Jeff&Abi

Thank you for replying. At this point, getting married and filing for a CR-1 sounds like the most reasonable thing to do. It’s a very complicated situation and hard decision to make considering that we have been waiting for so long and haven’t seen each other for close to 2 years and starting a whole new process won’t be easy. This is an incredibly frustrating situation but I understand we are not the only ones. 

Just submit the I-130. Here's what we did when we cancelled our K1:
 
- There's a section in the I-130 that asks "Have you ever filed a petition for this person before?" We selected yes and wrote on the form: "Withdrew I-129F fiance petition. Married now."
- Sent a message through the Ask NVC web page indicating we were married.
 
As for her visiting you during quarantine, it will depend on your hotel. But I don't think any hotel will advertise that they allow quarantine visitors. The government would shut that down right away.

Thank you for detailed answers, Adventine. I think, at this point, getting married online is the best option that we have and after reading your response I feel more confident that we can do it even though it won't be easy but nothing is easy nowadays in this pandemic that seems to never end.
A got a few more questios if you don't mind:
-Would I need to cancel the k1 visa or do I just submit a I-130 after the wedding and consummation?
-I have limited time off at work, would my fiance be able to visit me or stay with me at the hotel while during my quarantine? I can probably get 10 days off at work and after that I would need to come back to the States. It will suck to be stuck in a hotel in such a beautiful country but it is what it is. 
 

2)  You can see several confirmed cases in some Facebook groups of the Utah Marriages being accepted and CR-1 visas being issued by US Embassy Manila.  I think I have heard of 2 cases where apparently it went through without question and CR-1 visas were issued. There is one recent more detailed account where the beneficiary reported that she was questioned fairly extensively about it by the Filipino counsel doing the pre-interview review.  She said the Filipino counsel was unfamiliar with the Utah marriage process but after having it explained to her, she concluded it was a proxy marriage, verified passport stamps that they had met after the wedding and before filing and sent the case through.  The American counsel doing the actual interview didn't mention it in that case and the visa was issued.  So far, I have not seen any accounts of any couples experiencing any significant blowback from US Embassy Manila over the Utah marriages.

I know it's a big decision, and here's my feedback on your questions:
 
1) Would it be worth it to abandon the case, get married and start all over again with a CR-1 visa after waiting for more than a year since the application date? I know it's a decision that only I can take but I would like to know everybody's opinion.
Yes, for the simple reason that if you continue with the K1, even after the K1 visa is granted, your spouse will face another long wait to get her work permit, travel permit, and/or green card. Some people wait months or even years. Even if you can financially afford the long wait, your spouse may have trouble adjusting to her new life if she cannot work or travel home for an unknown period of time. Some people also report issues obtaining SSNs, driver's licenses, bank accounts, and health insurance. Many threads here on VJ about couples who separate, partially because of the stress waiting for the EAD/AP/GC, or one or more of the related bureaucratic complications. The spousal visa avoids all these issues from the moment your spouse steps foot on US soil.
 
2) Has anybody from the Philippines gone thru this process? I know there was a thread about a lady that married her boyfriend from Costa Rica and everything worked out for them but I would think that every consulate is different and I don't want to go to thru all this to be told no at the end.
There are some posters here who are going through the process. There are some stories of US spousal visas granted by other consulates on the basis of an online marriage, but none yet specifically from the US embassy in Manila. Hopefully someone with first hand experience comes along soon.
 
3)Would it be possible to consummate the marriage outside the Philippines? My fiance has never left the country before and I'm afraid they won't her exit the country or what's even worse, come back after the trip. I understand that I can get a visa to enter the Philippines after getting married but at this moment is not realistic for me to spend 10 days quarantining in a hotel and I was thinking that maybe meeting a place like Turkey could be a good idea.
You can consummate the marriage anywhere in the world that you can physically meet. If your fiance has trouble leaving the Philippines (and she likely will because she's never traveled overseas before), then your next option will be to visit her in the Philippines. Expensive and inconvenient, but not impossible.
 
4) If everything goes well, would getting a CFO to exit the Philippines be a problem for her assuming our visa gets approved? I've read many different opinions about this that I don't know what to believe, some people say that getting a CFO with an online marriage is impossible while others believe otherwise. 
I haven't heard of any CFO stories related to online marriage yet. I don't see how it could be a problem especially if you can prove you've been in a legitimate relationship for years. 
 
 

Thank you for replying. At this point, getting married and filing for a CR-1 sounds like the most reasonable thing to do. It’s a very complicated situation and hard decision to make considering that we have been waiting for so long and haven’t seen each other for close to 2 years and starting a whole new process won’t be easy. This is an incredibly frustrating situation but I understand we are not the only ones. 

If you haven't seen the threads already, look into the Utah Zoom marriage, which allows you to get married while physically separated, then use the marriage certificate to get a 9A visa at the PH embassy, meet your spouse in the Philippines, and file for the US spousal visa.

I checked all July filers today...so there is a little update ❤️