Evidence of Meeting

[USAtoday 2]

Hi everyone I’m currently finalizing our K-1 application however I really don’t have any receipts to scan. I have provided boarding passes, bus tickets, flight itineraries, passport stamps, and photos of us together. Will this be enough? Just a bit stressed about it. I do have a couple of random receipts but nothing with our names.

I have yet to add the 2 receipts I do have as I feel they aren’t really helpful in any way without showing either of our names 

[Boiler 45,657]

I assume you are aware of the issues with the K1

 

I think that was all I did.

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

1 hour ago, USAtoday said:

Hi everyone I’m currently finalizing our K-1 application however I really don’t have any receipts to scan. I have provided boarding passes, bus tickets, flight itineraries, passport stamps, and photos of us together. Will this be enough? Just a bit stressed about it. I do have a couple of random receipts but nothing with our names.

I have yet to add the 2 receipts I do have as I feel they aren’t really helpful in any way without showing either of our names 

Have considered a CR-1?

 

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.
   

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,467]

Boarding passes, passport stamps and photos together is enough evidence of having met.  

 

Please be aware that the K1 fiance visa is taking about the same time or longer than the CR1 spouse visa nowadays.

 

 

[W199 335]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Have considered a CR-1?

 

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.
   

 

You forgot about the tax savings. Doing a CR-1 allows you to file taxes as married, probably 2 years earlier.  For myself, that would save me about $25/year on taxes.

 

But I am still doing a K-1 instead of a CR-1 because a CR-1 requires you to get married, and then be separated for 2 years. A divorce will cost you even more.

 

The  cost of a wedding in a foreign country is also a lot different. 

 

Need to be realistic as many K-1 couples break up before they get married. Rushing to get  married to save a little bit on the application fee or on taxes is foolish.

You should get married if that is your priority, or do a K-1 if you prefer to have a longer engagement and get married in the USA. 

The money or time is going to be insignificant and all forgotten after being married for a while. What will be important is how you got married, or developed your relationship during your engagement.

 

Or there may be other issues to consider. For example, if you are an international travelor for buisness and can't afford to wait 8 monthes for your EAD, then a cr-1 is the only choice.

 

What I am trying to say is making a decision based on "which is better" is not the right attitude, it should be what do you need. A cr-1 because you are getting married, or a k-1 because you want to be engaged, or a cr-1 for work, etc....  not comparing the features like you compare different credit cards.

 

Another realistic considering is the possibility of divorce. Getting married and divorce in Thailand was trivial. In the Philippines, both are very dif

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

26 minutes ago, W199 said:

and then be separated for 2 years.

That just is Not true at all! The processing times for the K-1 and CR-1 are roughly the same.  Both have equal visitation privileges.  The CR-1 is the far faster route to a green Card. 

I have seen many K-1 couples regret that they chose that route.  I have seen zero spousal visa couples who wish they had chosen a K-1 instead.  I see no different "break up numbers" in K-1 cases vs spousal visa cases.  

My comparison is very realistic.  The Utah Zoom marriage option has made a K-1 much, much more inferior. 

It's your decision....and your consequences. 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

27 minutes ago, W199 said:

What I am trying to say is making a decision based on "which is better" is not the right attitude, it should be what do you need. A cr-1 because you are getting married, or a k-1 because you want to be engaged, or a cr-1 for work, etc....  not comparing the features like you compare different credit cards.

Silly me!  I thought the goal of a K-1 was marriage....silly me.   There are a lot of factors.  Most point to a superior spousal visa. 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Lemonslice 4,885]

30 minutes ago, W199 said:

You forgot about the tax savings. Doing a CR-1 allows you to file taxes as married, probably 2 years earlier.  For myself, that would save me about $25/year on taxes.

 

But I am still doing a K-1 instead of a CR-1 because a CR-1 requires you to get married, and then be separated for 2 years. A divorce will cost you even more.

 

The  cost of a wedding in a foreign country is also a lot different. 

 

Need to be realistic as many K-1 couples break up before they get married. Rushing to get  married to save a little bit on the application fee or on taxes is foolish.

You should get married if that is your priority, or do a K-1 if you prefer to have a longer engagement and get married in the USA. 

The money or time is going to be insignificant and all forgotten after being married for a while. What will be important is how you got married, or developed your relationship during your engagement.

