Which is the better route? K-1 or IR-1/CR-1

[pascanda 13]

I'm new to this and just starting the visa journey. I have not filed for a K-1 visa yet but wanted to weigh all the options before I did. Which do you think is the better route to go and why? My fiance is Nigerian. I will be traveling there next month and will spend 3 weeks there. I've really thought about doing the DCV but I would have to find work in Nigeria. Not sure how easy that will be. I would prefer to do the DCV because that would give me more time to spend with my fiance in his home country and truly get to know him more and about his culture. Has any USC ever lived and worked in Nigeria? How hard is it to find a job there? What's required to work in Nigeria? I'm a nurse and would really like to find something while I'm there. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Golden Gate 530]

I'm new to this and just starting the visa journey. I have not filed for a K-1 visa yet but wanted to weigh all the options before I did. Which do you think is the better route to go and why? My fiance is Nigerian. I will be traveling there next month and will spend 3 weeks there. I've really thought about doing the DCV but I would have to find work in Nigeria. Not sure how easy that will be. I would prefer to do the DCV because that would give me more time to spend with my fiance in his home country and truly get to know him more and about his culture. Has any USC ever lived and worked in Nigeria? How hard is it to find a job there? What's required to work in Nigeria? I'm a nurse and would really like to find something while I'm there. Any advice would be appreciated.

What about Nurses Without Borders? Do they get paid or are they volunteers?

[Ryan H 3,834]

OP: If you were going to DCF, you would have to be a legal resident of Nigeria for 6 months before you are eligible to file.

[pascanda 13]

To do doctors without borders, I wouldn't be able to pick my location, but I would be compenstated. For the DCV, do I just have to live there for 6 months to qualify to file?

[Ryan H 3,834]

Another thing about DCF, I believe that the type of visa you were issued is also a determining factor. If you entered on a tourist visa and kept extending it to remain in Nigeria legally, I believe you would not qualifiy. That is based on my limited understanding of DCF.

[reeses16 8]

It depends on what your goal is. If you go the K1 route it's more expensive (by several hundred dollars), but generally its quicker (by a month or 2) to get the visa and come to the US. Once in the US your fiancee will then have to apply for his green card and work permit which take about another 3 months. If you go the IR-1 route, once the visa is granted and your hubby will receive his green card and social security card automatically in the mail (K1s must apply at the social security administration). Your hubby would be able to work more quickly. I went the K1 route I think it was the best option for us. It definitely takes time to adjust to the US, get settled in, apply for jobs/etc. I think even if we did the K1 I would have wanted my hubby to take a few months to get acclimated.

Pascanda, I don't know you or anything about your situation besides what you posted. But if you want to "get to know him and his culture more" I recommend the K1 and applying after your visit. If you get married during the trip and find out anything that concerns you, it make your situation more difficult to deal with (annulment? Try to make it work, despite concerns?)

Edited May 21, 2011 by reeses16

[reeses16 8]

https://www.labcap.org/index.cfm

LapCap may have some jobs that would interest you. I'm not sure that it would be nursing, but there is a need to medical lab techs...they will train you and you can negotiate for a contract of 3 months or more...up to a year. I'm not sure if Nigeria is one of their locations, but this might be helpful for other VJers.

[4theloveofhenry 8]

DCF from Nigeria is very hard. Not only becuase of the 6 month residential requirement but once you are married it takes a lot of connections and bribe money to get your visa changed/extended. I was planning to DCF with my husband while there in 2006 but after the headache of going in circles and spending a lot of bribe money to get my status changed and yet no progress after 3 months, we decided to scrap that idea and go the K-3 route.

Well to make a long story short, through a seperation and reconiliation my husband ended up getting his CR-1-IR-1(the ten year visa)Anyway I knew my hhusband for almost 2 years before we married and we did not marry unril my second visit with him in Naija, the first was in Korea. I do not know your situation either but if this will be your first time meeting I would suggest the K-1.

Livingmin Naija as a foreigner is not easy in the beginning. There are a lot of culteral and physical adjustments that have to be made and it will be a bit of a physical shock how basic things there may not be as easily accessablke as they are here. If you will be in Lagos, Abuja, or Port Harcourt then you may not have as hard of an adjustment as say I did,who lived in a smaller city called Aba.

The prior three I mentioned are very westernized and you wont see much differance than what you see in the US, however in a smaller city and dependant on your fiance's income you may not have things like running water, public restrooms,well ones you would want to use anyway. The electricity is the same throughout and you will go some times a week or more without power. I hope you like Nigerian food becuase depending on the city you are in, there may not be much to choose from as far as food you are acustomed to. Not that we have real food here lol but it is still the food we are used to. Depending on the city you live in, there may not be much to choose from as far as recreation, like parks, movie theaters, swimming pools or beaches, nightlife(if thats what your into to, Im not)ect.. you get the drift.

Anyway I am not knocking Naija, that is my husbands home and now my second home. I loved being there after the initial shock wore off. That is why I am telling you all these things. Not to scare you away but to prepare you if you do decide to DCF. It is a shock for anyone moving to a new country once the arrive. Anyway if you have any questions feel free too ask.

