Haiti K1 VISA Co-sponsor

[Christy&Jay 11]

Good evening everyone, 

 

I'm gathering information before I file for my Fiancé who is in Haiti. The only roadblock that I'm experiencing at the moment is my loss of job earlier in the year due to the pandemic. My mom however has graciously agreed to be a co-sponsor. I'm just wondering if anyone has or had a similar experience and what should I expect? I'm also contemplating on whether I should wait to elope in Haiti and do a spousal visa instead.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Christy&Jay
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[Crazy Cat 41,894]

If marriage is an option, then I highly suggest you give it serious consideration:

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
        
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
   

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Yes, Haiti allows joint sponsors. It’s really your choice If you want to get married now and file cr1. I personally would never want to deal with the bureaucracy/logistics/translation of getting married in Haiti. I think they only register marriages once a year? Something to look into- I know other Haiti members could help with that piece. My husband needed Time to adjust in the US so there was no issue with him waiting for his EAD after his arrival. (We do NOT live near any Haitian communities and adjusting to the US was very shocking) Haiti currently isn’t processing any routine visas at this time.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Luckycuds

[Christy&Jay 11]

@Lucky Cat

Those are definitely things that we considered when comparing the 2. Our issue was the vast difference between the 2 that it would take for him to get approved. For Haiti it seemed that the CR1 visas usually takes more than 2 years while the K1 is under a year. Thank you for the advice! My main concern was the co-sponsor bit for the K1 visa. Nonetheless we have to think more on it before deciding.

[Christy&Jay 11]

@Luckycuds

We would actually rather do the K1 Visa. I have heard of how unorganized Haiti tends to be, I definitely do not have the patience for it. Thank you for your response, we were just worried about them not accepting a co-sponsor, in which case the visa would probably get denied since I don't meet the financial requirements.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

16 minutes ago, Christy&Jay said:

@Luckycuds

We would actually rather do the K1 Visa. I have heard of how unorganized Haiti tends to be, I definitely do not have the patience for it. Thank you for your response, we were just worried about them not accepting a co-sponsor, in which case the visa would probably get denied since I don't meet the financial requirements.

I had a joint sponsor and no issues- they didn’t ask anything about it. I would say though don’t get set on any timeframe- although our k1 took 9 months back in 2014, our cousins took over a year in 2019 and it’s longer now since the embassy hasn’t opened up.
 

if you go the CR1 route.. If your fiancé doesn’t know someone it may take a loongg time to get documents as well as paying people off if you need any type of documents in Haiti. I am so glad my husband is now here in the states lol If fiancé doesn’t have his passport or birth certificate from the National Archives make sure he starts working on those ASAP.  If you get married in Haiti you may need a blood test and have to wait like two weeks to actually get married after your purchase the Acte de Marriage Civil.