K1, CR1 and potential L1 - dilemma

[Manifest2022 2]

@madhatter204thanks so much for sharing your experience and advise! And i really hope you dont have much longer to wait to finally be together 😊

Edited March 16, 2022 by Manifest2022

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Have you looked up the rules for marrying in Scotland? Unlike England you don't usually have to give the notice in person - you can send it to the registrar - 

 

Although you need not both attend personally at the registrar’s office to hand in your marriage notice, at least one of you may be asked to attend there personally before the date of the marriage. You will need, in the case of a religious or belief marriage, to collect the Marriage Schedule (see 12 below) or, in the case of a civil marriage, to finalise arrangements with the registrar.

 

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//registration/m10-notes-and-m10-form.pdf

 

So if you can get all your documents together in time you could possibly do a May Scottish wedding. 

[mam521 2,063]

Food for thought here as a person who was on an L1 and met my future spouse.  

 

You've been long distance for 6 years.  Another year isn't that big of a deal.  If you can come across on an L1, do that.  You can live and work and really get to know one another.  The L1 buys you time with less commitment.  If, after 3 months, 6 months, a year, whatever, you still want to get married, do it.  File to adjust based on marriage.  It should freeze your work status.  Honestly, it's like the most ideal situation because you're not feet to the fire stuck to get married AND you can work and travel while on that L1.  You can also decide if life living in the US is for you.  Visiting is one thing, being fully immersed and stuck away from family is another.  If it's totally for you guys as a couple, you won't have lost any time together in the US, building credit and putting away cash to purchase property or missing out on 401K contributions.  

 

Weddings are easy.  Building a good life together is the challenging part.  Starting off on as equal footing as is possible is important, especially when one person is giving up their whole life and starting over.  Best to build the foundation as strongly as possible.  K1 will take a HUGE part of your life away with not being able to work.  Work is admittedly a place where people end up meeting others and socializing and, it's really had to go from being a breadwinner to a complete dependent.  That can create strife in even the most secure relationships, let alone a new marriage in a new country.  

[Crazy Cat 41,898]

6 minutes ago, mam521 said:

It should freeze your work status.

Travel restrictions after filing the I-485?  

Edited March 16, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[mam521 2,063]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Travel restrictions?  

As long as there is validity in the L1 (which can be renewed totaling 5 years for L1b, up to 7 for L1A), no real restrictions.  I have a friend adjusting to GC now.  They didn't have to file I-131 because the L1 is valid.  

Edited March 16, 2022 by mam521

[Manifest2022 2]

@mam521thank you for your perspective and open thoughts.

 

although we have been long distance across many years,  we have spent considerable time together, months living together, getting to know each other, spending time with family and friends etc we know that marriage is what we want and a future together, family etc we are in our mid 30s so have alot of certainty around what we want. So really as a couple we don't need to figure out If that is something we want.

 

I have also spent alot of time in the US to feel comfortable with the decision of moving there leaving family etc. I did indeed put alot of thought into it to come to that decision.

 

But I do completely understand the environment of being a breadwinner and then moving to being a dependent and with the K1 visa there is more restriction in being able to do that.

 

For the L1 visa it's not confirmed, a year could go by and the company decide they don't want to do it for me. That's the tricky part.

 

It seems based on this thread CR1 is the most logical route.

 

But thank you again for your thoughts, appreciate it 

[Manifest2022 2]

@*Snowdrop*thank you! Will look into this!

[HRQX 4,145]

5 hours ago, Manifest2022 said:

but I didn't know you could do that- go on and ESTA, get married and then come back and file for i-130 without border control getting all suspicious or difficult?

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-faqs/applying-for-an-immigrant-or-fiancee-visa-2/

We are traveling to the United States to marry and will return to the United Kingdom after marriage. Do I still need a fiancé(e) visa?

If you will return to your permanent residence after the marriage ceremony, you may apply for a tourist B-2 visa, or if eligible, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.  At the time you apply for the visa and/or travel to the United States you will be required to show that you have a residence outside the United States that you do not intend to abandon. There is no set form that this evidence takes as it varies with each person’s circumstances.

[Mike E 11,739]

L1-A or L1-B?

[Redro 4,611]

7 hours ago, Manifest2022 said:

@Boiler and @Crazy Cat thank you both! 

 

@Crazy Cat this is interesting, ive not heard of this- where can i get more information about it? Hes actually due to come over in May so I'm wondering if we can do it that quick! Also how long do you think it takes for CR1 now?

There is another UK/US couple on VisaJourney is going through the CR1 process and got married via Utah. They married while the USC was visiting the UK.

