Switch to a CR-1 or stick with a K-1?

[Kaylish 3]

My fiance and I have applied for a K-1 and are quite deep into the process; having already received approval. But now we're rethinking it.

 

We've looked into a CR-1 and think it might be a better option to just get married in the UK and come over to the US, married.
Can anyone provide any insight?
When will my partner be able to move over? When will he be able to work? 
General pros and cons of a K-1 vs a CR-1. Because as we're looking at it, immediate right to work on approval sounds pretty good but we're surely missing something. 

 

Does anyone have any opinions on switching approaches this far into the process?
We're comfortable doing the K-1 still, but we're going to need to delay it on our end anyway so the increased time frame probably wouldn't be an issue. 

[milimelo 4,477]

That's not switching per se as you start the process from the beginning including the wait time. 

 

But yes, the spousal visa is superior to K-1 - as: one is a permanent resident from day of POE, can work right away, all the time since entry to the US counts for residency time for citizenship (unlike with K-1 where you're not a resident until GC approved which can be even after 12-24 months). 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

A spousal visa is definitely superior to a K-1, but with your petition already approved I probably wouldn't start over with a CR-1 as while you might be okay with, and even want, some delay, another two years or so is another matter.

 

/also note that you need a marriage visa to come to the UK and get married even if you're not planning on staying, though my understanding is that's not too big of a deal to get and you could have a ceremony there but legally get married via a Utah online marriage, or you could marry in the US or a third country (back when we were considering our options -- marrying in Russia was out because I couldn't spend enough time in Russia or make multiple trips in a relatively short time -- Iceland and Denmark were the countries that most frequently came up for two foreigners marrying quickly in Europe-ish, but I don't know if that's still the case as that was in 2018; we ended up doing a K-1).

[Crazy Cat 41,837]

11 hours ago, Kaylish said:

My fiance and I have applied for a K-1 and are quite deep into the process; having already received approval. But now we're rethinking it.

 

We've looked into a CR-1 and think it might be a better option to just get married in the UK and come over to the US, married.
Can anyone provide any insight?
When will my partner be able to move over? When will he be able to work? 
General pros and cons of a K-1 vs a CR-1. Because as we're looking at it, immediate right to work on approval sounds pretty good but we're surely missing something. 

 

Does anyone have any opinions on switching approaches this far into the process?
We're comfortable doing the K-1 still, but we're going to need to delay it on our end anyway so the increased time frame probably wouldn't be an issue. 

Although, imo, a spousal visa is far superior, it sounds like you are more than a year into the K-1 process.  Withdrawing the K-1 now would mean another 2 years (likely), before a spousal visa is issued.  At this point, I would hesitate to advise starting over.   I would probably just ride out the K-1.  Good luck.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Daphne . 1,852]

I agree with all the other comments. Not a fan of the K1 and would always advise couples to do the CR1, but you guys made it this far already! If not being able to work and leave the US for a while is an absolute deal breaker for the foreign national (something that I can absolutely understand), then you can start over with a CR1 of course, but as mentioned before: that means starting over, not switching..

[Kaylish 3]

14 hours ago, milimelo said:

That's not switching per se as you start the process from the beginning including the wait time. 

 

But yes, the spousal visa is superior to K-1 - as: one is a permanent resident from day of POE, can work right away, all the time since entry to the US counts for residency time for citizenship (unlike with K-1 where you're not a resident until GC approved which can be even after 12-24 months). 

Don't worry, we know its not switching, it was just poor phrasing 😁

We're mostly considering the CR1 as the time my partner would spend unemployed would be very difficult for him and us as a couple, given the added pressure, financially.

 

5 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

A spousal visa is definitely superior to a K-1, but with your petition already approved I probably wouldn't start over with a CR-1 as while you might be okay with, and even want, some delay, another two years or so is another matter.

