2021.

 

I know you said that "working is not that much of an issue right now". But with COVID and the yet-unseen long-term consequences of that on our economy, it may be wise to rethink that. With K1, she will have to do AoS and will need to wait at least 6-10 months for the EAD/AP before getting the actual GC. Are you certain you're prepared to support the both of you during this time? Not only that, but will she be okay with not being allowed to work during this phase? The other consideration is that AoS by itself will be more fees in addition to the K1 fees. And fees are going up this October.

 

The main advantage to CR1 is that she will be a permanent resident upon arrival. There is no AoS. She can work immediately. The main challenge to CR1 is the emotional struggle of separation soon after marriage. Ultimately, it's only up to you and your fiancee to choose the immigration route that's best for you.

Edited August 31, 2020 by mushroomspore

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

you could move to her country while waiting

just file US taxes and keep a residency here

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

Especially now, visa processing times are too unpredictable to "time" your application so your visa will arrive when you'd prefer it to.

 

K-1s are good for six months from your medical exam date (usually), so you don't have to go right away. I suspect CR-1s are similar.

 

So it basically comes down to if you and your fiancee are comfortable with the K-1 restrictions and higher costs (especially since you'll need to pay for EAD/AP if you want them by the time you're filing for AOS, but as always, most of the true cost difference between a K-1 and CR-1 is the income your fiancee can't earn until EAD or green card), just file now. If you're not, find some place to meet and marry ASAP (this may take a while given covid-19 travel restrictions), and file for a CR-1.

 

The good news is because your fiancee is from a VWP country she can visit whenever she has the time and money to once covid-19 restrictions are gone, and the reverse is true for you.