K1 or CR1

[Lemonslice 4,556]

You might want to see if you are eligible for a TN visa (it mostly depends on your profession).  If so, you can do both, TN now, while the CR1 process is going on, with the interview in Montreal when that happens.   I see zero benefit for you picking the fiancé visa path.  

[garebear397 55]

Just adding to all the voices in this forum that say that CR-1 is better. It is better. We have done K-1 and are currently doing CR-1. 2-3 months faster to enter the US on a K-1 is not worth 10-12 months longer processing time where you can't leave the US or work. You say that it wouldn't be a big deal....but what about visiting your family, or if your spouse loses their job, or a whole host of other reasons. 10-12 months is not a short time. 

[CitizenWheelz 9]

17 hours ago, SalishSea said:

You will not be authorized to work remotely until you have an EAD, so being able to “work from anywhere” isn’t actually an advantage.

How about if he means that he will be working for a Canadian base company from where he holds citizenship? Or perhaps he has his own online business also based in Canada?.

 

Does he still need a work permit from the US in order to work remotely while been abroad? The reason why I am asking this is because I see many Americans who travel abroad doing this, they keep their business in the US and keep working remotely from other countries while on long vacation, some of them even stay abroad for several months or years. 

[Crazy Cat 39,267]

2 minutes ago, CitizenWheelz said:

How about if he means that he will be working for a Canadian base company from where he holds citizenship? Or perhaps he has his own online business also based in Canada?.

 

Does he still need a work permit from the US in order to work remotely while been abroad? The reason why I am asking this is because I see many Americans who travel abroad doing this, they keep their business in the US and keep working remotely from other countries while on long vacation, some of them even stay abroad for several months or years. 

Any work done while inside the US must be authorized.  

[mam521 1,725]

16 hours ago, MissLadyRea said:

In the end, it's up to you if just a few months potentially faster is worth so many sacrifices. You may say you're cool with them now, but keep in mind it's significantly easier to say "I'm cool with this!" when it's not actually about to happen yet. I thought the same, that the stress others had wouldn't be my experience. I'm a homebody, I never go out so surely it would be fine.. right?

In reality, it was one of the hardest times I ended up facing. For many, it causes significant damage to their marriage to begin it with such a scary power-dynamic. For me, I was living in consistent fear and stress to the extent where I was barely able to think or do fun stuff for myself, it was just all focused on the situation. I was very fortunate my husband took no issue in the fact that for the first 6 months he had a wife that was just so out of it. A common thought I had was "If one of my family or friends got hospitalized and are in critical condition tomorrow, what would I do? (or even my family pet)" Do you stay and risk never seeing them again, or do you go back and restart EVERYTHING. Sure, you can try to expedite I-131 under the right conditions, but you cannot guarantee that the expedite will be processed in time.

The limbo stage doesn't just mean being stuck around bored, it's a dynamic where you CANT do the things you want to do. Can't travel out of country, cant work, in some cases drive. Very different than simply choosing to do that. 

But the thing is, just assuming how you'll feel about it now is not possible. It is such a major deal that those emotions are something that becomes real, when the moment comes. Even with a remote job in Canada, you cannot continue to do that work in the USA. 

You don't know how you'll feel, the logistics of it being possible does not mean it is something that wont cause you significant distress. And I cant stress enough; its one of those things you cant predict how you'll handle it.
 

THIS, THIS, THIS! 

 

Being an independent person who works, pays their own bills and is accustomed to a certain amount of freedom and then to surrender all that and become 100% dependent puts a LOT of stress on a relationship.  You're supposed to be creating the foundation for the rest of your lives as a married couple, not starting out under duress. You might think you can give it all up, but living the reality is very different.  Your partner has chosen you for you and you them for who they are.  You might end up giving up far too much of yourself if you approach in this way.  

 

CR1 means you can essentially continue life as is, as annoying as it might be, but you both retain your identities, you both continue to work, you both retain your freedoms.  When you cross the border with your CR1, you can work straight away, you can travel straight away, you can really just jump into the day to day with few worries and really build your marriage.  

[Lemonslice 4,556]

35 minutes ago, mam521 said:

THIS, THIS, THIS! 

 

Being an independent person who works, pays their own bills and is accustomed to a certain amount of freedom and then to surrender all that and become 100% dependent puts a LOT of stress on a relationship.  You're supposed to be creating the foundation for the rest of your lives as a married couple, not starting out under duress. You might think you can give it all up, but living the reality is very different.  Your partner has chosen you for you and you them for who they are.  You might end up giving up far too much of yourself if you approach in this way.  

