K1 or Cr1 VISA?

[HUGOC9999 2]

Hello, everyone newbie here. I would really like to know your opinion on this matter. First off I'm a 29 year old US citizen living in Ecuador. I'm also ecuadorian as I was born here and got US citizenship through my father as a kid. I lived in the US since I was 6 and came back to Ecuador when I was 19. While here I went to university and became a dentist, I also met my future wife and we have a 6 year old daughter together. Things are becoming really tough in Ecuador are we are seriously considering moving to the US permanently. My daughter has US citizenship through a CRBA and also has a US passport. We haven't gotten married yet but have been living together for 2 years. I'm really indecisive about whether or not applying for K1 visa or getting married and applying for CR1 instead. What would you recommend in my case?  I really want an option with the less waiting time possible, can't really stand the thought of being away from my partner and daughter for so long. I'm planning on filing for k1 visa then travel to the US to reestablish domicile and get a job. I also have an aunt who could possibly be a co-sponsor. I'm aware of the different costs each option implies. Which option would be the surest way to get approved and have all 3 of us travel together to start a new life in the states? Would really appreciate any insight. TIA

[Boiler 44,874]

CR1 not even close.

[HUGOC9999 2]

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

CR1 not even close.

Explain 

[powerpuff 6,462]

~ Moved from K1 Forum to What Visa do I need ~

[millefleur 5,043]

You don't need to move back to prove domicile, plenty of people just do "intent to re-establish domicile" while they are still living abroad. However, it seems you've been living outside the States for quite some time so it might be harder in your case. Domicile is still way down the road, it comes after the petition approval so no need to worry about it right now. You can still probably be together to wait out the processing, just go back at the tail end if needed to get domicile in order.

 

CR-1 is now considered the better visa because processing times for K-1's have slowed down a lot. Before Covid, it was different because K-1's were a lot faster. CR-1 has always been considered the "better" visa and now that wait times for K-1's have slowed, they're generally not recommended unless you have some difficulty getting married prior to starting the petition.

 

[CJPinEcuador 396]

I lived in Ecuador the past 10 years and my fiance is Ecuadorian. We have gone the K1 route and are at 8 months waiting for approval of the first part (NOA2). We chose K1 as we did want to marry in the US and hoped it would be quicker (doubtful). Both are about the same right now time wise. CR1 seems to be slightly longer with the NVC stage, but it does have work advantages once in the US. I moved back to the US a few months ago to get resettled in preparation for him to be here and to make sure my domicile case was strong, but we know the wait for us is still going to be about 4-6 months if not more. We probably still would have gone with K1 vs CR1 as we want to be married in the US with my family and had just gotten engaged when we applied. We agreed to do "engaged time" separated as opposed to "married time" so it would be an easier transition for our children. Time wise, both options are about the same right now, but since we agreed that once we got married we wanted to always go be able to return home to the same place each day and live a normal life, we ultimately decided to do the K1. It has been a strain being apart, but I was still in Ecuador for the first 5 months of the wait so we would only be apart for about 6-8 months out of the 12 month plus process.  

 

With the deteriorating economic situation in Ecuador and my school year over half over when we filed (I was a teacher), we both decided it was better for me to come back a bit sooner and wait out the last part. 

 

Additionally, while I have permanent residency in Ecuador through my son, since I am a US citizen and COVID was in full swing, we would have had to wait much longer to file while I gathered all the paperwork for the registro civil in order to get married since the embassy stopped giving out the "single" declaration and I would have had to have gotten it from my local US county (there were no guarantees for us at the time that it wouldn't take many more months before we could get married as it was pre-mass vaccination), and we wanted to get our "place in line" as quickly as possible when we filed.  This part sounds like it wouldn't be an issue for you and it would be much easier and faster to get married and get your application in. 

 

Good luck with whatever you choose! My only advice would be to get paperwork in ASAP so it can all get started! 

[HUGOC9999 2]

55 minutes ago, millefleur said:

You don't need to move back to prove domicile, plenty of people just do "intent to re-establish domicile" while they are still living abroad. However, it seems you've been living outside the States for quite some time so it might be harder in your case. Domicile is still way down the road, it comes after the petition approval so no need to worry about it right now. You can still probably be together to wait out the processing, just go back at the tail end if needed to get domicile in order.

 

CR-1 is now considered the better visa because processing times for K-1's have slowed down a lot. Before Covid, it was different because K-1's were a lot faster. CR-1 has always been considered the "better" visa and now that wait times for K-1's have slowed, they're generally not recommended unless you have some difficulty getting married prior to starting the petition.

 

Thanks for the response, why do you think it'll be a bit harder in my case, do you mean domicile wise? Do you think  I'd be better off filing for the CR1 online or having a friend from the states send it directly by mail?

