Best option for fiancé to come to the US?

[Nothingburger2 0]

So I am going to marry the girl of my dreams and want her in the US with me asap. I am a US citizen. She is was born and lives in Saudi Arabia and has traveled all over Europe but never to America. However she is a Pakistani citizen.  My family knows her family personally and met her. I haven’t yet but we talk all the time. 
 

I plan on meeting her soon in January. Should I apply her as a fiancé K1 Visa or what options would be the best?

 

any advice and timeline would be appreciated. 

[payxibka 10,045]

2 minutes ago, Nothingburger2 said:

So I am going to marry the girl of my dreams and want her in the US with me asap. I am a US citizen. She is was born and lives in Saudi Arabia and has traveled all over Europe but never to America. However she is a Pakistani citizen.  My family knows her family personally and met her. I haven’t yet but we talk all the time. 
 

I plan on meeting her soon in January. Should I apply her as a fiancé K1 Visa or what options would be the best?

 

any advice and timeline would be appreciated. 

Immigration and ASAP are oxymoronic 

[Boiler 45,657]

You make it sound like you have yet to meet.

[Just Paul 4,595]

After you meet file the I129F.    It may take 6 months to 2 years to get a VISA appointment. 

 

She would interview where she is a resident of or citizen of.   Right now many consulates are not doing K1 interviews where others are.   Who knows what the status or process change will be in 6 months.   Currently a spousal VISA is processed at the consulate over a fiance visa.

[Nothingburger2 0]

Should I instead file for I-130 once I marry her? And if I take that route. How long will that process take? 

[Just Paul 4,595]

Just now, Nothingburger2 said:

Should I instead file for I-130 once I marry her? And if I take that route. How long will that process take? 

You file the I-129F for a fiance and an I-130 for a spouse.   There are advantages and disadvantages to both.   I'd recommend you meet and spend time together before thinking too much about the next step.   Don't marry on the first visit.

 

No one wants to wait but we all have had to wait for the VISA.  Some of us have moved to be together with our fiance or spouse.

 

Read the guides here and learn.

[JeanneAdil 6,543]

Major religion is Islam and is she muslim and are you?

I ask as a muslim woman can not marry outside the faith

 

For Pakistan spouse (or fiancee) you need to make several visits and spend quality time to prove the relationship

and do not (as said above) marry on 1st visit

Getting approval of any visa in with Pakistani is not fast nor easy so be prepared

to do that read some of the posts in the Pakistan portal by choosing it from the work Portal above

read other experiences and some of the embassy reviews to aid you in  this process 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

19 minutes ago, Nothingburger2 said:

Should I instead file for I-130 once I marry her? And if I take that route. How long will that process take? 

With the uncertainty of the world, I'd recommend marrying when possible and file a CR-1/IR-1. Here is a breakdown of the cost. Timeline is about the same these days but the beneficiary will be able to work immediately or soon after their arrival and have a SSN waiting.

 

K-1 vs CR-1 Full Analysis

 

K-1

More expensive than CR-1    

Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    

Spouse cannot leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (about 5-6 months)    

Spouse cannot work until she/he receives EAD (about 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 10 to 12 months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

If you have red flags this may be the best place to start in case of denial.

Estimated timeline is 8 to 10 months (NOA1 to Interview) This is officially qquoted as 6 to 12 months.

 

K-1 Fees

$535 - USCIS Filing Fee

$265 per person - DS-160 (Visa Application)

$200 to $400 - Medical Fee

$1,225 per person - AOS Fee (Includes EAD/AP if filed together)

$750 per child under 14

$680 per person - ROC Fee

 

 

$2,705 plus medical (K-1)

$2,170 plus medical (K-2 over 14 years old)

$1,695 plus medical (K-2 14 years old and younger)

 

 

CR-1    

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 (LPR) status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to the United States

If denied, a K-1 has no practical options other than to start over from scratch. A denied CR-1 can be reaffirmed. So, if there are red flags and one is concerned about being denied, I would suggest steering away from the K-1.

