Starting CR-1 (and K-3) after abandoning K-1 AOS

[JKLSemicolon 411]

(there are a lot of questions in this post, so I will write them in red for emphasis)

 

Hello everyone,

 

Our situation is this: after getting married and starting the Adjustment of Status (AOS) process from a K-1 visa, my wife had to go back to Ecuador without Advanced Parole. We knew ahead of time that this would mean abandoning the AOS process, and accepted that.

 

We still want to be here in the US and that means starting the CR-1 process. Our biggest concern right now is that until the CR-1 visa is issued, my wife no longer has a way to visit here in the US. While we also accepted that possibility when she left the country, I see a couple of options to address that - a tourist (B-2) visa, or a spousal (K-3) visa.

 

Please let me know your thoughts on the following plan.

 

1. Send in the I-130 petition ASAP to get the CR-1 process started. This is almost ready, but I am not sure what is best to include as proof of a bona fide relationship given that we were living together but are currently apart, especially the items in bold below:
   • Joint bank accounts and credit cards (still working with my bank to get her added)
   • Health insurance documentation (I plan to keep her enrolled for now)
   • Lease and utility bills in both of our names (Will this confuse the issue? I could attempt to explain it in the cover letter)
   • Photos (a few from the wedding and a selection of us together over the years)
   • Copies of cards received congratulating us on the marriage (or save these for the interview, or omit altogether?)
2. Have her apply for a new tourist (B-2) visa.
   • She has had two B-2 visas in the past and used them for at least 14 short-term visits over the years, which I hope will help her case. Her last B-2 visa had an expiration in July 2020, although it was cancelled when the K-1 was issued. I am not sure if applying for a B-2 visa now would be considered "the same classification" (as needed for an interview waiver to apply) ?
   • We have the DHS/CBP list of ties to one's home country and will try to prepare that for a potential visa interview.
   • There is a still a good possibility that this will be denied because being married shows immigrant intent. We are not interested in AOS again (part of this has to do with the situation that led us to abandon it the first time), and hopefully there would be an opportunity to at least make that case.
   • Question: Does it make a difference whether she applies for the B-2 visa before or after the CR-1 petition has been submitted? I read the entire thread about visiting on tourist visas during the CR-1 process but wasn't clear about that part. Obviously the timing would affect the answers to some of the questions on the application and we would pay close attention to that.
3. After the I-130 has been submitted, file an I-129F petition for a K-3 visa.
   • Again, we would not be interested in adjusting status; this would just be another alternative that would hopefully allow her to visit while the CR-1 is in progress.
   • Question: Is there any problem with having both an I-129f petition for the K-3 and a B-2 application in process at the same time? Since it appears that the Ecuadorian consulate is not issuing B-2 visas right now, I would rather get the K-3 process started as soon as possible rather than waiting for the outcome of the B-2.
   • I understand that these are often denied as well, although it does seem like a good fit for a situation like ours.

 

I plan to email the non-immigrant visa section of the consulate to ask them for more clarification (in the past I have been able to get answers, although not without a lot of back and forth). In the meantime, I would appreciate the insight of anyone with experience in this, especially from the few out there who have abandoned K-1 AOS in favor of the CR-1.

 

If none of the above works, I can and will continue to visit her in Ecuador, but it would be great to have more options.

 

I'll be happy to clarify with more details as needed.

 

Thanks in advance!

[HRQX 4,145]

8 minutes ago, JKLSemicolon said:

After the I-130 has been submitted, file an I-129F petition for a K-3 visa.

K-3 is extremely rare: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas "because USCIS now takes less time to adjudicate the Form I-130, the current need for K-3 and K-4 visas is rare."

 

Odds are the I-129F would be administratively closed: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-spouse-k-3.html

Important Notice:

When both petitions have been approved by USCIS and sent to the NVC or when USCIS approves the I-130 before the I-129F, the availability of, as well as the need for, a nonimmigrant K-3 visa ends. If the NVC receives both an approved I-130 petition and an approved I-129F petition:

• The nonimmigrant K-3 visa case will be administratively closed.
• The application process explained below will not be available to the foreign-citizen spouse and cannot be used.
• The NVC will contact the U.S. citizen sponsor and foreign-citizen spouse, with instructions for processing the IR-1 (or CR-1) immigrant visa. For more information on the immigrant visa process, review the Immigrant Visa for a Spouse webpage.

