African Country

[Tendo10 0]

Hi everyone 

 

I live in an African country and i have been dating my boyfriend for a year he is a US citizen, we met online through a mutual friend but we have never met physically (covid got the best of us) now that travel restrictions have eased up he is set to come and see me in 3 months and the plan is to get married in my country. Now my question is is this a wise decision or we should just do the k1 visa as opposed to the CR1? What would be the faster and realistic visa to obtain?

[canadian_wife 1,823]

What African country?

 

good luck 

[Redro 4,611]

8 minutes ago, Tendo10 said:

Hi everyone 

 

I live in an African country and i have been dating my boyfriend for a year he is a US citizen, we met online through a mutual friend but we have never met physically (covid got the best of us) now that travel restrictions have eased up he is set to come and see me in 3 months and the plan is to get married in my country. Now my question is is this a wise decision or we should just do the k1 visa as opposed to the CR1? What would be the faster and realistic visa to obtain?

From my understanding Zimbabwe doesn't have a very big backlog. 

So, timewise they will take about the same amount of time. 

+/- 13 months for K1 and between 1.5 to 2 years for CR1. 

 

Are you sure you want to get married to someone you've never met? 

I would meet at least twice before making deciding to file either visa. 

@Crazy Cat has a good summary of the differences between K1 and CR1.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Kor2USA

[powerpuff 6,725]

~ Moved from CR1/IR1 forum to What visa do I need as OP is undecided ~
 

Marrying on the first visit is not a good idea, especially if you’re facing a difficult consulate.

 

7 minutes ago, Tendo10 said:

What would be the faster and realistic visa to obtain?

Neither is fast. They will both take 1-2 years. Everyone here will say CR1 is a superior visa and they’re right. Keep in mind, depending on your consulate, more time spent together in person is key and marrying on a first visit might not be wise.

[powerpuff 6,725]

1 minute ago, Kor2USA said:

So, timewise they will take about the same amount of time. 

+/- 13 months for K1

Currently it’s taking closer to 12 months for petition approval alone for K1. Add NVC and then interview wait, you could be looking at 1,5 years, maybe more. Definitely not much of a difference with a CR1 

[Tendo10 0]

2 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

From my understanding Zimbabwe doesn't have a very big backlog. 

So, timewise they will take about the same amount of time. 

+/- 13 months for K1 and between 1.5 to 2 years for CR1. 

 

Are you sure you want to get married to someone you've never met? 

I would meet at least twice before making deciding to file either visa. 

@Crazy Cat has a good summary of the differences between K1 and CR1.

Thank you very much for the advice. Due to our work schedules (and the uncertainties that are floating up everyday) we were going to spend three months together then see how it goes then decide on either a k1 visa or CR1 I just wanted to know which one would be more realistic in terms of processing 

 

4 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

~ Moved from CR1/IR1 forum to What visa do I need as OP is undecided ~
 

Marrying on the first visit is not a good idea, especially if you’re facing a difficult consulate.

 

Neither is fast. They will both take 1-2 years. Everyone here will say CR1 is a superior visa and they’re right. Keep in mind, depending on your consulate, more time spent together in person i

s key and marrying on a first visit might not be wise.

Thank you for this I really appreciate it.🙂

 

[Redro 4,611]

2 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

Currently it’s taking closer to 12 months for petition approval alone for K1. Add NVC and then interview wait, you could be looking at 1,5 years, maybe more. Definitely not much of a difference with a CR1 

Ah! Thanks for the correction. 

Just checked timelines for Zimbabwe and @Tim&Pashy had a 4 month wait after NOA2 (for K1) but they interviewed in South Africa. 

 

 

[Tendo10 0]

6 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Ah! Thanks for the correction. 

Just checked timelines for Zimbabwe and @Tim&Pashy had a 4 month wait after NOA2 (for K1) but they interviewed in South Africa. 

 

 

Oh thank you so much. I will look into the South African processing

[SalishSea 17,920]

32 minutes ago, Tendo10 said:

Hi everyone 

 

I live in an African country and i have been dating my boyfriend for a year he is a US citizen, we met online through a mutual friend but we have never met physically (covid got the best of us) now that travel restrictions have eased up he is set to come and see me in 3 months and the plan is to get married in my country. Now my question is is this a wise decision or we should just do the k1 visa as opposed to the CR1? What would be the faster and realistic visa to obtain?

Very much not recommended to marry on the first visit, coming from a high fraud country.  VJ is full of threads about the problems for approval that this creates.

[Redro 4,611]

28 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Very much not recommended to marry on the first visit, coming from a high fraud country.  VJ is full of threads about the problems for approval that this creates.

I know people read "Africa" and think "high fraud". But, its my belief the Southern African countries aren't considered high fraud in the same way Nigeria and Uganda are. 

Zimbabwe might have moved their interviews to South Africa and it is my understanding the consulate there is very friendly. 

Two members with partners from Nigeria are planning to interview in SA. So, I'm watching with interest to see how they are treated. 

[JeanneAdil 6,539]

marriage on 1st visit is not the best idea 

even a CR1 can be denied 

a 3 month trip may overcome this but its a gamble

[SalishSea 17,920]

2 hours ago, Kor2USA said:

From my understanding Zimbabwe doesn't have a very big backlog. 

So, timewise they will take about the same amount of time. 

+/- 13 months for K1 and between 1.5 to 2 years for CR1. 

 

Are you sure you want to get married to someone you've never met? 

I would meet at least twice before making deciding to file either visa. 

@Crazy Cat has a good summary of the differences between K1 and CR1.

Even if Zimbabwe is not at the level of Nigeria in terms of fraud, I still think it is foolish to marry on the first visit.

 

Also:  

We are only accepting applications from people in Zimbabwe at this time. Only people in Zimbabwe can apply for a U.S. visa in Zimbabwe, and others should reach out to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate closest to their place of habitual residence.

 

The consulate in Zimbabwe is very much doing interviews.  I would think the SA consulate would have similar guidelines about interviews for non-residents.  Most US consulates do not allow consulate-shopping as a way to circumvent interview queues.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Jorgedig

[iwannaplay54 985]

hmm we did marry first visit.  
This was not a foolish thing nor were we flagged.

Three months is a good start.  Make sure you put in as much in person time as possible while your case is processing.

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

Even if Zimbabwe is not at the level of Nigeria in terms of fraud, I still think it is foolish to marry on the first visit.

 

Also:  

We are only accepting applications from people in Zimbabwe at this time. Only people in Zimbabwe can apply for a U.S. visa in Zimbabwe, and others should reach out to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate closest to their place of habitual residence.

 

The consulate in Zimbabwe is very much doing interviews.  I would think the SA consulate would have similar guidelines about interviews for non-residents.  Most US consulates do not allow consulate-shopping as a way to circumvent interview queues.

Who suggested consulate-shopping? 

[SalishSea 17,920]

42 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

hmm we did marry first visit.  
This was not a foolish thing nor were we flagged.

Three months is a good start.  Make sure you put in as much in person time as possible while your case is processing.

There are many stories on VJ of issues with approval for African countries where the couple marries upon first meeting.