Confused Best Route (IR-1? K3?)

[mfriend12 1]

Hi! My husband and I are currently living in Sweden, we moved here from USA in 2015 where we lived for about 18 months, during which time he had a CR-1 visa/green card (before that we were living in Asia). I got a job offer in Sweden and we decided to leave the USA in 2015, did not have intent to return and since we were not living there we did not petition to remove the "conditional" status at the 2 year mark so his green card is I suppose "expired". From what I understand this means we start from the beginning. 

 

Long story short, coronavirus has changed a lot of our feelings about living abroad and we want to settle long term in the US near my family. We also have a child together born in Sweden who is an American citizen. 

 

Which route is the best if we are planning to move back (ideally together)? Does a K3 make sense, is it actually faster than the IR1? The last processing times I've looked at for IR1 seems like people are waiting 2-3 years for a visa? It is pretty overwhelming to try and plan that far ahead, or potentially have our family separated for part of that time if I find a job first. Any thoughts? Thanks. 

[HRQX 4,145]

11 minutes ago, mfriend12 said:

Does a K3 make sense

K-3 visas were extremely rare before the pandemic and essentially non-existent since the 03/20/2020 DOS "Suspension of Routine Visa Services." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

[mfriend12 1]

Just now, HRQX said:

K-3 visas were extremely rare before the pandemic and essentially non-existent since the 03/20/2020 DOS "Suspension of Routine Visa Services." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

Thank you for the info. This is good to know, sorry most of my knowledge of all this is based on our first process back in 2013/14. 

 

Is it also true that DCF has been mostly phased out? It only took us a month to get his visa approved the first time because we did DCF in South Korea. This seems like it has also changed a lot. 

[HRQX 4,145]

41 minutes ago, mfriend12 said:

Is it also true that DCF has been mostly phased out?

One of the "exceptional circumstances" examples for direct filing is "Short notice of position relocation – A U.S. citizen petitioner, living and working abroad, has received a job offer in or reassignment to the United States with little notice for the required start date." https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3

[Chancy 6,241]

37 minutes ago, mfriend12 said:

Is it also true that DCF has been mostly phased out?

 

Yes, overseas USCIS field offices have closed.  DCF is now only available to those with exceptional circumstances, and acceptance of cases is at the discretion of the consulate.  A common example of exceptional circumstances that we see here on VJ is having a job offer with short notice of relocation to the US.  More info here -- https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3