Advice needed - want to bring my partner to the USA with me

[Colbert Report 5]

Hello, I'm a US citizen.

 

My girlfriend of nine years lives in Canada, and we'd like to get married.  What's our best option?  Chat gpt tells me that we can apply for a K1 or a CR-1 visa.  If we got married tomorrow in Canada, how long would it be before she could live and work in the USA?  Can she come visit me and go back and forth as she pleases until the visa is approved and she gets the green card?  Is there any advantage at all for the K1 visa?  Our big concern is the time she'd have to take off work if we did the K1 thing and she had to wait for a year or more to work in the USA.

[Boiler 47,526]

18 months to 2 years

 

she can visit within reason

 

No

 

 

[OldUser 10,052]

No obvious upsides to K-1 I can think of in 2025.

 

More expensive, more restrictive, takes about same or longer to get GC.

[Crazy Cat 44,602]

6 hours ago, Colbert Report said:

Hello, I'm a US citizen.

 

My girlfriend of nine years lives in Canada, and we'd like to get married.  What's our best option?  Chat gpt tells me that we can apply for a K1 or a CR-1 visa.  If we got married tomorrow in Canada, how long would it be before she could live and work in the USA?  Can she come visit me and go back and forth as she pleases until the visa is approved and she gets the green card?  Is there any advantage at all for the K1 visa?  Our big concern is the time she'd have to take off work if we did the K1 thing and she had to wait for a year or more to work in the USA.

 

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 3-6 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 3-6 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. 
   

 

***Moved to What Visa Do I Need***

[PGA 333]

14 hours ago, Colbert Report said:

Hello, I'm a US citizen.

 

My girlfriend of nine years lives in Canada, and we'd like to get married.  What's our best option?  Chat gpt tells me that we can apply for a K1 or a CR-1 visa.  If we got married tomorrow in Canada, how long would it be before she could live and work in the USA?  Can she come visit me and go back and forth as she pleases until the visa is approved and she gets the green card?  Is there any advantage at all for the K1 visa?  Our big concern is the time she'd have to take off work if we did the K1 thing and she had to wait for a year or more to work in the USA.

My personal recommendation: Get married and file for CR-1.

[smilingstone 632]

16 hours ago, Colbert Report said:

Can she come visit me and go back and forth as she pleases until the visa is approved and she gets the green card?

 

In theory, yes, but the general rule is to spend at least twice the amount of time outside the US than within the US, in order to not get hassled at POE for trying to live here (not guaranteed).

[Lemonslice 5,255]

If your girlfriend (fiancée?) intends to spend more than 30 days in the US, look up the new requirement to register with USCIS. 

 

Otherwise, if you look at the history of your posts, you will find answers that are still valid.

 

Final note, please, please, do not trust ChatGPT or other AI. Especially not for anything important.  Ok to generate an overview, but go to the source (CBP, USCIS,IRS, etc.) and double triple check what is actually the accurate information in your situation. 
The guides here on VJ are also a good start on all the steps you will have to complete (again, do not trust blindly and go back to the actual form instructions).