Why did you file for a K-1 visa and not a spouse visa, or vice-versa? (merged)

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Right it's a personal preference. So why all the judgy talk about not understanding us weirdos who do feel a difference? And do you feel that a one-day engagement or purposely signing up for an even longer separation (time apart engaged and time apart married waiting for the visa) is an ideal course of action for everyone? Some people aren't ready to be married but are ready to be engaged. And denying thr difference between these two things, to me, is diminishing the institution of marriage. To me. Which again yay for options so different folks can do what'd right for them.

I am not meaning to judge. Just stating mostly that it is not an immigration thing but how people feel about it. I think he was confused because he asked several times.

Everybody has their own feelings about it and it's certainly okay. Is is okay to say my personal preferences? I just happen to not care whether separated before or after. Nor did I care about a big wedding, or wedding rings, or honeymoon, or what people said. etc. Maybe I'm the weirdo. I already did those things thirty years ago and endured watching a lifelong partner die of cancer. We all come to the journey at different stages. Just happy to have found a person I love dearly and can grow old(er) with. Sorry I ruffled feathers. Was not meant as judgement.

[NikLR 13,220]

IMHO engagements are for wedding planning. If you arent willing to marry someone the minute they ask, why say yes? If you feel they are two different things, then your opinion differs from mine and we agree to disagree.

I got through the time apart just as any other couple has, engaged or married. There were tears, arguments, outpouring of love, and through it all, as much communication as we could manage. There is no good without bad. I remember what it feels like so I cherish the time more. During it all we kept firmly to the thought "what is a year or two in a lifetime?" The man is my soulmate, and that will never change. I did not have to spend years figuring that out either, for which I'm eternally grateful for.

[Pennycat 880]

I am not meaning to judge. Just stating mostly that it is not an immigration thing but how people feel about it. I think he was confused because he asked several times.

Everybody has their own feelings about it and it's certainly okay. Is is okay to say my personal preferences? I just happen to not care whether separated before or after. Nor did I care about a big wedding, or wedding rings, or honeymoon, or what people said. etc. Maybe I'm the weirdo. I already did those things thirty years ago and endured watching a lifelong partner die of cancer. We all come to the journey at different stages. Just happy to have found a person I love dearly and can grow old(er) with. Sorry I ruffled feathers. Was not meant as judgement.

Ok I'm sorry. I read tone into it where none was intended.

And NLR, for me and I believe many others engagement is a specific stage involving families meeting and getting to know one another and pre-marital counseling, often required by religion and/or culture.

Plus, frankly, as a successful white woman a little "too old" for a first marriage marrying a middle class Latino, if I came home suddenly "shotgun " married, I'd be putting up with a LOT more judgemental BS than I already am. Didn't factor into decision making but for sure is a bonus. Plus again to me, I'd rather be together quicker than have my first year of marriage apart. In our situation, there was nothing to gain by getting married instead of engaged, except saving $800.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

I said yes to the marriage proposal because I wanted to marry him, someday in the future. I in no way ever thought about getting married right that moment. We were deciding to get married in the future, and would plan all that out while being engaged. I thought that was the purpose of an engagement, no? If you are just going to get married right that minute, then why get engaged at all? Head to Vegas and get married. No engagement/planning stage needed then.

I was married at the courthouse the first time I got married. My current husband and I did not want that. We wanted an actual wedding ceremony. We had already been together 10 years, and when we finally married, we had no intentions of parting and crying at the separation time again. Once married, that was it. We intended to be together in person from then on. I did not need for him to be able to work right away. The K-1 works for that. Also, I had children and he didn't. He speaks fluent English and my Spanish knowledge is quite small. It made more sense for him to move to me in the US. He was denied a tourist visa 3 times, so my trips to MX were the only times we could visit. We were done with the long separations.

Different people have different feelings and views on things. It is good that there are different immigration choices to suit the needs/choices of all those different couples.

Edited August 12, 2015 by KayDeeCee

[londongal 17]

The reasons me and my wife got married in her country are

1. so her family could attend the wedding and celebrate with us

2. we felt the benefits of the spousal visa was better( getting green card and being able to work right away)

3. Cost -the overall cost for the spousal visa is less then the cost for a fiancée visa

Looking at your timeline am I right in thinking it only took you 7 months after applying to get approved?

I am just trying to work out if the spousal visa is really that much longer than the k1 visa

[NikLR 13,220]

I see how others feel about it too. I get it. I was in a 9.5 year relationship with my ex who only decided marriage was for us after I said I was leaving. It wasnt the reason i left so it didnt matter.

