RobynAndBradley

Hi everyone! Wondering if any one has or has heard of any experience with this. My fiancé and I are getting married in a couple of weeks, and want to apply right away for the CR-1. Unfortunately, in California it can take up to 10-12 weeks for our official marriage certificate to be mailed to us after the ceremony (it has to be submitted to the county to be recorded after the ceremony, and then official copies are mailed out). 

We were told by the county clerk that they will provide us with a copy of our temporary but official signed marriage lisence, and that we should be able to use it for the visa application. We were wondering if this is in fact true, or if we risk getting a RFE asking for the official copy of the certificate and further delaying the process. 

Thanks all! And good luck!

9 hours ago, USS_Voyager said:

I am glad you guys decided to go the CR-1 route. As mentioned before, we see a lot of people regret doing the K-1, mostly because of the "dead time" after entering of 6 or so months of not being able to do anything, work or travel wise. I don't think I see one regret doing the CR-1 and said they should have done K-1 instead!

 

Active military deployment definitely is ground for expedite. 

 

Again, thank you for your services to our country!

 

 

Thank you very much. And thank you for the all feedback in this thread as well as the other one from yesterday.

This forum has been very helpful and eye opening, we feel a lot better now and more confident in our choice to go with the CR-1 route. Hopefully the expedite moves somewhat quickly, we’ll definitely post an update once we get the ball rolling and make the request with USCIS. 

10 minutes ago, Mieka91 said:

Hi, it was six months from beginning to end. I didn’t get an RFE.

Thank you  and congratulations once again. 

55 minutes ago, Mieka91 said:

Yes. I expedited from Nigeria (one of the toughest countries) took a total of six months. 

Thank you for sharing, and congratulations! Did you get a RFE? Or was 6 months the time it took from beginning to end with everything processing smoothly?

Do you know if Canada is one of the “easier” countries? Sorry for all the questions, brand new to all of this. 

3 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

Expedites at NVC for CR-1 are generally easier to get than expedites at USCIS for K-1.  The K-1 is quicker and more expensive to POE.  The CR-1 is quicker to green cards and legal employment.

That is great to hear! We were very close to going with the K-1 route, so thank you for the information on the CR-1 as we are not as familiar with it yet.  I am deploying later this year so time is not on our side unfortunately, but from the sounds of it CR-1 is the way to go for us. Thanks again

1 hour ago, John & Rose said:

I sent an email for an NVC expedite yesterday.  It doesn't hurt to try and school for the kids is listed as a potential reason.  Our NOA2 came in just 4 months but that is as far as we have gotten so far.  It does seem quicker than the K-1 where it was 10 months to NOA2.  Right now we are still in a waiting pattern.

Thanks so much for sharing. Good luck you two! I hope your expedite gets approved  

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Where are you in the process?

An approved expedite at the I-130 stage will generally result in an RFE, approval, or denial within a few days after the expedite is approved.

Then expect a week to couple weeks to get to NVC.

Then you submit your documents. (http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process)

Then you have to expedite again at the NVC/embassy stage.

If approved, then the limiting factor is when Montreal has an interview slot and NVC gets the case to Montreal.

There's no expedite after the interview. There's no way to bypass the medical, in case something comes up.

Overall, expect at least a month, if not 2 or 3, depending on how things go.

Hi, thank you so much for the relevant information. We are just beginning the process, we have been trying to decide between the k1 and cr-1 and just recently decided on the cr-1. Planning on having a quick ceremony this week so we can get the ball rolling! 

We have all of our documents in order and just need a marriage certificate now to complete the cr-1 application. We appreciate you response, we weren’t sure if or how the process for expedite differed for the I-130 vs I-129f, so the informarjon you provided is certainly very helpful  thanks again! 

1 hour ago, kris&me said:

your last post asks if K1 or CR1 is faster as you will deploy (posted 13 hours ago)

have you married and even started the CR1?

you would need to start with a marriage 

Lol we realize that, and I am fully aware of when I made my last post, thank you. This is a simple request for more information on experiences witch the cr-1 expedite process, hence the new post in a different thread. 

Hi everyone, I have a definite grounds and all proper documentation to get an expedite, I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this and how much faster the expedite made the whole process? From what I understand the CR-1 is taking about 10-12+ months right now. Will an expedite make it much quicker than this?

My spouse is from Canada, not sure if that changes processing times or not, I know how busy they are or how many expedite requests are in front of us can change things. Thanks for feedback! 

7 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Yes.  She would have more independence and since you'll be deployed it would be important i would think.  

Definitely. We are just concerned about the expedite process for the CR-1... wondering if it will take longer to expidite a CR-1 over a K1 because the whole CR-1 process takes longer on average. 

29 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Suggest CR1. Petitioning shortly after marriage isnt an issue.  But waiting 6 months for AP and EAD may drive her stir crazy. 

Thanks for the response! Is she able to work immediately upon entry with the CR-1 after she goes and gets a SSN? It was my understanding that she will get a stamp on her passport that acts as a temporary green card until the plastic card is mailed. 

I am US citizen and in the military and am scheduled to deploy in later this year. My fiancé is a Canadian citizen and we have been in a relationship with lots of time spent together for the past 3.5 years. We are confused and unsure of which direction to go in terms of getting married and getting her to the US with me before I leave. We are also concerned about her not being able to work for an extended period of time while I am overseas (if we decide to go K1 route and have to wait for her work visa). I will try to organize the questions as best as possible, any and all experience and feedback is greatly appreciated! 

1.) Granted that I am able to successfully receive a military expedite would it be better/faster to go with the K1 or CR-1 visa? Is the expedite process/timeframe the same for both? 

2.) If we decide to go with the CR-1, can she come to the USA and marry here, then go home to Canada and we apply once she is back home? Will we have issues with USCIS thinking our marriage is not Bona Fide if we have a quick courthouse wedding then apply for CR-1 immediately once she goes back to Canada? (We have a ton of evidence of our relationship, photos, plane tickets, passport stamps, mail with both our names on it at my address). 

3.) If we go with the k-1 visa, and marry immediately when she arrives in the USA once her visa is approved (no need to wait the full 90 days in our case), how long will it take for her to be able to work/receive advanced parole? We are concerned that I will have to leave shortly after she arrives and she will be stuck not able to work and make money or go home to see her family for the first few months that I am gone. Can we also apply to expidite to her AOS/Work Permit/Advanced Parole?  

4) If we do marry first so she can be eligible for health benefits receive a military dependent ID card, will that expedite the process or hinder her getting her visa/work status approved?

Thanks in advance everyone.