alyashenko

28 minutes ago, Boiler said:

K1 is for Fiancees

CR1 is for Spouses.

right

21 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

There's no question that a CR-1 is a better visa (you have a green card right away, so no going through AOS or needing an EAD to work in the interim or AP to travel internationally in the interim -- and EAD or a green card is needed in most states to get a driver's license), and right the K-1 doesn't have the processing time advantage (at least for filing petition->approved visa) it usually has in normal times.

 

The best reason (in normal times) to do a K-1 (and why we did one) is that you have to actually be married to start the process, and if your fiance(e) can't easily visit the US and two foreigners can't marry in his/her country easily that can be difficult.

 

Estonia's not Russia, though; it's a visa waiver program country so your fiancée would normally have little legal difficulty visiting you in the US even if marrying in Estonia might be tricky (I believe many former Soviet Union countries retain something similar to the overly complex Russian process, but don't know anything specific about Estonia). And being married would let her bypass Schengen travel restrictions during the pandemic.

 

So the only counterpoint to going with a CR-1 is you said you can't reasonably meet again until December. And it might be worth something to you to get the process started now rather than in December.

This is a logical point. Since I will have to wait to December to start this process for the CR-1, starting the K-1 now may save some time. Only problem is that the K-1 seems to be classified as a non-immigrant visa, and non immigrant visas are not being processed by Estonia according to embassy's website. Although I have read reports that the K-1 may be processed along with the CR-1. I will be calling the visa center in Estonia tonight to get more information. 

Man, thank you everyone for your inputs this is already immensely helpful

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You can do the Urah Zoom marriage but you need to meet before you can file for CR1.

Thats crazy that this exists haha. I will have to check this out. Last time we met in person was July 17th.

Thanks to everyone who has replied, the general consensus is that cr1 is superior

Boiler,  I cant do a quick trip before December. My last trip was 17 days in Estonia I used up all of my vacation hours at work. 

Hello everyone,

I am glad to have found this forum. My girl and I got engaged a few weeks ago in her home country: Estonia. I am back in the US since and planning the next stages to bring her to California, where we will live. I will be flying back to see her again in December. I have read the processing time statistics to show K1 still being a little faster than CR1. Please correct me if I am wrong. 

From what I understood it is between K1 vs CR1. My questions are:

In my situation would it make sense to file the K1, since we have to wait to see each other until December?

Based on your experience and my situation would you still advise the K1 over the CR1?

Which one, K1 or CR1, would make travel to visit each other easier, while we file the paperwork?

Approval statistics for K1 vs CR1?

My main concern is waiting time. I am not concerned about cost.

Thank you all in advance.