I'm glad people have choices and that we can use an engagement period to plan a wedding we like so we can feel we properly celebrated the start of a marriage. I was happy with our little ceremony.

[NikLR 13,220]

And NLR, for me and I believe many others engagement is a specific stage involving families meeting and getting to know one another and pre-marital counseling, often required by religion and/or culture.

Engagement period made for planning a wedding, isnt that what I said? Whatever it takes to do so culturally, persoanally, religiously etc...

[yuna628 9,527]

Looking at your timeline am I right in thinking it only took you 7 months after applying to get approved?

I am just trying to work out if the spousal visa is really that much longer than the k1 visa

I think you may misunderstand something here. Before late March, K1 visa applications used to be sent to two different service centers - California or Texas. If your application was sent out to Texas you'd be stuck there waiting at the mercy of the USCIS, for 6.. 7.. 8 months just to get a yes or no, and then you'd still have the rest of the process to complete. If you were sent to California you might get an answer in as little as 10-30 days, and be with your loved one as fast as possible. There are still people waiting at Texas well over 300 days now waiting for someone to pick up their file. So in some cases, filing a K1 took nearly as long a spousal and in some cases they absolutely did not.

You have not filed yet I assume. So if you're looking for an answer about which will be faster for you, then I can say confidently that a K1 will be faster. At the end of March all newly filed applications are going to California. And I'd imagine with an uncomplicated case you can navigate through the entire process from service center to interview in far less time than filing for a spousal.

[Pennycat 880]

Looking at your timeline am I right in thinking it only took you 7 months after applying to get approved?

I am just trying to work out if the spousal visa is really that much longer than the k1 visa

Pretty much everyone who has explained timelines to you has been saying "generally" and "on average". There are zero guarantees when it comes to this process and if you make a decision thinking you've got some, you're signing yourself up for a huge disappointment.

I will admit that I don't see many CR1 applicants on here so I'm not as familiar with their timelines and current issues facing them but I will also say that I haven't seen any CR1 applicant who filed in 2015 who has immigrated already. And I have seen TONS of K1 applicants from 2015 who are here. Most of them, of course, were assigned to the California Service Center but people who filed as late as April already have visas-in-hand and are purchasing airplane tickets (if they haven't immigrated already). Folks who applied in March have been living here for a month or more and are already married.

Please really read what yuna has said below. It is 100% accurate.

Unless something changes now that Texas is nearly finished with its backlog (there's only the rest of February and March to go), 100% of all new applicants are being handled through California. Which again, please look at Step Two under K1 trends: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical, is averaging 37 days to approval.

This is the most highly variable stage of the process (look at Texas which is 206), and is what causes the "long timeframe" K1s to happen. So if you look at the average for Step 2 and add 2 to 3 months for embassy processing, you have a general picture of what timeline you're facing. Note: but even the "long timeframe" is almost always under a year and sometimes very significantly so (look at these members' timelines: http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=195624; and http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=199800. We can pretty confidently say that if you file soon, you'll be going to California. Is that a guarantee? No. Sorry. I wouldn't do that to you because it CAN change at any moment.But if they DO start sending new applicants to Texas, you still won't be on the same 200 day average as it has been---because there's not 6 months worth of other people "in line" ahead of you there.

NOW for CR1s, they have more stages to get through and they also seem highly variable based on both service center and country. Looking at their timeline statistics (which I don't know how reliable they are, but it's all we've got) it looks like you have to get through a service center which can be anywhere from 58 to 245 days, depending on the center, and then get through NVC which is taking an average of 176 days. And then 2 months or so.

So, basically, if you're comparing a CR1 person who lucked out getting to California Service Center to a K1 person who got banished to the Black Hole of Texas.....no. There's not a huge difference. 2 months or so (still the K1 faster). But if you're comparing a CR1 person at NBC to a K1 person at CSC you're looking at a difference of a full year (K1 faster). It all depends. Which is all that most people can really tell you. Except that based on recent information we do know that it's likely that you as a K1 would be going to California, and that they are turning those over in less than 2 months. Maybe there is more recent information from the CR1 folks about if and how you can control which service center you go to (unlikely) or if NVC really is taking 6 months to handle their cases, or if that statistic is from people here not updating their timelines.

Basically--what is right for you? With a K1, your only guarantee is that you'll spend $800 more to *probably* save yourself time. How much time? Anywhere from 2 months to a year faster, it seems. The the CR1 the only guarantee is that you'll save some money in fees (2 rents/mortgages and additional airline tickets are a different story) and that you'll have a green card on arrival.

