Visa Issuance for IR1 was a lot higher than CR1 in Feb 2021

[MoHanu 6]

Hi all,

I just looked Visa Issuances for Immigrants Visa (IR1 vs CR1). IR1 visa were 6 or 5 times more than CR1 for Feb 2021. Most of the time they are very close and this applies to every country. For instance in Philippines IR1 = 249 Vs CR1 = 68. Ethiopia IR1= 69 vs CR1 = 18 . This definitely could be just random but I follow this numbers for quite a while I never seen it being so consistent for every country plus with a very wide margins. Any idea why? If your heard anything please share.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

34 minutes ago, MoHanu said:

Hi all,

I just looked Visa Issuances for Immigrants Visa (IR1 vs CR1). IR1 visa were 6 or 5 times more than CR1 for Feb 2021. Most of the time they are very close and this applies to every country. For instance in Philippines IR1 = 249 Vs CR1 = 68. Ethiopia IR1= 69 vs CR1 = 18 . This definitely could be just random but I follow this numbers for quite a while I never seen it being so consistent for every country plus with a very wide margins. Any idea why? If your heard anything please share.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html

Probably because of the Covid that delay everything more people had reached the 2 years anniversary. My guest!

Edited March 29, 2021 by Paula&Johnny

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

49 minutes ago, MoHanu said:

Hi all,

I just looked Visa Issuances for Immigrants Visa (IR1 vs CR1). IR1 visa were 6 or 5 times more than CR1 for Feb 2021. Most of the time they are very close and this applies to every country. For instance in Philippines IR1 = 249 Vs CR1 = 68. Ethiopia IR1= 69 vs CR1 = 18 . This definitely could be just random but I follow this numbers for quite a while I never seen it being so consistent for every country plus with a very wide margins. Any idea why? If your heard anything please share.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html

At the 2 year point of a marriage, the spousal visa is classified as an IR-1.  There is actually no difference other than that (except for the requirement to remove conditions for a CR-1).  There is no difference in their priorities at the consulate.  This just means that interviews were for marriages of a longer duration.....probably due to Covid delays.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[MoHanu 6]

5 hours ago, Paula&Johnny said:

Probably because of the Covid that delay everything more people had reached the 2 years anniversary. My guest!

That is a good guess. So the status from CR1 to IR1 could change at any time? I meant the NVC will always check the date of the Marriage before issuing visa right?

[Chancy 6,243]

56 minutes ago, MoHanu said:

So the status from CR1 to IR1 could change at any time?

 

No, it doesn't just change at any time.  The visa category of a case (as counted in the issuance report) depends on the length of the marriage at the time the visa is issued.

 

1 hour ago, MoHanu said:

I meant the NVC will always check the date of the Marriage before issuing visa right?

 

NVC does not issue visas; US embassies/consulates do, and they normally check the length of the marriage before visa printing.

 

[JeanneAdil 6,591]

Long AP will change any CR1 to IR1 as soon as the marriage hits 2 years   / We applied CR1 but visa was stamped IR1  

its only the length of marriage that determines this 

and for any high fraud country you will see the 1st stage of the process is  longer also  so when visas are issued ,  it is often IR1

 

I was married 5 years when the visa was finally issued and a friend of ours went 7

 

Check out the other high fraud countries and you will see the same / more IR1 than CR1

Edited March 30, 2021 by JeanneAdil

[Lil bear 4,263]

11 hours ago, MoHanu said:

That is a good guess. So the status from CR1 to IR1 could change at any time? I meant the NVC will always check the date of the Marriage before issuing visa right?

Date of entry into the US ultimately decides CR or IR. Consulate issues it as a CR if the interview takes place before  the 2 yr anniversary date .. but an issued CR1 can result in arrival as an IR1 ..  resulting in an unconditional LPR status and no Removal  of conditions needed ... if the interview happens before the 2 year mark but the entry at POE happens after the 2 yr mark. Some people delay their entry until after the 2 years for this reason .. but entry has to happen before the visa and medical become expired.

[MoHanu 6]

Covid-19 definitely makes most of those cases to hit 2 years since the embassies were closed during those times specially mine definitely was (Ethiopia) for 8 month. I did some kind of analysis on visa Issuance between the two for 3 years and they were in 10% one being above the other. It probably means half of the cases before Covid were with in 2 years of Marriage and approval.But now the addition of Covid as a  factor most are going above 2 years. I am at CR1 category for now. Thanks everyone for answering.

[JKLSemicolon 414]

1 hour ago, MoHanu said:

Covid-19 definitely makes most of those cases to hit 2 years since the embassies were closed during those times specially mine definitely was (Ethiopia) for 8 month. I did some kind of analysis on visa Issuance between the two for 3 years and they were in 10% one being above the other. It probably means half of the cases before Covid were with in 2 years of Marriage and approval.But now the addition of Covid as a  factor most are going above 2 years. I am at CR1 category for now. Thanks everyone for answering.

Your original question has mostly been answered, but I just wanted to add that when I look at the visa issuance statistics, the most important piece of information to me is the combined total of IR1/CR1 visas issued, rather than either one of them individually.

 

The higher that combined total, the more visas are being processed by the given embassy/consulate and the faster we all get through the queue. Plus, aside from things like COVID closures there is no way to know how long after marriage any given couple has waited to actually file the petition. Some do it immediately, while others have already been living together outside of the U.S. for years before filing, etc.