Fastest Way

[mustang85635 182]

K1 visa sucks so bad . There is absolutely no reason you would do that over CR1 if both people live abroad . Its so much more work once you get to the USA and every relationship will take a hit when the other person has to sit at home do absolutely ****all and is getting bored and depressed.  Especially when you live in a first world country there is no rush.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Ontarkie
bypassing language filter

[Umka36 781]

11 minutes ago, mustang85635 said:

K1 visa sucks so bad . There is absolutely no reason you would do that over CR1 if both people live abroad . Its so much more work once you get to the USA and every relationship will take a hit when the other person has to sit at home do absolutely f*** all and is getting bored and depressed.  Especially when you live in a first world country there is no rush.

That's why you talk/discuss it over as a couple before deciding which visa route to take. CR1 is not a one size fits all visa. We took the K1 route and would again, but that doesn't mean I think it's best for everyone.

Edited April 18, 2018 by Umka36

[Californiansunset 332]

I agree that the CR1/IR1 visa is superior but what a lot of people are forgetting to mention is that the K1 processing times significantly increased while the CR1/IR1 pretty much stayed the same or only slightly increased. Looking at the processing times now I would never go the K1 route again because you have to wait a long time either way. When I did my K1 most people got their K1visa within 5 months, some even 4 months (the ones that were interviewing at consulates with low waiting times) while CR1 took around 1 year to 14 months. K1 used to be a lot faster route to be together with your partner. Now I would never recommend the K1 anymore because of all the negative points other people have mentioned on here already. There's no fast processing anymore to make up for it. 

[mustang85635 182]

4 minutes ago, Umka36 said:

That's why you talk/discuss it over as a couple before deciding which visa route to take. CR1 is not a one size fits all visa. We took the K1 route and would again, but that doesn't mean I think it's best for everyone.

There is no reason to go K1 over CR1 in there circumstance . As noted both take the same nowadays and its far superior because you enter as an LPR . Price wise its superior and time wise its superior. 

It might be good for a couple thats still unsure about marriage and living together but this couple obviously does not. 

Also getting legally married in europe is a very fast process. I know in denmark its same day . Sweden probably same.

[mustang85635 182]

8 minutes ago, Umka36 said:

That's why you talk/discuss it over as a couple before deciding which visa route to take. CR1 is not a one size fits all visa. We took the K1 route and would again, but that doesn't mean I think it's best for everyone.

Now if K1 visa would take a month or two then we would be talking but its so slow it takes roughly the same depending where in the world you apply. Frankfurt you can get it in 6 months . Know some people that got it in that tomeframe while another waited 8-10 for K-1 no RFE no anything. 

If you move to NY , Houston or LA you could be looking at another year once you enter on K-1 plus the AOS fees. And the wait. Omg just thinking about how useless I felt sitting at home and wasting my time doing nothing . It was horrible. 

 

Listen to some good advice OP and go CR-1 nuff said

[Umka36 781]

Just now, mustang85635 said:

There is no reason to go K1 over CR1 in there circumstance . As noted both take the same nowadays and its far superior because you enter as an LPR . Price wise its superior and time wise its superior. 

It might be good for a couple thats still unsure about marriage and living together but this couple obviously does not. 

Also getting legally married in europe is a very fast process. I know in denmark its same day . Sweden probably same.

I agree under the OP circumstance that the CR1 is the best route.

[Umka36 781]

1 minute ago, mustang85635 said:

Now if K1 visa would take a month or two then we would be talking but its so slow it takes roughly the same depending where in the world you apply. Frankfurt you can get it in 6 months . Know some people that got it in that tomeframe while another waited 8-10 for K-1 no RFE no anything. 

If you move to NY , Houston or LA you could be looking at another year once you enter on K-1 plus the AOS fees. And the wait. Omg just thinking about how useless I felt sitting at home and wasting my time doing nothing . It was horrible. 

 

Listen to some good advice OP and go CR-1 nuff said

Umm that's why you discuss the pros vs. con prior to deciding which visa route to take. Just because it works for some, does not mean it will work for all.

 

We didn't do the K1 because it was quicker as we actually delayed it by a few months so my wife could finish up her teaching job. While other may not understand, my wife and I didn't want to live our life separately once we were married. That was our main reason for the K1 option, and the whole being boredom/useless feeling was not an issue for my wife. She found things to do outside our home beyond work.

