Wife Had K-3 Visa, Came to US, Never Obtained Green Card

[Datpino 0]

My wife obtained her K-3 visa back in 15 November 2009.  She came to the US to live with me.  Shortly after she arrived I took a job in Saudi Arabia.  She left the US to join me in Saudi Arabia.  She never completed the process for obtaining her green card.  

 

My question is what do we do now to be together in America?  Do I need to accomplish a whole new K-3 visa or because she had a visa and and approved Alien# is there a shorter process?  Couldn't find anyone else with a similar situation to read about thru Google.  Thanks,

 

Edited November 30, 2017 by TBoneTX
To remove personal information.

[Datpino 0]

I already purchased a service through RapidVisa.com today to assist us in the process.  It looks like they are going to request a CR1 visa for us.  Not sure if this is the right approach.  The right approach for us is being together the soonest.  Our two boys just became school aged this past year and they need to attend school in the USA and not the Philippines where they are now with my wife.

[TNJ17 1,329]

You qualify for DCF. Much faster process because you are a US citizen living abroad. Ask them about the DCF process. 

[Datpino 0]

I (The sponsor) live in America now working for the US Army Corps of Engineers.  Are we still able to do DCF?

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

you can do this yourself as all rapid visa does is gather documents from you and maill in  / waste of money  / do the DCF

 

[acidrain 325]

The K3 is pretty much obsolete now so that isn't an option. As mentioned you can file directly with the Saudi Arabia consulate.

 

-If you are married less than 2 years you go through the CR1 process

-If you are married more than 2 years you go through the IR1 process

-Your children if they are biologically related to both of you need a visa or citizenship. You can claim citizenship at the consulate and if you don't qualify you can either apply for CR2 or IR2 process (depending on length of marriage) which would turn into citizenship upon port of entry.

[HK12 273]

OP, I urge you to delete the photo that you posted. It contains very personal (visa) information for both yourself and your spouse, and  now everyone on the Internet can see it. 

 

Edit: Nevermind, a mod already took care of it while I was writing this.

Edited November 30, 2017 by HK12

[Datpino 0]

Alright, so the IR1 process is the right move then?

[TBoneTX 43,424]

Image containing personal information has been removed from this website, which is viewable by anyone.

 

Thread is moved from Bringing Family of USCs forum to the CR-1 forum -- OP is back in the U.S.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

27 minutes ago, Datpino said:

Alright, so the IR1 process is the right move then?

Deleted my former answer as I missed that the OP is not living abroad anymore. 

 

Yes, IR1 is the only way.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[geowrian 22,336]

1. K-3 is obsolete now. An IR-1 is the best path to pursue.
2. DCF is not available since you are not living abroad anymore.
3. ETA: ~12-14+ months from I-130 filing to interview. The past visa will not speed up USCIS, NVC, or embassy processing.
4. RapidVisa is not necessary and won't actually speed up the process, but it's an individual's choice to use a service or not. There was a case here in the past week where they basically gave really bad advice that would have resulted in close to a year of extra waiting and they refuse to refund their fee or the USCIS fee due to their mistake. They aren't a scam...but they are just following a generic list that isn't really best suited for everybody. I'm not bashing them...just saying you can do it yourself with about the same amount of effort and probably faster.
   1. it's strange they said CR-1 despite being married for over 2 years. The process is identical so it's not an issue, but just odd they didn't notice the difference.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

28 minutes ago, Datpino said:

Alright, so the IR1 process is the right move then?

Yes sir, the IR1 process is the right move to go right now. The only bad thing is the wait is about 1 year right now from start to completion, the good thing is that she will have her green card and be able to work when she arrives in the USA. Where in the Philippines is she from na? Also if there are any Philippine specific questions then feel free to come on over to the Philippines subforum and we will gladly help you out. The link is below:

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

[Hypnos 6,576]

44 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

You qualify for DCF. Much faster process because you are a US citizen living abroad. Ask them about the DCF process. 

There is no USCIS field office in Saudi Arabia, so even if the OP was still living there, they couldn't do DCF. 

 

A country needs to be on this list for DCF to be an option: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices

[RO_AH 1,625]

If your children were not born in USA. If you were born a US Citizen or have residency requirements to get US Citizenship for your kids you should get a CRBA for them at the US Embassy in Manila.

[pushbrk 12,243]

6 hours ago, Datpino said:

I already purchased a service through RapidVisa.com today to assist us in the process.  It looks like they are going to request a CR1 visa for us.  Not sure if this is the right approach.  The right approach for us is being together the soonest.  Our two boys just became school aged this past year and they need to attend school in the USA and not the Philippines where they are now with my wife.

RapidVisa might assist you in some ways with the process of obtaining an IR1 visa for your wife (CR1 is for a foreign spouse married less than two years.) Services do not request visas.  You already have an approved I-130 petition for your wife.  Filing a new one is not necessary.  Did you have any discussion of your circumstances before this service proposed filing a new petition (if that's what they did) and suggested a CR1 instead of IR1 is the visa your wife would eventually have?