Cancel K1, get married and file CR1?

[NoMansLand2020 298]

Hello, 

 

We filed K1 in December 2019 and received NOA2 in June of 2020. We are currently stuck at NVC along with thousands of others. We are also litigants of a mandamus Ramirez vs Blinken. 

 

We are exhausted from this wait and it's causing undue stress and strain on our relationship. Especially for my fiancée's two young children who don't understand why "Daddy" isn't coming back or they can't see him. 

 

Looking at the statistics USCIS puts out each month, Manila is processing nearly twice as many CR1 cases as K1. Has anyone canceled their K1 petition, gotten married (virtually) met in person for consummation purposes and then filed for CR1? Where we are already nearly two years into this, We'd  hate to abondon just to find out that our case would have been transferred to USEM a few weeks or months later. Yet we are afraid that the current situation will lead us years into the future before anything happens. 

 

What are the repercussions if any for canceling the K1 and filing CR1? Would we most likely end up getting an RFE or are there other problems that may arise? 

Edited August 5, 2021 by NoMansLand2020

[Chancy 6,241]

7 hours ago, NoMansLand2020 said:

What are the repercussions if any for canceling the K1 and filing CR1? Would we most likely end up getting an RFE or are there other problems that may arise?

 

Not a problem for USCIS nor the embassy.  At most, your spouse-to-be may be asked at the visa interview why you decided to switch to CR1.  Just answer truthfully.

 

That said, I hesitate to recommend switching in your case.  You've already been approved for over a year now.  No one can guarantee that you won't be getting an interview in the next few months.

 

On the other hand, there's a disturbing rumor about the Department of State letting K1 petitions expire, especially for those who are involved in Mandamus cases.  I have no idea how factual this is, but this might be something you'd want to look into.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

4 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

 

On the other hand, there's a disturbing rumor about the Department of State letting K1 petitions expire, especially for those who are involved in Mandamus cases.  I have no idea how factual this is, but this might be something you'd want to look into.

 

But was it a rumor?  I came across the thread in the “trending immigration discussions” and don’t know where it is on the site now, but I watched the video and it seemed legit unless by chance it was fabricated but it definitely didn’t appear like that.  It just appeared the lawyers  K1 clients who already had long wait times were cancelled by USCIS and that he had to tell his client the news just before he went on vacation. Either it was refile a new K1 or do a CR1. 

[Joe Kano 327]

5 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Not a problem for USCIS nor the embassy.  At most, your spouse-to-be may be asked at the visa interview why you decided to switch to CR1.  Just answer truthfully.

 

If they were married then the K1 is invalid, aka dead soldier.  From my experience they don't care/ask about previous petitions filed. 

[Joe Kano 327]

52 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

But was it a rumor?  I came across the thread in the “trending immigration discussions” and don’t know where it is on the site now, but I watched the video and it seemed legit unless by chance it was fabricated but it definitely didn’t appear like that.  It just appeared the lawyers  K1 clients who already had long wait times were cancelled by USCIS and that he had to tell his client the news just before he went on vacation. Either it was refile a new K1 or do a CR1. 

US Embassy Philippines released this on July 9th less than 30 days ago:

 

Q: Why haven’t I had my visa interview yet?
A: Our number one priority is the safety of our applicants and our staff.  To allow for adequate social distancing, we have limited the number of visa applicants we can schedule for interview.  We are finally in a position to interview a very limited number of K visas.  The backlog is large, so it will be a slow process, but we are eager to begin

 

FAQs: K Fiancé(e) Visa Processing | U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (usembassy.gov)

[Joe Kano 327]

Q: I am a plaintiff in Milligan v. Pompeo – can I schedule my K visa interview?
A: The court order does not require that plaintiffs be given special priority ahead of other K1 applicants.  K1 applicants who are named plaintiffs in Milligan v. Pompeo should contact the Embassy at https://ph.usembassy.gov/visas/contactus/ for guidance on scheduling a visa interview.

 

This was also released July 9th

 

 

[Joe Kano 327]

5 hours ago, Chancy said:

On the other hand, there's a disturbing rumor about the Department of State letting K1 petitions expire, especially for those who are involved in Mandamus cases.  I have no idea how factual this is, but this might be something you'd want to look into.

 

Please show me a link or reference

[Joe Kano 327]

1 hour ago, flicks1998 said:

But was it a rumor?  I came across the thread in the “trending immigration discussions” and don’t know where it is on the site now, but I watched the video and it seemed legit unless by chance it was fabricated but it definitely didn’t appear like that.  It just appeared the lawyers  K1 clients who already had long wait times were cancelled by USCIS and that he had to tell his client the news just before he went on vacation. Either it was refile a new K1 or do a CR1. 

I would love to see it.

 

From what I know and I have dealt with USCIS off and on for 14 years now with several petitions, I just don't see them cancelling a K1 for wait time and having to either refile another K1 or do a CR1.  Just don't legit.

