The K3 visa: Useful or Waste of Time

[Thoughtful]

I know this is not the I-130 forum, but some of you in this section will likely use the I-130. I will post the same info in the I-130 for comments.

I wanted to get your opinions on the current K3 visa process.
Prior to July 2007, there was a fee for the I-129F for the K3 visa. This fee essentially provided a limitation to the number of people that turned in the application. THis was primarily because of the general consensus that the K3 took almost the same time as the I-130 so why waste your money.
But now it is free, so anybody can apply for it. Based on the current processing times as the CSC, both the I-130 and the I-129F for K3 is 6 months.
SO here is my thought. SHould the K3 be eliminated and the resources exclusively channelled to processing the I-130 faster? At the end of the day, what is the point of using up resources for the K3 when it is no faster than the I-130?
If you vote yes to the above, any practical suggestion to eliminate the K3. We cannot wait for the USCIS or congress. They will not move until you prod them.

 

[immiaxd]

Do you have to file for K-3? If you don’t have to, then don’t file for K-3 because K-3 is a waste of money, if it’s the same process as it was 5 years ago (even if filing for K-3 is free now).

I don’t know about the current process, but 5 years it worked like that: when the immigrant spouse got her K3 visa and arrived to the US, the couple had to file I-485 (the adjustment of status (AOS)). Also if the immigrant spouse wanted to start working in the US soon after the arrival, the couple had to file for employment authorization.

If you did not file for K-3, the immigrant spouse would get CR-1 or IR-1 visa at the US embassy in her home country which would mean getting Green Card soon after the arrival to the US.

Five years ago K-3 wasn’t free, so with K-3 you had to pay 4 times – I-130, I-129F, I-485 and work authorization, while with I-130 you paid only once. K-3 was optional, so people filed for K-3 because it was supposed to get the immigrant spouse into the US faster. But even 5 years ago, the difference in waiting between K-3 and CR-1/IR-1 was 3-6 months.