Cr1 vs k3

[Kyle6811 24]

Are they still issuing the k3 visas? My fiancé and I are getting married in January and will start the process of immigration. I’m from the USA she is from Mexico. Maybe I’m confused but does the k3 allow her to move here while waiting for a visa approval? What are the pro/cons of this vs the cr1?

thanks all,

[OldUser 6,603]

Forget about K-3. In entire 2020 only 2 such visas were issued! Just do CR-1

Edited December 23, 2022 by OldUser

[pushbrk 12,868]

3 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

Are they still issuing the k3 visas? My fiancé and I are getting married in January and will start the process of immigration. I’m from the USA she is from Mexico. Maybe I’m confused but does the k3 allow her to move here while waiting for a visa approval? What are the pro/cons of this vs the cr1?

thanks all,

K3 died February 10, 2010.

[iwannaplay54 985]

20 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

K3 died February 10, 2010.

Dying since 2007.  We were some of the last in late 2007 130/129F approved on the same day and we got a K3 anyway.  After that they started discarding the 129F in favor of the CR/IR visas.  Bleh

 

[SalishSea 17,801]

5 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

Are they still issuing the k3 visas? My fiancé and I are getting married in January and will start the process of immigration. I’m from the USA she is from Mexico. Maybe I’m confused but does the k3 allow her to move here while waiting for a visa approval? What are the pro/cons of this vs the cr1?

thanks all,

There is no visa that allows her to live here while it is processing.

 

If she has a B-2, she can visit, subject to CBP approval.

[pushbrk 12,868]

3 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Dying since 2007.  We were some of the last in late 2007 130/129F approved on the same day and we got a K3 anyway.  After that they started discarding the 129F in favor of the CR/IR visas.  Bleh

 

Yes, policies changed so that it saved no appreciable time starting in November, 2006.  Unless you can connect the dots though, it looks alive until you check its pulse.

 

[Kyle6811 24]

4 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

There is no visa that allows her to live here while it is processing.

 

If she has a B-2, she can visit, subject to CBP approval.

She currently has no visa, is there any visa that allows entry or visiting that she could get in under a year? Student, work, tourist? All look to take around the same time as spouse/fiancé?

[iwannaplay54 985]

11 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

Are they still issuing the k3 visas? My fiancé and I are getting married in January and will start the process of immigration. I’m from the USA she is from Mexico. Maybe I’m confused but does the k3 allow her to move here while waiting for a visa approval? What are the pro/cons of this vs the cr1?

thanks all,

K3 never did.  Years ago immigrant visas took much longer to process than K1 visas, congress created K3 so a spouse could join his/her family on a non-immigrant basis and adjust status in the US.  You had to file two petitions:  I130 immigrant and I129F non-immigrant, the same petition you file for a fiance.  
Sometime around 2007-2008 USCIS started linking the two, processing them together, discarding the I139F (K3), and moving the immigrant petition forward through the National Visa Center and out to the embassy for the visa to be processed.  It effectively killed K3.

Law’s on the books, you can still file both, it’s free to file the second one (I129F), but it will not save time nor can your spouse wait for her visa in the US while it’s processed.  Even when it saved time, the spouse still had to wait for petition approval and go through the visa application process in their home country. 

[Daphne . 1,852]

3 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

She currently has no visa, is there any visa that allows entry or visiting that she could get in under a year? Student, work, tourist? All look to take around the same time as spouse/fiancé?

I am afraid not... Besides, all these visas are non-immigrant visas (except for the work visa, but getting one of those is tricky anyway) and will not very likely be approved since your SO clearly has immigrant intent.

[SalishSea 17,801]

5 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

She currently has no visa, is there any visa that allows entry or visiting that she could get in under a year? Student, work, tourist? All look to take around the same time as spouse/fiancé?

Nope.   The process of getting here on an immigrant visa will take two years.

 

Anyone with $160 is free to apply for a B2 tourist visa.   Her chances of getting one at low, and she cannot use it to live in the US.

[Crazy Cat 41,806]

8 hours ago, Kyle6811 said:

She currently has no visa, is there any visa that allows entry or visiting that she could get in under a year? Student, work, tourist? All look to take around the same time as spouse/fiancé?

Her chances of getting a non-immigrant visa while having immigrant intent is nil.  She can apply, but Consulate Officers are bound by law. 

[Kyle6811 24]

Thanks everyone for your input, merry Christmas! 

[pushbrk 12,868]

On 12/23/2022 at 9:20 PM, iwannaplay54 said:

K3 never did.  Years ago immigrant visas took much longer to process than K1 visas, congress created K3 so a spouse could join his/her family on a non-immigrant basis and adjust status in the US.  You had to file two petitions:  I130 immigrant and I129F non-immigrant, the same petition you file for a fiance.  
Sometime around 2007-2008 USCIS started linking the two, processing them together, discarding the I139F (K3), and moving the immigrant petition forward through the National Visa Center and out to the embassy for the visa to be processed.  It effectively killed K3.

Law’s on the books, you can still file both, it’s free to file the second one (I129F), but it will not save time nor can your spouse wait for her visa in the US while it’s processed.  Even when it saved time, the spouse still had to wait for petition approval and go through the visa application process in their home country. 

Sort of.  This happened in three separate steps, not one.  Processing together began in November, 2006 but they forwarded both petitions to NVC.  Step two was February 10, 2010 when NVC started killing the I-129F in favor of the I-130, by deeming their possession of both petitions meant the immigrant visa was "immediately available" as it was immediately available to be "applied for".  The third step was when USCIS took control again and started killing the I-129 themselves.  That was a few years later, but the K3 effectively died 2/10/2010.  All that's changed since then is the manner of death for each killing. 

[Steve & Erma 36]

The K3 visa is to allow the beneficiary to come to the US and wait while the CR1 process finishes but as others have said it is very rarely granted.

 

That being said it also may help your CR1 process through USCIS faster as in when they go to administratively close the K3 the case worker may choose to process your CR1 right then since it is on their desk. It doesn't hurt to try.

 

I saw in a FB group the other day where an actual K3 got approved which is weird in itself. I also saw this week someone post a timeline that they applied for the CR1 at the beginning of Nov 2022, filed the K3 2 weeks later and then the CR1 was approved on 12/20/22.

 

There is no rhyme or reason as to when or if the K3 will help your case or how much time it will take off but there are plenty of posts in FB groups that show it still does help occasionally.

[Kyle6811 24]

On 12/25/2022 at 10:37 PM, Steve & Erma said:

The K3 visa is to allow the beneficiary to come to the US and wait while the CR1 process finishes but as others have said it is very rarely granted.

 

That being said it also may help your CR1 process through USCIS faster as in when they go to administratively close the K3 the case worker may choose to process your CR1 right then since it is on their desk. It doesn't hurt to try.

 

I saw in a FB group the other day where an actual K3 got approved which is weird in itself. I also saw this week someone post a timeline that they applied for the CR1 at the beginning of Nov 2022, filed the K3 2 weeks later and then the CR1 was approved on 12/20/22.

 

There is no rhyme or reason as to when or if the K3 will help your case or how much time it will take off but there are plenty of posts in FB groups that show it still does help occasionally.

So you can file both at the same time? Pardon, I’m still trying to figure all this out.