K1 Visa... to file or not?

[Ellie__ 8]

Do you think it is still a good plan to file for K1 during these times or just wait for the situation to improve? 

[Scandi 3,970]

I wouldn't recommend the K-1 route under normal circumstances, and definitely not under the current circumstances. Everything seems very "up in the air" right now, and the K-1 visa is already putting the beneficiary in a crappy situation as it is with not being able to do much of anything while waiting for the EAD and/or greencard after entering the US. Imagine if the virus causes an insane amount of backlog, what are you going to do in the US if your work authorization takes a year or maybe even more? And if your greencard takes another 2 years? Nah, too risky for me personally, I wouldn't do it. Definitely get married and file for the CR-1 instead.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Scandi

[Crazy Cat 39,220]

The queue is getting longer every day......but have you considered the CR-1?

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US 
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

    Intent to deny can be rebutted and reviewed.
  �

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Crazy Cat 39,220]

2 minutes ago, Scandi said:

I wouldn't recommend the K-1 route under normal circumstances, and definitely not under the current circumstances. Everything seems very "up in the air" right now, and the K-1 visa is already putting the beneficiary in a crappy situation as it is with not being able to do much of anything while waiting for the EAD and/or greencard after entering the US. Imagine if the virus causes an insane amount of backlog, what are you going to do in the US if your work authorization takes a year or maybe even more? And if your greencard takes another 2 years? Nah, too risky for me personally, I wouldn't do it.

Agree......The K-1s seem to be even more disadvantaged under the current situation as spousal visas are deemed "mission critical".....

[Ellie__ 8]

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

Agree......The K-1s seem to be even more disadvantaged under the current situation as spousal visas are deemed "mission critical".....

Only thing is that my fiancé is in the military so I cannot go to the US to get married because of the travel ban (and then apply for the spousal visa) and it's even harder for him to come to Europe. It's such a mess  

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,078]

23 minutes ago, Ellie__ said:

Only thing is that my fiancé is in the military so I cannot go to the US to get married because of the travel ban (and then apply for the spousal visa) and it's even harder for him to come to Europe. It's such a mess  

As long as you're okay with living with the restrictions of the K-1 once you get here, that's kind of why I'd say go ahead and file if you've already done enough that approval is likely.

If you can't meet (but already have), you might as well let USCIS do as much processing as they can while you're waiting.

[Ellie__ 8]

6 minutes ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

As long as you're okay with living with the restrictions of the K-1 once you get here, that's kind of why I'd say go ahead and file if you've already done enough that approval is likely.

If you can't meet (but already have), you might as well let USCIS do as much processing as they can while you're waiting.

I was in the US with him in March, then Europe started closing borders and I had to rush back home, at least we got to meet  

 

[Sparkle Sparkle 913]

16 minutes ago, Ellie__ said:

I was in the US with him in March, then Europe started closing borders and I had to rush back home, at least we got to meet  

 

Don't do K1... I repeat don't do it... Get married

[Cheburashka34 228]

Well this post makes me feel like I shouldn't have done the K1....

[Quarknase 1,072]

Is there a third country where you two can meet and have a destination wedding?

 

I agree with others that during these unpredictable times, a spouse visa appears much more secure. K1s are not considered mission critical and therefore not being processed at all in many embassies. Especially in countries with currently travel bans in place. The travel bans to the US only exempt spouses, not Fiancés.

 

The lower priority will more likely than not increase overall processing times, eliminating the only significant benefit of K1 vs. spouse visa.

 

With USCIS processing within the US becoming more and more of a headache (have you heard of form I-944 which must be filled out if you file adjustment of status from within the US?), furloughs hanging above the heads of 70% of USCIS staff, any timeline predictions for EAD, AP, Greencard are impossible. Sitting in the US without a drivers license, ineligible to work etc etc makes any adjustment/settling down a challenge by itself.

 

In the end it’s up to you - if all those seem acceptable for you in favor to secure a spot in line rather sooner than later, the K1 might still be your best bet.

[Ellie__ 8]

28 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

Is there a third country where you two can meet and have a destination wedding?

 

I agree with others that during these unpredictable times, a spouse visa appears much more secure. K1s are not considered mission critical and therefore not being processed at all in many embassies. Especially in countries with currently travel bans in place. The travel bans to the US only exempt spouses, not Fiancés.

 

The lower priority will more likely than not increase overall processing times, eliminating the only significant benefit of K1 vs. spouse visa.

 

With USCIS processing within the US becoming more and more of a headache (have you heard of form I-944 which must be filled out if you file adjustment of status from within the US?), furloughs hanging above the heads of 70% of USCIS staff, any timeline predictions for EAD, AP, Greencard are impossible. Sitting in the US without a drivers license, ineligible to work etc etc makes any adjustment/settling down a challenge by itself.

 

In the end it’s up to you - if all those seem acceptable for you in favor to secure a spot in line rather sooner than later, the K1 might still be your best bet.

Spouse visa has for sure a lot more benefits than K1. I think the military won't let him go to a third country which makes it harder  

[Cheburashka34 228]

2 minutes ago, Ellie__ said:

Spouse visa has for sure a lot more benefits than K1. I think the military won't let him go to a third country which makes it harder  

I just decided to go with K1 since I can't go marry my fiance right now and with work its much harder trying to line up vacation time during all of this and find a place that will marry us.(In Russia we would have to apply and then wait 30 days to even be able to pick a date!) I figured as long as he can come here by sometime next year then at least we will be together even if we have to wait longer on some things to process.

[Ellie__ 8]

3 minutes ago, Cheburashka34 said:

I just decided to go with K1 since I can't go marry my fiance right now and with work its much harder trying to line up vacation time during all of this and find a place that will marry us.(In Russia we would have to apply and then wait 30 days to even be able to pick a date!) I figured as long as he can come here by sometime next year then at least we will be together even if we have to wait longer on some things to process.

In italy same, they told me it takes about a month to get married and that's something impossible for him. What a terrible situation, months ago I thought it would get over by summer  

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,078]

1 minute ago, Cheburashka34 said:

I just decided to go with K1 since I can't go marry my fiance right now and with work its much harder trying to line up vacation time during all of this and find a place that will marry us.(In Russia we would have to apply and then wait 30 days to even be able to pick a date!) I figured as long as he can come here by sometime next year then at least we will be together even if we have to wait longer on some things to process.

Yeah; even back in normal times, dealing with Russian bureaucracy is not fun.

 

That's mostly why we did a K-1; I couldn't reasonably spend more than a week or so in Russia or take multiple trips on short notice, and setting up a third-country meeting somewhere two foreigners could marry quickly would have taken another couple months minimum if we didn't want to spend a fortune.

[Cheburashka34 228]

2 minutes ago, Ellie__ said:

In italy same, they told me it takes about a month to get married and that's something impossible for him. What a terrible situation, months ago I thought it would get over by summer  

Yeah it's like we would have to apply, then I'd have to go back later and then we get married and then we file and it takes another year to get approved, and I can't go to Russia until December when I have enough vacation and hopefully flights will even be running by then. So I figured I'll file now and by December or January it will at least maybe be approved and then we are just waiting on an interview at that point which sounds better to me...