Fiance or Marriage Visa in 2025 ? Pros and cons?

[KandB 0]

I'm 23F 🇨🇿, my partner is 29M 🇺🇲

We want to get our visa going sometime this year and want to be together as soon as possible but we are still unsure which visa would serve us better. I'd like to get married in my home country but on the other side i wouldn't mind getting married paperwise in the US and waiting for my work permit and etc if it would allow us to be together faster and then save up for and have our dream wedding in my home country. 
What do you think ? All of this is so overwhelming and confusing and we just want to do the right thing. 

I asked the same question on reddit, so many people recommended me to go with fiance visa, two suggested marriage visa. I need more input and advice  from experienced people. Thank you

Ps: is it possible to have dual citizenship so i don't lose one from my home country? How does that work ? 

[nastra30 2,355]

11 minutes ago, KandB said:

I'm 23F 🇨🇿, my partner is 29M 🇺🇲

We want to get our visa going sometime this year and want to be together as soon as possible but we are still unsure which visa would serve us better. I'd like to get married in my home country but on the other side i wouldn't mind getting married paperwise in the US and waiting for my work permit and etc if it would allow us to be together faster and then save up for and have our dream wedding in my home country. 
What do you think ? All of this is so overwhelming and confusing and we just want to do the right thing. 

I asked the same question on reddit, so many people recommended me to go with fiance visa, two suggested marriage visa. I need more input and advice  from experienced people. Thank you

Ps: is it possible to have dual citizenship so i don't lose one from my home country? How does that work ? 

@Crazy Cathas a nice summary. Tagged.

 

Spousal visa is superior in my opinion.

From the US perspective you can be a dual citizen. You'll have to check current country if they too will be ok.

Good luck.

[Crazy Cat 42,183]

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1 
  More expensive than CR-1
  Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
  Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-6 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 3-6 months) 
  Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period 
  Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
  A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
  In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice 
  A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-1
  Less expensive than K-1 
  No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required. 
  Spouse can immediately travel outside the US 
  Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival. 
  Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US 
  Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
  Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

[SalishSea 18,117]

5 hours ago, KandB said:

I'm 23F 🇨🇿, my partner is 29M 🇺🇲

We want to get our visa going sometime this year and want to be together as soon as possible but we are still unsure which visa would serve us better. I'd like to get married in my home country but on the other side i wouldn't mind getting married paperwise in the US and waiting for my work permit and etc if it would allow us to be together faster and then save up for and have our dream wedding in my home country. 
What do you think ? All of this is so overwhelming and confusing and we just want to do the right thing. 

I asked the same question on reddit, so many people recommended me to go with fiance visa, two suggested marriage visa. I need more input and advice  from experienced people. Thank you

Ps: is it possible to have dual citizenship so i don't lose one from my home country? How does that work ? 

With either option, it’s unlikely to happen in 2025, due to backlogs and other factors.  Still, the CR-1 is the superior choice.

 

citizenship would be many years away.   The issue of whether dual citizenship is allowed lies with your country, not the US.

[j&ana 378]

15 hours ago, KandB said:

I'm 23F 🇨🇿, my partner is 29M 🇺🇲

We want to get our visa going sometime this year and want to be together as soon as possible but we are still unsure which visa would serve us better. I'd like to get married in my home country but on the other side i wouldn't mind getting married paperwise in the US and waiting for my work permit and etc if it would allow us to be together faster and then save up for and have our dream wedding in my home country. 
What do you think ? All of this is so overwhelming and confusing and we just want to do the right thing. 

I asked the same question on reddit, so many people recommended me to go with fiance visa, two suggested marriage visa. I need more input and advice  from experienced people. Thank you

Ps: is it possible to have dual citizenship so i don't lose one from my home country? How does that work ? 

I did the CR-1 spouse visa for my wife. she is from the Philippines. the main reason we got married there is that I wanted her family to be at the wedding. you mention that you will not mind a paper wedding in USA and have a dream wedding in your country. That cannot replace the memories or experience you and your family will feel when you get first get married. A lot of people do that i just do not think it is the same

 the only advantage for A K-1 visa is that it is faster to get to the USA. However, to become a LPR and to get citizenship. TheCR-1 is probably cheaper and faster. With the K-1 visa after you arrive and get married then you will have to file AOS to get green card and work permit. A CR-1 visa you will get green card and social security card with work permit with the visa

 

As far as dual citizenship. While the US does not allow it citizens to be dual citizen. It does allow foreign nationals who have become US citizen to become dual citizen. Each country has their own laws for that.

My wife is dual citizen. The USA requires a person to give up Their citizenship to another country to be a citizen. The Philippines allows their citizens to reclaim their citizenship without giving up citizenship to another country

 

This is a very good site to research everything. When I did my wife Cr-1 visa in 2014 I was on this site daily and ask so many questions. Durning the time it took for my wife to get her visa. 

 

 

[OldUser 7,400]

16 minutes ago, j&ana said:

As far as dual citizenship. While the US does not allow it citizens to be dual citizen. It does allow foreign nationals who have become US citizen to become dual citizen.

 

I don't agree with this statement. US does no bar anybody to have multiple citizenships. When you naturalize and become a US citizen, US doesn't require you to give up any other citizenships. It only asks to renounce alligiance to any other country, which is not the same. Frankly speaking, most other countries also require you to renounce aligiance when getting their citizenship, so this is pretty normal.

No matter how many other citizenships you may have, US will always perceive you as a US citizen. 

