Thinking of canceling K1 and switching to CR1?

[zayandash 1]

I was doing some reading and found that I can apply for a ‘Marriage Visitor Visa’ for the UK which takes 2-4 weeks to approve. I am playing with the idea of applying for this and going to marry my fiancée in the UK in December so she will officially be my spouse. We have multiple wedding deposits for our wedding in the USA on July 31, 2021 and I am starting to worry that we will lose these if she is not allowed in the country by that time. What are the drawbacks to cancelling our K1 (we lose the $500 but that’s less than our wedding deposits) and restarting with the CR1 in January? 

[payxibka 10,047]

8 minutes ago, zayandash said:

I was doing some reading and found that I can apply for a ‘Marriage Visitor Visa’ for the UK which takes 2-4 weeks to approve. I am playing with the idea of applying for this and going to marry my fiancée in the UK in December so she will officially be my spouse. We have multiple wedding deposits for our wedding in the USA on July 31, 2021 and I am starting to worry that we will lose these if she is not allowed in the country by that time. What are the drawbacks to cancelling our K1 (we lose the $500 but that’s less than our wedding deposits) and restarting with the CR1 in January? 

An interview sometime in 2022.

[zayandash 1]

17 minutes ago, payxibka said:

An interview sometime in 2022.

To go get married in the UK or for the CR1?

[payxibka 10,047]

3 minutes ago, zayandash said:

To go get married in the UK or for the CR1?

CR1 as I know nothing about UK visas

[HRQX 4,145]

39 minutes ago, zayandash said:

and going to marry my fiancée in the UK in December so she will officially be my spouse.

Another option is to marry in Gibraltar: http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/getting-married You can marry there without a specific visa.

[HispanicLover 43]

I think you would be wasting time and money. If you apply for the CR1 in January, it is highly unlikely that you would even have an interview by July. So you change the visa and start all over. K-1 visas are slowly starting to move. You might want to hold off and be patient. Is your case at the consulate already?

[HRQX 4,145]

6 minutes ago, HispanicLover said:

K-1 visas are slowly starting to move. You might want to hold off and be patient. Is your case at the consulate already?

OP's fiancee is in the UK. The UK and Ireland proclamation is in effect indefinitely. Only a few K-1 applicants that meet an exemption are getting interview in London. For example, parent of US citizen child is an exemption.

Edited October 6, 2020 by HRQX

[Adventine 3,201]

8 hours ago, zayandash said:

I was doing some reading and found that I can apply for a ‘Marriage Visitor Visa’ for the UK which takes 2-4 weeks to approve. I am playing with the idea of applying for this and going to marry my fiancée in the UK in December so she will officially be my spouse. We have multiple wedding deposits for our wedding in the USA on July 31, 2021 and I am starting to worry that we will lose these if she is not allowed in the country by that time. What are the drawbacks to cancelling our K1 (we lose the $500 but that’s less than our wedding deposits) and restarting with the CR1 in January? 

 

If you restart the process with a CR1 in January 2021, your spouse likely won't get an interview until 2022.

 

If the K1 still isn't granted by Q1 2021, can you negotiate with your wedding vendors about moving the dates, so you don't lose your deposits?

Edited October 7, 2020 by Adventine

[SalishSea 17,980]

8 hours ago, zayandash said:

I was doing some reading and found that I can apply for a ‘Marriage Visitor Visa’ for the UK which takes 2-4 weeks to approve. I am playing with the idea of applying for this and going to marry my fiancée in the UK in December so she will officially be my spouse. We have multiple wedding deposits for our wedding in the USA on July 31, 2021 and I am starting to worry that we will lose these if she is not allowed in the country by that time. What are the drawbacks to cancelling our K1 (we lose the $500 but that’s less than our wedding deposits) and restarting with the CR1 in January? 

Deposits and 'wedding plans' are not practical for the K-1, even pre-COVID.  Sounds like you would have been better suited to a spouse visa from the beginning.

[HRQX 4,145]

56 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Sounds like you would have been better suited to a spouse visa from the beginning.

Yup. And the relevant proclamation was already in effect when I-129F was filed in this case: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=371997

[zayandash 1]

1 hour ago, HRQX said:

Yup. And the relevant proclamation was already in effect when I-129F was filed in this case: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=371997

Thank you all for the 2020 hindsight 

[zayandash 1]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

 

If you restart the process with a CR1 in January 2021, your spouse likely won't get an interview until 2022.

 

If the K1 still isn't granted by Q1 2021, can you negotiate with your wedding vendors about moving the dates, so you don't lose your deposits?

Thank you for your response. This is what we’re most likely gonna try to do, we’re hoping they will be flexible with enough notice 

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, zayandash said:

we’re hoping they will be flexible with enough notice 

If they aren't flexible, would you keep the July 31 date? If so, your fiancee can enter as VWP visitor and marry you. And then start CR-1 process:

If the proclamation is still in effect at that time, your fiancee would need to spend 2 weeks at an unrestricted country before traveling to the US:

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by HRQX

[Ann Blair 39]

I’m a U.S. citizen and married my U.K. husband in England in February, came home and applied for CR-1 spouse visa. We’re currently waiting for an interview appointment. I can share a bit on this process that might help you. The marriage visa part was easy. It’s a form and a fee and I had to go to an appointment at an office in our courthouse building (I live in Louisville, KY). They took a pic, fingerprinted me, and they took my passport. A few weeks later, my passport was mailed back to me with the marriage visa stamped inside. Google how to apply for a marriage visa and you’ll find the form and fee info.  The big thing is, depending on your work situation, amount of vacation time... you may have to make 2 trips to the U.K. to get married there. Here in the U.S. you could meet someone today and marry them today. The U.K. doesn’t work that way. In the U.K. even if you are both from the U.K., you must declare intent to marry and wait 28 days. As a non - U.K. citizen, before you can declare intent to marry, you must be in the country 8 days. In order to declare and marry in the same trip you would need to be in the U.K. 36 days total (28 days + the additional 8 days for being a foreign national) then have the wedding ceremony. Once you apply, I think you have to marry within couldn’t take that much time off work so last October I went to visit and after 8 days we went to declare (you must make an appointment to declare at one of the designated offices and there’s a fee. Also you need 2 passport photos of each of you) then I went back in February and we got married. Check out https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjZg9GWzaLsAhXGaM0KHUGYA7sQFjAPegQIDBAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fmarriage-visa&usg=AOvVaw15i61OTs_Cr4NztXEA4XXT and I’ve attached the list of designated offices. He would have been here faster (pre-Covid) with the fiancé visa, but we didn’t like that K1 doesn’t include a work permit. You have to apply for the change of status and wait. After seeing the K1’s processing stalled due to Covid, very glad we did spouse visa. Good luck! 
 

p.s. Almost forgot the timeframes! Marriage visa is good for 6 months and once you declare intent to marry in the U.K. you have 12 months to get married.