Are you ready to get married now? CAN you get married right now (meaning, how much longer will you have to wait to even begin the CR1 process....getting married tomorrow or December? K1 you can start tomorrow, and get that clock ticking now). Do you mind adding weeks or months to your timeline because of a wedding date? Do you or your family mind not having a US wedding? How big of a dealbreaker is 3 or so months of unemployment for you and your fiance? If you got stuck waiting 18 months for the CR1 visa, how willing and financially able (and visa able) are you to visit each other? Will that be enough? Only you can answer those questions. As you've seen, everyone has their own reasons (with some common themes running through them).

Edited August 12, 2015 by CatherineA

[Pennycat 880]

Engagement period made for planning a wedding, isnt that what I said? Whatever it takes to do so culturally, persoanally, religiously etc...

I think we just have different understandings and traditions about this. To me, planning a wedding is about floral arrangements and cake tastings. Engagement, to me, is a period of time for the couple to prepare spiritually, socially, etc for *marriage*, which are vastly different concepts to me.

Even with all that said, the driving factor in the K1 decision was the timeline. I knew that it could be up to a 10 month process, but I saw that the shortest CR1s were taking about a year, and it was worth $800 to take a gamble on an even shorter timeframe on the K1, because I wasn't willing to to bank on the fact that we'd be the lucky fast CR1s.

An added bonus was that we didn't "have to" marry at breakneck speed for all the reasons discussed above.The money and the unemployment don't bother us in the slightest and even if he did land with green card in hand, the cultural and language adjustment will be such that I'm pretty sure we'd spend a few months with him going to language classes and non-work stuff anyway. Not a concern for the OP or many on here, but that's our story.

[londongal 17]

Pretty much everyone who has explained timelines to you has been saying "generally" and "on average". There are zero guarantees when it comes to this process and if you make a decision thinking you've got some, you're signing yourself up for a huge disappointment.

I will admit that I don't see many CR1 applicants on here so I'm not as familiar with their timelines and current issues facing them but I will also say that I haven't seen any CR1 applicant who filed in 2015 who has immigrated already. And I have seen TONS of K1 applicants from 2015 who are here. Most of them, of course, were assigned to the California Service Center but people who filed as late as April already have visas-in-hand and are purchasing airplane tickets (if they haven't immigrated already). Folks who applied in March have been living here for a month or more and are already married.

Please really read what yuna has said below. It is 100% accurate.

Unless something changes now that Texas is nearly finished with its backlog (there's only the rest of February and March to go), 100% of all new applicants are being handled through California. Which again, please look at Step Two under K1 trends: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical, is averaging 37 days to approval.

This is the most highly variable stage of the process (look at Texas which is 206), and is what causes the "long timeframe" K1s to happen. So if you look at the average for Step 2 and add 2 to 3 months for embassy processing, you have a general picture of what timeline you're facing. Note: but even the "long timeframe" is almost always under a year and sometimes very significantly so (look at these members' timelines: http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=195624; and http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=199800. We can pretty confidently say that if you file soon, you'll be going to California. Is that a guarantee? No. Sorry. I wouldn't do that to you because it CAN change at any moment.But if they DO start sending new applicants to Texas, you still won't be on the same 200 day average as it has been---because there's not 6 months worth of other people "in line" ahead of you there.

NOW for CR1s, they have more stages to get through and they also seem highly variable based on both service center and country. Looking at their timeline statistics (which I don't know how reliable they are, but it's all we've got) it looks like you have to get through a service center which can be anywhere from 58 to 245 days, depending on the center, and then get through NVC which is taking an average of 176 days. And then 2 months or so.

So, basically, if you're comparing a CR1 person who lucked out getting to California Service Center to a K1 person who got banished to the Black Hole of Texas.....no. There's not a huge difference. 2 months or so (still the K1 faster). But if you're comparing a CR1 person at NBC to a K1 person at CSC you're looking at a difference of a full year (K1 faster). It all depends. Which is all that most people can really tell you. Except that based on recent information we do know that it's likely that you as a K1 would be going to California, and that they are turning those over in less than 2 months. Maybe there is more recent information from the CR1 folks about if and how you can control which service center you go to (unlikely) or if NVC really is taking 6 months to handle their cases, or if that statistic is from people here not updating their timelines.

Basically--what is right for you? With a K1, your only guarantee is that you'll spend $800 more to *probably* save yourself time. How much time? Anywhere from 2 months to a year faster, it seems. The the CR1 the only guarantee is that you'll save some money in fees (2 rents/mortgages and additional airline tickets are a different story) and that you'll have a green card on arrival.

