(2020) K1 Fiance vs CR1 Spouse, Which is Better? - YouTube

Hi, everyone. In this video, I will be discussing which option is better, the K1 fiancé visa or  

the CR1 spouse visa. We know that this is probably the number one question for couples who  

are beginning their immigration journey. Which path should I choose? The K1 fiancé visa or the CR1  

visa? If you're watching this video and  you're just beginning your immigration journey,  

you're asking the right questions and stay tuned because I will be digging into which option  

is better and helping you to get clarity on which option will be best for you. Before I jump  

into our topic, I'd like to introduce myself and our firm. I'm Attorney Megan Pastrana from  

Corado-Pastrana, the immigration firm for couples. Just as it sounds, our firm is dedicated  

exclusively to assisting couples in navigating the immigration process from fiancé visas and  

consular processing to adjustment of status, removal of conditions, and naturalization.  

Everyone in our office has either gone through an immigration case  

personally or with their spouse. And so, we know how stressful and how grueling the immigration  

process can be and how overwhelming it can be when you first get started to decide which option  

is best and which path to choose. Our firm loves to provide educational materials to  

equip you with the information that you need to make the best decisions for you.  

We have free educational materials and resources on our website, Immigration for Couples.  

On our website, we also have a free mini-course regarding relationship evidence and our firm  

also has a Facebook group called Immigration for Couples. I'll put the link below. We'd love to have  

you join us. Our attorneys have weekly live chats where we provide you with updates  

regarding what's happening in the world of immigration as it relates to couples.  

Now let's jump into our topic: which option is better, the K1 fiancé visa or the  

CR1 spouse visa? If you find this topic and the information in this video helpful,  

we'd really appreciate it if you give this video a thumbs up so YouTube will share it with other  

couples who are facing the same questions that you are. Thanks in advance for the thumbs up.  

To help you really understand which option is better, the K1  

fiancé visa and the CR1 spouse visa, it's  really important to understand there isn't

a one-size-fits-all option or there's not a best option for everyone.  

The option between a K1 fiancé visa and the CR1 spouse visa is going to depend  

a lot on your particular situation, the facts of your case, and your goals in your relationship  

as to which option will be best. I'd like to break down the eligibility requirements  

for the K1 fiancé visa and the CR1 spouse visa. And then, I want to do a side-by-side list

of the pros and cons of each option so you can get clarity about why someone would  

choose a fiancé visa or why someone would choose a CR1 spouse visa and get some clarity  

most importantly for yourself about which option is going to be best for you. Eligibility for  

K1 fiancé visa. The eligibility requirements is that the petitioner, that's the individual who is  

wanting to petition to bring their fiancé from another country to the United States.  

The petitioner has to be a United States citizen. If you're a lawful permanent resident of the  

United States, you aren't able to petition to bring your fiancé. You have to be a United States citizen.  

The other requirements are that both of you are legally free to marry and that means that  

neither of you is currently married or if you've been married before,

you're divorced. The other requirement is that you are prepared and  

you're ready to marry each other once your fiancé receives the  

fiancé visa. You also have to show immigration that you've met in person in the past

two years of filing your application. So,  within two years of filing your application.  

There are some limited circumstances in which you aren't required to meet in person but  

that's very limited. If there's some kind of extreme hardship or a cultural, religious  

reason that you can't meet in person. But for a large majority of fiancé visa applicants, you  

have to have met in person within the two years of filing your application.

You also have to show immigration that you have a real relationship based on love and not just  

to receive an immigration benefit. That's a quick overview of the fiancé visa requirements. 

Now, let's jump over to the CR1 spouse visa and go through those requirements. For the CR1 spouse  

visa, just as it sounds, you have to be legally married.

You can actually be either a lawful permanent resident or a citizen to petition for  

your spouse. Again, you have to show that you have a real relationship based on love and not to  

receive an immigration benefit. Now that we've gotten all of the eligibility requirements out of  

the way, let's jump into doing a side-by-side of the pros and cons of the fiancé visa versus the  

CR1 spouse visa. For the fiancé visa, as I  mentioned, you have to be a United States citizen  

to petition for your fiancé. For a lot of people, if they don't realize that or if  

they're a lawful permanent resident, they can't actually apply or petition for their fiancé. 

If that's your situation, that would eliminate that as an option or if you're eligible to naturalize,  

you could go through the process to become a citizen and then petition for  

your fiancé but I don't want to get too much into the weeds on that, but that's one of the  

things to think about in the pros and cons list is that  

you can't file a fiancé visa petition if you're not a United States citizen.  

