My close friend is asking for advice. She and her American then fiancee filed an I-129F petition for alien fiancee. In a couple of weeks after that he went to Russia and they got married. What's the course of action now?

I understand they need to file I-130 now, but will it be faster now that they have already filed for a fiancee visa? What about K-3 - should they file it or not?

They have to withdraw the I-129F and resubmit a I-130. They are basically starting over. As far as the CR-1 to K-3 debate, they both take about the same time to process through USCIS, the K-3 is a bit faster through the NVC and can also be a faster interview time line at the Embassy. The down side is the K-3 filers have to adjust status and get work authorization which takes more time and dollars after arrival in the U.S.

It won't be faster. The k3 process is taking about the same time to process as I-130. They filed the K-1 Visa before they got married they will need to contact USCIS because their status has changed from fiance to married. It means that you would apply for a new I-130.

From filing to visa in hand, K3 is still definitely faster in most countries and far faster in some. The difference is after USCIS petition approval. Nevertheless, I would carefully consider not going the K3 route at this time.

The definite first step is to withdraw the I-129F because there is no longer an underlying fiance/fiancee relationship.