CR1 directly vs DCF

[moenicy 1]

Hi there,

many many thanks to everyone who is sharing opinions and experiences in this forum. This is such a big help!

As many others we are trying to evaluate what will be the best visa option for us to be apart for the shortest amount of time possible. Looks like usually people ponder between K1 or CP1. Right now however I am considering the difference between CP1 directly or through DCF. Spontaneously you would probably say – if you qualify for DCF, of course that’s what you should do. But I am not entirely sure we qualify and also if we actually gain something from it.

My fiancé and I met about 3 years ago in Germany, where I am a citizen. He is a US citizen and was traveling at the time. After our first meeting I was able to visit him once for a vacation but after we had to go through a long period of a long distance relationship. I was then able to find an internship position and live in the US for a year on a J1 visa. The internship went great and my office tried to apply for an H1B for me for FY2017. Unfortunately I was not chosen in the lottery. Since then he came to stay with me on a tourist visa in Germany and I had another short vacation but we are basically in a 3 months together 3 months apart rhythm which is really hard on us mentally – and financially, since we cannot work in each others country and have only temporary jobs. I was prepared to start the H1B process again this year – the office definitely wanted to – but then he proposed ? we now think that it would be better to figure out the visa situation after getting married rather than going through that awful uncertain lottery process again or through the fiancé visa on which I won’t be able to work for a while.

Ok, sorry for the long prequel – but from reading other peoples posts it is good to know the visa background that already exists. No overstays, no previous marriages or criminal histories for either of us.

Option A would be - getting married in Germany, filing immediately for CP1, it would take up to a year until the process is done. Until then I can work here and he could work here, but he could also work back in the US if nescessary.

Option B would be - getting married in Germany and not filing immediately. We would both stay here and work and after 6 months (or longer? another thing I am uncertain about) qualify for DCF which then takes about 3 months.

An advantage of both would be that we could get a joint bank account etc. But the downside is that we have to consider his ability to be and work in the US. Also - what about his ability to sponsor me if he lives in Germany for 6 months. I mean I am pretty sure we need a co-sponsor anyways. From what I wrote earlier you can probably tell we are NOT making big bucks ? Also the reason why I am hesitant to try the H1B lottery again - and losing $1600 again...

Option B still seems a little faster and like it makes more sense, but am I getting things wrong here? Am I maybe overlooking something?

All opinions and corrections are so much appreciated!

[moenicy 1]

I understand that this is not nessecarily a problem we can expect other people to solve for us. We will have to weigh all the pros and cons for each path and accept the downsides either route will bring with it.

 

I would have more concrete questions though (I think):

 

1. If we do stay and work in Germany doesn't that disqualify him from bein my sponsor? What if he keeps his apartment in the US, just subletting it.

 

2. Considering all the above would anybody say in our case it would be better after all to allpy for an F1 visa, even though it is more expensive?

 

3. His Schengen visa is about to be up, so we are also considering getting married in the US and then I would come back to go though the CR-1 process. That would be ok, right? It is only illegal if I went there with the intention to stay - which I am not! We are trying do do everything the right way! Just want to be together....

 

Thanks again!