The option would be the spouse visa if you're a lawful permanent resident.  

The other pro between the fiancé visa on consular processing is that historically,  

fiancé visa has been the fastest option for couples to be able to be together. This is  

2020 and COVID has unfortunately happened to our world. It's really shaken up the world of  

immigration and caused significant delays. It's not entirely true or clear if the fiancé  

visa is still going to be the fastest option. But what I can tell you is that historically,  

one of the benefits of the fiancé visa is that the couple could be together  

faster. The other benefit of the fiancé visa versus consular processing

is relating to children. With the fiancé  visa, if the immigrant fiancé 

has children and wants to bring those children with the fiancé  

visa application, those children can be included on the application so long as they're not more  

than 21 years old. This is a huge point that we go over with clients when they're first  

consulting is whether or not there's any children on the application. Because if there are children  

sometimes the fiancé visa would actually be the better option because the spouse visa  

only children who are under the age of 18 at the time that the spouses got married can be  

part of the petition. There'd have to be a separate petition filed. But if the couple  

has gotten married or have plans to get married and they have children  

that are over the age of 18, we highly encourage people to consider the fiancé visa  

because that would really be the fastest option or the only option to be able to  

bring those children that are over the age of 18 but under the age of 21.

Being able to bring children under the age of 21 is another benefit of the fiancé visa.  

In terms of some of the benefits  of the spouse visa,

while it has historically been a longer process, the immigration fees for the CR1 visa  are significantly less.

Finances and expenses for the immigration case are huge but   

typically when couples are making a decision with regards to which option they want,  

the difference between the government fees has not typically been something so significant  

that a person would choose the CR1 over the fiancé visa. But all the same, we want you to know that  

the spouse visa has lower government fees overall than the fiancé visa. The other benefit  

that people choose the spouse visa over the fiancé visa is that the spouse visa, the

spouse will actually enter the United States as a lawful permanent resident and green card holder.  

The spouse will enter the United States, they'll receive their green card and Social  

Security card in the mail and they can basically hit the ground running with their life.  

Whereas with the fiancé visa, the immigrant fiancé will be coming with a fiancé visa  

and then you'll have to get married within 90 days. There's still another step after you get here  

to receive your green card. When couples are making a decision about which option is best,  

sometimes they decide even though the spouse visa is historically a longer process,  

the benefit of knowing that the  spouse will come into the United States  

as a lawful permanent resident green card holder without the need to have to complete another step  

for your green card is something that is a benefit. For the fiancé visa, you'll  

enter the United States on your fiancé visa. And then, you'll have still complete a process  

for your green card. You'll have to mail in a whole other application and then it takes  

on average between four to six months before you can  

receive your work permit and Social Security card. For a lot of individuals who are considering  

having both things and balance which option is better for them  

the consideration of the fiancé entering the United States and being in this  

period of limbo for four to six months, waiting for a work permit and a Social Security card  

is a huge consideration. Once your fiancé is here and you're waiting during that  

time, your fiancé is in lawful status but without a work permit and a Social Security card.  

You're not able to have a driver's license and work and be able to be fully integrated into the US.

That's a difficult aspect of the fiancé visa and that's why some individuals choose  

We're going to be apart longer for the spouse visa but

knowing that my spouse will enter as a green card holder without this additional step after  

the wedding, for some people is a benefit. Those are really the main  

the main pros and cons of each option and the things that you can  

put in your list of what things that you're really wanting in your  

relationship and in your immigration journey. What things are most important to you, rather.  

I know that it's extremely overwhelming to have to make a decision between the two options  

but hopefully this information is giving you  some insight into some of the main   

benefits and drawbacks of each option to help you decide which option is best for you.  

Please feel free to check out the educational materials on our website.

We really get into even more detail about the immigration options that are available to you  

If you're just starting out on your immigration journey and you're looking for assistance with  

your case, we would love to help you. We have the link below to schedule a consultation with one  

of our attorneys or you can book a consultation 24/7 on our website, Immigration for Couples.  

our appointments actually come with a mini-course regarding the various options for individuals who  

are going through a couple-based immigration case. We want to make sure that you have  

even more information before the appointment. During our strategy appointment, we  

can really walk you through any other doubts or concerns you have and help you to pick the best  

strategy and the next steps for you so you can hit the ground running with your immigration case  

and be one step closer to being able to be  together and start your lives in the United States.  

I hope that you enjoyed this video and if you liked it, please give it a thumbs up. Thanks