K1 or CR-1 - Which is better for us?

[Chase_FL 0]

Hi everyone,

 

Found this forum mentioned several times online. 

 

Currently interviewing attorneys with my girlfriend (soon to be fiancé) and they each charge varying fees and have different ideas on which route is best... I began thinking there's got to be a way to do it myself and then from Reddit found this site.

 

Here is our current situation:

 

Me - US Citizen

Her - Canadian

 

We have been ready to get engaged/married for a good bit now, but was never in a rush. Some things changed with her US job so she quit, TN Visa no longer active now, and is now a resident in Canada again visiting me in US.

 

We have no unique issues, no criminal record, plenty sufficient funds, I've got great employment history, no kids, no previous marriages, etc

 

We are debating between K1 and CR-1. Reason we are leaning towards K1 is so she can be in the states faster and spend time here, 6-9 mo outside of US vs 12+ mo. We have a family member wedding to be at in Canada in July and both planned to be in Canada for June-September.

 

Here is plan as of now:

 

It is my understanding that she can't be in the US when we file the K1 and can't enter the US until approval (6-9 mo)... if that is the case we would wait until Late May to file it, leave for the summer, then I would come back to US in Oct and she would stay in Canada until approved.

 

Once approved, she comes to the states, we get legally married within 90 days of arrival, then file for rest of Marriage Case (Form I-130, Form I-485 (Adjust Status), Form G-325A, Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-131 Application for Travel Document)

 

Then she can't leave the US for 6+ mo while processing, once approved, done.

 

If she can be in the US when we file for K1, we realistically could file that sooner, like late March as that will be her last visit entry before leaving for the long duration in June. If she can be in the US when filing, leave and come back while processing, we could file that K1 now.

 

Any tips or advice on which path to go, if she can be here when filing, if she can be here leave and come back while waiting on K1, etc OR if K1 is so delayed now that CR-1 is better overall.

 

All help much appreciated.

 

[payxibka 10,045]

23 minutes ago, Chase_FL said:

Hi everyone,

 

Found this forum mentioned several times online. 

 

Currently interviewing attorneys with my girlfriend (soon to be fiancé) and they each charge varying fees and have different ideas on which route is best... I began thinking there's got to be a way to do it myself and then from Reddit found this site.

 

Here is our current situation:

 

Me - US Citizen

Her - Canadian

 

We have been ready to get engaged/married for a good bit now, but was never in a rush. Some things changed with her US job so she quit, TN Visa no longer active now, and is now a resident in Canada again visiting me in US.

 

We have no unique issues, no criminal record, plenty sufficient funds, I've got great employment history, no kids, no previous marriages, etc

 

We are debating between K1 and CR-1. Reason we are leaning towards K1 is so she can be in the states faster and spend time here, 6-9 mo outside of US vs 12+ mo. We have a family member wedding to be at in Canada in July and both planned to be in Canada for June-September.

 

Here is plan as of now:

 

It is my understanding that she can't be in the US when we file the K1 and can't enter the US until approval (6-9 mo)... if that is the case we would wait until Late May to file it, leave for the summer, then I would come back to US in Oct and she would stay in Canada until approved.

 

Once approved, she comes to the states, we get legally married within 90 days of arrival, then file for rest of Marriage Case (Form I-130, Form I-485 (Adjust Status), Form G-325A, Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-131 Application for Travel Document)

 

Then she can't leave the US for 6+ mo while processing, once approved, done.

 

If she can be in the US when we file for K1, we realistically could file that sooner, like late March as that will be her last visit entry before leaving for the long duration in June. If she can be in the US when filing, leave and come back while processing, we could file that K1 now.

 

Any tips or advice on which path to go, if she can be here when filing, if she can be here leave and come back while waiting on K1, etc OR if K1 is so delayed now that CR-1 is better overall.

 

All help much appreciated.

 

Your understanding is not correct in a few places..  She can be inside the US when the petition is filed,  she can visit during the process subject to entry requirements. 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by payxibka

[bakphx1 789]

Having read this forum for several years I am anti-K1 and so happy to have gotten a CR1.

