Processing A Usa K-1 Fiancee Visa – Cr-1 Marriage Visa Comparison, From Thailand

By Author: Brian Wright
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Very often we are asked to describe the differences between the fiancee visa and the CR-1 marriage visa and point out the positive and negative attributes of each one.

First, to utilize a CR-1 visa you must be married or planning to marry. You must be legally married in order to submit a CR-1 marriage visa petition.

A fiancee visa petition can be submitted for your fiancee at any time after you have met in person. While USCIS does state that you can submit a fiancee visa petition even if you have not met in person (if meeting violates your religious beliefs) processing a fiancee visa application without having met in person will be problematic.

In determining whether to select a K-1 fiancee visa or a CR-1 marriage visa ( http://www.mythaifiancee.com/ ) our clients base their decisions on either convenience or speed. The fiancee visa is faster and the CR-1 marriage visa is more convenient.

The average processing time for a K1 fiancee visa is 6 months. If you have already met your fiancee in person the process can start immediately. When the process is complete and the fiancee visa has been issued, ...
... your fiancee can travel to the USA immediately upon receiving the visa or anytime within the following 6 months.

Once your fiancee has arrived in the USA you are required to marry within 3 months and file for your fiancee’s green card.

The average processing time for a CR-1 marriage visa is 7-10 months. The process can not start until you are legally married. If you are currently in the USA and planning to make another trip to see your fiancee and marry you can add the time it will take you to get married to the overall processing time.

Our firm takes our clients through the steps required to register a legal marriage in Thailand. This two day process also includes the preparation of the initial CR-1 visa petition.

For couples who have already been married for at least two years we will file a IR-1 visa petition. CR-1 stands for Conditional Relative, IR-1 stands for Immediate Relative. More on this in a moment.

Here’s where the CR-1 or IR-1 visas become more convenient than a K1 fiancee visa( http://www.mythaifiancee.com/us-visa-from-thailand/k1-fiance-visa-thailand ). While we are processing the visa petition we are also processing your wife’s green card. Do you remember that we stated above that with a fiancee visa ( http://www.mythaifiancee.com/visa-process/ ) you will be required to apply for your fiancee’s green card after she arrives in the USA and after you have married? With the CR-1 or IR-1 visa we process the green card and the social security number at the same time we are processing the visa.

When your wife arrives in the USA the immigration officer at the airport will stamp her passport with a one year green card and the hard plastic green card and social security card will automatically arrive at your home address within 30 days. There is no need for any action on your part.

If your wife has received a CR-1 visa, based on your marriage of less than two years she will receive a 2 year conditional green card. In the 90 day period immediately prior to the end of the 2 year period you will file to lift the conditions of green card and receive a 10 year green card. After living in the USA for 3 years your wife can qualify to apply to become a US citizen.

If your wife received a IR-1 visa, based on your marriage of two years or more at the time the visa was issued, she will receive a 10 year non-conditional green card.

Author Bio:-

Brian Wright is president of USA Immigration Law Thailand, sole area of practice is fiancee visa. Our firm has fiancee visa lawyers who manage all fiancee visa case from start to finish with minimum time waiting for fiance visa.