Unique case: K1 or CR1 visa?

[In-Love 1]

Hi All!
My boyfriend and I really need some advice so please share if you know anything. It is a bit lengthy but please bear with me.
We met 6 years ago while both being abroad, fell in love and have been living abroad together for 5 years now. We are currently residing in Asia but want to move to the US.

We are not sure whether a K1 or CR1 visa is a better option for us because there are a few things on my boyfriend's criminal record. It is only disorderly conduct and fighting from when he was 21 that are actually on his criminal record and others are not. You have to contact the court directly to get any official documents for other ones. 
From about 10 years ago when he was around 20 years old he has charges for disobeying traffic device and disorderly conduct (he was in college and was caught with a little bit of marijuana in his car - personal use only), underage drinking and vandalism. Vandalism was expunged. From researching online these seem not to be an issue. However, when he was 16 years old he got into a fight with a friend in front of friend's house, the police were called and he was charged with violence and harassment. These two are sealed. We know this doesn't look good at all and are so worried how this can affect our application. 
Please understand that this all happened ages ago and he hasn't been in any trouble since then which is in 10 years. We are normal people who lead normal lives and just want to be able to marry and move to the US to settle down and start a family. 

If anyone knows which visa is better for us, K1 or CR1 please comment as we have read that CR1 might be better in this case?

Also, if anyone has a recommendation for a good immigration lawyer please let us know as we would like to get legal advice.

Note: we already got a lawyer and paid them. They advised us to go K1 visa rute and we spent the last 2-3 months gathering documents and when we finally got it all , literally a few days away from filing I-129F form the lawyer told us that USCIS has a new rule as of 2021 that the petitioner needs to disclose any criminal background. We threw ourselves on researching how to obtain documents from the court and found that this has actually been a requirement for K1 visa for years. We are currently working on getting these documents but we are beyond disappointed and angry that K1 visa requirements were not disclosed earlier. 
We had 3 meetings with our lawyer and multiple emails were exchanged, this was never brought up. We were not hiding anything, we just never knew they needed this info from the petitioner as we were only told that the beneficiary needs to provide it which wasn't an issue since my record is perfect, never got into any trouble in my whole life.  Now the lawyer doesn't know what to do and we are thinking of changing lawyers as we need someone who does know what to do in a situation like ours.

Any help and advice is much appreciated! Thank you!

[HRQX 4,145]

4 minutes ago, In-Love said:

that the petitioner needs to disclose any criminal background.

Do both petitioner and beneficiary have criminal background, or only the petitioner? If only the petitioner, then the listed crimes are not an issue.

[In-Love 1]

Yes, it's only the petitioner. However, after informing our lawyer we were told this could be a major issue and they could be concerned for my well being.

However, I don't really see it that way. More of a mischievous past which, obviously, I am fully aware of and there have been no incidents in our time together that would indicate this is an ongoing issue. As I mentioned, above we've been living together for the past 5 years.

The lawyers comment really worried us about this though, and we know the government may not take my feelings into account.

[powerpuff 6,713]

You need to drop the lawyer asap. 
 

which country are you from (the interview will be in)?

[In-Love 1]

I am from Bosnia and we hope to do the interview in Bosnia. 

[powerpuff 6,713]

Well, Bosnia is doing K-1 interviews so that’s good.

 

But I think CR-1 makes so much more sense in your case. You already live together so he can stay with you (I presume) while it’s being processed. You'll be able to work and travel as soon as you arrive in the US. Another advantage, considering you’re worried about the criminal background, is that you can appeal a CR-1 denial which you cannot do with K-1. I don’t think the criminal background is going to be a big issue as long as you disclose everything but please find a competent lawyer because your current one definitely isn’t. 

[HRQX 4,145]

19 minutes ago, In-Love said:

More of a mischievous past which, obviously, I am fully aware

You being aware is good. Ultimately, it looks like it won't be an issue. https://www.philipcurtislaw.com/news/2017/9/30/disclosure-of-k1-petitioners-criminal-history-under-imbra

[milimelo 4,486]

Since you’re in Bosnia go get married and file CR-1. There’s absolutely no need to do K-1 and then wait months/years for green card. 

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Thread is moved from K-1 Progress to "What Visa Do I Need" forum; unanswered duplicate thread there is removed.

Edited March 7, 2021 by TBoneTX

[In-Love 1]

Thank you for the replies!

 

Apologies. ETA.

 

We have some reservations about going the CR1 route having heard the following:

 

The State Department gave a statistic at [a recent] conference that almost 500,000 green card cases are in the queue waiting for interview.  If [we] marry, [we] would begin that queue.  [State dept.] said it may not be months but years before some cases made it through that queue.  They would not give statistics on fiancé cases, which are still delayed, but hard to believe they could be that bad. 

 

We would like to move to the US soon rather later after 5 years in Asia, so the above is kind of concerning.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by In-Love

[aaron2020 11,651]

Are you aware that with a K-1, your fiance will have to pay for and got through the AOS process where the current wait is 6-8 months for an EAD in order to work legally?  There are significant downsides to the K-1 route and that is why people are recommending the CR-1 spousal visa.  
 

No one has ever posted regretting going for a CR-1 instead of the K-1.  Many have posted regretting getting the K-1 instead of going for the CR-1.  

[SteveInBostonI130 3,463]

CR1.

 

1. In 2020, mainly CR1 visas were processed.  Other visas were put on hold either due to presidential proclamation on visas and travel restrictions or partial closures of embassies. Queues for CR1 are relatively normal.

 

2.  USC petitioner criminal background is not much of an issue with CR1 vs K1.  Although your boyfriend doesn't seem to have any domestic abuse or similar charges, USCIS would take a close look at him to make sure he didn't "forget" to disclose other charges.

 

3. VSC.  Because your boyfriend has a criminal past, your K1 petition will go to Vermont Service Center.  Processing times there are about 2-3 times longer than normal petitions at CSC.  Very likely 1-2 years to get USCIS approval. EDIT: currently, VSC processing time for K1 is 22.5 to 29 months.  Only cases before OCT 16, 2018 is being considered "outside normal processing time".

 

4. Proof of bona fide relationship.  Some couples have difficulty gathering bona fide relationship data for CR1.  Because you have lived together for several years, you have very strong relationship evidence.

 

5.  Overall time and cost. CR1 is quicker in your specific case for both getting a greencard and entering the US.  An I-129f will probably be delayed longer than your I-130.  If you enter with a K1, you will need to adjust status, which is taking 1-2 years.  For K1, your overall time to greencard in-hand would probably be 2-4 years.  With CR1, 1-2  yrs.  EDIT:. TSC current processing time for I-130 USC spouse is 8.5 to 11 months.

 

Get married as soon as you are able and go for CR1.

Edited March 7, 2021 by SteveInBostonI130
Added VSC and TSC processing times.

[carmel34 3,635]

CR-1 is definitely the way to go in this case.  You won't regret it as many who go for a K-1 do.  Get married and file a I-130 and I-130A for a CR-1 as soon as you can.  The line is long for both and CR-1 is superior for so many reasons.  Good luck!

[In-Love 1]

Thank you very much for your replies and help! We really appreciate it!