fiance visa VS spousal visa

[Heather91001]

hi! so i have been comtemplating every since this whole process started about which is the better way to go. my fiance and i aren't sure which one would be the best thing to do first. i have heard the fiance visa is quicker but i know then u also have to do an adjustment of status. i am looking for some advice from people who have done either and how their experiences were. also, how long exactly did it take to get your husband a spousal visa??

thanks in advance!!
heather

[discoviking]

I came on a fiance visa, but that was 24 years ago. Is your case straight forward, or do you have to file a waiver for anything?

[kitkat1]

If you are filing through Mexico, it will be a bit faster with a fiance visa because you don't have to wait for an appointment to be scheduled. But yes, you have to marry within 90 days and then file AOS as soon as you can to get work authorization, permission to travel and the green card. These days, it doesn't really seem to make much sense to go the fiance route in CDJ to save time, unless those few months of waiting for an appointment would make a serious difference to you.

If it's another consulate, you should find out if there is any difference in appointment scheduling for K1 vs. K3 or CRI - probably not. In which case I would go for an immigrant spousal visa.

We did the fiance visa because it was faster when the waits in CDJ were around one year for a spousal visa interview appointment vs. open appointment for fiance visa interview appointment. So we saved a ton of time being apart. He also entered the US at JFK in order to get temporary work authorization, we filed for AOS within one month of his arrival, and his employment authorization card came the day the temp. authorization expired. So he was able to work immediately without a gap.

[Glühbirne]

I think the fiance visa might be a good idea if you want to take a trip for your honeymoon, because you will be able to travel without worries. Also, you might enjoy those honeymoon period months a lot more if you know you have a large chunk of the immigration journey already behind you by that time.

I didn't even begin the filing for my husband's immigration until after our one year anniversary. I filed both the I-130 and the K-3, but due to a lot of BS that I'm not in the mood to go into now, he ended up interviewing for the I-130 and getting his permanent residence in Juarez upon the approval of the I-601. Plus, since we were already married over three years when he got his residence, he was given permanent residence without conditions.

[kitkat1]

Glu did you mean a spousal visa? You cannot travel outside the US on a K1. You must file for AOS and wait until you have an AP document or a green card.

[discoviking]

I think the fiance visa might be a good idea if you want to take a trip for your honeymoon, because you will be able to travel without worries.
Domestic travel, yes. For travel abroad, you will need advanced parole if you haven't AOS yet, because the K1 is only good for one entry. Also be aware that immigration does not recognize the church marriage certificate, they want to see the official one from City Hall. Don't ask me how I found this out........