I’ve been looking and this site and I am still confused on which way is quickest and fastest

I’m currently living overseas with my foreign husband and we want to move to the US. I’m not sure what is best. K3, IR1, or Direct Consular Filing. I’ve got several questions (see below) but most important is which process is best.

I’m:
American
Lived in Turkey for 2.5 years
6 months with legal a residence permit
I’ve been married 6 months

My husband is:
Iranian
Has lived in Turkey for about 2.5 years
Has had a legal residents permit for 5 months

We:
We were married in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct 2006
Are currently legally residing in Istanbul.

I’m not willing to move back to America and wait for him to get approval.

Because we were married and residing in Turkey I was told we could apply for a K3 visa through the Ankara Turkey consult or we could apple for my husband’s immigration through the Athens’ Greek homeland security office.

What is IR1?? I’ve never heard of it before I looked at this site and I’m still confused about it?

What’s fastest? My husband is a Kurdish Iranian and I’m and active Christian. Things are not dangerous for us, we keep our mouths shut , but Turkey is not the best place for either one of us right now and we’d like to get out of Turkey as soon as possible.

Which process is better K3, IR1, or Direct Consular Filing? Can I apply for all 3 at once? Do you recommend doing this on our own or getting a lawyer to help.

Sorry about all the questions but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now.

Thanks
m

Have you looked at the compare page yet?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Generally, direct Consular filing is faster. IR1 is for people married more than two years at the time of visa issue. Your DCF filing would result in a CR1 visa. The difference is the length of validity of the green card. CR1 gets a two year green card. You must apply to have the conditions (the C in CR1) removed 21 months after entry or if you will, 90 days before the green card expiration date.

No, you cannot petition for all three at the same time. You can do DCF alone or petition for CR1 and K3 at the same time. Only one visa is actually issued.

You mention you were told you could apply for K3 visa through Ankara Consulate. This is technically correct information in that the visa application would be submitted there but you would file the petition in the US as the appropriate service center. It sounds like your DCF petition would be filed in Athens. If this is correct, perhaps you could move to Greece during the visa process.

Take a look on the US Embassy website in Turkey: http://ankara.usembassy.gov/iranian_applicants.html

"Iranian Applicants
Information for Iranian Visa Applicants

Ankara is the only Iranian immigrant processing post in Turkey. Other Iranian immigrant processing posts are Vienna, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt and Naples. A petition must have been filed for the applicant in the U.S. and been assigned to Ankara by the National Visa Center before an appointment will be scheduled."

That looks complicated. I would contact the embassy in person to discuss options. I can't figure out from the site if the rules are different for Iranian CR-1 applicants or not.



:/

That may also help.

http://ankara.usembassy.gov/uploads/images...side_Turkey.pdf

OUCH. So maybe you are looking at at least 8 months or so to DCF/CR-1. In the FAQ, it says ALL Iranians have to go through that.

Oh and I'd also check out your portal and see who else is filing or has filed for an Iranian. That would also be really helpful.

Bush changed all the Rules in February, thus the Ankara consulate told me they were no longer processing any applications for anyone including Iranians. They said I had to file through the Greek Homeland Security Office (apparently Home Land Security offices are now process all DCF) and then the application would be sent to Ankara for processing. But every person I call, in Ankara or Greece, says something a little different.

My husband is a male so he has to go through a security check, so it the K3 or DCF will take longer.

I didn’t know about the portal, thanks it has some info. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be anyone living over seas on it.

So most of you recommend DFC filing?

Is it worth the $2000+ to get a lawyer or can this be done on my own?

Thanks for all the help
M

To file in Greece, it looks like you will have to move to Greece and take up lawful PR there. There is no time limit, but both of you are from non-EU countries. It could be difficult to get PR there. A quick google search comes up with about nothing useful on this topic. I would visit the Greek consulate in Turkey and ask them what they require.

To be honest, at this point, it just looks easier just to move back to the US and file from there. I would consult an attorney.

Based on what you have written here, the appropriate place for you to file your I-130 is Ankara Turkey. They will forward your namecheck (probably) to Athens or their designated CIS office and it will be returned; this is behind the scenes to you and doesn't affect your where/when for filing.

The visa resulting from an overseas I-130 is an Immigrant Visa; the class of visa for the spouse of a USC is either CR-1 or IR-1 based on the length of your marriage at the time the visa is issued. You don't need to know anything more than 'Immigrant Visa' and all the info you'll find on the Consular site will discuss Immigrant Visas.

Direct filing is far superior to any other type of petition filing or pursuit of any other visa.
Expect delays since your husband is a third country national from a T7 country, but Iranians do get through it and do get visas.

Read the DCF Guide and filter out whatever it says about non-resident US citizens. You are resident there and elilgible to file I-130 in Ankara. check their site for the instructions.

Sorry you got confused!