ESTA adjustment?

[ros4u 3]

1 hour ago, apond said:

It was nearly a year for my spouse. Then over another for the actual greencard 

Yes since you applied tor CR1 the whole process was a year or only the first stage? 

[apond 58]

1 hour ago, ros4u said:

What year did you apply for spousal visa? But it’s faster for k1 visas to get work permit? 

Nope cus it’s the same adjustment process. 

1 hour ago, ros4u said:

Yes since you applied tor CR1 the whole process was a year or only the first stage? 

2.5 years 

[ros4u 3]

On 8/19/2025 at 6:09 PM, apond said:

Nope cus it’s the same adjustment process. 

2.5 years 

Thanks all I think we will go through k1 visa 

[appleblossom 4,796]

5 minutes ago, ros4u said:

Thanks all I think we will go through k1 visa 

 

Before you decide, I'll ask @Crazy Cat to share their excellent comparison list for K1 vs CR1.

 

Good luck. 

[Crazy Cat 45,117]

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.
Current Presidential executive order (travel bans) don't allow K-1 visa holders from some countries to enter the US.

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. 
Current Presidential executive order (travel bans) exempt immediate relatives of US citizens.
   

 

[ros4u 3]

On 8/21/2025 at 12:06 PM, Crazy Cat said:

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.
Current Presidential executive order (travel bans) don't allow K-1 visa holders from some countries to enter the US.

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. 
Current Presidential executive order (travel bans) exempt immediate relatives of US citizens.
   

 

Thank you for your explaining it very well. I wish he was here in a tourist visa but sadly he is not so it’s just safe for us to do k1 visa for now thanks for all

[OldUser 10,338]

1 hour ago, ros4u said:

Thank you for your explaining it very well. I wish he was here in a tourist visa but sadly he is not so it’s just safe for us to do k1 visa for now thanks for all

Who go a more expensive and restrictive route compared to spousal visa?

[Crazy Cat 45,117]

***Duplicate question removed****Do not ask questions concerning this topic in new threads***

[appleblossom 4,796]

On 8/22/2025 at 9:45 PM, ros4u said:

Thank you for your explaining it very well. I wish he was here in a tourist visa but sadly he is not so it’s just safe for us to do k1 visa for now thanks for all

 

What do you mean it's not safe to do K-1 visa if he's not there on a tourist visa? He couldn't do K-1 if he was! You only have two options if he's outside the US now - spousal visa via consular processing or K-1. Both are 'safe' but it will depend on your priorities as to which you choose, have another read of the excellent comparison above. Most would pick CR1 as it's so much cheaper and easier, but it will depend on your situation and priorities. 

 

Good luck. 

[ros4u 3]

2 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

What do you mean it's not safe to do K-1 visa if he's not there on a tourist visa? He couldn't do K-1 if he was! You only have two options if he's outside the US now - spousal visa via consular processing or K-1. Both are 'safe' but it will depend on your priorities as to which you choose, have another read of the excellent comparison above. Most would pick CR1 as it's so much cheaper and easier, but it will depend on your situation and priorities. 

 

Good luck. 

I know I’m talking about adjusting under visa waiver program. 

[appleblossom 4,796]

29 minutes ago, ros4u said:

I know I’m talking about adjusting under visa waiver program. 

 

You said K-1? So that's not possible no matter how he travelled to the US. The only adjustment in that situation comes after entry on the K-1 visa and then marriage, and the visa can only be applied for from outside the US. 

[S2N 416]

2 hours ago, ros4u said:

I know I’m talking about adjusting under visa waiver program. 

Theres no real risk of deportation, which is what you seem to be most worried about. There’s reports of notices to appear in adjustment from ESTA cases, but that would just end in the I-485 being adjudicated by an IJ and not by USCIS. It’d cost more money but the result would be the same — a green card would be granted.

 

I don’t know why you’d go the K-1 route. It has almost all of the negatives of adjusting status from VWP and all of the negatives of spousal visas with none of the positives of either.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,443]

On 8/18/2025 at 7:17 PM, alliejourney said:

There are pros and cons to K1. Honestly, in your situation, if he came over with the intention to go back home but things have changed because you're engaged now, I would probably just get married and adjust status. The only thing to note is that if he stays and adjusts, he will not be able to work until he gets his work authorization, which could take even up to a year. Without work authorization, he may also struggle with things like opening a bank account and getting a driver's license - he will really have very little independence and will rely on you financially. The situation would be the same if he were to go back to the UK and you pursued a K1 visa - once he comes here on a K1 visa, you will have to adjust anyway and be in the same situation you're in now. 

 

The other option is to get married and pursue a spousal visa, which would also entail him going back to the UK. The big pro of a spousal visa is that once he has the visa, when he arrives in the US he will be a green card holder and therefore will be able to work right away and have much more independence.

 

If you choose to adjust now through ESTA, you'll just need to be prepared to show that he did originally have the intention to go back home and that you did NOT commit fraud by coming on an ESTA with the intent to stay. 

It's USCIS' policy NOT to deny an adjustment of an IR of a USC based solely on intent so no need to prove intent. It was decided at POE that he didn't have intent, otherwise he wouldn't have been allowed entry.

[alliejourney 131]

8 hours ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

It's USCIS' policy NOT to deny an adjustment of an IR of a USC based solely on intent so no need to prove intent. It was decided at POE that he didn't have intent, otherwise he wouldn't have been allowed entry.

Good to know, thanks!

[S2N 416]

10 hours ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

It's USCIS' policy NOT to deny an adjustment of an IR of a USC based solely on intent so no need to prove intent. It was decided at POE that he didn't have intent, otherwise he wouldn't have been allowed entry.

It needs a bit more nuance in there. It is a matter of settled immigration law that intent to adjust at the POE is not sufficient grounds for USCIS or an IJ to deny AOS to the spouse of a USC if preconceived intent is the only bar to AOS. People like calling this fraud here and on other parts of the immigration internet for some reason. It’s not. BIA has a precedent ruling on this, so you’re correct to that extent.

 

USCIS does not like this ruling so they rarely cite preconceived intent as a reason to deny adjustment. If they think you had preconceived intent and don’t want to grant AOS they now will claim misrepresentation at the POE as no one says “I’m going to adjust status since BIA says I can on balance of equities creating this grey area in the law!” when CBP asks why they’re visiting. This is where a lot of the fraud confusion online comes from. I’m not aware of a BIA precedent ruling dealing with USCIS finding thus loophole to the previous BIA ruling.

 

In OP’s case it wouldn’t matter as there’s precious little evidence that anything was misrepresented. They usually only claim that in egregious cases of straight from the airport to the courthouse to the post office.