Options for future fiance to come to USA (Chinese citizen, Canadian PR, US B-2 visitors VISA)

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

6 minutes ago, Daphne K said:

If you pursue the K1 over the CR1, she will not be able to leave the US until she receives her Advanced parole. The fact that she has a valid B1/B2 does not change that. 

Pedant, but you can leave the US before AP during AOS (whether from a K-1 or any other visa). The US doesn't do exit checks.

 

What you can't do is return without a new visa, so it's a very bad idea to leave without AP (and while emergency AP is a thing, your definition of an emergency may not be the same as USCIS's).

[Daphne . 1,852]

30 minutes ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Pedant, but you can leave the US before AP during AOS (whether from a K-1 or any other visa). The US doesn't do exit checks.

 

What you can't do is return without a new visa, so it's a very bad idea to leave without AP (and while emergency AP is a thing, your definition of an emergency may not be the same as USCIS's).

Oaky, I see your point there. maybe I should rephrase it to "USCIS will consider your Adjustment of Status process as abandoned if you leave the US without AP while your adjustment of status process is still pending".

 

I understand that people are free to leave the US without AP during AOS because USCIS does not check exits but I am not sure if OP realizes what consequences that would have for the AOS process.

 

 

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

1 hour ago, mugatu300 said:

Just out of curiosity regarding "Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months)": If we pursue K1 over CR1, is she still not allowed to leave the US until she receives AP? Couldn't she re-enter US using her visitor's B1/B2 VISA or does she have to give that up when she applies for K1?

if it is spouse visa ,  they can leave after arrival with the I 551 stamp on the visa 

 

if K1,  they need to wait for AP (advanced parole ) to be granted to reenter the US after leaving

coming in on K1 is a one time entry into the US, after which u need to do work for AOS and that takes many many months 

leaving the US after marrying on k1 would mean u would then have to apply for spouse visa 

[Cathi 5,747]

1 hour ago, mugatu300 said:

Just out of curiosity regarding "Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months)": If we pursue K1 over CR1, is she still not allowed to leave the US until she receives AP? Couldn't she re-enter US using her visitor's B1/B2 VISA or does she have to give that up when she applies for K1?

There is no AP required for CR1/IR1. If you go the CR1 route your spouse will enter the US with the ability to work and travel abroad immediately.  AP (advanced parole) is only an issue if you apply for the K-1. That is why people are recommending the CR1/IR1 over the K-1. The CR1/IR1 is the far superior visa because it's far less expensive plus the benefits of being able to work/travel/open bank accts etc. immediately. The wait times are virtually the same for both so the CR1 would be my choice. If you read the guides you will understand the steps more clearly.

[mugatu300 8]

57 minutes ago, Cathi said:

There is no AP required for CR1/IR1. If you go the CR1 route your spouse will enter the US with the ability to work and travel abroad immediately.  AP (advanced parole) is only an issue if you apply for the K-1. That is why people are recommending the CR1/IR1 over the K-1. The CR1/IR1 is the far superior visa because it's far less expensive plus the benefits of being able to work/travel/open bank accts etc. immediately. The wait times are virtually the same for both so the CR1 would be my choice. If you read the guides you will understand the steps more clearly.

Understood, thank you. Yes it seems like general consensus here is CR1 over K1 so thank you all for making it more clear to me. 

 

Now, just have to consider scenario where: if baby were to arrive prior to CR1 process completion. Seems like there is a general consensus regarding that too: for her to have the baby in Canada. That said, just for the hell of it I still inquired with my health insurance plan about possibility of her having baby here in the USA. I simply asked about adding a (future) wife to my insurance plan if she doesn't yet have green card. Still waiting to hear back; maybe its a stupid question but oh well. 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

4 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Now, just have to consider scenario where: if baby were to arrive prior to CR1 process completion. Seems like there is a general consensus regarding that too: for her to have the baby in Canada. That said, just for the hell of it I still inquired with my health insurance plan about possibility of her having baby here in the USA. I simply asked about adding a (future) wife to my insurance plan if she doesn't yet have green card. Still waiting to hear back; maybe its a stupid question but oh well. 

