Married while on a B2 visa. How to get legalized?

[memmy 3]

K-1 is a bit faster

Regardless, nothing illegal about coming to the US, marrying, then leaving. You can petition for the spousal visa while you are still in the US, just make sure you list the consulate abroad you will interview at

Look into the Cr-1, it is superior visa

Good luck

I'm sorry for sounding stupid, but what is a superior visa? Does it mean it takes less time to get it? Or it gives more benefits? THANKS!

[memmy 3]

You would apply for a CR-1 if you want to save time and pay less.

Entering with intent to adjust status is visa fraud.

Does getting CR1 take much less time than K1? You wrote that CR-1 lets pay less. Doesn't one still need to file for a petition for CR-1 as well? I thought on had to file a petition in both cases, and that it cost the same. Thanks for your reply!

Edited August 31, 2011 by memmy

[Inky 1,110]

Does getting CR1 take much less time than K1? You wrote that CR-1 lets pay less. Doesn't one still need to file for a petition for CR-1 as well? I thought on had to file a petition in both cases, and that it cost the same. Thanks for your reply!

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Take a look at the link, its a lot to re-type to you when its already listed lol

[memmy 3]

I wasn't being mean...just wondering if you were looking for a different answer because sometimes we don't like what we are hearing I apologize, I didn't realize it was in a different forum. My bad. I'm sorry. I'm a friendly person, I swear. We are all here to help.

I think it was a misunderstanding on both sides! Please, accept my apologies as well! I am ok with the answers, I just need to get as much information as possible, so that we can choose the most suitable way to finally marry and live together.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Take a look at the link, its a lot to re-type to you when its already listed lol

Oh, lots of thanks! I did not see that chart before! Awesome.

[Casprd 167]

Bottom line is you can get married soon after you arrive and file the CR-1 petition and wait out part of the process here in the US. That is the correct way to do things. Anyone telling you to AOS and just stay is giving you bad advise.

As for the visa types. K-1 and CR-1 are roughly the same time from petition to visa approval. The K-1 is marginally faster by a matter of a few weeks but not significantly. K-1 is also a bit less expensive from petition to time of visa approval but again not signifcantly. After entry is where the difference comes in. CR-1 is granted a green card after arrival. May take a few weeks to recieve it but you are in Coditional resident status on arrival. K-1 is still a non-immigrant and must get married and then file for AOS and pay about $1000 for this. The time it takes varies a great deal but until you are granted AOS or receive work authorization (EAD) you can't work. In some states, without a green card you are severly limited in anything you can do. i.e. school, drivers license etc. All of that will depend on where you live.

[memmy 3]

duplicate topics have been merged.

Ok, sorry for double posting.

[memmy 3]

Bottom line is you can get married soon after you arrive and file the CR-1 petition and wait out part of the process here in the US. That is the correct way to do things. Anyone telling you to AOS and just stay is giving you bad advise.

As for the visa types. K-1 and CR-1 are roughly the same time from petition to visa approval. The K-1 is marginally faster by a matter of a few weeks but not significantly. K-1 is also a bit less expensive from petition to time of visa approval but again not signifcantly. After entry is where the difference comes in. CR-1 is granted a green card after arrival. May take a few weeks to recieve it but you are in Coditional resident status on arrival. K-1 is still a non-immigrant and must get married and then file for AOS and pay about $1000 for this. The time it takes varies a great deal but until you are granted AOS or receive work authorization (EAD) you can't work. In some states, without a green card you are severly limited in anything you can do. i.e. school, drivers license etc. All of that will depend on where you live.

Ok, thanks! Is it legal to stay in the US at the moment we file the petition? And leave, say, in two weeks. SOme people told me before that it is not good to file the petition while I am still in the country and that it is better to do that after I left. ( Lots of thanks for your previous reply again).

Edited August 31, 2011 by memmy

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

If you have a B2, you can stay up to 6 months.

Travel to the U.S. get married, then have hubby file the I-130 petition for you right afterward. It will take about 5 months to be processed, all the while you can stay here in the Land of the Brave and Free with your husband.

By the time the I-130 is being approved and forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC), your 6-month vacation is over and you return to the Fatherland to tie up loose ends, such as getting rid of your flat, your dog, cat, and goldfish. A short 90 days-or-so later you'' have your interview in Frankfurt and will receive your CR-1 visa afterward.

You will enter the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (LPR), which is what a Green Card holder formally is, get an I-551 stamp (code for Green Card) in your passport, and can get a driver's license and work from day 1 on.