[HUGOC9999 2]

48 minutes ago, CJPinEcuador said:

I lived in Ecuador the past 10 years and my fiance is Ecuadorian. We have gone the K1 route and are at 8 months waiting for approval of the first part (NOA2). We chose K1 as we did want to marry in the US and hoped it would be quicker (doubtful). Both are about the same right now time wise. CR1 seems to be slightly longer with the NVC stage, but it does have work advantages once in the US. I moved back to the US a few months ago to get resettled in preparation for him to be here and to make sure my domicile case was strong, but we know the wait for us is still going to be about 4-6 months if not more. We probably still would have gone with K1 vs CR1 as we want to be married in the US with my family and had just gotten engaged when we applied. We agreed to do "engaged time" separated as opposed to "married time" so it would be an easier transition for our children. Time wise, both options are about the same right now, but since we agreed that once we got married we wanted to always go be able to return home to the same place each day and live a normal life, we ultimately decided to do the K1. It has been a strain being apart, but I was still in Ecuador for the first 5 months of the wait so we would only be apart for about 6-8 months out of the 12 month plus process.  

 

With the deteriorating economic situation in Ecuador and my school year over half over when we filed (I was a teacher), we both decided it was better for me to come back a bit sooner and wait out the last part. 

 

Additionally, while I have permanent residency in Ecuador through my son, since I am a US citizen and COVID was in full swing, we would have had to wait much longer to file while I gathered all the paperwork for the registro civil in order to get married since the embassy stopped giving out the "single" declaration and I would have had to have gotten it from my local US county (there were no guarantees for us at the time that it wouldn't take many more months before we could get married as it was pre-mass vaccination), and we wanted to get our "place in line" as quickly as possible when we filed.  This part sounds like it wouldn't be an issue for you and it would be much easier and faster to get married and get your application in. 

 

Good luck with whatever you choose! My only advice would be to get paperwork in ASAP so it can all get started! 

Really enjoyed reading your story. If you don't mind me asking, did you file taxes during those 10 years in Ecuador ? 

[millefleur 5,043]

3 hours ago, HUGOC9999 said:

Thanks for the response, why do you think it'll be a bit harder in my case, do you mean domicile wise? Do you think  I'd be better off filing for the CR1 online or having a friend from the states send it directly by mail?

Oh I meant convincing them of intent to re-establish domicile might be harder because you've lived so long outside the US (10 years I gather?), you probably don't have bank accounts or a mailing address that you've maintained? If you do have those, it will be a lot easier. Worst case scenario, you simply move back about 1-2 months before and establish that (address, bank account, etc) and it should be enough.

 

Don't worry about filing online, it's not related to domicile. Domicile comes way, way later when you're prepping stuff for the Embassy/NVC. You don't need to send anything in about domicile with the initial petition. You can file online no problem and it won't affect that.

 

Check out the guides to get a better idea of the steps involved:

https://www.visajourney.com/guides/

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by millefleur

[CJPinEcuador 396]

10 hours ago, HUGOC9999 said:

Really enjoyed reading your story. If you don't mind me asking, did you file taxes during those 10 years in Ecuador ? 

I did, in both countries. 

[JeanneAdil 6,399]

12 hours ago, HUGOC9999 said:

Really enjoyed reading your story. If you don't mind me asking, did you file taxes during those 10 years in Ecuador ? 

A US citizen is required to file US tax returns / no tax treaty with the US for Ecuador

u also need a US income to sponsor your fiancee or wife

and i would guess a joint sponsor since u can not show US income

Definitely I choose CR1 over K1

The advantages of the spouse visa far outway the fiancee

 

 

 

This is post from Crazycat

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1      
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1   

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765, I-944) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,352]

CR1

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Paging @Crazy Cat on this one. He has a pros and cons list that is really easy to understad.

[HUGOC9999 2]

6 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

Paging @Crazy Cat on this one. He has a pros and cons list that is really easy to understad.

Yeah thanks I read the list, really informative. I was doubtful more in the the sense that I've been living abroad for over 10 years, and didn't know which would be more convenient in my case. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

4 minutes ago, HUGOC9999 said:

Yeah thanks I read the list, really informative. I was doubtful more in the the sense that I've been living abroad for over 10 years, and didn't know which would be more convenient in my case. 

Oh sorry, I just saw that somebody else had posted it. My bad. 

I don't have first hand experience with either the K1 or the CR1, just from what I read here. However, the CR1seems to be a better option right now because you can both wait it out by living in Ecuador. I don't think that's a possibility with a K1. And with a child in the middle, like you said, you really don't want to spend too much time apart.