 

K1 is more expensive.

 

The K1 means six or so months that the new spouse is entirely dependent on you as they can’t work, study, etc. here.  Some relationships have ended as the honeymoon period ends and there is a financial strain, while the new spouse feels bored and isolated. 
 

If anything comes up like a medical emergency or death, you may find yourself with cruel options.  Because you give up the visa by leaving.

 

No social security number means doing anything...school, getting ID are out of reach.

 

The several month you wait seems like a lot, but isn’t in the bigger picture.

 

 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

28 minutes ago, bakphx1 said:

Having read this forum for several years I am anti-K1 and so happy to have gotten a CR1.

 

K1 is more expensive.

 

The K1 means six or so months that the new spouse is entirely dependent on you as they can’t work, study, etc. here.  Some relationships have ended as the honeymoon period ends and there is a financial strain, while the new spouse feels bored and isolated. 
 

If anything comes up like a medical emergency or death, you may find yourself with cruel options.  Because you give up the visa by leaving.

 

No social security number means doing anything...school, getting ID are out of reach.

 

The several month you wait seems like a lot, but isn’t in the bigger picture.

 

 

Of course you can get a SSN with a K1

[JFH 12,190]

You couldn’t pay me enough to do a K-1. The K-1 is nothing more than a ridiculously overpriced tourist visa that allows the person to stay beyond the 90-day period granted upon arrival provided that they marry the petitioner and pay even more money and complete even more forms and wait many months to be approved. Up until that point they are more or less in limbo status. 
 

For anyone with a career, anyone who appreciates financial independence or anyone who enjoys the freedom of traveling out of the country at leisure (COVID aside), it’s a really bad choice. You can visit back and forth during either process, subject to border policies.
 

Get married on your next visit to Canada or her next visit to you, it doesn’t have to be a big event. The marriage just has to be legal. And then get the paperwork rolling for the CR-1. She will thank you for it in the end. The feeling of arriving and knowing you are a permanent resident from day one, able to work, able to get a drivers license (not all states permit a K-1 holder to have a license), able to just get on with your married life instead of wrestling with USCIS for the next 18 months is pleasure you can’t measure. 

[Chase_FL 0]

15 minutes ago, JFH said:

You couldn’t pay me enough to do a K-1. The K-1 is nothing more than a ridiculously overpriced tourist visa that allows the person to stay beyond the 90-day period granted upon arrival provided that they marry the petitioner and pay even more money and complete even more forms and wait many months to be approved. Up until that point they are more or less in limbo status. 
 

For anyone with a career, anyone who appreciates financial independence or anyone who enjoys the freedom of traveling out of the country at leisure (COVID aside), it’s a really bad choice. You can visit back and forth during either process, subject to border policies.
 

Get married on your next visit to Canada or her next visit to you, it doesn’t have to be a big event. The marriage just has to be legal. And then get the paperwork rolling for the CR-1. She will thank you for it in the end. The feeling of arriving and knowing you are a permanent resident from day one, able to work, able to get a drivers license (not all states permit a K-1 holder to have a license), able to just get on with your married life instead of wrestling with USCIS for the next 18 months is pleasure you can’t measure. 

All makes sense but the problem with the CR-1 is that she can't join me here in the US for 12+ mo, correct? Us seeing each other would be reliant on me going to Canada, or both to a diff country... 

 

The financial independence/career is less of a worry, we are OK there.

[JFH 12,190]

28 minutes ago, Chase_FL said:

All makes sense but the problem with the CR-1 is that she can't join me here in the US for 12+ mo, correct? Us seeing each other would be reliant on me going to Canada, or both to a diff country... 

 

The financial independence/career is less of a worry, we are OK there.

She can visit during the process. We did the CR-1. I visited several times during it. For us, the couple of extra months of processing time when we have the rest of our lives ahead of us (and we are likely older than you so fewer years left - we were 40 and 48 when we married) was worth it for being able to work immediately. I didn’t spend years at university and climbing the career ladder to be stuck at home for months whilst opportunities pass me by.  In my industry, the longer you are out, the harder it is to get back in. 
 