No AOS needed, much cheaper, much smoother. It's a no brainer for anybody with a brain.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Just Bob

[memmy 3]

If you have a B2, you can stay up to 6 months.

Travel to the U.S. get married, then have hubby file the I-130 petition for you right afterward. It will take about 5 months to be processed, all the while you can stay here in the Land of the Brave and Free with your husband.

By the time the I-130 is being approved and forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC), your 6-month vacation is over and you return to the Fatherland to tie up loose ends, such as getting rid of your flat, your dog, cat, and goldfish. A short 90 days-or-so later you'' have your interview in Frankfurt and will receive your CR-1 visa afterward.

You will enter the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (LPR), which is what a Green Card holder formally is, get an I-551 stamp (code for Green Card) in your passport, and can get a driver's license and work from day 1 on.

No AOS needed, much cheaper, much smoother. It's a no brainer for anybody with a brain.

Thanks for your reply! You wrote that CR-1 is much smoother and cheaper. Is it cheaper because one does not have to file for an AOS? I can't stay in the US for 6 months before my visa expires, because I have my work back home. I've read that it is harder to get CR-1 visa, because there is always a limited amount of spouse visas issued for each country. I also read that it is easier to get K1 visa, as there is less scrupulous checking ( you are still a potential immigrant, not an immigrant for sure ( as in case of spouse). I've also read that K1 takes less time. All in all, I can't choose between two options:((( What can you say about the above mentioned facts? Will be grateful for your opinion.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

You wrote that CR-1 is much smoother and cheaper. Is it cheaper because one does not have to file for an AOS?

Yes.

I've read that it is harder to get CR-1 visa, because there is always a limited amount of spouse visas issued for each country.

No, that's nonsense. There's no limit on immigration visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.

I also read that it is easier to get K1 visa, as there is less scrupulous checking ( you are still a potential immigrant, not an immigrant for sure ( as in case of spouse). I've also read that K1 takes less time. All in all, I can't choose between two options:

The CR-1 is as easy to get as a K-1; if anything, it's easier to get, especially for people from problematic countries (Middle East, etc.).

It's true that the K-1 may take a month or so less, but keep in mind that afterward you need to get married and then file for AOS ($1,070), all the while you'll be waiting and waiting and waiting for months, unable to work. Again, the CR-1 is the way to go.

[memmy 3]

Yes.

No, that's nonsense. There's no limit on immigration visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.

The CR-1 is as easy to get as a K-1; if anything, it's easier to get, especially for people from problematic countries (Middle East, etc.).

It's true that the K-1 may take a month or so less, but keep in mind that afterward you need to get married and then file for AOS ($1,070), all the while you'll be waiting and waiting and waiting for months, unable to work. Again, the CR-1 is the way to go.

I see, thanks for such a detailed reply! CR-1 sounds better then. Is AOS fee the same for people coming to the US from any country? Or it varies according to the country a spouse comes from? (say, Western Europe, Eastern Europe...). Also, do you think it will be suspicious for the immigration services if I married in the US on a B2 during, for example, a 3 week stay, then went home, and my then-to-be husband files for a petition?

[macias_woodward 0]

ok i'm in a very big mess because i don't know what to do or start this but my husband has been in the us since he was 4 and now he is 25 no felony records we've been married since 08 together since 06 we have a 3 year old daughter and we would love to get him legalized his passport is no longer valid what is my first step to get started???

we both live in the u.s. i'm a citizen since birth but he isnt

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You should start your own thread so you can get the best help.

[Little_My 463]

Agreed, start a new thread. And then start by telling how he originally got to this country - did he have a visa, and if he did, what kind of a visa? Does he have proof he entered legally when he was a child?

[Little_My 463]

I see, thanks for such a detailed reply! CR-1 sounds better then. Is AOS fee the same for people coming to the US from any country? Or it varies according to the country a spouse comes from? (say, Western Europe, Eastern Europe...). Also, do you think it will be suspicious for the immigration services if I married in the US on a B2 during, for example, a 3 week stay, then went home, and my then-to-be husband files for a petition?

AOS fee is always the same. None of the filing-related fees are country-dependent.

And no, that scenario is not suspicious at all. Why do you think it would be? That is exactly how the CR-1 works. You can marry anywhere, in the US or abroad, and if you marry in the US you can begin the process when you are still here and file the paperwork, as long as you make sure to leave the country before your B2 status expires. Then you wait out the rest of the process in your home country and once the CR-1 has been issued, you can return and will become a permanent resident.