 

CR1 means you can essentially continue life as is, as annoying as it might be, but you both retain your identities, you both continue to work, you both retain your freedoms.  When you cross the border with your CR1, you can work straight away, you can travel straight away, you can really just jump into the day to day with few worries and really build your marriage.  

And that's not even taking into account all the K1 immigrants who are out of status/unable to adjust status because they didn't expect being unable to pay for it/their spouse is not cooperating/all other kind of nightmarish situations. 

[TexasRafael 102]

21 hours ago, Suncheer said:

Hi there,

 

I am new here so apologies if this is the wrong forum to post this question. However, I am turning to the community to help us decide on the best options for our situation, considering there’s a lot of different information out there, and I am slowly losing my mind. I am a Canadian citizen based in Toronto, and my partner is a USC based in New York. As everyone here, we want to close the long distance gap asap, and are exploring the two options - K1 or CR1. I understand the benefits of CR1, however, we want to go with the process that would get me there the fastest. If we were to go through the K1 we’re financially capable of surviving for 12-15 months without a work authorization (given it takes that long for me to get one). We also want to start a family and would not want to do that with the distance. So there is a lot to consider. Additionally, I work from home full-time so I can travel and work from anywhere. 

 

Giving our circumstance, would the K1 or CR1 be there better and fastest option? Or are the timelines the same for both process?

 

Thank you so in advance for all your inputs!

Cheers!

These days the wait for either is almost the same and the benefit of the CR1 is that upon entering you have your green card vs a K1 additional wait to adjust status once you come into the country.

[rks_emelander 3]

7 hours ago, garebear397 said:

2-3 months faster to enter the US on a K-1 is not worth 10-12 months longer processing time where you can't leave the US or work.

 

Even with current delays in Adjustment of Status, I've not heard anyone quote up to a year for AOS or EAD completion. Where is that number coming from?

Edited January 23 by rks_emelander

[Boiler 43,450]

25 minutes ago, rks_emelander said:

 

Even with current delays in Adjustment of Status, I've not heard anyone quote up to a year for AOS or EAD completion. Where is that number coming from?

I have but seems to be exceptional.

[SalishSea 16,776]

6 hours ago, CitizenWheelz said:

How about if he means that he will be working for a Canadian base company from where he holds citizenship? Or perhaps he has his own online business also based in Canada?.

 

Does he still need a work permit from the US in order to work remotely while been abroad? The reason why I am asking this is because I see many Americans who travel abroad doing this, they keep their business in the US and keep working remotely from other countries while on long vacation, some of them even stay abroad for several months or years. 

I can’t speak to the laws of other countries, but the bottom line is that people visit the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas are not permitted to do any type of work (including online) without authorization.

[Redro 4,600]

22 hours ago, rks_emelander said:

 

Even with current delays in Adjustment of Status, I've not heard anyone quote up to a year for AOS or EAD completion. Where is that number coming from?

Always outliers who don’t get their EAD and some who don’t ever get AP but green card comes before… 

Apparently AOS fees is going up in the next few months so @Suncheer you might want to factor in the new costs of AOS when deciding if K1 is the route you want to go… and also if you want to apply for EAD/AP as they will no longer be free to file: 

 

[Crazy Cat 39,267]

12 minutes ago, Redro said:

Apparently AOS fees is going up in the next few months

I am going to update my list from "K-1 is more expensive than a CR-1" to "K-1 is EXTREMELY more expensive....."

[Redro 4,600]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I am going to update my list from "K-1 is more expensive than a CR-1" to "K-1 is EXTREMELY more expensive....."

Beneficiary cannot work or travel before issuance of green card unless they apply and pay for EAD and AOS. 

[Suncheer 4]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:51 PM, Crazy Cat said:

I'm not sure where you got those times, but they are not accurate.  Both the K-1 and CR-1 will take close to 18 months before entry into the US. Per other members the average times from filing to interview are:

 

From initial filing to Interview 

575 days for K-1

619 days for CR-1

Our lawyer actually told us and that it would be a shorter wait than the CR-1. Also like I mentioned in my previous reply I thought each State had a specific processing center, but someone corrected me on that. 

[rks_emelander 3]

2 hours ago, Redro said:

Beneficiary cannot work or travel before issuance of green card unless they apply and pay for EAD and AOS. 

If the EAD is applied for on its own in addition to AOS, is it more likely to be granted sooner?