Marriage and immigration are long-term commitments and require long-term vision and planning. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by JFH

[Chase_FL 0]

8 minutes ago, JFH said:

She can visit during the process. We did the CR-1. I visited several times during it. For us, the couple of extra months of processing time when we have the rest of our lives ahead of us (and we are likely older than you so fewer years left - we were 40 and 48 when we married) was worth it for being able to work immediately. I didn’t spend years at university and climbing the career ladder to be stuck at home for months whilst opportunities pass me by.  In my industry, the longer you are out, the harder it is to get back in. 
 

Marriage and immigration are long-term commitments and require long-term vision and planning. 

Awesome

 

Seems like that was our only hang up and after seeing the stories here of so many successful visits with proper materials and supporting docs, we plan to choose that route over K1

[bakphx1 789]

1 hour ago, Letspaintcookies said:

Of course you can get a SSN with a K1

I got the impression you couldn’t.  But I may have been reading posts from people with delays with the SSA.  I still think the green card is better, though.

[bakphx1 789]

13 minutes ago, Chase_FL said:

Awesome

 

Seems like that was our only hang up and after seeing the stories here of so many successful visits with proper materials and supporting docs, we plan to choose that route over K1

I think you’ll be glad you did!

[SalishSea 17,842]

41 minutes ago, bakphx1 said:

I got the impression you couldn’t.  But I may have been reading posts from people with delays with the SSA.  I still think the green card is better, though.

The key is to going to the SSA office en route from the airport after POE, lol.   My husband did it in the days before we got married, and had no problems getting his SSN.

[Bug&Bug 147]

Bear also in mind that with the whole pandemic, those of us married and with a cr1 have had many more protections than those on a k1 wich have been effectively abandoned to their luck.

 

If (hope not!) there is a new canadian strain in the near future and the borders shut, you dont want to be on the k1 lot.

[Dashinka 24,519]

4 hours ago, Chase_FL said:

All makes sense but the problem with the CR-1 is that she can't join me here in the US for 12+ mo, correct? Us seeing each other would be reliant on me going to Canada, or both to a diff country... 

 

The financial independence/career is less of a worry, we are OK there.

At this point, the time differences between a K1 and CR1 are much less than a year or so ago, so that benefit is not really there.  We did the K1 back in 2013/2014 which was right for us with our specific situation, but I would favor the CR1 in almost all cases now.  There are still reasons for the K1 such as those same sex couples where one of them is from a country that prohibits that, but when someone has the ability to visit relatively easy (Canada/VWPs), the CR1 is far superior.  One of the issues though that seems to come up is when the ability to visit easily is abused.

 

Good Luck!

[Marieke H 2,512]

9 hours ago, Chase_FL said:

The financial independence/career is less of a worry, we are OK there.

It's not just about finances or a career; it's about being able to start your new life. Not being able to work, travel, and in many states not being able to get a driver's license. It's miserable and depressing.

 

I did the K1, and I can honestly say that in most cases it's a very bad idea. If you're able to meet and get married, go for the CR-1. The K-1 only really makes sense for those circumstances where it's not possible to get married. 

[JFH 12,190]

10 hours ago, Chase_FL said:

 

The financial independence/career is less of a worry, we are OK there.

Good for you! But if you lost your job the day after she arrived... If you do a K-1 she cannot make any money here at all for many months. That means no employment, no casual babysitting for cash, no selling her arts and crafts on Etsy, no “helping a friend in return for...”.

 

If you are financially stable that’s great. But it can be soul-destroying in the 21st century for a woman who has previously always worked to be sitting at home unable to work and also having to ask her husband every time she needs or wants a pair of shoes, a book, a cup of coffee with her friends, a ride in an Uber and so on. 
 

This isn’t just about her being here. It’s about her being happy here.

Edited January 26, 2021 by JFH