Clarification Please

[Ameslee 0]

Hello All,

 

I've been doing lots of research this past while and I just want to be clear on a couple of things in regards to the K1 or the CR1 visa's. For starters my partner is a US citizen and I am a canadian citizen. From my understanding, in order to apply for a K1 visa I'd have to be in my home country (canada) and he'd apply with the paperwork. Then I'd wait for the approval and enter the US with a fiance visa. From there we have 90 days to wed and then we fill out more paperwork in order for me to get my green card. As I wait for that green card I'm unable to leave the country for about 6-8 months during that process of approval. Is that correct?

 

Next question. Lets say we skip the fiance part and just get married and file the I-130 paperwork to work towards the CR1 visa, I'd have to be back in my home country (canada) during that process and not allowed to enter the states while that process is happening correct? Does anyone know how long getting approved for the I-130 paperwork takes?

 

Thanks for everyone's time and any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Ontarkie 14,275]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I Need, from IR1/CR1 P&P as the OP is researching options.~~

[Timona 4,207]

1. Yes

2. Yes and No..No in the sense that you can visit, but that's at the discretion of CBP

[Crazy Cat 41,980]

24 minutes ago, Ameslee said:

I'd have to be back in my home country (canada) during that process and not allowed to enter the states while that process is happening correct?

Not correct.  Many people visit the US during the spousal visa process.  Just be prpared to convince CBP that you will return to Canada.  Please allow me to throw this out there, too:

 

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 6-8 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 K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
    In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice   
    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.
   

 

[Ameslee 0]

5 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Not correct.  Many people visit the US during the spousal visa process.  Just be prpared to convince CBP that you will return to Canada.  Please allow me to throw this out there, too:

 

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 6-8 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 K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
    In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice   
    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.
   

 

Thank you for your response. So you mentioned that I could visit my spouse if I can convince the CBP that I'd be returning to Canada. This is all while the approval process is happening? Also do you know how long the I-130 process takes as that is the time I'd for sure have to stay in Canada correct? Again thanks for your insights.

[Crazy Cat 41,980]

5 minutes ago, Ameslee said:

Thank you for your response. So you mentioned that I could visit my spouse if I can convince the CBP that I'd be returning to Canada. This is all while the approval process is happening? Also do you know how long the I-130 process takes as that is the time I'd for sure have to stay in Canada correct? Again thanks for your insights.

Visiting the US is perfectly legal during the I-130/spousal process.  Currently about 18-24 months is average time from filing to visa in hand.  Once you have a valid CR-1/IR-1 visa in your passport, you can enter the US as a legal resident.  Step 1 is to marry (anywhere). 

Please read and study the guides here on VJ to get a good understanding of the process.  Good luck.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Ameslee 0]

5 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Visiting the US is perfectly legal during the I-130/spousal process.  Currently about 18-24 months is average time from filing to visa in hand.  Once you have a valid CR-1/IR-1 visa in your passport, you can enter the US as a legal resident.  Step 1 is to marry (anywhere). 

Please read and study the guides here on VJ to get a good understanding of the process.  Good luck.

Thank you. I have been reading a lot of the guides but I read that it was illegal to enter the US to visit when the I-130 process is happening.

 

These are two of the answers I found:

 I want to marry my fiance/fiancee who is here in the US on a visa, can I marry him/her here in the U.S, and if I do, will he/she be sent back to his/her home country until the I-130 is approved??
If your fiance/fiancee is currently in the U.S legally on any type of visa other than the J-1 visa (the J-1 requires a waiver), and you are a U.S citizen, then you CAN marry him/her, and he/she will NOT be sent back to his/her home country unless the marriage took place while the spouse was under deportation or if your fiance/fiancee came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage. (This is considered immigration fraud.)

However, you must immediately file your I-130 along with forms I-485 and I-765. If your fiance/fiancee DID come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, and you are not yet married, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the K-1 visa should be filed instead of the I-130 to avoid a denial or deportation.

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S to avoid deportation or denial. (Better safe than sorry)

   My fiance/fiancee came to the U.S on a tourist visa and we intended to get married and for him/her to return home afterwards and then immigrate from outside the US. Does this mean our petition will be denied, and is what we did illegal??
No. It is perfectly ok to marry in the US on a tourist visa as long as the intending immigrant returns to his/her home country to file the I-130, and does not try to adjust his/her status and remain in the US during the I-130 process, as that is illegal.

