Conflicting Visa info- please clarify

cbarrin

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Feb 1, 2005
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Now I got the impression the K-1 visa and the K-3spousal visa takes about the same amount of time(about 6months or so)...is this true...???? I'm reading threads which says the k-3 visa can take a couple of years but the k-1 doesne't take as long.....I thought the K-3 was for the purpose of bringing families together sooner...am I correct in this thinking.....
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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cbarrin said:
Now I got the impression the K-1 visa and the K-3spousal visa takes about the same amount of time(about 6months or so)...is this true...???? I'm reading threads which says the k-3 visa can take a couple of years but the k-1 doesne't take as long.....I thought the K-3 was for the purpose of bringing families together sooner...am I correct in this thinking.....
I think the processing time varies from year to year. A good immigration lawyer should have reports from the INS as to actual wait times for recently processed cases. (I think there might be a website that posts this information, but I don't know the url).

Any information someone gives you here may only be specific to their case and may not apply to yours.
 

twincactus

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Aug 9, 2004
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www.dominicanstotheusa.com
You are correct

cbarrin said:
Now I got the impression the K-1 visa and the K-3spousal visa takes about the same amount of time(about 6months or so)...is this true...???? I'm reading threads which says the k-3 visa can take a couple of years but the k-1 doesne't take as long.....I thought the K-3 was for the purpose of bringing families together sooner...am I correct in this thinking.....

cbarrin
You are correct in your thinking but the process has morphed into an altogether different thing now. The K3s are being processed for the OCT dates right now. That means if you submitted your K3 in OCT, as I WOULD have done if I filed one, your application would just be being looked at now. My CR-1 has been processed already and we are on the waiting list for an interview, number 16,3XX. Yep, that's right there are 18,000 on the waiting list right now. No matter which route you take it will be a LOOOONG haul. Probably almost a year any way you slice it. There is no way around it unless things change and I don't have a crystal ball. Things have been changing daily in the process right now. That is because the US is undergoing immigration reforms. I would not suggest going the K3 route as they have slowed down the process in favor of the CR-1/IR-1 route. Before you can file the K3, you have to file the I-130 anyway, so you might as well go for the CR-1 if you are going to get married there. There is a BIG advantage in doing that because when your spouse enters the US they will already be a permanent resident. If you bring them in on a K1, they have ONE entry into the US. To travel they must apply for advance parole. That takes more time and money. CR-1s can travel at will. The CR-1 will also allow the immigrant to work right away (well as soon as you have the SS#). The K1 has to apply for a work authorization which takes at least 90 days. Also, your interview should be easier with the CR visa because you are already married, and you will have proved your income, security clearance will have been done etc. With the CR, everthing is done BEFORE the interview. That is because the I-130 is the TRUE immigrant visa petition. I know this is confusing and you have alot of people giving misinformation. That's because anyone who went through the process just 6 months ago did not go through the same process as right now today. Best thing to do is go to visajourney.com and read read read the posts, the stickies, etc. One more thing, I guess I'll get heat for this. Most immigration lawyers do NOT seem to know too much about the process, and charge you a fortune to fill out your forms. If your case is plain vanilla, you don't need one in my opinion. If you read enough posts on visa journey, you will find many people had attorneys actually screw up and/or delay their case because they didn't know what they were doing OR they didn't care. Remember, no one cares about your case like YOU do.

If you need more help, please e-mail or PM me. Email is tim@twincactus.com.

-Tim