K1 Visa or Spouse Visa Quicker

[AppalachianBiker 5]

On 10/11/2023 at 7:39 AM, Crazy Cat said:

Here is a quick, preliminary little snippet of the VJ timeline query I just did for PI.  Note the filing to interview times.  These samples seem to have been updated over the last few months.  According to these samples, spousal visa appears to be a little faster.  The overall average for all countries are reported by other VJ members is:

K-1 from filing to interview: 579 Days

CR1 from filing to interview: 550 Days

 

 

 

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
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-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.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

I came to the Philippines and did everything by the book to come back to the states with receipts, photos, diamond ring etc. Got home, made a $250 appointment with an attorney that only does such paperwork for fiancee or spouse. He took my money and in less than 10 minutes told me it's faster for spouse, to come back here, get married and then apply. That's where we are now. 

[IWander 583]

5 hours ago, AppalachianBiker said:

I came to the Philippines and did everything by the book to come back to the states with receipts, photos, diamond ring etc. Got home, made a $250 appointment with an attorney that only does such paperwork for fiancee or spouse. He took my money and in less than 10 minutes told me it's faster for spouse, to come back here, get married and then apply. That's where we are now. 

 

Generally speaking, if you are eligible to file either petition TODAY the spouse visa is a couple months faster.  If you are eligible to file the I129f today but not the I130 then you should factor in the time it takes to actually complete the marriage process and get all needed documents from the PI.  This will add a significant amount of time to the spouse visa and may tip the speed scale in favor of the k1.  

 

Speed is only one factor to make your visa decision on and in my mind not the most important one.

[W199 265]

@Crazy CatThe K-1 timelines you posted for the Philippines show 

•  An average of about 12-13 months from NOA1 to NOA2.  USCIS has already sped on K-1;s,  As of today, it is currently 10-11 months for about 50% of the cases.
• More importantly, all those cases show 4-5 months from NOA2 to the interview date.  My fiancee is just 2 months from the NOA2 to interview at the Manila embassy,.  We could have done it even faster if we wanted. The USEM has added Filipino consuls to do the final interview at the embassy (after the initial screening interview), and keeps opening up new and earlier appointments. Last week a ton of them opened up from Monday-Wed.  Instead of the usual Tuesday. Must be because of the added Filipino consuls and speeding the process up.
• Therefore, I think the numbers in those timelines are 2-4 months longer than what 50% of the new K-1's that apply today will see if, and this is a big if, they don't mess up their I-129F (my filipino agency was a big factor in my case for making it go fast), and don't get confused by when you can start booking appointments for medical and the interview .. most people here do it later than what is really necessary for Manila.

In fact, my only problem with the K-1, is I had to keep rebooking my plane tickets. twice. to make them sooner and sooner because the process keeps speeding up  I was predicting February originally based on the timelines.  Now it is end of October,  Also I lost 3 weeks because I forgot about something leading me to need to do IMBRA waiver.  If it wasn't for that, I'd be 3 weeks faster

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by W199

[W199 265]

6 hours ago, IWander said:

 

Speed is only one factor to make your visa decision on and in my mind not the most important one.

Agreed, in the long run, the few months, or even a couple of years delay  is going to an insignificant drop in the bucket and long forgotten after being married.  In fact, I'll bet that in years to come many people will have wished it took longer and they had more time to be single. 

 

Except if babies, kids or unborn babies are involved, then time could be a very high priority for some. 

[W199 265]

12 hours ago, AppalachianBiker said:

I came to the Philippines and did everything by the book to come back to the states with receipts, photos, diamond ring etc. Got home, made a $250 appointment with an attorney that only does such paperwork for fiancee or spouse. He took my money and in less than 10 minutes told me it's faster for spouse, to come back here, get married and then apply. That's where we are now. 

Sounds like the lawyer scammed you.  Did he factor in how much time it will before you can go back, how much time it takes to get marriage license, and the many months it takes to get a marriage certificate in the Philippines?  Did he advise you of the Utah wedding which would be much faster?   Did he advise you the impact to your life, getting a prenup, and many other things that would be impacted by getting married abroad, or in the immigration process?  And every immigration lawyer I talked to offered this info in a free initial consult, certainly not for $250. I also found most of their advice wrong and not specific to the Philippines. Thats why I ended up using an agency that does exclusively Filipino k-1 and cr1 and knows all the subtle tricks and issues with the Manila process (saved up months of delay) ... to do my K-1 and advise me about the issues of marrying in the Philippines .. all  for a fraction of the price the lawyer's charge.

[Crazy Cat 39,660]

I have a LOT of people choose a K-1, then regret it later.  I have seen no spousal visa couples say they regret choosing a CR-1 over a K-1...none.  That, in itself, speaks loudly. 