 

Estimated timeline is 10 to 12 months (NOA1 to Interview) This is officially quoted at 12 to 14 months.

 

CR-1 Fees

$535 - USCIS Filing Fee

$120 - Affidavit of Support Fee

$325 - DS-260 (Visa Application) 

$200 to $400 - Medical Fee

$220 - USCIS Immigrant Fee

$680 - ROC (if married less than 2 years at POE)

 

$1,200 plus medical (per person if married more than 2 years when filing)

$1,880 plus medical (per person if married less than 2 years at POE) 

 

These are current fees subject to change without notice. Please do your personal homework before deciding what visa will work best for you with any corresponding fees.

 

Additional items to consider:

 

A refused K-1 with the petition being sent back will sit and die.

 

A refused CR-1/IR-1 with the petition being sent back can be reaffirmed and not refused again for the same reason if based upon the same evidence.

 

If concerned about the CO's evaluation of the relationship, then a spousal visa would be an optimal path.

 

Also, certain crimes can be an issue with an I-129F, but only very few crimes are an issue for an I-130 (e.g. AWA).

 

Note: Fees can change without notice. Please help update these numbers if you find them different. Good luck and stay engaged with the process.

[Nothingburger2 0]

Thank you everyone for the thorough responses and advice. Yes I’m Muslim as well. A dual citizen (US and Pakistani) if that matters. 
 

I think it’s safe to say that CR-1 makes the most sense. K-1 sounded too good to be true when I first heard of it. 
 

Can she at least visit the US through a visitor Visa(B-2) during the process? 

[payxibka 10,045]

1 minute ago, Nothingburger2 said:

Thank you everyone for the thorough responses and advice. Yes I’m Muslim as well. A dual citizen (US and Pakistani) if that matters. 
 

I think it’s safe to say that CR-1 makes the most sense. K-1 sounded too good to be true when I first heard of it. 
 

Can she at least visit the US through a visitor Visa(B-2) during the process? 

She can.  Does she have a visiting visa already?  They are not easy to come by.

[Nothingburger2 0]

9 minutes ago, payxibka said:

She can.  Does she have a visiting visa already?  They are not easy to come by.

She doesn’t. I wonder what’s the current situation right now for visiting visa’s.

 

does factoring in having a husband in the US make it better or worse. 
 

She travels a lot but has yet to visit the United States. Her family is pretty wealthy if that matters. 

[payxibka 10,045]

Just now, Nothingburger2 said:

She doesn’t. I wonder what’s the current situation right now for visiting visa’s.

 

does factoring in having a husband in the US make it better or worse. 
 

She travels a lot but has yet to visit the United States. Her family is pretty wealthy if that matters. 

Current situation at most consulate around the world is there is no routine visa processing of b1/2 visas because of COVID-19 

 

Having a USC husband does not improve one's chance

[aaron2020 11,651]

Most US embassies are not processing visitor visas.

 

Having a US husband will reduce her chances of getting a visitor visa since you would be a strong tie to the US and not a strong tie to her home country.  Visitor visa applicants needs to show strong ties to their home countries to show that they are likely to return home after a visit to the US.  

Being rich helps.  However, her family being rich is not the same as her being rich. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

44 minutes ago, Nothingburger2 said:

Can she at least visit the US through a visitor Visa(B-2) during the process?

If she already has one.   It is extremely hard to get one once you have filed an Immigrant Petition.   In order to get a visitor visa she needs to show she doesn't have immigrant intent.   Hard to do when you already said you wish to immigrate.

 

Then you have to find a consulate that is open.] for B1/B2 Visas.

[SalishSea 17,921]

1 hour ago, Nothingburger2 said:

Should I instead file for I-130 once I marry her? And if I take that route. How long will that process take? 

Neither option will be fast or take less than a couple of years.  Rushing to marry on the first visit will create red flags that could easily result in a denial.

 

You should read and research as much as possible.  You need to be educated about this process; it is complex, time-consuming, and very expensive.