Choosing between K1, K3, CR1??

[cur12cur 0]

Hello! I need some help!

Here's the situation:

I'm an American citizen and I've been dating my German boyfriend for almost 3 years. I met him while I was on vacation in Germany and ended up staying and finding work. I've recently been accepted into grad school back in the US and we are planning to move there together. We are trying to decide if we should get married here so he could apply for a K3/CR1 visa or if we should wait and get married in the US. We'd both prefer to get married in the US but he is really worried about being unemployed from the time we get married until the time he gets his green card.

A few years ago I went through the whole K1 visa process with my ex fiance so I'm kinda familiar with this stuff

I've been searching so long on the internet for answers and still have some unanswered questions:

Which process is faster? and I still don't understand the difference between K3 and CR1? Would I have to apply for both or only choose one?

For the K3 interview, do I have to be present as well? I know for the K1 visa I don't have to be

How long does it take between getting married in the US until green card? I've read anywhere from 2-6 months?

Regarding the Affadavit of support and meeting the 125% above poverty level income..I will be a student living off loans (I plan on getting a part time job). Do the loans count as income?

Thank you !!!

[rutabaga 209]

K1 is usually faster, unless you're eligible to do DCF in which case K1 and CR1 can take about the same amount of time from what I've read here.

K3 vs CR1 -- you start with the CR1 application (I-130) and when you get NOA1 you can file for a K3, but K3s are rarely given out these days (in which case the CR1 process just continues) so I wouldn't count on it. Also, AFAIK, the K3 is very similar to the K1 with regards to having to adjust status once he gets to the US so he'd still have to deal with the unemployment issue when he arrives.

You've read well with regards to the adjustment process from a K1 taking 2-6 months. In essence that makes both processes (K1 and CR1) more or less the same length if you look at the time-to-green-card (about a year in both cases), the main difference is that with a K1 you spend half of that time together in the US and with a CR1 you spend the whole year living apart (however, since your boyfriend is German he can still visit you on VWP during the CR1 process).

I don't know if you can count loans as income for the purposes of the affidavit of support.

Edited April 28, 2016 by rutabaga

[JFH 12,189]

Are you a legal resident in Germany or are you on a tourist visa of some description?

If you are a legal resident you can apply for the CR-1 through the embassy (known as DCF - direct consular filing) which is much faster than applying through the USCIS lock box.

Edited April 28, 2016 by JFH

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

**** Moving from CR-1 spousal visa to What Visa do I Need? forum *****

[NikLR 13,220]

I agree with JFH. If you're a legal resident of Germany, check into DCF (CR1). You will have to get married first, but a green card upon arrival is better than a K1 and AOS. Because he's worried, I highly suggest the CR1 totally because he can work as soon as he has an SSN.

No you would not have to be present for the interview.