[W199 265]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

I have a LOT of people choose a K-1, then regret it later.  I have seen no spousal visa couples say they regret choosing a CR-1 over a K-1...none.  That, in itself, speaks loudly. 

Yeah, until the delays return back to how it was 20 years ago when K-1's took a fraction of the time than CR-1's took, the decision between doing a K-1 vs a CR-1 are based on unique personal or special circumstances of the couple rather than a general statement as to which is better.  Unfortunately, that can be complicated and many do not appreciate the impact that the pros and cons will have on them or think it through. Hence, the ones that choose K-1 for no other reason except it might be a little faster are more likely to regret it. 

 

Though that guy whose CR-1 got refused for misrepresentation might be regretting switching to a CR-1 if his waiver gets refused, which is more likely than not based on what Hacking said. Let's see...

Edited October 21, 2023 by W199

[Boiler 43,749]

20 years ago a K was about a year and a CR1 a few months longer, but then EAD etc was a couple of months. And if you really need an EAD you could get the NY Stamp.

 

Obviously the timelines we know look back, but all we have.

 

There is also the question of what might be better for the beneficiary vs the sponsor, now that can get a bit messy.

 

 

[W199 265]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

20 years ago a K was about a year and a CR1 a few months longer, but then EAD etc was a couple of months. And if you really need an EAD you could get the NY Stamp.

 

Obviously the timelines we know look back, but all we have.

 

There is also the question of what might be better for the beneficiary vs the sponsor, now that can get a bit messy.

 

 

 I don't know about 20 years ago, but when I did it 26 years ago,  the I-129F approval took 3 months, then a couple of months maybe for the interview.  I think the CR-1 was taking about 14 months at that time.

[Boiler 43,749]

20 years ago it was difficult to get information, I assume 26 it would be very difficult, I think 20 years ago there was a surge in processing times but do not hold me to it!

[SneakyPete 70]

According to current processing times, if filed (Oct 2023) today, I-129F approval will take about 6 months, I-130 approval around 11 months. Obviously no guarantees that processing speed will stay the same. EAD approvals at around 3 months after filing AOS. 

[IWander 583]

5 hours ago, SneakyPete said:

According to current processing times, if filed (Oct 2023) today, I-129F approval will take about 6 months, I-130 approval around 11 months. Obviously no guarantees that processing speed will stay the same. EAD approvals at around 3 months after filing AOS. 

I just looked, California is reporting 16 months.  Where did you see 6 months?

[smore 19]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:33 PM, RO_AH said:

This would have been good to know. I was trying to get you to understand that the license takes 2 weeks to get which if you were getting married on the same trip would need to be 3 weeks (to be safe). Since you said you don't plan to get married your first trip, (thank god) in might be a good idea to apply for a marriage license while you are there and it would take 2 weeks to get. You don't be there when she gets it and you have to use it. But then again if you decide to go CR1 route (which is a much better option IMO) and if you go back and use it it would mean that you could do it in a 1 week trip.

Sorry sometimes one cannot write all the details, try to keep messages a bit short, so sorry the full details were not there. But yes I agree with what you said about perhaps applying for certificate while there if CR-1 is decided on. Its something to think about for sure. Being prepared for options is important.

[smore 19]

On 10/21/2023 at 7:36 AM, IWander said:

 

Generally speaking, if you are eligible to file either petition TODAY the spouse visa is a couple months faster.  If you are eligible to file the I129f today but not the I130 then you should factor in the time it takes to actually complete the marriage process and get all needed documents from the PI.  This will add a significant amount of time to the spouse visa and may tip the speed scale in favor of the k1.  

 

Speed is only one factor to make your visa decision on and in my mind not the most important one.

I agree about speed is not the most important factor. What each other are comfortable with is the main factor. I just wanted to know so I am informed on which might be faster, than of course education on the differences, requirements, etc is needed which I am learning about. Its just trying to get all the info possible to make informed choices. But again I agree speed is not the most important factor.

[W199 265]

1 hour ago, IWander said:

I just looked, California is reporting 16 months.  Where did you see 6 months?

That info is so inaccurate .. There is a website that has very detailed daily tracking and statistics of all the cases, as well 

as predictions based on the rate that they are plowing through the backlog.  If you filed 10 months ago, you have a 50% chance of being approved now ..  .. I didn't look but I assume that quote on 6 months is a projected time based on how fast they are clearing the backlog.

 

However, it sounds a bit aggressive. The last I had checked they were clearing about a week or so of backlog every month ..so in 4 months they would be 1 month fast .. so 9 months .. in 8 months .. 8 months .. etc .. so 6 might be possible .. but its a little aggressive or unopredictable