Guidance?

[Gigglesngrins 0]

What is the main difference between the IR-1/CR-1 and the K3? Is there any differences as far as times? My boyfriend is a US citizen and I am Canadian and we are wondering which is a better way to go....or if the K1 is a good solution. We are looking at myself going to the US around the end of September, beginning of October. Can anyone offer some guidance?

Thanks!

[germangel 0]

First what you should do is read the guides to get a slight overview of the visa types.

K1 is for fiances, K3 is a non-immigrant visa and you will have to adjust status in the US to obtain resident status. CR1 gives you conditional permanent residency for when you are married for less than 2 years. IR1 is an immigrant visa for residency if married for 2 years or more.

[Gigglesngrins 0]

First what you should do is read the guides to get a slight overview of the visa types.

K1 is for fiances, K3 is a non-immigrant visa and you will have to adjust status in the US to obtain resident status. CR1 gives you conditional permanent residency for when you are married for less than 2 years. IR1 is an immigrant visa for residency if married for 2 years or more.

We have read all the visa types and are still discussing which will work best for us. We are curious though what the difference is between the K3 and the CR1...we are currently trying to decide whether to get married before or after the visa process....

Thanks!

[maria_b84 0]

Plus with the CR1 Visa youcan work as soon as u get the resident Card and the SSN, with the K3 Visa u cannot work as soon a su get to America but u need to apply for the Work Authorization Document (I765) and only after it gets approved, u get thecard which allows u to work untill u get ur GC. It takes about 2-3 months max to get approved

Good Luck!!!

maria

[germangel 0]

First what you should do is read the guides to get a slight overview of the visa types.

K1 is for fiances, K3 is a non-immigrant visa and you will have to adjust status in the US to obtain resident status. CR1 gives you conditional permanent residency for when you are married for less than 2 years. IR1 is an immigrant visa for residency if married for 2 years or more.

We have read all the visa types and are still discussing which will work best for us. We are curious though what the difference is between the K3 and the CR1...we are currently trying to decide whether to get married before or after the visa process....

Thanks!

like said before, K3 is non-immigrant visa to get families together more quickly. It requires Adjustment of Status once you enter the US. You need to apply for Employment Authorization also.

CR1 is immigrant visa which gives you conditional (because married less than 2 years) resident status upon entry to the US

[Reba 2]

of your 3 options, I think only the K1 *may* be completed in the timeline you've alloted yourself.

with both the K1 and K3 visas, after you arrive to the US you have to apply for Adjustment of Status (AOS) and can take a few months to a few years to complete. You also have to apply separately for employment authorization, which will take a minimum of 90 days after you send in the applications. (time for that will depend on whether you entred with K1 or K3. K1 EAD application has to wait until after you're married. K3 EAD app can be done as soon as you arrive and have the money for the fees)

With the CR1 visa, you have 2 year conditional residency (2 yr. green card) with work permit built in. After you arrive you just have to wait on the SSN to be sent to you. About 90 days or so before your CR1 is to expire, you have to apply to remove conditions, and once that is done you have 10 year residency.

I would hazard a guess however that neither the K3 or CR1 will be completed by September or October of this year. And depending on where your boyfriend lives in the US, the K1 may be, or may not be. Some service centres take longer than others.

[lucyrich 20]

If you marry first and then start the paperwork, your choices are CR-1 versus K-3. They both start exactly the same way, by filing the I-130. If the I-130 is allowed to continue to completion, it'll result in a CR-1 visa. After you file the I-130 and have the receipt, you can optionally file an I-129F to get the K-3 started.

So the only decision you get to make at the starting point is whether or not to file that I-129F for the K-3. Either way, you'll be filing the I-130 which could eventually result in a CR-1 visa.

When we started the process, timelines were very different. CR-1 visas were taking three to four years, while K-3 visas were taking four or five months. It was a no-brainer to file both petitions and go for the K-3. But while our paperwork was in the system, the I-129F processing came to a near dead stop, and I-130 processing started going much faster than before. We finished the CR-1 visa a long time before the I-129F was approved.

Timelines are unpredictable. If you're going to marry first and then get the visa, you might as well keep your options open and file for the K-3, then watch the petitions "race" through the system and take whichever visa you can get first. If they're both about equally fast, the CR-1 may be preferable because there's a lot less paperwork to do after entering the US.

Or you can decide to skip the "marriage first" part, and go for the K-1.

[phirephly 0]

What is the main difference between the IR-1/CR-1 and the K3? Is there any differences as far as times? My boyfriend is a US citizen and I am Canadian and we are wondering which is a better way to go....or if the K1 is a good solution. We are looking at myself going to the US around the end of September, beginning of October. Can anyone offer some guidance?

Thanks!

It's not so much a difference between the K3 and the IR/CR. The K3 is an extension of the IR/CR by which your spouse comes to the US (as a visitor, NOT an immigrant) to wait with you for the IR/CR (which is an immigrant visa) to be completed. You can file for an AOS, but that's more money and a whole new wait, so be prepared for that. You file the IR/CR, then if you want, you can *also* file the K3. However, it seems that not many people here (including myself) are benefitting from the K3 process since the IR/CR seems to be moving at about the same speed. I think even if our K3 is approved first, she may still end up staying over there for the extra month or two until her IR/CR interview - it's worth the wait to not have to go through all the hassle again later. Depending on where he is, I think you may have completely missed the boat for a Sept/Oct arrival. We're trying to be realistic and hoping that we'll be together Oct/Nov (I hope that's realistic!), and we filed in January for our CR-1. So ... it may end up being a bit hard to make your timeframe. Keep trying, though! who knows ttyl,

mich