 

/also note that you need a marriage visa to come to the UK and get married even if you're not planning on staying, though my understanding is that's not too big of a deal to get and you could have a ceremony there but legally get married via a Utah online marriage, or you could marry in the US or a third country (back when we were considering our options -- marrying in Russia was out because I couldn't spend enough time in Russia or make multiple trips in a relatively short time -- Iceland and Denmark were the countries that most frequently came up for two foreigners marrying quickly in Europe-ish, but I don't know if that's still the case as that was in 2018; we ended up doing a K-1).

We've looked into the UK Marriage Visa and its quite simple, or so it seems, with a maximum 3 month processing time.

We are however concerned about the delay as we're not entirely sure how long our timeline would look before we were in the same country so I'm also looking for insight and advice on that, thank you. We looked at a vague outline and I was a little confused. So say we were to cancel our K-1 and start a CR-1; we'd need to fill out I-130 with a 14.5 month processing time; and then we'd have close to another year for our actual petition processing time? I'm having a little trouble understanding it.

 

4 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Although, imo, a spousal visa is far superior, it sounds like you are more than a year into the K-1 process.  Withdrawing the K-1 now would mean another 2 years (likely), before a spousal visa is issued.  At this point, I would hesitate to advise starting over.   I would probably just ride out the K-1.  Good luck.

We're strongly considering just riding it out, though the minimum 6 months of unemployment are going to be quite a struggle 😅 but thank you for the advice, I appreciate it.

 

2 hours ago, Daphne . said:

I agree with all the other comments. Not a fan of the K1 and would always advise couples to do the CR1, but you guys made it this far already! If not being able to work and leave the US for a while is an absolute deal breaker for the foreign national (something that I can absolutely understand), then you can start over with a CR1 of course, but as mentioned before: that means starting over, not switching..

Yes we're a little cautious and trying to feel out our options. My partner is concerned that through the K-1 Process that his time in the US is going to leave him feeling 2nd rate and like a burden upon me and the people we live with. Whereas the CR-1 seems as though once we (finally 😅) get cleared, he'd be set and could start contributing and properly living his new life here, without having too much of a "useless layabout phase" while waiting to be allowed to work again. 😅 (Not that thats what he'll be but I know he'll feel like it.)

 

Thank you to everyone for weighing in by the way, it really is very helpful in our decision making process.

[Lemonslice 4,836]

You are quite far into it.  Would your fiancé be comfortable being active in other ways? Repainting your home? Renovating something?  Doing certifications or advanced classes for their professional development? Writing a novel?  Plenty to do that is super useful, but not paid. 

Do you live in an area where a car is necessary to get anywhere? If so, does your state issue driver's license to immigrant adjusting status?   

If you (both) feel that the *not having paid employment" is going to be detrimental to your relationship, then, it might be worth to do the switch.  Best of luck to your family!

[Redro 4,611]

On 7/7/2023 at 12:08 AM, Kaylish said:

My fiance and I have applied for a K-1 and are quite deep into the process; having already received approval. But now we're rethinking it.

 

We've looked into a CR-1 and think it might be a better option to just get married in the UK and come over to the US, married.
Can anyone provide any insight?
When will my partner be able to move over? When will he be able to work? 
General pros and cons of a K-1 vs a CR-1. Because as we're looking at it, immediate right to work on approval sounds pretty good but we're surely missing something. 

 

Does anyone have any opinions on switching approaches this far into the process?
We're comfortable doing the K-1 still, but we're going to need to delay it on our end anyway so the increased time frame probably wouldn't be an issue. 

Your partner is probably about 5-6 months away from moving to the US if you continue with the K1 process OR You can get married via Utah fairly soon as you are both still in together in UK, correct?

That way you don't have to wait for permission to get married in the UK. . . 

Some people have been extremely lucky and have the I130 approved fairly quickly after an approved I129F... so you might not have to wait an additional 12 months before you hit the NVC stage but you might still have to wait 18-24 months before your partner can move over to the US but if your concerned about finances you can think of it as more time to save money and have the best possible start to your life together in the US.