[Just Paul 4,595]

Getting a tourist visa is problematic.  She has already expressed immigrant intent by traveling on the K1 and she is married to a USC - But $160 and a DS-160 is all you need to do to find out.  Don't bother trying to contact the NIV section.  They aren't allowed to give advise on which visa is appropriate.

 

File the I-130 and wait.

[Crazy Cat 41,834]

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

I plan to email the non-immigrant visa section of the consulate to ask them for more clarification (in the past I have been able to get answers, although not without a lot of back and forth). In the meantime, I would appreciate the insight of anyone with experience in this, especially from the few out there who have abandoned K-1 AOS in favor of the CR-1.

 

If none of the above works, I can and will continue to visit her in Ecuador, but it would be great to have more options.

Forget #3.  K-3 visas are obsolete. It will be wasted effort. I think only 5 were issued last year world-wide.  The I-129 will be closed.  No reason to contact the consulate.  Just have her apply for a B2......although the odds of success are extremely slim due to her previous immigrant intent. .  Your best actions, imo, are to submit an I-130, then ride out the CR-1 process with visits outside the US.

Edited October 6, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[HRQX 4,145]

15 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

I think only 5 were issued last year world-wide.

Yup, that was the number for Fiscal Year 2019: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2019AnnualReport/FY19AnnualReport-TableXVI-B.pdf Fiscal Year 2020 ended a week ago and it was on track for just 3 K-3 visas, but September 2020 data isn't available yet: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html And it's been years since a K-3 was issued in South America: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyNIVIssuances/MAY 2018 - NIV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

We will not bother with the K3 visa, given everyone's feedback.

 

For the B2 visa, I again return to my question on whether it matters if we submit the DS-160 before or after the petition for the CR-1?

 

Specifically, the timing would affect the answer to this question on the DS-160:

 

Quote

Has anyone ever filed an immigrant petition on your behalf with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services? 

I think the answer is "yes" regardless (as previous threads on VJ seem to indicate that the K-1 petition also applies here). In that case there is a box that says "Explain".

 

It seems like waiting until after submitting the I-130 petition would make it easier to explain the complete picture on the DS-160, which is:

• An I-129F (K-1) petition was filed
• Adjustment of Status from that petition was abandoned
• An I-130 (CR-1) petition was filed
• The purpose of the B2 application is to visit temporarily until the CR-1 is issued. We abandoned AOS willingly and are no longer interested in that process.

Any thoughts on that?

[Troy B 223]

3 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

We will not bother with the K3 visa, given everyone's feedback.

 

For the B2 visa, I again return to my question on whether it matters if we submit the DS-160 before or after the petition for the CR-1?

 

Specifically, the timing would affect the answer to this question on the DS-160:

 

I think the answer is "yes" regardless (as previous threads on VJ seem to indicate that the K-1 petition also applies here). In that case there is a box that says "Explain".

 

It seems like waiting until after submitting the I-130 petition would make it easier to explain the complete picture on the DS-160, which is:

• An I-129F (K-1) petition was filed
• Adjustment of Status from that petition was abandoned
• An I-130 (CR-1) petition was filed
• The purpose of the B2 application is to visit temporarily until the CR-1 is issued. We abandoned AOS willingly and are no longer interested in that process.

Any thoughts on that?

 

As mentioned above,  due to the filing of the K1 and now CR1,  your spouse has expressed immigration intent, and overcoming that to get a B2 visa is highly unlikely.

[JKLSemicolon 411]

2 hours ago, Troy B said:

 

As mentioned above,  due to the filing of the K1 and now CR1,  your spouse has expressed immigration intent, and overcoming that to get a B2 visa is highly unlikely.

Thank you, we are aware of that but will still attempt to do so. I think I answered my own question above as far as the timing of this.

 

Another question I have is whether we need to formally withdraw the I-485 before submitting the I-130. While it was technically abandoned upon leaving the country, USCIS may not be aware of this yet. I am wondering if this can simply be addressed in the cover letter for the I-130 or if it is better to notify USCIS separately?

[Boiler 45,466]

I se no harm applying for a B.