IR1 or K1 advice

[Smarties24 6]

Hi all, I am new to the forum and I have searched finding a similar question to my own but I didn’t want to hijack the OP’s thread as it is still going. So I apologise upfront for asking a question that has probably been asked 100 times over that everyone is sick of 😂

 

To give you the background, I am the beneficiary, living in the UK and my fiancée is the US citizen. We are pretty much ready to submit our I-129F to the USCIS and start the process for a K1 visa. Having read a lot on here it seems that this is no longer the fastest or the best route to go down. 
 

From what I can tell the I-130 forms are being processed at a similar pace as the I-129F’s but we know there is still a long way to go after that. The USCIS are saying that the I-129F is currently being processed on average in 13 months, it is then an average of 88 days before the interview at US embassy in London, followed by the 7+ months wait for the EAD after arriving and submitting the AOS. 
 

As I mentioned, my Fiancée is the US citizen and she lives in the US but obviously we are not yet married hence looking at the K1. I have another flight booked to stay with her for 2 weeks over thanksgiving. 
 

Would it be best to continue with the K1 application journey, likely to be sent out next week, or get married on my visit in November and then submit an I-130 and go down the IR-1 route, baring in mind it will be 5 months before I do travel there. Would it even be possible to marry whilst there on a tourist visa? I would ensure that I have enough proof to show that I would be retuning to the UK, tenancy agreement, letters from my employer, return flight tickets and financial commitments here etc. 
 

Our intention is just like everyone else, to be together as soon as possible. The thought of not being able to work for 7+ months scares the life out of me or rather the hair I’ll be pulling out. 
 

Again I want to apologise for asking something a lot of people are probably sick of answering, I’m just trying not to hijack other threads and confuse people as I am myself. 
 

I appreciate any responses.

[Crazy Cat 39,362]

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

K-1        
    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 6-8 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 3-8 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
    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.
   

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Verrou 1,899]

24 minutes ago, Smarties24 said:

Hi all, I am new to the forum and I have searched finding a similar question to my own but I didn’t want to hijack the OP’s thread as it is still going. So I apologise upfront for asking a question that has probably been asked 100 times over that everyone is sick of 😂

 

To give you the background, I am the beneficiary, living in the UK and my fiancée is the US citizen. We are pretty much ready to submit our I-129F to the USCIS and start the process for a K1 visa. Having read a lot on here it seems that this is no longer the fastest or the best route to go down. 
 

From what I can tell the I-130 forms are being processed at a similar pace as the I-129F’s but we know there is still a long way to go after that. The USCIS are saying that the I-129F is currently being processed on average in 13 months, it is then an average of 88 days before the interview at US embassy in London, followed by the 7+ months wait for the EAD after arriving and submitting the AOS. 
 

As I mentioned, my Fiancée is the US citizen and she lives in the US but obviously we are not yet married hence looking at the K1. I have another flight booked to stay with her for 2 weeks over thanksgiving. 
 

Would it be best to continue with the K1 application journey, likely to be sent out next week, or get married on my visit in November and then submit an I-130 and go down the IR-1 route, baring in mind it will be 5 months before I do travel there. Would it even be possible to marry whilst there on a tourist visa? I would ensure that I have enough proof to show that I would be retuning to the UK, tenancy agreement, letters from my employer, return flight tickets and financial commitments here etc. 
 

Our intention is just like everyone else, to be together as soon as possible. The thought of not being able to work for 7+ months scares the life out of me or rather the hair I’ll be pulling out. 
 

Again I want to apologise for asking something a lot of people are probably sick of answering, I’m just trying not to hijack other threads and confuse people as I am myself. 
 

I appreciate any responses.

it it's me, i will go with CR-1. its very possible to get married with tourist visa and go back to ur home country and file i-130. so much advantage filing CR-1 compare to K-1 visa. if u file for K-1 visa, it will take more time and money anyway, because u have to do AOS after u got married. 

 

-cheaper

-the moment u enter USA, u will get ur GC 

- can start to work immediately

-u can apply for Driving license immediately ( unless u live in NYC, u dont need to drive lol)

[Daphne . 1,691]

I will chime in here too. I would also go for the CR-1 if I were you.

You can get married on a tourist visa, I got married on an Esta and returned home after the wedding. During the CR-1 process, I was able to visit my husband without any issues, so we were still able to see each other. The HUGE downfall of the K1 is the adjustment of status process after you get married.

 

As you (rightfully so) mentioned that not being able to work or even travel 'back home' for an emergency or whatnot, is not an ideal situation to say the least.. So go for the CR-1  

[JeanneAdil 6,220]

marry and do the spouse visa

 

the wait time and expense of AOS after a k1 is hard 

it actually takes longer to get the green card and be able to work, study ,  get  social security card,  Driver's license and everything else on the K1

basically the K1 is a pain in the butt to most who do it

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

Especially from a VWP country like the UK (and one where Americans can visit easily too), it takes very unusual circumstances to argue for a K-1 these days. If it ever got back to a point where K-1s were typically being processed in 3 months but it took over a year for CR-1s then you could maybe argue for going that way.

 

Back when we did one, K-1s were a lot faster to POE vs CR-1/IR-1 than they are today, and the Utah Zoom Wedding workaround for couples that couldn't easily legally marry (the non-American couldn't easily get a tourist visa, and marrying in the non-American's country was expensive, time-consuming, or  both) didn't exist.