bck86

Thanks for the confirmation! It's thanks to you that I've decided to switch from K-1 to CR-1... I don't post much, but I read everything and you are always so helpful!

This is helpful, thank you!

Great, thanks for your answers! One more follow-up. Any red flags if we've only met/been together 7 months before getting married? Our relationship is genuine, and we will have spent about 4 out of the 7 months together in total (me being in his country). We have records of me being in his country, and of the two of us traveling together to several other nearby countries.

My partner and I are planning on getting married via Utah Zoom ceremony as soon as possible. We had previously submitted an I-129F (K-1) but are now planning on withdrawing it and submitting an I-130 for CR-1. I have a few questions before we do this. I was married (but separated for a long time) until just a few months ago. The finalized date of my divorce, per my divorce decree, was in October 2022. Does that pose any problems (or red flags) if my new partner I were to get married only 2 months later (December 2022) via Zoom? If we go this route, the location of our marriage would be Provo, Utah, I believe. Will this be a problem (or red flag) when they see that he has never been to the USA before, but we were married in Utah? Is it a problem (or red flag) if the beneficiary is currently unemployed? We have never lived together, but we did buy a condo together in his country in October. It’s a new build and it’ll be a couple of years before it’s actually finished. We intend to submit the paperwork as bonafide evidence. Any issues with this? Should we submit other evidence of bonafide marriage, just in case? If so, I think it’d just have to be sworn statements because we don’t have any of the other suggested items. Will I need certified copies of court documentation for criminal records at any point in the CR-1 process? I know it’s not needed at the time of application, but what about at the time of interview? I don't have any original certified copies, only photocopies. Thanks in advance!

Per the instructions for the I-129F, "If you were ever arrested or convicted of any of the specified crimes, you must submit certified copies of all court and police records showing the charges and disposition for every arrest or conviction." None of the other documents asked for certified copies (only photocopies), and the only certified copy I had of this was the original.

I went to the court recently to request certified copies of a court case I had more than 15 years ago, but they said since the case was dismissed after I completed my probation and it happened so long ago, the case files were not migrated to their new system. I asked if they will provide a statement saying that they no longer have the case files and they said no, they don't do that. So I sent the one and only original copy of my court records with the I-129F application. Now I'm considering withdrawing the K-1, getting married (via Utah Zoom ceremony), and applying for the CR-1. I know the court records are not asked for during the application process, but according to the immigration guide on this website, these documents will (may?) be needed for the interview. I do have photocopies of the certified court docs, but not the originals. Will I get them back if I withdraw, or do I take my chances with the photocopies?

Good luck! I am considering withdrawing our K-1 visa to get married and go the CR-1 route as well!

I noticed that neither the petition nor the checklist ask about criminal records/court documentation for I-130; however, in the IR-1/CR-1 immigration guide on this website (link), it shows that you need to bring criminal records/court documentation to the interview under "Interview Forms/Items" (numbers 8 and 10). Is that the case? This is unrelated to the OP (apologies), but I was considering withdrawing our K-1 petition, getting married, and going the CR-1 route. The problem is, I took a huge leap of faith because I only had one certified copy of a very old court case, and I sent it with the K-1 petition. I went to the courthouse to request additional certified copies, but they don't have any documentation on the case at all anymore, and they won't certify/sign anything stating that. I'm worried that if I withdraw the K-1, get married and file for CR-1, and they need court certified documentation, I'll be SOL since I sent the one and only certified copy away already.