My wife and I were married in Williamsburg, Virginia in September of last year. She is from Krasnoyarsk, Russia. I am an American born citizen. We made a very difficult decision in October. See, she had only one year remaining at her University to obtain her diploma. We first thought that she should just stay in America and let her work visa expire while we wait for another visa to be approved. Since we got married it would have been easy to keep us together and her here. but instead we decided that she should follow the restrictions of her J type visa and return home to finish her final year at her university. It was the responsible thing to do. Even if her diploma didn't mean much here. She spent three years of hard work to obtain it and we felt she deserved to finish what she started.We love each other very much and lived together for several months before getting married. i've traveled to Siberia to visit for the holidays and to meet all of her friends and my new family. we have both been extremely busy with studies and work. i don't know very much about the procedures we should follow. Everything I read about online is dealing with people who aren't yet married. We ARE married and wish to be together as soon as possible. is there any way to get her back here to me soon? Is it possible to get permission for her to wait here with me while the petition is being reviewed and ultimately approved? I've heard that there is a special visa for such circumstances. We strongly believe in doing everything by the rules of the law. My wife, Tanya, has a strong drive to work and be successful in her field of study. As she will be finished by the first week of June, waiting forever for a visa could greatly disrupt her desire to get rolling in her career. this career, we wish to be carried out here, in America. I have been paying her expenses in Russia and taking care of all the bills here on my own. we realise it may take some time waiting. If we knew how long it would take we would have begun this right a way. if we knew that it would take 3 months, or six months, or even a year we would rest easier. Not knowing how long we will be apart is what is driving us crazy. our love is genuine and we desperately need the advice and/or assistance of someone who knows the system better. if you can provide us with any helpful information, we'd be truly greatful. thank you very much!
sincerely, Tatiana and Jason Kinter.
Posts: 1 | Location: Williamsburg, virginia | Registered: 02-28-2005
In brief, you first have to file an alien relative petition form I-130 with the CIS (Citizenship and Immigrations Services). This form establishes her eligibility to apply for admission to the U.S. based on your marriage. Form I-130 has a question whether intending immigrant is/will be in the U.S. and will be "adjusting status" or go through "consular processing" abroad.
If you decide to file for a non-immigrant K-3 visa (takes 7-10 months to obtain) then specify that she'll be in the U.S. and will be adjusting status. If you choose to process I-130 through the U.S. embassy (about a year) then select consular processing for CR1/IR1 visa. After arriving to the U.S. on K-3 she'd have to file for adjustment of status. Read up about that on uscis.gov website.
The difference between the CR1 and IR1 is that if you're married for less then 2 years at the time of her visa interview she'll receive CR1 (Conditional Resident) visa. If married for over 2 years she'll be entering the U.S. on IR1 (Immigrant Resident) visa. CR1 will get her a 2yr green card (same after adjustment interview if married for less then 2yr) and you'll have to file form I-751 to remove conditional status on her green card 90 days prior card's expiration. IR1 visa will get her permanent unconditional resident status.
These days I-130s sometimes get approved even faster then I-129Fs and many couples choose to wait out I-130 and go for CR1/IR1 visa abandoning K-3. There's a little dilemma attached to this. If you specified "adjustment of status" on the I-130 you'd have to file form I-824 first to request the CIS to forwarded approved I-130 to the National Visa Center (NVC) and further to embassy/consulate. It takes about 6-7 months for that form to get approved. If you chose "consular processing" then the CIS will automatically forward approved I-130 to the NVC and you'd have to contact them and request your I-130 sent back to the CIS. This might further delay the whole process. So you'll need to make up your mind from the get go.
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