By the way a little side note, if you do find a market that sells foreign products be prepared to shell out the money. I found a small asian owned market in Aba that some American products and when I bought a box of frosted flakes I paid the equivilant of $12. Just read up and ask questions and be prepared if you decide to make the move.

[pascanda 13]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I met my fiance in Sept online and we met for the first time in person in March of this year. We met up in Malaysia for a week. This will be our 2nd visit together and I'll be there for 3wks. BTW I do enjoy Nigerian food. Luckily, I have several Nigerian friends here that have helped me learn a few things about Nigeria and have told me some things as to what to expect, etc.

[Afrikan Queen 11]

DCF from Nigeria is very hard. Not only becuase of the 6 month residential requirement but once you are married it takes a lot of connections and bribe money to get your visa changed/extended. I was planning to DCF with my husband while there in 2006 but after the headache of going in circles and spending a lot of bribe money to get my status changed and yet no progress after 3 months, we decided to scrap that idea and go the K-3 route.

Well to make a long story short, through a seperation and reconiliation my husband ended up getting his CR-1-IR-1(the ten year visa)Anyway I knew my hhusband for almost 2 years before we married and we did not marry unril my second visit with him in Naija, the first was in Korea. I do not know your situation either but if this will be your first time meeting I would suggest the K-1.

Livingmin Naija as a foreigner is not easy in the beginning. There are a lot of culteral and physical adjustments that have to be made and it will be a bit of a physical shock how basic things there may not be as easily accessablke as they are here. If you will be in Lagos, Abuja, or Port Harcourt then you may not have as hard of an adjustment as say I did,who lived in a smaller city called Aba.

The prior three I mentioned are very westernized and you wont see much differance than what you see in the US, however in a smaller city and dependant on your fiance's income you may not have things like running water, public restrooms,well ones you would want to use anyway. The electricity is the same throughout and you will go some times a week or more without power. I hope you like Nigerian food becuase depending on the city you are in, there may not be much to choose from as far as food you are acustomed to. Not that we have real food here lol but it is still the food we are used to. Depending on the city you live in, there may not be much to choose from as far as recreation, like parks, movie theaters, swimming pools or beaches, nightlife(if thats what your into to, Im not)ect.. you get the drift.

Anyway I am not knocking Naija, that is my husbands home and now my second home. I loved being there after the initial shock wore off. That is why I am telling you all these things. Not to scare you away but to prepare you if you do decide to DCF. It is a shock for anyone moving to a new country once the arrive. Anyway if you have any questions feel free too ask.

By the way a little side note, if you do find a market that sells foreign products be prepared to shell out the money. I found a small asian owned market in Aba that some American products and when I bought a box of frosted flakes I paid the equivilant of $12. Just read up and ask questions and be prepared if you decide to make the move.

My fiance and I were planning on getting married in Nigeria but decided to apply for the K1 visa and get married in the US. It was a culture shock for me and I was there for 2 months. The food in Nigeria made me sick and I had to take medicine (which helped) so that I can eat more and eventually became accustom to the food. This and among other reasons is why we decided on the K1. Their is a grocery store in Victoria Island that sells English food, you will see many Americans or Europeans there. I purchased some of my items there but they are expensive. Have a safe and wonderful trip!

[4theloveofhenry 8]

I love Nigerian food and will eat just about anything except the "salad" with the goat intestines and anything out of a goat head lol. But I too got sick off of the roadside food there and had an extremely embarressing bus ride from Lagos to Aba. I wont go into details becuase I dont want to make anyone sick on VJ.

[Tamikuti7 0]

I actually applied for both the K-3 and the CR-1 simultaneously. We wound up with doing the CR-1 because for some reason it was progressing faster than the K-3. For most of my friends who did the K-1 they were with their spouses sooner, but became frustrated by the extended waiting to work, ect.

[LoveNigerianStyle 0]

I love Nigerian food and will eat just about anything except the "salad" with the goat intestines and anything out of a goat head lol. But I too got sick off of the roadside food there and had an extremely embarressing bus ride from Lagos to Aba. I wont go into details becuase I dont want to make anyone sick on VJ.

I loved the hot and spicy foods but really didnt care for the grass cutter!

[forchika 4]

I love Nigerian food and will eat just about anything except the "salad" with the goat intestines and anything out of a goat head lol. But I too got sick off of the roadside food there and had an extremely embarressing bus ride from Lagos to Aba. I wont go into details becuase I dont want to make anyone sick on VJ.

LOL I know thats right, I too eat Nigerian food. But no goat intestines or goat head for me I like the cow feet and the cow stomach. The cow stomach reminds me of hog mogs(pig stomach). My mom used to cook those for us when I was a little girl. You would have had to go in the bush or I remember I took that same bus ride overnight. When we stopped to use the bathroom, it was just an open room where u pulled down and squatted and did your business into a whole in the ground.I kept looking around saying" I am not used to going like this" I could not even do it. I held my urine until I got to the East.

Filed the K-1, it was a 7mo wait for us from the filing time to the interview. It was not as expensive as it is know. I cannot believe the visa fee is $350.00 It was $100.00 back when we filed.

Edited June 6, 2011 by forchika