K-3 or CR1? Canada to the US (merged threads)

[rashellemae 0]

Hi everyone,

I am brand new here and have been going over all of my options online for the past few days in order to get my application started and I've reached quite the road block so I'm looking for some help.

My fiance and I were originally planning on applying for the K-1 visa, hoping that I would get approved and would be down there by the end of the summer. But while I was researching I realized that after my K-1 is approved and my fiance and I marry, I apply for an AOS but then I am unable to leave the US without applying to do so. The problem here is that my fiance and I have already booked our symbolic ceremony in Mexico for January 20, 2017 and I'm afraid that I won't be able to leave the country without losing my AOS application if it will be in process at that time.

I've been looking into the K-3 and CR1 visas, trying to figure out which one works best for our situation. By the looks of it my fiance will most likely fly up to Canada so that we can get married and then we can begin our application for either of these visas. My main concern is that I don't really understand how long the CR1 will take, and I don't want to have to be stuck in Canada for longer than I need to be. But the CR1 is significantly cheaper than the K-3 and by the looks of it on here everyone suggests going to CR1 route.

Can anyone help me by giving me a rough estimate on how long this may take and which is the better option for my situation? My fiance and I have been flying back and forth for the past 3 years and we really just want to start our lives together. I truly appreciate your help.

[NikLR 13,220]

K3 are obsolete. They're very rarely granted due to processing procedures at both the USCIS and the NVC. (two different stages of a visa.)

CR1 take 10-12months. (about a year.)

Edited March 14, 2016 by NLR

[morgan.croft 210]

I completely understand your situation... My wife and I have been going through that for the last few years as well... Seeing each other for a week or two every 3 months sucks... And with the horrid exchange rate, expensive.

Prepare for a year, and hope for less. The longest part of the process will be waiting for USCIS to approve your petition. If you get routed to the California Service Center, that could cut some time down.

[michorge 0]

This is just my thought, but the k1 is good for 5 months after you get it, lets say it takes 6 months to receive your visa and its September now. You dont go to USA untill after the ceremony in January. I do believe the k1 is just for admittance to USA so it wouldn't be used up if you go to mexico, i could be wrong. I believe it takes 4-9 months usually to get your visa, so as long as you dont get yours early if you do it in april i think it should be okay.

this is all from me doing research so hopefully if im wrong somebody else can correct me!

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from IR1/CR1 Process to What Visa Do I Need Forum~

~Inquiry about family visa processes~

~Same/similar-themed threads merged~

~Please refrain from multiple posting of same-themed threads~

Pitaya

VJ Moderation

[Pennycat 880]

This is just my thought, but the k1 is good for 5 months after you get it, lets say it takes 6 months to receive your visa and its September now. You dont go to USA untill after the ceremony in January. I do believe the k1 is just for admittance to USA so it wouldn't be used up if you go to mexico, i could be wrong. I believe it takes 4-9 months usually to get your visa, so as long as you dont get yours early if you do it in april i think it should be okay.

this is all from me doing research so hopefully if im wrong somebody else can correct me!

The prevailing advice is to not have anything that looks, smells, feels, anything like a wedding before using the K1 because you could be in a position of being "too married" for the visa. I don't know how I feel about this advice because once you have the K1 in hand, how will CPB know you had a ceremony (people claim they can and do dig at POE but I don't know). They DO 100% ask at the embassy six ways from Sunday and are really testy about it so I would NOT have a ceremony before K1 interview.

All that said, OP wants to move ASAP, not wait until January.

So, OP, you've got some decisions to make. The one that would keep me, personally, the calmest would be to backpedal on the Mexico wedding until I have AP in hand. If you cannot or do not want to...I really think that if you apply for the K1 very soon, then you stand a good chance of being married by the end of August and *if you apply for AOS and AP immediately*, in all likelihood you'd be able to go to Mexico in January. Applying for AOS and AP quickly is not nearly as easy as it sounds (it could be for you but for us it has been a real trial). And I personally wouldn't want that worry hanging over my head while planning my wedding and getting people's flights etc.

Having just canceled and rescheduled a wedding at the last minute myself (blizzard), I can't say I recommend it to anyone. But, time-wise, you are well within the realm of possibility here. If you get moving fast.

[michorge 0]

Apologies, When i read her post, I read it as a Symbiotic ceremony and not a wedding. I misunderstood!

[Pennycat 880]

Apologies, When i read her post, I read it as a Symbiotic ceremony and not a wedding. I misunderstood!

Oh, she did say symbolic ceremony. What I've heard oft-repeated here is that it is generally not a good idea to have anything that could be seen as a wedding before you immigrate on the K1. The issue apparently is that in some cultures, the ceremony can be legally binding enough to "count" for the US government, or something. Or, they think that you're hiding the fact that you ARE already married (legally) and just want the K1 because it is faster.

I've *always* found this to be a little silly but apparently there ARE people who got denied K1s because of ceremonies, told they were married enough to not qualify for the K1, and to start over with the CR1. I can attest that at our K1 interview, when I mentioned "engagement party", the CO's eyebrows shot to the top of her head and she got very serious about "what type of party? who was there? what did you do? show me pictures?" etc so..... I don't know. This advice may be correct.

Now, I too originally thought to have a symbolic ceremony in Costa Rica before he moved here and was promptly scared off that idea. But I did ask what would happen if we did it after the visa was issued (after the interview) and before immigration and people still said bad idea and that sometimes CPB looks at Facebook pages etc. I'm not sure about that. BUT STILL. I'd personally rather not risk it and alllll the hassle that would come with it. Plus I didn't want to figure out how to plan a wedding from abroad in a narrow window of time so we're thinking of having a religious ceremony down there on our one-year anniversary.

[NikLR 13,220]

CBP can deny entry for what looks like a wedding. The CO's are very strict about it, especially in countries where engagement parties aren't necessarily common.