K-1 vs I-130

[Devoted 5976 0]

Hello my name is Rick and I.m from Pennsylvania. My fiance is Lingzhi and is from Hong Kong. She is a Legal Resident of Canada and also has a Tourest Visa to the USA. We are deciding which route to take to get married and reside in the USA. We could get married in Canada and i could stay there or she could stay with me in USA until her visa is approved.Or would we be better going the K-1 route ?

[OldUser 7,729]

1 minute ago, Devoted 5976 said:

 or she could stay with me in USA until her visa is approved.

She cannot do that. Visas take over 6 months to get approved and tourist visa only allows up to 6 months inside the US.

[Daphne . 1,925]

Paging @Crazy Cat for the awesome list! 

[OldUser 7,729]

You can read existing threads here:

 

All of this was discussed in depth several times.

 

If you have any more questions after reading those threads let us know

 

Good luck!

 

Edited 23 hours ago by OldUser

[Ontarkie 14,512]

~~moved to What Visa Do I Need, from K1 P&P- As the OP is exploring options.~~

[Dashinka 24,838]

I will always suggest the spousal visa route, but either way there is going to be some separation during the process.  If you want to stay together while the I130 is processing, and until the visa interview, your best bet is you moving to Canada, but keep in mind you have to show the consulate in Montreal your solid evidence of US domicile.

 

Good Luck!

[Crazy Cat 42,421]

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. 
   

 

[garebear397 75]

Already plenty of information has been shared for you to consider, and I think most experienced members (including myself) would say that I-130 is better overall (cheaper, no "limbo" type situation once fiancé is in the US, easier to plan a wedding etc.), BUT I will say that K-1 has returned to become significantly quicker for the couple to be living together vs IR1/CR1 (not necessarily faster to green card, but faster to being able to live in the US).  

 

During pandemic times and until recently both the K-1 and IR1/CR1 were taking a year + to process at USCIS, maybe with the K-1  a couple months quicker, so it was even more obvious that the IR1/CR1 was better. But now K-1 visas seem to be taking only around 6 months at USICS, and IR1/CR1's taking 12-15 months. And, depending on the country, the embassy processing time can also be faster for the K-1. Just for example, my wife just completed her IR1 interview after we initially applied for her I-130 in June of 2023, and she met someone that same day that was doing their K-1 interview after they initially applied for their I-129f in March of 2024 (10 months quicker). 

 

Still plenty of pros and cons for both, but for you to consider. 

Edited 4 hours ago by garebear397