 

My favorite thing to do is compare K1 to CR1/IR1 processing times according to country. 

 

Last 10 K1s for the UK

Filing to Interview:  384-630 days 

 

Last 10 IR1/CR1s for the UK

Filing to Interview: 248-785 days 

 

(Click on Immigration Timelines at the top of the page to keep tabs on the situation- you can also search by NOA2 to see how many people (on VJ)  are waiting for their interview date). 

 

Currently NOA1-NOA2 is taking about a year for K1 and IR1/CR1 can take 4-12 months. 

 

Nothing is stopping you from filing either the K1 or CR1 this year and then filing the L1 next year year if your company agrees. 

Have two petitions isn't a terrible idea. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Kor2USA

[Manifest2022 2]

15 hours ago, Kor2USA said:

There is another UK/US couple on VisaJourney is going through the CR1 process and got married via Utah. They married while the USC was visiting the UK.

 

My favorite thing to do is compare K1 to CR1/IR1 processing times according to country. 

 

Last 10 K1s for the UK

Filing to Interview:  384-630 days 

 

Last 10 IR1/CR1s for the UK

Filing to Interview: 248-785 days 

 

(Click on Immigration Timelines at the top of the page to keep tabs on the situation- you can also search by NOA2 to see how many people (on VJ)  are waiting for their interview date). 

 

Currently NOA1-NOA2 is taking about a year for K1 and IR1/CR1 can take 4-12 months. 

 

Nothing is stopping you from filing either the K1 or CR1 this year and then filing the L1 next year year if your company agrees. 

Have two petitions isn't a terrible idea. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@Kor2USAthank you so much! This is super helpful as trying to see trends and figuring out approx timlines has proven difficult- with the only consensus of both are not quick and well past a year! 

 

When drilling down (the filters are a bit confusing for me so not sure I did it right) it is showing that there are far less people waiting from NOA2 to Interview for CR1 than K1 from applications filed in 2021. Also when going into some of the profile timlines the K1s are much longer from application to NOA1 and NOA2 than CR1.

 

In regards to the L1, I have confirmed that as its dual intent it is not impacted by or impact either CR1 or K1 so absolutely no harm in doing it. I guess it will be a case if they do decide to provide me with one, where I'm at in the process with which ever visa we choose and deciding what legally is possible.

 

Thank you for your help and guidance!

[Redro 4,611]

9 hours ago, Manifest2022 said:

@Kor2USAthank you so much! This is super helpful as trying to see trends and figuring out approx timlines has proven difficult- with the only consensus of both are not quick and well past a year! 

 

When drilling down (the filters are a bit confusing for me so not sure I did it right) it is showing that there are far less people waiting from NOA2 to Interview for CR1 than K1 from applications filed in 2021. Also when going into some of the profile timlines the K1s are much longer from application to NOA1 and NOA2 than CR1.

 

The timelines aren't too easy to understand but K1 visas were low priority in 2020 and 2021. (fewer interviews, longer waiting times ALSO you have to schedule your own K1 interview and it can be difficult to snag an appointment as they disappear so quickly). 

 

 

NOA1-NOA2 is pretty much the same for all K1s regardless of country. Currently,  many members who filed in March 2021 are still waiting for their NOA2! Keep an eye on K1 NOA2 approvals here: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/128-k-1-fiancee-visa-case-filing-and-progress-reports/

 

I-130 NOA2s are all over the map. I've seen approvals from January all the way to December (but the December approval was from Afghanistan so I assume it was expedited). There are still some members waiting for approvals from January 2021 through March 2021 but there are also members with a filing date in March who have already interviewed ( @Paul and Sopheap ). Cambodia's DQ to Interview is extremely short though so that's an outlier. 

 

You can follow this topic:

 

Keep an eye on the UK forum to understand the timelines a little better. There isn't a dedicated K1 thread but questions pop up from time to time. 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Kor2USA

[laylalex 7,289]

Just stopping by to recommend going for the L1 if you can. I told my story in the other thread that is linked here and the process was pretty painless in terms of adjusting. For us, although we knew we were in love and we had known each other for many years, we needed a little extra time making sure that getting married was absolutely what we wanted to do. The L1 gave us the space and breathing room to do that. He established a whole life in his new city without me before I moved to be closer to him. This is not going to be the case for everyone, but we wanted to make sure that he was okay living in America before we made the leap. Having a job, needing to figure out how to live in the US without me handling everything for him, making his own friends also ensured that he wasn't dependent on me at all. By the time I moved up to him, he had his own identity in the US outside of "Layla's boyfriend." 

 

Best of luck to you whichever path you choose.