 

I don't have an agenda to push folks for the K1, but it has it's purpose and the OP has made the decision that's best for them which is the CR1.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

1 hour ago, Chris009 said:

Hey again, 
First off, WOW! Went to bed and to work and came back to some great answers. 

I feel like I need to clear things up a bit. I have been living in Sweden for over eight years now and have duel citizenship. My girlfriend and I have been together for three years and have often contemplated about marriage actually. It has taken a great deal of time to finally come to the decision to move back to Colorado and for many reasons, we just want to get the hell out of here. It's unfortunate that it seems we might have to skip the romance of getting married but if the state approves us easier than we are willing to just sign the paperwork. 

So after looking at some of the options, the CR-1 route seems to be the safest. What steps would make the most sense then? We both live in Sweden currently, so should we get "married" and then start filling for the CR-1?
(extra homework: Does it help if she legally changes her last name too? We would like to save it for the actual ceremony in the future.)

Certainly many more questions to come later, but that's what I got now. 
Thank you all so much!!!
Cheers

No, the name change means absolutely nothing for immigration, it seems to only create hassles with other documents anyway, so let her keep her name

[doggieandsam 765]

OP, i just want to add since nobody has mentioned it yet. since you are living overseas at the moment, you need to establish domicile in the US first or at least have a plan in place of how you intend to resettle in the US. this is part of the paperwork / requirement for both K1 and CR1. if you search here on VJ about establishing domicile you should get some good results.

[Merlofil 5]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:01 PM, missileman said:

Only you and your fiance can decide which route is better for you.  This is my comparative analysis.

K-1: 8-10 months

    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 receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until she receives EAD (approx 3-4 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.

CR-1: 12-14 months

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

Is there an issue with entering the US to marry and then leaving in order to apply for the CR1? 

[Crazy Cat 39,253]

8 minutes ago, Merlofil said:

Is there an issue with entering the US to marry and then leaving in order to apply for the CR1? 

Perfectly fine.

[Merlofil 5]

Just now, missileman said:

Perfectly fine.

Do you think that it would be hard to prove that my intentions are to go back home? I do not want to be turned away at the border. 

[geowrian 22,335]

9 hours ago, CatherineA said:

I believe that people in Sweden can do Direct Consular Filing in London with special circumstances (like a job transfer perhaps)? There was a thread about it a while ago, try to search "DCF Sweden"?

DCF under exceptional circumstances is available anywhere, although the success of doing it under the short notice of a job transfer criteria is low chance gamble IMO. Every case is unique, but generally that's for somebody who was assigned to a new position in the US from their existing job, and therefore needs to move under a short notice. Requesting to be transferred or finding  anew job wouldn't really fit this.

 

2 hours ago, Merlofil said:

Do you think that it would be hard to prove that my intentions are to go back home? I do not want to be turned away at the border. 

That depends on a lot of factors. Are you entering on a visa or ESTA (or visa-less like from Canada)? How many times have you visited in the past and for how long, and how long were you out of the US between trips? What are your ties to show that you will return home?

FYI I'm not looking for answers to be posted here...these are just considerations. In general, if you have a valid visa, have not violated status in the past, and haven't stayed in the US too much, you should be fine through POE. Being turned around is definitely a risk (as it always is), but few people are actually turned around.

[Pennycat 880]

18 hours ago, mustang85635 said:

K1 visa sucks so bad . There is absolutely no reason you would do that over CR1 if both people live abroad . Its so much more work once you get to the USA and every relationship will take a hit when the other person has to sit at home do absolutely f*** all and is getting bored and depressed.  Especially when you live in a first world country there is no rush.

Not everyone has the same experience, though. For us, moving to the US was my husband's first time in the US, first time out of Central America. We were planning on a few months of down time to get adjusted/ take English classes etc. We also weren't living together abroad (I agree if both people live abroad and there's not a firm move-date, K1 makes little sense), so waiting the extra 4 or 5 months for K1 only to plan to spend another several months of doing time made zero sense in our situation. Everyone is different.  Also, you don't have to sit around doing nothing, there's always options. 

[fdhs 8]

On 4/19/2018 at 5:39 AM, geowrian said:

DCF under exceptional circumstances is available anywhere, although the success of doing it under the short notice of a job transfer criteria is low chance gamble IMO. Every case is unique, but generally that's for somebody who was assigned to a new position in the US from their existing job, and therefore needs to move under a short notice. Requesting to be transferred or finding  anew job wouldn't really fit this.

How do you know that it's a "low-chance gamble"? It is certainly a possibility, see below: