If CR-1 is approved: Should we wait for 2 year anniversary?

[mgsctravels 24]

Theoretical question and wondering if anyone has experience with this? 

 

I'm doing some math in my head with dates. If we are approved for the CR-1 visa on our estimated timeline, we will likely be about 4 months short of our 2-year anniversary. 

 

If we wanted to wait 4 months for the 2-year mark to cross the POE with the packet (assuming it is within the visa expiration date) to officially activate the green card as IR-1 rather than conditional, could we still cross the border as a visitor's visa since we visit family almost monthly? Or does it not work that way?

 

For background, we live in Canada, so we regularly cross on NEXUS. 

[Troy B 223]

Once you have the Immigration visa, that should be used (though there is a thread here about a time when the CBP were crazy).

[mgsctravels 24]

1 minute ago, Troy B said:

Once you have the Immigration visa, that should be used (though there is a thread here about a time when the CBP were crazy).

For sure. I'm just wondering if there's a way to "stall" until the 2-year marriage anniversary to get IR-1 instead of CR-1 but still travel to the US as a B2 like we have been through the process.

[Troy B 223]

Just now, mgsctravels said:

For sure. I'm just wondering if there's a way to "stall" until the 2-year marriage anniversary to get IR-1 instead of CR-1 but still travel to the US as a B2 like we have been through the process.

Sure you can stall,  but that would mean _without_ trips to the USA before that 2 year mark.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

You can delay the crossing, no issue. 

And I believe I've seen people people sharing they've entered as canadian tourists after the visa is issued -though I could be wrong-.

 

Even if you cannot visit, do whatever you can to avoid ROC.

[pushbrk 12,883]

19 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

You can delay the crossing, no issue. 

And I believe I've seen people people sharing they've entered as canadian tourists after the visa is issued -though I could be wrong-.

 

Even if you cannot visit, do whatever you can to avoid ROC.

Attempting to enter as a "visitor" after you have an immigrant visa issued, MIGHT work but it is improper.  If you want to wait for IR1 status, have the US Citizen cross to Canada as a visitor instead.   

[SalishSea 17,829]

31 minutes ago, mgsctravels said:

For sure. I'm just wondering if there's a way to "stall" until the 2-year marriage anniversary to get IR-1 instead of CR-1 but still travel to the US as a B2 like we have been through the process.

I wouldn’t risk it, personally.   They could deny you admission as a B visitor.   I guess you’d be free to turn around and not activate the immigrant visa.

 

I think the benefit to waiting a couple of months so that you can avoid ROC is worth it.

Just now, pushbrk said:

Attempting to enter as a "visitor" after you have an immigrant visa issued, MIGHT work but it is improper.  If you want to wait for IR1 status, have the US Citizen cross to Canada as a visitor instead.   

Sounds like they are already together in Canada, and the visit would be to extended family.

[pushbrk 12,883]

2 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I wouldn’t risk it, personally.   They could deny you admission as a B visitor.   I guess you’d be free to turn around and not activate the immigrant visa.

 

I think the benefit to waiting a couple of months so that you can avoid ROC is worth it.

Sounds like they are already together in Canada, and the visit would be to extended family.

Chances of the visa being issued in Montreal before April 2023 are slim and none anyway.  Timelines here can't really accurately predict Montreal backlogs.  Better to delay at NVC if it comes to that.  Doing so will preserve the visitor privilege.

[mgsctravels 24]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Chances of the visa being issued in Montreal before April 2023 are slim and none anyway.  Timelines here can't really accurately predict Montreal backlogs.  Better to delay at NVC if it comes to that.  Doing so will preserve the visitor privilege.

How do you delay at NVC? What's the strategy? 

[pushbrk 12,883]

7 minutes ago, mgsctravels said:

How do you delay at NVC? What's the strategy? 

Delay uploading documents.

[Mike E 11,739]

11 hours ago, mgsctravels said:

Theoretical question and wondering if anyone has experience with this? 

 

I'm doing some math in my head with dates. If we are approved for the CR-1 visa on our estimated timeline, we will likely be about 4 months short of our 2-year anniversary. 

 

If we wanted to wait 4 months for the 2-year mark to cross the POE with the packet (assuming it is within the visa expiration date) to officially activate the green card as IR-1 rather than conditional, could we still cross the border as a visitor's visa since we visit family almost monthly? Or does it not work that way?

 

For background, we live in Canada, so we regularly cross on NEXUS. 

I-751: filing it, waiting its approval, traveling with it, getting a job with it, getting a DL with it, getting a mortgage with it, etc are hassles. There is no shortage  of such reports.  
 

Let me give you two reports of travel hassles.  
 

In January  2022 we checked in for a cruise. The green card itself was still valid.  However it was to expire the day we reached port in Mexico and thus would expire when by the time we returned to the USA.  It took over an hour for Royal Caribbean in the port of San Pedro to complete our checkin.  It took two different check in desks and the efforts of a half dozen Royal Caribbean employees to complete this.  It was as if they’d never seen an extension document.  
 

In February 2022 we checked in for a nonstop flight from SFO to CUN.  It took over a half hour and the efforts of two JetBlue employees to clear my wife for travel.  It required sending image scans of her gc and letter to the JetBlue station manager.   
 

Then at the gate, two JetBlue employees at the gate repeated the process.  
 

it is a no brainer to wait until the two year wedding anniversary to use the visa if it would be still valid.  Any two months of inconvenience of waiting  traveling to the USA is out weighed by the future pain.  
 

We used a K-1.  This was a mistake.  A CR-1 (entering before the two year wedding anniversary) would equally be a mistake as far as we are concerned. 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,449]

12 hours ago, mgsctravels said:

How do you delay at NVC? What's the strategy? 

 

At the NVC stage, you need to pay the AOS and IV fees and then upload the I-864 for AOS and for the IV complete the DS-260 and upload civil documents of the beneficiary.

 

You can opt to not do any of that and your approved petition will stay at NVC.   You do have to send a letter/email to NVC once a year to keep your petition active, but that is only if you want to delay for more than a year.

 

It typically takes about 3-4 months to get DQ'd at NVC after submitting everything there.  Check the timelines here and/or the Canada regional forum to see how long it is currently taking to get an interview scheduled at Montreal after being DQ'd.  Add those 2 times to figure out when you should act during the NVC stage.

[mam521 2,062]

Montreal is all over the place...it could be 3mo or it could be 18mo...they were so backlogged before covid, seem to have mainly caught up but not many letters issued this last round.  They are far behind on EB's and FP's, so unpredictable.  

 

Does it make sense to wait?  Yes.  ROC is taking a million years, too.  Anything immigration is slow at the moment it would seem.  

 

Is it a NEED that you travel to the US or a WANT?  Many people would proverbially kill to be *this* close and trying to delay.  You have 6mo from the expiration of your medical to cross and if the delay is about 4mo, I'd really consider just having your partner visit you in Canada and continue with the process.  Hopefully everything moves fine, no DS-5535 is issued and the medical comes and you cross without issue.  

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

I will post my personal experience, although it may not always work out this way depending on who you come into contact with.

My husband went for his interview in October, 2017. He wanted to delay entering the US until 2018, but we already planned for him to come to Thanksgiving in the US in November. At his interview (which I flew to attend) in October, we asked the officer if it would be possible to allow him to use the B2 visa and enter with his immigrant visa later. If you ask anyone on visajourney, they will tell you this is impossible. But the officer said he would not cancel the B2, allow him to enter by making some kind of note in the system, and then he had six months to enter the US. Well, he entered as a visitor on his B2 in November. No one at US immigration asked him anything at all about his immigrant visa in New York, and they let him right in. He stayed for two weeks, went home, then re-entered in March 2018. 

So, maybe talk to the officer at the interview? It worked for us. Good luck!

[pushbrk 12,883]

3 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

I will post my personal experience, although it may not always work out this way depending on who you come into contact with.

My husband went for his interview in October, 2017. He wanted to delay entering the US until 2018, but we already planned for him to come to Thanksgiving in the US in November. At his interview (which I flew to attend) in October, we asked the officer if it would be possible to allow him to use the B2 visa and enter with his immigrant visa later. If you ask anyone on visajourney, they will tell you this is impossible. But the officer said he would not cancel the B2, allow him to enter by making some kind of note in the system, and then he had six months to enter the US. Well, he entered as a visitor on his B2 in November. No one at US immigration asked him anything at all about his immigrant visa in New York, and they let him right in. He stayed for two weeks, went home, then re-entered in March 2018. 

So, maybe talk to the officer at the interview? It worked for us. Good luck!

I'm happy it worked for you, but asking at the visa interview will do no good.  They would be talking to a Consular Officer who works for the Department of State.  Customs and Border Patrol (Dept. of Homeland Security) is who made an exception for YOU.  Perhaps they could ask the Consular Officer to delay issuing the visa until a certain date.  I have no experience with that, but the visa would still expire six months from the medical anyway.

Edited February 17, 2022 by pushbrk