K1 vs CR-1

[babyjk 2]

I am not sure if this post is to be here or not since I haven't been on here too long. My fiance and I were planning to go through the whole K1 but now it looks as though the processing times for CR-1 don't seem to be that long. We are both from Barbados. He moved to the US after 1 year and 4 months together as his mother had filed for him before we got together. Now 5 years later he is eligible for citizenship. I am not sure if we should still go through with it a K1 since filing for a CR-1 is not taking that long. We had decided to go through the K1 visa because:

1)We can not afford a big wedding and he says if he has it in Barbados he would feel obligated to invite most of them.

2) His mother as well as one sister and other family members live there so they making it would not be a problem and his other sister and her family would be able to make it.

3) My mother and sister & all else who matter would be able to make it as they have a 10 yr visitor visa

But now reading about people having problems with getting social security card & other problems is making me scared. I told him to ask his sister & mum who have been living over there for a while what would be our best option rather that wait too late but he says he will talk to them about it later. The main reason we did not want to go through the whole filing for a CR-1 was because we do not have anything to show joint ownership of anything. We could open a bank account but as for rental that would be rather difficult.

I know its not too late to change our minds as he has to go for his naturalization first before either filing for the K1 or getting married and filing a CR-1. Also what is the average time in adjusting status from K1?

What do you other vjers think? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Well, you're posting this on the Cr-1 board so most people are going to say CR-1

You don't have to show joint property or accounts to file for the Cr-1. We submitted some photos, cards and e-mails and were approved with no issues

Here is a comparason of visas. Only you and your significant other know what's best for you

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Good luck

[babyjk 2]

That was a major worry for me...thanks for clearing it up for me

[babyjk 2]

That was a major worry for me...thanks for clearing it up for me

Also how do we know which service center it goes to since the address is given as the Chicago Lockbox and the CSC doesn't seem to as fast as the rest.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

You send it to the Chicago Lockbox and where it goes from there is based on where you live. The directions of the I-130 outline that

Good luck

[babyjk 2]

You send it to the Chicago Lockbox and where it goes from there is based on where you live. The directions of the I-130 outline that

Good luck

Thank you very much for your help...me and my fiance are discussing it right now

[bobby_kvisa 7]

You have to decide what your goal is.

K1 visa is a bit faster but will be harder in the long run (because you have to get Work Authority, Temp Green Card and AP) and more expensive.

CR1 visa is a bit slower and will be easier because you have Green Card shortly after arrival and is less expensive.

Regardless, my personal view is whatever party you have (K1 party or CR1 party) should involve around 20 people at minimum. It is best to have family there, but even better to have parents from both sides in attendance (and in photos).

Because photos are important it is better to rely on someone with experience taking photos - and not a bunch of family members with their point and shoots.

One of the reasons why I did not file K1 is because our party was not very good - we did not have an outside photographer so the photos were not convincing enough (according to my personal view; example: the father of the bride was not in any photos and there were other photo problems) and our family members kind of gave up on the photography halfway through because they wanted to enjoy.

Edited August 16, 2010 by bobby_kvisa

[babyjk 2]

You have to decide what your goal is.

K1 visa is a bit faster but will be harder in the long run (because you have to get Work Authority, Temp Green Card and AP) and more expensive.

CR1 visa is a bit slower and will be easier because you have Green Card shortly after arrival and is less expensive.

Regardless, my personal view is whatever party you have (K1 party or CR1 party) should involve around 20 people at minimum. It is best to have family there, but even better to have parents from both sides in attendance (and in photos).

Because photos are important it is better to rely on someone with experience taking photos - and not a bunch of family members with their point and shoots.

One of the reasons why I did not file K1 is because our party was not very good - we did not have an outside photographer so the photos were not convincing enough (according to my personal view; example: the father of the bride was not in any photos and there were other photo problems) and our family members kind of gave up on the photography halfway through because they wanted to enjoy.

Yes. I know that CR-1 is least expensive but we have been together for 6 years and we only see each other sometimes once a year for 6 weeks at most. Reason we haven't married as yet is because I just finish university and he prefers to file for me as a citizen (He is now applying for citizenship) instead of a LPR which means we can't get married until sometime next year then go through the whole CR-1 process I may not be with him until 2011! With the K1 Visa at least I maybe with him next year this same time!