NAIndians2020

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

What state?

North Carolina. Thanks everyone for the replies!

My fiancee would be coming from Canada on a K1 visa. Does anyone know if she'll be able to drive with her current Canadian driver's license until we go get her a local one? If so, anyone know how long she'll have that privilege? Just covering our bases and anticipating any delays. Thanks

1 hour ago, CDN(ON)-USA(VT) said:

If you want to start a family I would suggest making decisions together and owning them together. You both should discuss the pros and cons of the K-1 and CR-1 and make a decision together. Trust me when I say, having one person make a decision is not good. Also, if you are passive like I have been and have her make decisions most of the time this will not be good for your marriage. This will really affect you if you want children. You do not want to have two different parenting styles that clash. 
 

Concerning immigration, you will go through a lot of annoying, stressful, and frustrating times. This will affect your marriage if you let it take over. At this moment and through out this process things are out of your control. 
 

Concerning K-1 vs CR-1, I would suggest getting married and filing for CR-1. The reason being that there is a proposed hike in fees so you may save money if you go CR-1 route. The proposed fee changes for Adjustment of Status (AOS/I-485), Work Authorization (EAD/I-765) and Advance Parole (AP/I-131) are going to be $2750. Right now the cost for the above is $1760. Right now going the CR-1 route saves people $560 dollars but will save them $1550 if the new fees are approved. 
 

Again, the decision is up to you and your fiancee and you both have to decide whether having a family now or saving money is more important. 
 

Good luck. 

I've done months of research. Both K-1 & CR-1 have their benefits. Not that worried about money. Everyone's worried about my fiancee sitting around and going crazy with idle time waiting for work authorization and green card etc, but like I said we want to start a family. She'd just be going on maternity leave anyway so they point start that by the time she comes.

Either way, I searched many forums in the past and other sites about both options. I decided to make an account because we are concerned about timing and want a little bit of closure on timing which I think we can safely say will be a year +/- a month or if we're lucky two.

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

Could be more, could be less.  It depends on when the consulate resumes normal visa processing    Another item to consider is that spousal visas are deemed "mission critical " and k1s are not.  So in the event the consulate doesn't resume normal Visa processing but only mission critical processing it could have a significant impact.   Nobody knows for sure.   Pick your poison and roll the dice. 

To avoid any uncertainty, when you say "spousal visa" you mean CR-1 applications are deemed "mission critical?"

4 minutes ago, Marieke H said:

Also consider what would be best for your fiancée. Being "stuck" for 5-7 months waiting for the EAD is hard. She won't be able to travel, work and in many states she can't get a driver's license. It is very difficult to go through that, in a new country, while her spouse is working every day. It can be a very depressing experience. 

CR1 takes longer, but you will be able to visit during the process.

Well she's the one that suggested it. You're acting like I made this decision. We want to start a family now, so this whole thing is annoying to say the least.

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

I said in pre-Covid times the entire CR-1 process was roughly 16 months.

It's not pre-covid anymore is it? so 24 months sounds appropriate, no?

5 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Pre-Covid timeline for a CR-1 was roughly 16 months from filing to interview.  Once the visa holder enters the US, he/she is immediately granted green card privileges.   A K-1 entrant will have to apply for a green card and wait for several months (no work, no travel outside the US) minimum.  There are many aspects to consider.

I know the difference between CR-1 and K-1. The only thing that you said before that interested me was "slightly longer" than K-1. I don't consider that "slightly" longer.  I don't see much advantage to CR-1 if I can't be with my fiancee for 2 years. 

7 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Why a K-1?  You seem to be ideal for a CR-1.

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US     
    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 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 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.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    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 first point of CR-1 "slightly slower arrival in the US" is that true? That's really the biggest thing for us. We were under the impression it could add like 6 additional months.

Maybe we should reconsider. We have the I-129F form more or less ready to go. We planned on submitting next week.

Can you answer this hypothetical question. Let's say K-1 takes a year so July 1st, 2021 is when my fiancee earns her Visa, how much time would you expect a CR-1 to add? I know no one knows for sure, but our concern was being together as soon as possible, but you're making me reconsider given all the advantages of CR-1. Thanks

We are about to submit our I-129F forms in the next couple weeks. My question is, what is the expected time frame for everything to be processed and my fiancee to have completed her interview with the Montreal consulate to validate the the integrity of our relationship?

I've read that it can be as quick as 4 months since we are citizens of the US & Canada which is probably the most straight forward scenario, however, with COVID-19 and businesses not at full capacity we do imagine there will be some delay, possibly significant delays and want to be realistic and prepared for the worst.

Any thoughts or advice for what we should expect? Thank you in advance.