Are you ready to get married now? CAN you get married right now (meaning, how much longer will you have to wait to even begin the CR1 process....getting married tomorrow or December? K1 you can start tomorrow, and get that clock ticking now). Do you mind adding weeks or months to your timeline because of a wedding date? Do you or your family mind not having a US wedding? How big of a dealbreaker is 3 or so months of unemployment for you and your fiance? If you got stuck waiting 18 months for the CR1 visa, how willing and financially able (and visa able) are you to visit each other? Will that be enough? Only you can answer those questions. As you've seen, everyone has their own reasons (with some common themes running through them).

Catherine,

Thank you very much for taking the time out to write such a detailed and informed response, you've definitely cleared a lot of things up for me.

My other half and I have some thinking to do, but hope to send off an application by the end of next week!

Thank you again for being so helpful!!

[Pennycat 880]

You're right in a way of course Nich-Nick. But personally, after so many years, I don't think I could bear the thought of having a wonderful ceremony and then having to part from my husband. The last few times we said goodbye, we could barely function for weeks. We didn't want to put each other through that any more. Some people feel marriage is something only for legal purposes, it's not important and it's just a slip of paper. Others feel marriage is something deeper and more spiritual... and still others feel somewhere between the two. I've felt 'married' in my heart to him for a long time, but marriage is more to us than just that. The stress of being apart takes a toll and I wouldn't wish such stress to impact a new marriage, to have experiences as a new married couple fall by the wayside. I envy how extremely tough married couples who manage to maintain it at such a distance and keep going with a smile. It's a testament to love and trust. For those that can get past the UK rules, perhaps being with a loved one can be maintained, but for us it's simply not possible, and with the expense there's only so many visits you can take. Still, VWP countries at least have the ability to visit when they can, if they can. The countries that can't... it must be absolute hell. It's happening more and more to non-EEA/UK couples that don't want to live in the states too.

It is difficult enough to endure waking up every day without having my fiancé here with me. It is painful every time someone has asked where he is or to miss out on certain events in each other's lives. It is difficult to be scrutinized, to be insulted, or questioned because I am not with an American man, or to be scoffed at that how can one maintain such an LDR. We've been engaged a very long time, but our separation in that was never because we chose to be, but because we had to be to plan for our future to be stable and ready for it. It was not easy, but somehow being married adds an additional weight of unexplainable spiritual seriousness to carry. To us, once married, and never parted, we are now free to experience the completeness of married life without such pressures, worries, and sense of loss.

So we don't begrudge others the choice they made to be parted while married. Far from it. We each have our own choices to make of what fits each couple the best right? Some are okay with it, and some are not.

I just saw this, and was typing a response but I was just repeating you and you said it all better. Thanks <3

[j&ana 363]

Looking at your timeline am I right in thinking it only took you 7 months after applying to get approved?

I am just trying to work out if the spousal visa is really that much longer than the k1 visa

yes but my wife is from the Philippines. USCIS are auto expediting petitions from there because of the big typhoon they had. I am not sure if they are still expediting petition from there or not now.

It will be better comparison if you compare the k-1 and the cr-1 visa from the country you will be petition from

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Catherine,

Thank you very much for taking the time out to write such a detailed and informed response, you've definitely cleared a lot of things up for me.

My other half and I have some thinking to do, but hope to send off an application by the end of next week!

Thank you again for being so helpful!!

you never answered the question I asked before. You said you lived together. Does the American currently live in the UK? The best possible shortcut is available if both live in the UK. Just checking before you decide.

By the way, here are your application costs

K1 London route = $1705 + £295

$340 (USCIS) I-129F petition

£45 (ACPO) Police certificate just before petition approval

£250 (Knightsbridge Doctors) medical exam. Pay at exam.

$265 (Embassy) Visa fee prior to interview. Online pay.

$30 Courier fee if home delivery, $0 to pick up at a depot. Online.

$1070 (USCIS) Adjustment of Status/Work Authorization/Advance Parole

CR1 route = $1060 + £295

$420 (USCIS) I-130 petition

$325 (National Visa Center) Visa fee

$120 (National Visa Center) Affidavit of Support Review fee

£45 ACPO Police certificate https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

£250 (Knightsbridge Doctors) medical exam http://www.visamedicals.info/us.asp

$30 Courier fee if home delivery, $0 to pick up at a depot

$165.00 (USCIS) Immigrant Fee via the Department of State's website - https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx

Edited August 12, 2015 by Nich-Nick

[jess100 53]

Pretty much everyone who has explained timelines to you has been saying "generally" and "on average". There are zero guarantees when it comes to this process and if you make a decision thinking you've got some, you're signing yourself up for a huge disappointment.

