Filing for CR1 (Length of Time)

[kiwierin 9]

Hey Everyone,

 

Thanks for all the help on my initial post. We’ve decided to choose the CR1 visa instead of K1. We do have a few questions…

 

We are about to be engaged and then will do a small ceremony right afterwards - Is there any length of time we need to be married for the CR1? Or I guess will it look bad if we’re only married for a week and then file the application? 
 

Obviously a lot of our friends/family cannot attend due to NZ being on lockdown and we want to plan a large ceremony when we get back to the USA. We have already lived together for a year in NZ and then another year in the USA when I was on H1B so proving the relationship is no big deal just didn’t know if the length of time married is an issue… Ideally we want to do the official marriage in NZ because if we don’t then no choice but to do K1 which we want to avoid… 

Also if anybody has an idea of how long CR1s are taking and if it depends on country? We’re applying from NZ.

 

Thanks!!

[SteveInBostonI130 3,467]

13 minutes ago, kiwierin said:

Hey Everyone,

 

Thanks for all the help on my initial post. We’ve decided to choose the CR1 visa instead of K1. We do have a few questions…

 

We are about to be engaged and then will do a small ceremony right afterwards - Is there any length of time we need to be married for the CR1? Or I guess will it look bad if we’re only married for a week and then file the application? 
 

Obviously a lot of our friends/family cannot attend due to NZ being on lockdown and we want to plan a large ceremony when we get back to the USA. We have already lived together for a year in NZ and then another year in the USA when I was on H1B so proving the relationship is no big deal just didn’t know if the length of time married is an issue… Ideally we want to do the official marriage in NZ because if we don’t then no choice but to do K1 which we want to avoid… 

Also if anybody has an idea of how long CR1s are taking and if it depends on country? We’re applying from NZ.

 

Thanks!!

 

You can file as soon as you have the marriage certificate.  For most, the delay is getting the bona-fide relationship evidence, but it seems you are all set.

 

For NZ, there's limited stats available here on VJ.  For the one person who recently got theirs, it took about a year.  Other countries like Canada and Mexico have huge backlogs and take longer.

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, kiwierin said:

Hey Everyone,

 

Thanks for all the help on my initial post. We’ve decided to choose the CR1 visa instead of K1. We do have a few questions…

 

We are about to be engaged and then will do a small ceremony right afterwards - Is there any length of time we need to be married for the CR1? Or I guess will it look bad if we’re only married for a week and then file the application? 
 

Obviously a lot of our friends/family cannot attend due to NZ being on lockdown and we want to plan a large ceremony when we get back to the USA. We have already lived together for a year in NZ and then another year in the USA when I was on H1B so proving the relationship is no big deal just didn’t know if the length of time married is an issue… Ideally we want to do the official marriage in NZ because if we don’t then no choice but to do K1 which we want to avoid… 

Also if anybody has an idea of how long CR1s are taking and if it depends on country? We’re applying from NZ.

 

Thanks!!

You can file the day after you get your marriage certificate. You'll also have proof of your relationship BEFORE your marriage so, don't worry about filing too early (as it appears you live together and you're not from a high fraud country with an online relationship history). 

It doesn't appear to matter which country you're from for the initial petition (I-130 NOA2 can take between 2 months to a year). Currently, the NVC stage is taking maybe 3 months, but I haven't seen updated information on how long it takes to receive an interview after you're DQ'ed in New Zealand. 

You should plan for at least a year from start to finish. 

[Devarj 45]

We filed at the local embassy in Vietnam a few weeks after marriage. No ceremony due to lockdown. The embassy did not seem to have an issue with it.

[lsu_mike 97]

We filed as soon as I had the certified copy of our marriage license.  
 

from initial filing to receiving the CR1 visa took about 10 months. 
 

Good luck!

[Troy B 224]

I'm figuring about 2 years from filing the i130 to interview.  Based mostly on the backlog in interviews.  And the estimate for the i130 approval is 11-12 months from when I filed.