 

Or there may be other issues to consider. For example, if you are an international travelor for buisness and can't afford to wait 8 monthes for your EAD, then a cr-1 is the only choice.

 

What I am trying to say is making a decision based on "which is better" is not the right attitude, it should be what do you need. A cr-1 because you are getting married, or a k-1 because you want to be engaged, or a cr-1 for work, etc....  not comparing the features like you compare different credit cards.

 

Another realistic considering is the possibility of divorce. Getting married and divorce in Thailand was trivial. In the Philippines, both are very dif

You're forgetting about the income of the immigrant on a spousal visa.  They can work from day 1.

 

[Not to discuss the easier integration being able to work, drive, not be totally dependent as an adult.  Many separations from the stress of not being to do much]

Edited March 4, 2023 by Lemonslice

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

deleted

Edited March 4, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[W199 335]

1 minute ago, Lemonslice said:

You're forgetting about the income of the immigrant on a spousal visa.  They can work from day 1.

That's a good point! Should add that to the list! The tax savings from the 2 years of filing married and working for 8 -12 months earlier can be huge!

 

I didn't think of that because for myself, I want my fiancee to first learn how to drive and then get in a few months of practice,, and maybe even go to school first for her Master's degree to get a better job. I have see so many divorces, and so many break-ups, and so many betrayals, that for me my priority is to be engaged for 2 years, and meet often while waiting.  When I was younger, I rushed into marriage and that was a mistake.

 

Buying a cake for tonight is very different than buying the ingredients with the plan to bake a cake down the road,  Don't be foolish.

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

18 minutes ago, W199 said:

my priority is to be engaged for 2 years, and meet often while waiting.

What does that have to do with whether you choose a K-1 or a spousal visa?  A fiance is not going to lawfully live in the US with you for 2 years while you decide if you want to marry.  You can remain engaged as long as you want before marrying...or applying for a K-1.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[W199 335]

2 minutes ago, W199 said:

That's a good point! Should add that to the list! The tax savings from the 2 years of filing married and working for 8 -12 months earlier can be huge!

 

I didn't think of that because for myself, I want my fiancee to first learn how to drive and then get in a few months of practice,, and maybe even go to school first for her Master's degree to get a better job. I have see so many divorces, and so many break-ups, and so many betrayals, that for me my priority is to be engaged for 2 years, and meet often while waiting.  When I was younger, I rushed into marriage and that was a mistake.

 

Buying a cake for tonight is very different than buying the ingredients with the plan to bake a cake down the road,  Don't be foolish.

Oh yeah, good point, in some States maybe you can't even drive until you get an EAD. In my State, thats not an issue.  

 

[Crazy Cat 41,978]

5 minutes ago, W199 said:

When I was younger, I rushed into marriage and that was a mistake.

Irrelevant to choosing a K-1 vs a spousal visa.  You can remain engaged as long as you want.  But once a K-1 visa holder enters the US, he/she has 90 days to marry in accordance with the law. 

[W199 335]

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

What does that have to do with whether you choose a K-1 or a spousal visa?  A fiance is not going to lawfully live in the US with you for 2 years while you decide if you want to marry.

If the K-1 and CR-1 only took 3-8 months like it used to take 20 years or so ago, then I agree.  But now it takes close to 2 years.  

So if you do a K-1. you will ultimately be engaged to each other for 2 years longer until they arrive in the USA when you will marry within 3 months,

During these 2 years, or so, you can video chat 2/day for hours, visit each other a few times a year .. or even meet in a neighboring country like Canada if you live near the border.   It will give you a chance to develop and deepen your relationship and get better prepare for marriage, and to flush out a bad marriage or scams that too many people end up having ... no marriage how confident they think they are .. 

[W199 335]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Irrelevant to choosing a K-1 vs a spousal visa.  You can remain engaged as long as you want.  But once a K-1 visa holder enters the US, he/she has 90 days to marry in accordance with the law. 

You are missing the point.  Getting married or even rushing to get married to get a CR-1 just because it has more features and more convienent is foolish for many people.

Granted, for yourself, or for many other people, depending on their stage of life, it may make good sense to decide on it based on the features.

 

But for many others, they should decide based on whether they are really are ready to be married and then seperated for 2 years, or be engaged for 2 years before the K-1 is approved.  Its a very emotional issue, that can vary greaty depending on the couple and circumstances.

So pushing a cr-1 on many peopke and keep telling them its better may be 100% correct or 100% wrong.