[Adventine 3,196]

1 hour ago, flicks1998 said:

But was it a rumor?  I came across the thread in the “trending immigration discussions” and don’t know where it is on the site now, but I watched the video and it seemed legit unless by chance it was fabricated but it definitely didn’t appear like that.  It just appeared the lawyers  K1 clients who already had long wait times were cancelled by USCIS and that he had to tell his client the news just before he went on vacation. Either it was refile a new K1 or do a CR1. 

 

I don't think it's a rumor. The lawyer in the video (Jim Hacking) is sometimes recommended on this site as a competent immigration lawyer.

 

Now, it isn't clear if the K1 cases being cancelled are ONLY those applicants who filed a Writ of Mandamus suit (and therefore are Jim Hacking's clients) OR if they also include all the K1 cases who did NOT choose to file any kind of lawsuit.

[top_secret 2,417]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

Now, it isn't clear if the K1 cases being cancelled are ONLY those applicants who filed a Writ of Mandamus suit (and therefore are Jim Hacking's clients) OR if they also include all the K1 cases who did NOT choose to file any kind of lawsuit.

My interpretation was that it was kind of a warning shot from USEM.  They are saying "Do not sue us.  You will lose."  It very effectively put an end to all the K-1 lawsuits.

[NeonParticles 126]

This is the route I'm likely going to take.

Edited August 6, 2021 by NeonParticles

[Adventine 3,196]

41 minutes ago, top_secret said:

My interpretation was that it was kind of a warning shot from USEM.  They are saying "Do not sue us.  You will lose."  It very effectively put an end to all the K-1 lawsuits.

 

I agree that it's an awful precedent for anyone else thinking of a K1 lawsuit.

[Joe & Jer 7]

 

13 hours ago, Adventine said:

 

I don't think it's a rumor. The lawyer in the video (Jim Hacking) is sometimes recommended on this site as a competent immigration lawyer.

 

Now, it isn't clear if the K1 cases being cancelled are ONLY those applicants who filed a Writ of Mandamus suit (and therefore are Jim Hacking's clients) OR if they also include all the K1 cases who did NOT choose to file any kind of lawsuit.

'Ramirez' plaintiff chiming in...

This comes up sometimes in our lawyer's weekly round-up, and this specific rumor was discussed last week. The opinion from our lawyers is this is a non-issue. Its been brought up in litigation before and DOS quickly backed down. If DOS/USEM actually tried to pull this ####### and make it stick, it would backfire on them. 

 

Think about it, we are sueing for Mandamus relief, claiming the government hasn't done enough to adjudicate our cases. DOS responds with (among other arguments) that its not their fault - Covid got in the way and messed them all up  aaaand  "oh look, their petitions have expired, so their cases can't be adjudicated anyway".  The judge sees that and is going to be like "#######?".  The logic train that follows would amount to an admission from DOS that they only intended to adjudicate if and when they felt like it, thereby justifying the very complaint they are fighting against.  There have been some poor arguments from the lawyers representing DOS, but one like that would trump them all.  It aint happening, not in our case.

[Adventine 3,196]

13 hours ago, Joe & Jer said:

 

'Ramirez' plaintiff chiming in...

This comes up sometimes in our lawyer's weekly round-up, and this specific rumor was discussed last week. The opinion from our lawyers is this is a non-issue. Its been brought up in litigation before and DOS quickly backed down. If DOS/USEM actually tried to pull this ####### and make it stick, it would backfire on them. 

 

Think about it, we are sueing for Mandamus relief, claiming the government hasn't done enough to adjudicate our cases. DOS responds with (among other arguments) that its not their fault - Covid got in the way and messed them all up  aaaand  "oh look, their petitions have expired, so their cases can't be adjudicated anyway".  The judge sees that and is going to be like "#######?".  The logic train that follows would amount to an admission from DOS that they only intended to adjudicate if and when they felt like it, thereby justifying the very complaint they are fighting against.  There have been some poor arguments from the lawyers representing DOS, but one like that would trump them all.  It aint happening, not in our case.

 

Thanks for clarifying. I hope you get some positive movement in your case soon.

[flicks1998 1,044]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:33 PM, NeonParticles said:

This is the route I'm likely going to take.

The Health Dept is recommending that Manila stay in ECQ mode for 6 weeks.  Whether that comes to fruition is unknown, but that is the recommendation as of now.  If that does occur, SLEC will be shut down during that period and no medicals would be able to be conducted.

 

When India and Indonesia had their spikes in Delta, it took both countries around 8 weeks to get control of their cases.  Some people I know working in this sector in the PI say it could be about the same timeframe.  However, everything is unknown at this time and as you know the PI government is completely unpredictable.

 

Also, speaking to some health officials in the PI, most are expecting a worse situation compared to last year.

 

If you do decide to do the Zoom marriage, alot of this uncertainty you would be able to avoid.  There are alot of good threads in this section about that process and those who decided to pursue it have found out they made the right decision.  Unfortunately, its no easy decision on what to do, but whatever it is, hopefully everything will work out with less strain to your family. 

Edited August 7, 2021 by flicks1998