K-3 Spouse Visa vs IR1/CR1Spouse Visa

[KSOLANO 0]

My fiance and I will be married this July. He is a US citizen and I am Canadian. I plan to be in the states with him. After some research, we were going to go with the K-3 Spouse Visa and follow those procedures in order to permanently reside as a US citizen. However, I am hearing about this IR1 / CR1 Spouse Visa for the first time and now feel a little confused. I have a couple questions:

1.What exactly are the differences between the two and which one is best suited for my situation?

2.Can I stay in the US with him while we process my visa? (I am in the US since March 19. 2010, will be going back on May 5 - June 2 to Canada and come back to the US until we get married)

3.If we process the K-3 Visa, can I file the I-129F at the same time? If I do, how do I cancel one if I get approved for the other?

Any helpful advice would be gladly appreciated. Thanks!

Edited April 28, 2010 by KSOLANO

[Scott and Mhay 57]

My fiance and I will be married this July. He is a US citizen and I am Canadian. I plan to be in the states with him. After some research, we were going to go with the K-3 Spouse Visa and follow those procedures in order to permanently reside as a US citizen. However, I am hearing about this IR1 / CR1 Spouse Visa for the first time and now feel a little confused. I have a couple questions:

1.What exactly are the differences between the two and which one is best suited for my situation?

K3 is a NONimmigrant visa (you cant work right away and you will have to adjust status if the CR-1 doesnt get approved within the 2 years your K-3 is valid)and the CR-1 is Immigrant. With the immigrant visa you get a greencard with work authorization and social security number. If you were to file for a K-3 you also file for a CR-1 by default.

2.Can I stay in the US with him while we process my visa? (I am in the US since March 19. 2010, will be going back on May 5 - June 2 to Canada and come back to the US until we get married) Be aware you can be denied entry on the way back...but you can stay if you have the proper visa or dont overstay.

3.If we process the K-3 Visa, can I file the I-129F at the same time? If I do, how do I cancel one if I get approved for the other? From what I understand about it you need to have the NOA1 for the I-130 first before sending in the I-129F. If they get approved on the same day (which most likely they will...the K-3 will get closed and you will have to do CR-1. It is said that if you submit the I-129F, you may actually slow the process down.

Any helpful advice would be gladly appreciated. Thanks!

Edited April 28, 2010 by Scott and Mhay

[pushbrk 12,115]

Correct answers above in red except that the K3 visa path was effectively killed as of February 1, 2010, so filing an I-129F for a spouse at this point can only slow your process by delaying the approval of the I-130. You're talking about the future though, so check back for any changes. In the meantime, study the CR1 Guide.

[KSOLANO 0]

Since I plan to come back hopefully in June, what do I need to bring with me at the border to let them know I do have plans of marrying my fiance and will be in the process of obtaining the CR-1 Visa? What reasons would they have to deny my entry? Am I not allowed in the US while we process the visa? I heard that you can stay up to six months in the US. Also, if the K-3 is obsolete, then do I just go ahead and do the CR-1 Visa?