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

1 minute ago, Ameslee said:

Thank you. I have been reading a lot of the guides but I read that it was illegal to enter the US to visit when the I-130 process is happening.

 

These are two of the answers I found:

 I want to marry my fiance/fiancee who is here in the US on a visa, can I marry him/her here in the U.S, and if I do, will he/she be sent back to his/her home country until the I-130 is approved??
If your fiance/fiancee is currently in the U.S legally on any type of visa other than the J-1 visa (the J-1 requires a waiver), and you are a U.S citizen, then you CAN marry him/her, and he/she will NOT be sent back to his/her home country unless the marriage took place while the spouse was under deportation or if your fiance/fiancee came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage. (This is considered immigration fraud.)

However, you must immediately file your I-130 along with forms I-485 and I-765. If your fiance/fiancee DID come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, and you are not yet married, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the K-1 visa should be filed instead of the I-130 to avoid a denial or deportation.

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S to avoid deportation or denial. (Better safe than sorry)

   My fiance/fiancee came to the U.S on a tourist visa and we intended to get married and for him/her to return home afterwards and then immigrate from outside the US. Does this mean our petition will be denied, and is what we did illegal??
No. It is perfectly ok to marry in the US on a tourist visa as long as the intending immigrant returns to his/her home country to file the I-130, and does not try to adjust his/her status and remain in the US during the I-130 process, as that is illegal.

@Crazy Cat and @Timona are correct. You can visit while the I-130 is processing. You are getting confused because it's not legal to get married in the U.S., file an I-130, and then just stay in the U.S. (or arrive on a tourist visa with the intention of marrying and staying). 

 

There is absolutely no issue with getting married (in any country), filing the I-130, and then visiting during the process. However, it is up to CBP whether to let you enter or not. If you have visited the U.S. before and returned with no issue, you are unlikely to face much scrutiny as a Canadian (low fraud country).

 

My husband visited me several times through the visa waiver program while our fiancé visa was processing. No issues at all. 

[Crazy Cat 41,980]

14 minutes ago, Ameslee said:

Thank you. I have been reading a lot of the guides but I read that it was illegal to enter the US to visit when the I-130 process is happening.

 

These are two of the answers I found:

 I want to marry my fiance/fiancee who is here in the US on a visa, can I marry him/her here in the U.S, and if I do, will he/she be sent back to his/her home country until the I-130 is approved??
If your fiance/fiancee is currently in the U.S legally on any type of visa other than the J-1 visa (the J-1 requires a waiver), and you are a U.S citizen, then you CAN marry him/her, and he/she will NOT be sent back to his/her home country unless the marriage took place while the spouse was under deportation or if your fiance/fiancee came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage. (This is considered immigration fraud.)

However, you must immediately file your I-130 along with forms I-485 and I-765. If your fiance/fiancee DID come to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, and you are not yet married, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the K-1 visa should be filed instead of the I-130 to avoid a denial or deportation.

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S to avoid deportation or denial. (Better safe than sorry)

   My fiance/fiancee came to the U.S on a tourist visa and we intended to get married and for him/her to return home afterwards and then immigrate from outside the US. Does this mean our petition will be denied, and is what we did illegal??
No. It is perfectly ok to marry in the US on a tourist visa as long as the intending immigrant returns to his/her home country to file the I-130, and does not try to adjust his/her status and remain in the US during the I-130 process, as that is illegal.

Here is a long-standing thread which also discusses that visiting is legal.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Rlewis 73]

Hi, I'm Canadian citizen and did the K1 route.

 

I would recommend the CR1 route at this point as they both now take about the same amount of time to process.

You can visit your partner during both of the process (K1 or CR1).

Canada is considered a low fraud country, and most times when I cross CBP never gave me any trouble. Sometimes they make ask more about what are my ties to Canada holding me there, and sometimes they don't.

 

But you are fine to visit on both, although CR1 is ideally, better, in my opinion for Canadians - since it allows you to enter and receive a green card/social security right away and you can get to work/get your drivers license if you drive and all that.

On K1 you'd have to spend more time waiting and waiting...and waiting...

 

Best of luck!