Fiancé/Spouse Visas to the US

[nastia]

Hi Friends! Has anyone researched the difference between the fiancé visa and two types of spouse visas when you were closing the distance?

I am trying to understand which one is the quickest to obtain and gives a right to work right away.

The information I could find so far is very uncertain, maybe you could share your experience?

[lyonsgirl]

Check visajourney.com

[snow]

IR1/CR1 Spousal visa:
https://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Takes over a year, you have to prove you have a bona fide marriage, which I imagine is harder to prove if you are not already living together abroad, but you are a permanent resident as soon as you enter the states with that visa, which means you can work asap:
1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or
2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or
3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or
4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or
5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or
6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

K1 Fiance/e Visa:
https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

Takes at least 5-8 months, mine took 7, but you have to get married within 90 days of arrival and then apply for work permit (valid for one year which needs to be renewed before it expires each year until you get permanent resident) which takes up to 90 days (I applied Feb 20 and haven't received it yet, still well within the limits).

[lucybelle]

https://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[nastia]

Thank you, guys.
Dear Snow, good luck with work permit!

[Ella85]

From past research with this it's cheaper and easier to get a spousal visa. Fiance is non-immigrant. Spousal is immigrant. You don't have to adjust status and you can work straight away when you arrive. Processing times for spousal is 6-10 months last time I checked. I have no idea about a fiance visa, I just personally wouldn't bother with it if thats the way you are going to go.

[lucybelle]

From past research with this it's cheaper and easier to get a spousal visa. Fiance is non-immigrant. Spousal is immigrant. You don't have to adjust status and you can work straight away when you arrive. Processing times for spousal is 6-10 months last time I checked. I have no idea about a fiance visa, I just personally wouldn't bother with it if thats the way you are going to go.

Spousal is 10+ months. More like 12+. So fiancé certainly has an advantage of being approved in half the time.

[snow]

They both have pros and cons. We chose the fiance visa route, because we would never be able to prove that we have a bona fide marriage being long-distance with him not being able to visit in the meantime with that little off-time he has from work, not having children, not having a joint bank account, not having a joint lease etc. and because it's shorter.
Getting married within 90 days was challenging and waiting for the work permit is a pain, but we manage just fine and I have a couple job offers lined up, waiting for me to get my papers. It's really not that bad.

[nastia]

Lucybelle, thank you so much for comparison charts, they are super helpful.

I was wondering, has anyone tried spousal Visa (K3)? Looks like a good alternative to K1.

[Ella85]

Spousal is 10+ months. More like 12+. So fiancé certainly has an advantage of being approved in half the time.

Must have changed since the last time I looked into it as they were processing 6-10 months. A lot of people were saying at that time that K-1 was a waste of time. It's interesting to know that is no longer the case.

[CanadianGirl]

Yeah, the speed of processing depends on a lot. For us, my K1 is on track to be 3.5 months from sending it in to getting my visa.