WHICH IS BETTER K1 VISA OR CR1 VISA?

[DaisyJane 1]

My fiance and I got engaged on May 31, 2022. We've been together for 3.5 years already. We are planning to apply for K-1 visa but we are not sure anymore since the Philippine US Embassy has so many backlogs. Based on what we saw from the timelines here in visajourney, it would take about 1.5 to 2 years before we can be together. So, we are contemplating if the K-1 visa is better or should we just try the CR1 visa because it was said that this visa is given more priority by the US Embassy. But at the same time, CR1 visa is a difficult process and my fiance does not have a lot of break from his full time work to be able to go through the marriage process and everything. 

 

I hope you can share your opinions as to what is the best for us. Thank you.

 

(Our story: I am 23 Filipina and my fiance is 22 US citizen. We have been together for 3.5 years and have met 3 times (May 2019, Dec 2019, & May 2022). My fiance works as a full time manufacturing engineer and he is still completing his degree of Mechanical Engineering. His salary is above the poverty guideline for 2 person household. We do not have previous marriages, no children of our own and no criminal record.)

[Daphne . 1,670]

CR1 is (in my opinion) ALWAYS the better option because the immigrant will be free to work and travel (if needed) immediately upon entry on their approved visa.

 

The downside of the K1 is that the immigrant will be ‘stuck’ in the US without the possibility to work for many, many months. 

[Palawan 130]

For the Philippines with all the paperwork and the weird requirement, I never suggest anyone gets married in the Philippines, it just a hassle, plus then you will never be able to marry again in the PHilippines if the relationship doesn't work.

 

I would look into the Utah Online Marriage, but advising and US Citizen to get married in the Philippines is foolish in my opinion

 

 

[Palawan 130]

"Also, getting married in the Philippines is never a good idea, especially for women. With no legal avenues for simple divorce, women are screwed. Best avoid Filipino bureaucracy as much as possible as it’s always a nightmare. "

 

6months into K1, thinking of switching to Spouse Visa ... - Page 2 - K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures - VisaJourney

[Dashinka 23,238]

Overall, the spousal visa is the much better option for the immigrant.  Timing wise, the K1 and CR1/IR1 are about the same, but the benefits are much better for a spouse rather than for a fiancé.  Maybe @Crazy Cat will post his handy comparison list.

 

That being said, there are other issues to think about, so if you decide to marry, I would agree, it would be better to do a third country service, or the Utah Online option, but if you do choose the Utah Online marriage, you will have to physically meet in person after the ceremony before you can submit the I130.

 

Good Luck!

[powerpuff 5,892]

~~ Topic moved from K1 Progress Reports to What Visa Do I need as OP is weighing options ~~

[Crazy Cat 39,218]

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.
   

 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,078]

It's not really a question of which is better; as per above, a CR-1/IR-1 is clearly a better visa (saying this as someone whose wife came over on a K-1, believes it was clearly the best choice for us at the time, and it worked fine for us).

 

The question is which process works better for you, as for some people it's either difficult to marry outside the US and the foreign fiancé(e) cannot easily get a tourist visa (though the Utah online marriage can get around this to some degree, and this wasn't an option in 2018), are uncomfortable being married and living apart for an extended period, or have other issues which make them favor the fiancé(e) path. What's not a great idea is to do a K-1 simply because it may get your fiancé(e) to the US to stay sooner; processing times go up and down all the time.

[Scandi 3,970]

Depends on your specific situation. For me personally, I regretted going the K-1 route, should definitely have chosen the CR-1 instead. But now, several years later, it obviously doesn't affect my life in any way. It only affects a short period of your life (which still CAN be a huge deal depending on your situation).

Edited August 25, 2022 by Scandi

[taknev 10]

As a K1 visa holder who recently moved to the US and currently waiting for Adjustment of Status (AoS) interview - I would say, unless there's a compelling reason for not marrying in your home country (like travel ban for example),  spousal visa (CR1) is way better than the fiance visa. Good luck!

[taknev 10]

3 hours ago, Scandi said:

Depends on your specific situation. For me personally, I regretted going the K-1 route, should definitely have chosen the CR-1 instead. But now, several years later, it obviously doesn't affect my life in any way. It only affects a short period of your life (which still CAN be a huge deal depending on your situation).

^ This. 

[Redro 4,598]

17 hours ago, DaisyJane said:

My fiance and I got engaged on May 31, 2022. We've been together for 3.5 years already. We are planning to apply for K-1 visa but we are not sure anymore since the Philippine US Embassy has so many backlogs. Based on what we saw from the timelines here in visajourney, it would take about 1.5 to 2 years before we can be together. So, we are contemplating if the K-1 visa is better or should we just try the CR1 visa because it was said that this visa is given more priority by the US Embassy. But at the same time, CR1 visa is a difficult process and my fiance does not have a lot of break from his full time work to be able to go through the marriage process and everything. 

 

I hope you can share your opinions as to what is the best for us. Thank you.

 

(Our story: I am 23 Filipina and my fiance is 22 US citizen. We have been together for 3.5 years and have met 3 times (May 2019, Dec 2019, & May 2022). My fiance works as a full time manufacturing engineer and he is still completing his degree of Mechanical Engineering. His salary is above the poverty guideline for 2 person household. We do not have previous marriages, no children of our own and no criminal record.)

Currently, the average time for petition to interview out of Manila is better for I-130s but I think some I-130s are being approved super quickly because they are couples who switched from approved K1 to spousal (I've seen filing to approval take 9 months). So, you should assume if you apply for the I-130 it will take 1.5-2 years. The I-129F is currently taking 13.5 months to be approved and after that approval to interview doesn't seem to be too bad for some applicants:

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Philippines&op1=3&op2=&op3=1&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C108%2C110%2C111%2C208%2C210%2C211&cfl=

This member was approved in May and has an interview scheduled for September!

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=413032

 

K1 and spousal will probably take the same amount of time if you decide to apply for K1 now or organize to meet again and get married.

I would assume if you take either path you'll be able to move to the US in 2024.