K1 or CR-1?

S

seoulite

Registered Users (C)
I know it has been discussed in several threads below, but my situation is a bit different.

My girlfriend is currently a LPR, but she will be receiving her USC soon (her N-400 is being processed, and based on historical trends should be approved by the end of the summer). I am a Canadian citizen, and we want to get married in live in the US.

I am currently visiting her in the US right now, and I wanted to know which route would be less complicated. Obviously, until her citizenship is approved, we cannot apply for either visa. I just want to make sure I understand both processes.

So, for the K-1: We wait until she gets her USC, I return back to Canada (as to not go over my 180-day allowance), and then she files the I-129F and we begin that process.

Or, for the CR-1: We can get married in the US while I'm visiting, then we wait until she gets USC, and then she files the I-130F and we begin that process.

Both situations seem fairly similar, but both hinge on her obtaining USC. With the K-1 I'm looking at a shorter time apart, but it's more expensive and there is more paperwork/longer waiting time to be able to legally work. And with the CR-1, it's a longer time apart where we also can't visit each other, but it's less expensive, and I obtain a GC shortly after arriving in the US.

Is there anything I'm missing, and any feedback on all of this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Both avenues are open to you. You pick what suits you both best.

seoulite said:
So, for the K-1: We wait until she gets her USC, I return back to Canada (as to not go over my 180-day allowance), and then she files the I-129F and we begin that process.

Or, for the CR-1: We can get married in the US while I'm visiting, then we wait until she gets USC, and then she files the I-130F and we begin that process.
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Thanks a lot.

I have a question not related to marriage visas, but I've seen you replying all over this board.

My girlfriend has been rather lackadaisical with her N-400 naturalization process. She filed her N-400 and it was received by USCIS in late January. To the best of my knowledge she has still not received a date for her to complete her FP and biometrics. This is odd since 3 months have past, of course. Over the past 3 months I've asked her to contact USCIS to see if there is any update with her file, and each time they have told her there are no changes and she just has to sit tight and wait. However, I'm wondering if USCIS is not aware that she hasn't completed her FP and biometrics.

Let's say that they did send her an email and she forgot or wasn't aware of it (she's not entirely up to date on this whole process), can she contact them and ask to set up a new FP date?
 
How has she contacted USCIS? Has she made an infopass appointment? If not, she needs to make one. Which city/state does she live in? Was her cheque (for the N-400) cashed?

seoulite said:
My girlfriend has been rather lackadaisical with her N-400 naturalization process.
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She simply called USCIS to ask for any updates on her file. She lives near Chicago, in Illinois (of course). Her cheque was cashed and has been told her application is being processed. She has not made any infopass appointments.
 
The folks who answer the 800 number are basically not the smartest bulbs out there. Majority of them are not even USCIS officers. They are contractors who read a flow chart in order to handle 90% of the calls. She needs to make an infopass to get any substantial update. The good thing is, her cheque was chased. The bad thing is, it is possible she was invited for fingerprinting but USPS lost the appointment mail. She needs to make an infopass appointment as soon as possible.

seoulite said:
She simply called USCIS to ask for any updates on her file. She lives near Chicago, in Illinois (of course). Her cheque was cashed and has been told her application is being processed. She has not made any infopass appointments.
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Hey Triple Citizen, seems I made a mistake. When we were originally figuring out which citizenship route to take with her we had both the N-400 and N-600 routes available. I got them mixed up and believed she had to follow the process of the N-400, so it had me a bit worried. But, she definitely filed an N-600. So, I guess the lack of updates is more normal. I guess all we're waiting on now is for the final approval (is there an oath ceremony?), but who knows how long that will take at the Chicago office. Thanks for your help.
 
N600 now? Did she just never leave the country since her parents naturalised? I'm asking because I'm assuming she's at least a couple of years over 18 if she's thinking about marriage (just a guess).
 
She is over 18, but when her father naturalized she was a GC holder and under the age of 18. When we found that out we went the N-600 route. I don't know why her father never got her citizenship. I believe he wanted the children to return to Korea at some point, and he didn't want them to give up their Korean citizenship - that's my best guess.

The reason we would hold off filing for a K-1, or begin the CR-1 process is because we aren't sure if the N-600 will ultimately be approved. If they find something wrong and deny her, then we'd have to start the N-400 process and then the K-1 or CR-1 process would be ruined.
 
As far as I can tell, and the immigration lawyer agreed, she qualifies under the Child Citizen's Act. I was under the impression that because she is technically a U.S. citizen (according to the act), that all she would need to do is apply for a US passport. So, she went to apply for one, but was ultimately denied saying that she needed proof of citizenship, which we assumed meant that she needed to file the N-600. She filed the N-600 in late January, and because there is no case # or receipt #, we are just waiting until they process it. I worry that for some reason she will be denied, so I want to hold off filing for any spousal visas. I'm trying to get an update from USCIS (but you know how that goes), so we can start to feel a little bit more at ease with everything.
 
No. Her father's naturalisation certifcate and her green card would have combined to prove that she is a US citizen. N-600 is a nice proof to have but it is not a must!!!

seoulite said:
So, she went to apply for one, but was ultimately denied saying that she needed proof of citizenship, which we assumed meant that she needed to file the N-600.
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Hmm...well I'm pretty sure when she went to apply she had her father's naturalization certificate and her green card and she dropped everything off with them. A couple of weeks later they were returned saying that she didn't have a certain form. When I asked her what form she needed, she said the letter that was attached did not indicate exactly what she needed (I wasn't with her at the time so of course I can't see any of these documents). I'll ask her tonight to dig everything up.

I remember going through this a couple of months ago. I was adamant that if she had her father's naturalization certificate and her green card then she should have no problem applying for a passport. To the best of my knowledge it was denied (the reason for it I'm not sure of). I'll try to find out exactly what happened and get back to you on this. Thanks for your help.
 
I spoke to her and she told me that when she went into the passport office they told her she had to apply by mail. I have no idea why they would say this. I'm pretty sure she made some sort of mistake (but of course you can't say that to her lol). She told me that when she sent in the passport application by mail that it was denied. I found out that she sent the wrong form in, and that's why it was denied. She then spoke to a lawyer, and for some reason he convinced her that she would need a certificate of citizenship before she could apply for a passport. I have no idea why the lawyer would advise that, but he did and she followed.

I think the one hiccup they had was that her father's certificate of citizenship says he is/was single (I don't know why). Would this have any bearing on her getting her certificate? Or as long as she provides evidence (if requested) that she was in his legal custody when she was under 18 and he was naturalized, then she should be ok?
 
Single men do father children. As long as she met all the conditions to derive citizenship when her father naturalised, she should get her US passport issued.

seoulite said:
I think the one hiccup they had was that her father's certificate of citizenship says he is/was single (I don't know why). Would this have any bearing on her getting her certificate?
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