I will admit that I don't see many CR1 applicants on here so I'm not as familiar with their timelines and current issues facing them but I will also say that I haven't seen any CR1 applicant who filed in 2015 who has immigrated already. And I have seen TONS of K1 applicants from 2015 who are here. Most of them, of course, were assigned to the California Service Center but people who filed as late as April already have visas-in-hand and are purchasing airplane tickets (if they haven't immigrated already). Folks who applied in March have been living here for a month or more and are already married.

Please really read what yuna has said below. It is 100% accurate.

Unless something changes now that Texas is nearly finished with its backlog (there's only the rest of February and March to go), 100% of all new applicants are being handled through California. Which again, please look at Step Two under K1 trends: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical, is averaging 37 days to approval.

This is the most highly variable stage of the process (look at Texas which is 206), and is what causes the "long timeframe" K1s to happen. So if you look at the average for Step 2 and add 2 to 3 months for embassy processing, you have a general picture of what timeline you're facing. Note: but even the "long timeframe" is almost always under a year and sometimes very significantly so (look at these members' timelines: http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=195624; and http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=199800. We can pretty confidently say that if you file soon, you'll be going to California. Is that a guarantee? No. Sorry. I wouldn't do that to you because it CAN change at any moment.But if they DO start sending new applicants to Texas, you still won't be on the same 200 day average as it has been---because there's not 6 months worth of other people "in line" ahead of you there.

NOW for CR1s, they have more stages to get through and they also seem highly variable based on both service center and country. Looking at their timeline statistics (which I don't know how reliable they are, but it's all we've got) it looks like you have to get through a service center which can be anywhere from 58 to 245 days, depending on the center, and then get through NVC which is taking an average of 176 days. And then 2 months or so.

So, basically, if you're comparing a CR1 person who lucked out getting to California Service Center to a K1 person who got banished to the Black Hole of Texas.....no. There's not a huge difference. 2 months or so (still the K1 faster). But if you're comparing a CR1 person at NBC to a K1 person at CSC you're looking at a difference of a full year (K1 faster). It all depends. Which is all that most people can really tell you. Except that based on recent information we do know that it's likely that you as a K1 would be going to California, and that they are turning those over in less than 2 months. Maybe there is more recent information from the CR1 folks about if and how you can control which service center you go to (unlikely) or if NVC really is taking 6 months to handle their cases, or if that statistic is from people here not updating their timelines.

Basically--what is right for you? With a K1, your only guarantee is that you'll spend $800 more to *probably* save yourself time. How much time? Anywhere from 2 months to a year faster, it seems. The the CR1 the only guarantee is that you'll save some money in fees (2 rents/mortgages and additional airline tickets are a different story) and that you'll have a green card on arrival.

Are you ready to get married now? CAN you get married right now (meaning, how much longer will you have to wait to even begin the CR1 process....getting married tomorrow or December? K1 you can start tomorrow, and get that clock ticking now). Do you mind adding weeks or months to your timeline because of a wedding date? Do you or your family mind not having a US wedding? How big of a dealbreaker is 3 or so months of unemployment for you and your fiance? If you got stuck waiting 18 months for the CR1 visa, how willing and financially able (and visa able) are you to visit each other? Will that be enough? Only you can answer those questions. As you've seen, everyone has their own reasons (with some common themes running through them).

Thanks for posting such a well thought out response to a complicated question.

How did you learn that Texas will be clearning the backlog? We sent our K-1 application in, and it was sent to Texas (you're right it's the black hole-how can it posssibly take 5 times longer than Ca or Vt?). Got the NOA1 March 29. So we are part of that backlog for sure. Any information will be helpful. I can't believe that people who filed in April have already got their visas-but I'm so happy for them.

One other point about K-1 vs Spouse visa is that with the spouse visa you actually CAN plan your wedding. We can't because we have no idea when the visa will be granted. I realize I have a 6 month window but I don't want to postpone him coming here any longer than we have already endured. (The 3 months in which we must marry doesn't give us a lot of time so we want to do it asap after he arrives). And so I feel like I'm in a kind of "shotgun wedding" situation. I want something simple-but don't feel I can plan it very much. We have severe winters here and planning even an indoor wedding in the winter is a bad idea with my family 5 hours away. So...although I wanted a nice, intimate wedding I don't think I can have what I want. Or the date I wanted, etc. I feel it will be thrown together and that's pretty sad to me.

Another question-if all future applications are sent to CA will they still have a one month turn around? Seems like they will be flooded with applications-and their time could increase by seveal months.