If you marry and apply for a CR-1, she'll be a permanent resident right away, even if it may take some time for the physical "green card" to arrive. Immigration is a qualifying event, so you'll be able to add her to your health insurance when she moves to the US.

 

If your fiancée arrives on a K-1, once marriage is a qualifying event and you can add her to your health insurance even though she won't have a green card yet. There's no issue with someone in the 90 day stay granted by a K1 or the "authorized stay" granted by an AOS application getting health insurance via their spouse.

 

Depending on your employer's policies, you may be able to add your spouse to your health insurance retroactive to your wedding date.

 

Having said that, especially late in a pregnancy your wife probably will be happier not changing doctors and hospitals, even ignoring different countries' and companies' new parent leaves policies. You definitely don't want your fiancée to have a baby in the US before she has US health insurance; this can be extremely expensive (I don't know what they actually would have charged someone paying out of pocket, but the total top-line, before insurance plan discount charges when my wife had our son were over $70K though of course we actually didn't pay anything close to that).

[SalishSea 17,824]

5 hours ago, mugatu300 said:

Just out of curiosity regarding "Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months)": If we pursue K1 over CR1, is she still not allowed to leave the US until she receives AP? Couldn't she re-enter US using her visitor's B1/B2 VISA or does she have to give that up when she applies for K1?

B2 is gone once she has the K visa.  The current wait time for travel and work auth is a big drawback to K-1 vs CR-1.

[SalishSea 17,824]

2 hours ago, mugatu300 said:

Understood, thank you. Yes it seems like general consensus here is CR1 over K1 so thank you all for making it more clear to me. 

 

Now, just have to consider scenario where: if baby were to arrive prior to CR1 process completion. Seems like there is a general consensus regarding that too: for her to have the baby in Canada. That said, just for the hell of it I still inquired with my health insurance plan about possibility of her having baby here in the USA. I simply asked about adding a (future) wife to my insurance plan if she doesn't yet have green card. Still waiting to hear back; maybe its a stupid question but oh well. 

Bottom line is that the US immigrant visa process is totally unrelated to arrival of a future baby.  Your beneficiary needs the appropriate visa in order to live in the US, and a B visa is not it.   Both K and CR processes are currently taking > 2 years, especially via Montreal. 

 

If this timeline does not work with your family planning, maybe consider whether you can move to Canada?

[mugatu300 8]

38 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Bottom line is that the US immigrant visa process is totally unrelated to arrival of a future baby.  Your beneficiary needs the appropriate visa in order to live in the US, and a B visa is not it.   Both K and CR processes are currently taking > 2 years, especially via Montreal. 

 

If this timeline does not work with your family planning, maybe consider whether you can move to Canada?

Thank you for the reply. Can you explain what you mean by "via Montreal".

 

When I checked the USCIS website, the estimated timelines looked to be about 12-15 months for CR1. Are you saying those timelines are underestimated and it is more like >2years? 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

52 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Thank you for the reply. Can you explain what you mean by "via Montreal".

 

When I checked the USCIS website, the estimated timelines looked to be about 12-15 months for CR1. Are you saying those timelines are underestimated and it is more like >2years? 

The timelines on the USCIS web site are for the USCIS part of the process, which is only the first stage.

 

After your petition is approved, it's then sent to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC), and then goes on to the embassy or consulate that handles immigrant and immigrant-intent visas where your fiancée or spouse lives (in Canada, this is Montreal).

 

For a K-1 the time at NVC is pretty short (or used to be, seems like it's nearly 3 months now; it was half that for us and we thought that was long) and they don't do much there; for CR-1s it's somewhat longer.

