Fiance or Marriage Visa in 2025 ? Pros and cons?

[TBoneTX 46,234]

Yes, please return to the OP's situation.

 

VJ Moderation

[poh 128]

Besides the cost and paperwork, One aspect of K-1 is that it gives you chance to get to know more of your finance before getting married and allow them to see if US is the place they want to be WITH you.  If you got married already in their country then most likely you have to visit them back and forth until their CR1 is approved.  Will this arrangement allow you to get to know each other better for lifetime relationship?

 

Yes K-1 is more of a longer route and costs more but you get to be together quicker.  CR1 you'll be not together for maybe a year or more. It a longer process to be together and one less interview and some paperwork but which usually you can reuse the same supporting documents you used for earlier application so more of copy and paste and photo copying. 

I think CR1 is more for people already decided to settle down together and have a existing long term relationship but ultimately you have to use your best judgement and not be influenced by anyone including your fiance.  Love can be blind and influences your judgement so becareful. 

Edited January 29 by poh

[FromTheHills 17]

Yeah OP I think it comes down to these things:

 

Top priority: being together faster and not having to separate: K-1 by a MILE

 

The ability to go to your home country if one of your family members is sick or something: Spousal. (although you can get advance parole after K-1 and I don't know how long that's taking these days so it wouldn't rule out the K-1 completely)

 

And as for where you want to get married. I would say unless it's extremely important to you focus on these two points to make your decision. Unless certain people from you country are unable to be in the US that you really want to be there.

 

If you are going for the spousal visa budget money for visiting each other. The wait is brutal right now and not getting any shorter.

[OldUser 7,768]

On 1/29/2025 at 12:41 PM, poh said:

Besides the cost and paperwork, One aspect of K-1 is that it gives you chance to get to know more of your finance before getting married and allow them to see if US is the place they want to be WITH you. 

Fiancé visa is not designed to be "try before you buy" with 90 day return of fiancé back to their country if something doesn't work out.

Expectation is you are sure you want to get married, before you file for K-1.

There is a reason you write and sign letter of intent to marry.

Treating people like objects or goods is inhumane. Many of K-1 leave everything behind in their home country: relatives, friends, job, environment they know, language, place they live etc etc. 

Edited February 3 by OldUser

[W199 373]

On 1/19/2025 at 6:20 AM, 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 ? 

If it is your priority is to have your dream wedding in CZ, then that's your answer.  Do that and apply for the CR-1.   It will delay coming to the USA by 1-2 years since you need to do a lot of planning for your dream wedding, etc...   While a 1-2 years delay seems like "forever" at this point time, after you arrive in USA, it will soon be long forgotten and a drop in the bucket as time goes. 

 

If your priority is to come to the USA 1-2 years sooner, then do the K-1, with the caveat that there is no guarantee that things won't go wrong and have it take longer than expected. It will be very far from a dream wedding to come to usa first on  a k-1, get married "on paper", live together for a couple of years,  and then go back for a "fake" wedding, possibly even while pregnant after already being married. And trying to save up is going to be harder than you think, when you have more expenses than you can imagine starting your new life and family .. and spending a huge amount on a huge weddding after the fact probably won't happen or cause a huge fight to say the least ...

 

 

 

 

[mitzab 300]

Both the K1 fiancé visa and the marriage-based immigrant visa (CR1/IR1) have their advantages. The K1 route lets you enter the U.S. as a fiancé(e) and marry within 90 days, after which you can file for adjustment of status to obtain permanent residency; this process might allow you to be together sooner, though you'll face additional steps like applying for a work permit. Conversely, if you marry abroad and apply for a CR1/IR1 visa, you'll be processed as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, and upon entry you receive a green card right away—but this option often involves longer processing times and additional consular steps. Also 2025 does not make any difference to the basic facts of these visas.

 

Regarding dual citizenship, the United States permits dual citizenship, meaning that becoming a U.S. citizen would not automatically require you to renounce your Czech citizenship. However, Czech laws on dual citizenship are complex and may have specific requirements or restrictions, so it’s advisable to consult with legal experts or the appropriate governmental authority in the Czech Republic to ensure you can maintain both citizenships.

[OldUser 7,768]

10 minutes ago, mitzab said:

but this option often involves longer processing times

If you include time AOS takes, time to green card is probably shorter on CR-1

[mitzab 300]

6 minutes ago, OldUser said:

If you include time AOS takes, time to green card is probably shorter on CR-1

That is correct

[poh 128]

12 minutes ago, mitzab said:

That is correct

Well now with anti-immigration Trump polices it may take longer.  For example, some interviews were waived but now interviews are required.  

Edited February 6 by poh

[Crazy Cat 42,474]

22 minutes ago, poh said:

Well now with anti-immigration Trump polices it may take longer.  For example, some interviews were waived but now interviews are required.  

Not exactly true.  My neighbor had both her I-130 and I-485 approved yesterday with no interview. 

Do you have a source reference to that new policy?

Edited February 6 by Crazy Cat

[poh 128]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Not exactly true.  My neighbor had both her I-130 and I-485 approved yesterday with no interview. 

Do you have a source reference to that new policy?

We'll because changing are coming and not in full effect now.  

https://youtu.be/bIHsKXd56SE?si=RFs0AV-SoWXUvH5X

[Crazy Cat 42,474]

46 minutes ago, poh said:

We'll because changing are coming and not in full effect now.  

https://youtu.be/bIHsKXd56SE?si=RFs0AV-SoWXUvH5X

All these attorneys are speculating.

[poh 128]

3 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

All these attorneys are speculating.

They have more accurate insight then any of us whose not in the immigration law.  

[OldUser 7,768]

54 minutes ago, poh said:

They have more accurate insight then any of us whose not in the immigration law.  

They have 0 insight unless they work in administration.

[Crazy Cat 42,474]

10 hours ago, poh said:

They have more accurate insight then any of us whose not in the immigration law.  

Some are speculators who use scare tactics to generate revenue.  

 

Random Speculating attorney: "Trump is going to require ALL cases to undergo intense interviews.  You need to hire me or you are likely facing a denial"  

Edited February 7 by Crazy Cat