K1 or Marriage First?

[Burebista 3]

Howdy,

I am an American citizen, and my girlfriend lives in Romania. I've spent 13 months with her in Romania, 4 different trips, and she has visited me once in America. We are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of two choices:

1) I get married to her in Romania, and then she immigrates to the USA

2) We file for K1 and she comes to USA where we marry.

Which of these is the easiest and quickest method?

Thanks in advance

[Anh map 2,098]

K1 can be faster to have the alien SO here in the US. But there can be other considerations that may influence your choice.

Is her ability to work or study in the US immediately a priority for you two? If so, then marriage there would be the choice. Arriving as a fiancee would mean that you would need to petition for adjustment of status(to get her green card) after marrying here. This will take a few months from start to finish and require additional ($1000+) fees.

[Bernie C 24]

K-1 you can start now

CR-1 you would have to wait until you get married to file.

So depending on when you plan to visit again and get married would be delays in the CR-1.

Neither is fast - looking at 6 months minimum from the start of processing (in most cases), could be less, more often than not it is more.

I would not consider either "easy" but neither is necessarily more difficult than the other either.

Not knowledgable about getting married in Romania so I am not sure what hurdles you have to jump to do that.

All comes down to when you want to start and how you decide to go about it. Good place to start is in the guide section and some thorough reading to understand things a bit.

Best Wishes

[dakay ♥ 10]

K-1 you can start now

CR-1 you would have to wait until you get married to file.

So depending on when you plan to visit again and get married would be delays in the CR-1.

Neither is fast - looking at 6 months minimum from the start of processing (in most cases), could be less, more often than not it is more.

I would not consider either "easy" but neither is necessarily more difficult than the other either.

agreed!

you can read a comparison between K1 & CR1 visa as well as a few Pro's and Con's for each option here

[Mark-2010 0]

I took the K1 path...

[Burebista 3]

Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I did find the "compare" guide after I posted, ad this was very informative. It looks like, because she's got a PhD, that the CR1 route is the way to go.

[K and L 27]

Also, with the new $350 bump in K1 interview price, instead of being $455 (I-129F) + $350 (K1 interview) + $1010 (AOS) = $1815 in direct USCIS costs, it's $355 (I-130) + $470 (NVC) = $825 in direct USCIS costs. Both also have various medical expenses (in Brazil, ours were ~$175 US for all of the medical, x-ray, and blood test fees).

[Burebista 3]

Also, with the new $350 bump in K1 interview price, instead of being $455 (I-129F) + $350 (K1 interview) + $1010 (AOS) = $1815 in direct USCIS costs, it's $355 (I-130) + $470 (NVC) = $825 in direct USCIS costs. Both also have various medical expenses (in Brazil, ours were ~$175 US for all of the medical, x-ray, and blood test fees).

We have begun the CR-1 process. I am in Romania now and we got all the paperwork in order for marriage. Tomorrow we go to city hall in Bucharest to submit our request for marriage, and that approval for that usually takes two weeks at most.

[patient2010 93]

Good luck on your journey.........

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

K1 can be faster to have the alien SO here in the US. But there can be other considerations that may influence your choice.

Is her ability to work or study in the US immediately a priority for you two? If so, then marriage there would be the choice. Arriving as a fiancee would mean that you would need to petition for adjustment of status(to get her green card) after marrying here. This will take a few months from start to finish and require additional ($1000+) fees.

The main (but not the only) consideration is if she plans to work shortly after arrival (in most cases they can go to school immediately but may not be eligible for financial aid for 1 year) and what your travel plans are.

If you noth are satisfied with her NOT working and NOT traveling internationally until she gets her green card or EAD, the K-1 is faster.

Another consideration can be children. With an immigrant visa (CR-1) any children MUST BE under age 18 when you marry to qualify to come with her. With a K-1 they can be up to age 21. If she has a 18, 19 or 20 year old that wishes to come with her...K-1 is the only game in town.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Gary and Alla

[TashaK 1]

What does having a PhD have to do with anything? My fiance has a PhD too, but we're doing the K1. That's more because we don't want to live apart once we're married. Living apart while we're engaged sucks, but I can't imagine being apart from my husband. Once he's here, we'll do the EAD/AOS stuff and he'll be able to work within a few months.