 

See IR1/CR1 Visa Historical Processing Times - USCIS Immigration Processing Times - VisaJourney and K1 Fiance Visa Historical Processing Times - USCIS Immigration Processing Times - VisaJourney for how long every stage is currently taking according to VJ members' reports (note that these tend to be trailing indicators of changes in processing time for a lot of reasons, but only the USCIS stage has official estimates; NVC and the various embassies and consulates do not).

 

You can also see consulate processing times broken down by country 

K1 and K3 Visa US Immigration Statistics (visajourney.com)

and IR1 & CR1 Visa US Immigration Statistics (visajourney.com)

Edited June 27, 2022 by DaveAndAnastasia

[mugatu300 8]

7 hours ago, Daphne K said:

If you pursue the K1 over the CR1, she will not be able to leave the US until she receives her Advanced parole. The fact that she has a valid B1/B2 does not change that. 

Just want to confirm before I start going down the CR1 route more seriously, if we send in CR1 application, her B1/2 VISA is still valid and she will still be able to visit the states during the whole process correct?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, mugatu300 said:

if we send in CR1 application, her B1/2 VISA is still valid and she will still be able to visit the states during the whole process correct?

 

The existing B1/B2 visa will remain valid until the expiry date, or when cancelled by the consulate that will issue the CR1/IR1 visa.  She can visit using the B1/B2 visa, subject to the usual CBP inspection.  Check the thread below for reports from others who visited during the spouse visa process --

 

 

[SalishSea 17,824]

32 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Just want to confirm before I start going down the CR1 route more seriously, if we send in CR1 application, her B1/2 VISA is still valid and she will still be able to visit the states during the whole process correct?

With a pending immigrant visa, she will want to make sure to show strong ties to Canada at the border.

[SalishSea 17,824]

2 hours ago, mugatu300 said:

Thank you for the reply. Can you explain what you mean by "via Montreal".

 

When I checked the USCIS website, the estimated timelines looked to be about 12-15 months for CR1. Are you saying those timelines are underestimated and it is more like >2years? 

Yes, at least two years for the overall process.  USCIS/NVC is just one part of the process.

 

She will be interviewing at the US consulate in Montreal.

[mugatu300 8]

On 6/26/2022 at 3:43 PM, mam521 said:

It will be expensive to have a child in the US and likely cost prohibitive as a tourist. When your partner had to return to Canada, the baby would need a Certificate of Citizenship to enter Canada and stay and that process is taking 18mo. You’re risking mom and baby being separated because of immigration issues on both side of the border. Are you prepared to be a single parent of a young baby and that baby be separated from it’s mother? 
 

The baby, born in Canada, will have Canadian citizenship. If you qualify, you can apply for CRBA and the baby can enter the US. Healthcare will be covered under provincial health care. If there are any complications requiring additional care like an emergency c-section and/or a NICU stay, your partner and baby are covered. 
 

Your partner will qualify for federal maternity leave benefits for up to 18mo in Canada if she has sufficient number of working days. She can still receive these benefits while in the USA. 
 

Rushing to have a baby is never a good idea. Immigration isn’t an easy process and has a lot of moving parts. Tossing more parts into the mix makes an already messy process even messier. The CR-1 process is much shorter for Canucks than it used to be. It’s about a year these days. 
 

It’s also important to keep in mind it’s stressful moving to another country, no matter how many times you’ve visited. Get married, move in, get settled then have a baby. I say get married because your partner cannot leave the US or work until AP and work authorization are issued on a K-1 visa and that will be inhibiting for a new mom if she wants to visit China with her new baby. 

Just to follow up on this, I have two additional questions:

 

1) So if baby is born in USA prior to CR1 process being complete, will it be able to enter Canada on visit (i.e. meet friends, etc.)? If so, how long can baby stay? Or is baby totally not allowed to enter Canada for 18 months regardless?

 

2) If baby is born in Canada, it will have Canadian citizenship correct, even tho mother is only PR? And then once I apply for CRBA, it will become dual citizen?