K1 or Cr1

[Nazgulslayer 0]

Greetings all,

I have a brother from Ghana, he lives in Canada with a work permit. He wants to marry an American Citizen and file for Green Card.

He has a 5yrs B1/B2 visa. Visited US once and never over stayed.

He needs advice on the best route to go about it.

[TBoneTX 49,815]

Thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the "What Visa" forum.

[TBoneTX 49,815]

See the comparison, as compiled earlier by our fine member Crazy Cat, and subject to revision as necessary:

K-1 
  More expensive than CR-1
  Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
  Spouse cannot leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (up to 9 months)
  Spouse cannot work until she/he receives EAD (up to 9 months)
  Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, and bank accounts 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
  If US spouse declines to participate in Adjustment of Status, the foreign spouse will have a very difficult avenue to legally remain in the US
  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 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

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Even more important is whether your brother is already involved with a U.S. citizen whom he wants to marry, or if his chief goal is to get a green card and he plans to identify a U.S. citizen to marry for that purpose.  No insult is intended, but this is a crucial clarification, please.

 

After you answer the above, please have your brother join VisaJourney so that he can become an "A" student of the legal-immigration process and ask questions about anything that he needs clarification on after thorough reading.