K1 Visa, very confusing to me...

[Stacy0414 0]

This is kind of a repost - already asked for opinions in the CR1 section, and came to a conclusion that this would be the smarter path for my fiance and myself.

I am a US citizen, and my fiance is a South African citizen. He's currently working on a island as a dive instructor. I have been doing research on the different visas, and i've come to a conclusion that the K1 is probably the best one for our situation. The waiting period seems to be much shorter than filing with the CR1. Is there anyway he could come any sooner while everything is being processed? Any suggestions? Thank you soooooo much, this is starting to become very overwhelming. Also, has anybody hired a attorney/lawyer to do the filing for their k1? Did it slow down the process at all?

Thanks for everyones time.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

Honestly, I'd advise the CR1 for 3 main reasons:

1. When SO get's here he can start working the day he arrives (if he chooses to)

2. The cost is A LOT less.

3. The time is NOT much longer for a CR1

[BokkieandGuapo 4]

Hi,

I suggest you chat to Markandlauren who are using an attorney. I know it seems very overwhelming but take it calm make sure you have ALL documentation and sufficient evidence to prevent getting RFE's.

Good Luck

BokkieandGuapo

[canadian_wife 1,791]

We used a lawyer, and th significantly slowed our petition down. They simply aren't invested in the process so it takes them days to send back mail which you could do yourself the following day.

He could always visit during the process, admittance and duration of stay is up to the CBP at the POE

Good luck

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is kind of a repost - already asked for opinions in the CR1 section, and came to a conclusion that this would be the smarter path for my fiance and myself.

I am a US citizen, and my fiance is a South African citizen. He's currently working on a island as a dive instructor. I have been doing research on the different visas, and i've come to a conclusion that the K1 is probably the best one for our situation. The waiting period seems to be much shorter than filing with the CR1. Is there anyway he could come any sooner while everything is being processed? Any suggestions? Thank you soooooo much, this is starting to become very overwhelming. Also, has anybody hired a attorney/lawyer to do the filing for their k1? Did it slow down the process at all?

Thanks for everyones time.

It seems you are making your decision based on the speed the visa can be issued and how can you speed it up faster. Please do not make a decision based on this. Understand that your fiancee will arrive and not be able to leave the US until he adjusts status of has an AP (2-6 months typically) AND will not be able work until he has an EAD or green card (3-6 months) I only say, consider everything before making a choice.

[KEL&STEPH 0]

This is kind of a repost - already asked for opinions in the CR1 section, and came to a conclusion that this would be the smarter path for my fiance and myself.

I am a US citizen, and my fiance is a South African citizen. He's currently working on a island as a dive instructor. I have been doing research on the different visas, and i've come to a conclusion that the K1 is probably the best one for our situation. The waiting period seems to be much shorter than filing with the CR1. Is there anyway he could come any sooner while everything is being processed? Any suggestions? Thank you soooooo much, this is starting to become very overwhelming. Also, has anybody hired a attorney/lawyer to do the filing for their k1? Did it slow down the process at all?

Thanks for everyones time.

Hi Stacy,

We used a lawyer- and although I didnt have to worry about anything- she handled everything and just told me what documents to provide and fill in, she wasnt the best and ultimately one of her mistakes cost us 3 additional months apart. I had to nearly harass her for updates and info- once you pay your retainer- they dont seem to rushed to do much.

We had a similar situation, South African husband was living in another country- mine was living in the UK- got married in Denver while he was visiting, applied for everything when he was back in England. Our process started in June 08 and its still not complete, though I think he will finally arrive in the US in 2 weeks!

A couple words of advice:

1) Its going to take forever regardless of the visa you choose I think.. sorry! There are always unexpected delays. If I did it over again, I would choose the route of being apart the least- meaning I would rather we be together in the US him not being allowed to work for some months, than him being abroad working, waiting, waiting waiting for his visa and to see you.

2) Best word of advice is to get everything together early- know what documents you are going to need for the 'next step' and have them organized early. For ex: background checks for packet 3. He must provide at some pt, background checks of every country he has lived in since age 16, we knew this and figured a couple of weeks max right? It took us 10 business days to request one from the UK, and 7 weeks to get one from SA! 7 weeks! We had no idea it would take this long, which delayed the whole application.

Good luck! Choose a lawyer carefully if you go that route, know the process and required docs very well beforehand and be prepared for a stressful roller coaster. Its not easy, but the price we pay for falling for foreigners.

[Jasman0717 8]

This might help

http://www.ehow.com/how_2108684_between-k-...-crir-visa.html

[Nik+Heather 121]

There have been many experiences of people visiting during the K1 process. Here is the FAQ. At the bottom, there are links to other threads where many many many people have shared their experiences visitng while their visas were processing.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1visit

For us, we found that this list was very good. Even if you can't bring everything, we found that things like the employer letter saying when you're expected back and the NOA were both very helpful in making the case, even in secondary inspection. And, nothing is better than a return ticket.