 

Even people born in the US and citizens from birth, don't lose US citizenship if they naturalize in other countries later in their life.

 

One can renounce US citizenship after becoming a citizen of other countries, but it requires effort from the citizen. At that point, US citizen will likely have to pay "exit tax" and several fees. The common descriptions of renounciation process include people saying US officials asking multiple times whether citizen really wants to give up US citizenship, and giving several warnings that citizen will lose certain privileges once US citizenship is renounced.

 

Edited Monday at 03:42 AM by OldUser

[Lil bear 4,308]

@j&ana

 

 my children were born in the US .. hence USC .. but are  also Australian citizens by descent from both parents .. they have held dual citizenship and two passports since birth.   

[j&ana 378]

4 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

@j&ana

 

 my children were born in the US .. hence USC .. but are  also Australian citizens by descent from both parents .. they have held dual citizenship and two passports since birth.   

They are also American citizens by birth because they were born in US. a child can be American citizen if they are born in US or if born in another country and one of their parents are US citizen. I do not know Australian laws on citizenship but if your children are dual citizen then it must be allowed.  

[j&ana 378]

28 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I don't agree with this statement. US does no bar anybody to have multiple citizenships. When you naturalize and become a US citizen, US doesn't require you to give up any other citizenships. It only asks to renounce alligiance to any other country, which is not the same. Frankly speaking, most other countries also require you to renounce aligiance when getting their citizenship, so this is pretty normal.

No matter how many other citizenships you may have, US will always perceive you as a US citizen. 

 

Even people born in the US and citizens from birth, don't lose US citizenship if they naturalize in other countries later in their life.

 

One can renounce US citizenship after becoming a citizen of other countries, but it requires effort from the citizen. At that point, US citizen will likely have to pay "exit tax" and several fees. The common descriptions of renounciation process include people saying US officials asking multiple times whether citizen really wants to give up US citizenship, and giving several warnings that citizen will lose certain privileges once US citizenship is renounced.

 

Then I am wrong. However, it still depends on what country the person is from on whether dual citizenship is allowed.  My wife told me that when she got her citizenship. She had to give up her Philippines citizenship. but probably she mis understood and thought allegiance to a country is same. I did

[Lil bear 4,308]

13 minutes ago, j&ana said:

They are also American citizens by birth because they were born in US. a child can be American citizen if they are born in US or if born in another country and one of their parents are US citizen. I do not know Australian laws on citizenship but if your children are dual citizen then it must be allowed.  

Yes this is correct. US doesn’t care what other Citizenship you hold .. hence the comments to your post that it depends on the other countries. 

[Lil bear 4,308]

8 minutes ago, j&ana said:

Then I am wrong. However, it still depends on what country the person is from on whether dual citizenship is allowed.  My wife told me that when she got her citizenship. She had to give up her Philippines citizenship. but probably she mis understood and thought allegiance to a country is same. I did

She is correct. Philippine  law requires the relinquishing of Philippine citizenship if she naturalizes in another country 

[j&ana 378]

21 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

Yes this is correct. US doesn’t care what other Citizenship you hold .. hence the comments to your post that it depends on the other countries. 

Thanks, but instead of correcting me will it not be better to reply to the OP 

[j&ana 378]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

I don't agree with this statement. US does no bar anybody to have multiple citizenships. When you naturalize and become a US citizen, US doesn't require you to give up any other citizenships. It only asks to renounce alligiance to any other country, which is not the same. Frankly speaking, most other countries also require you to renounce aligiance when getting their citizenship, so this is pretty normal.

No matter how many other citizenships you may have, US will always perceive you as a US citizen. 

 

Even people born in the US and citizens from birth, don't lose US citizenship if they naturalize in other countries later in their life.

 

One can renounce US citizenship after becoming a citizen of other countries, but it requires effort from the citizen. At that point, US citizen will likely have to pay "exit tax" and several fees. The common descriptions of renounciation process include people saying US officials asking multiple times whether citizen really wants to give up US citizenship, and giving several warnings that citizen will lose certain privileges once US citizenship is renounced.

 

thanks for correcting me but will it not be better to reply to the op with the information

[Dave_A 1]

Yes, a Filipino who becomes a US citizen can still return to the Philippines and reacquire their Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance under the "Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003" (RA 9225), also known as the Dual Citizenship Law; essentially allowing them to hold both citizenships simultaneously. 

Key points about this process:

Natural-born Filipino requirement:

To be eligible, the individual must have been a natural-born Filipino citizen before becoming naturalized as a US citizen. 

Application process:

To reacquire Philippine citizenship, one needs to submit necessary documents like a birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), and a Certificate of Naturalization from the US to a Philippine consulate. 

Oath of allegiance:

The final step is to take an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before a Philippine consular officer.

[j&ana 378]

16 minutes ago, Dave_A said:

Yes, a Filipino who becomes a US citizen can still return to the Philippines and reacquire their Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance under the "Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003" (RA 9225), also known as the Dual Citizenship Law; essentially allowing them to hold both citizenships simultaneously. 

Key points about this process:

Natural-born Filipino requirement:

To be eligible, the individual must have been a natural-born Filipino citizen before becoming naturalized as a US citizen. 

Application process:

To reacquire Philippine citizenship, one needs to submit necessary documents like a birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), and a Certificate of Naturalization from the US to a Philippine consulate. 

Oath of allegiance:

The final step is to take an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before a Philippine consular officer.

The op is from the Czech Republic