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Author Topic: Go to wife or work dilema ?  (Read 16908 times)

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Online andrewfi

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #25 on: July 01, 2014, 03:49:12 AM »

If you Base yourself in the EU and you have relevant skills you could move into contracting but that's going to require visas for you and she and you're going to have to be willing to commute across Europe and take the risk that you may be unable to sell yourself. That means you are better off in the Land of the Free than over here.

If it's IT Contracting you refer to then that's not really viable either, most (i'd say all but I've no experience of all states!) EU states have work visas tied specifically to a controlling employer, even the UK has suspended Tier 1 Gen./HSMP so it's not possible to contract that way. Additionally certainly in the world of IT contracting it's offer Friday, start Monday, no time for any visa faffing.....

Also you need a fair amount up dynamism to succeed as a contractor and unfortunately the OP doesn't seem to have that...

That's why I mentioned the visa issues. As I understand it most of the time contractors work through an agency who handles payments, jobs etc and sometimes (perhaps often - that I don't know) act as an employer. A friend of mine does IT contracting across Europe and his current agency has people they employ but he is a freelancer with his own business. In the first instance he'd need to have a relevant visa or residents permit. So, in Estonia, for example, if I understand the rules correctly - I am not a lawyer - he could set up a business with a branch here and be an employee of that firm; from there he could work across Europe as an employee of the business. My friend had some issues with this stuff until he was a permanent resident here though, not as a result of legal stuff but simply firms having procedures designed to protect themselves and not having an appropriate box to tick.

That's the thing though. It is not easy for a USAian to come over here and set up shop in any old country and work. It'd require planning, gumption and stickatitiveness and even then most people can't do it. Sadly the bloke has not yet displayed that stuff. That's why staying in the US is the best bet for him which means not giving up his job over there and concentrating upon getting his wife imported.

Sadly by getting married first he has written off the fastest way to get his wife to the US and without running the risk of being accused of visa fraud his wife can't visit him as a tourist.

When I were a lad I were taught the 6Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. It were true when I were a kid and it is true today.
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Offline leslied

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #26 on: July 01, 2014, 08:15:43 AM »
Hello Marriedguy,

I will stay with the positive approach  :)

Forget about travelling for the next few years.  You need to be in stable employment in the USA until the Visa process is through.  I think you should be honest with your new wife and tell her it is likely to be more than a year before she can join you in USA. 

First you need to decide whether you will manage the visa application yourself or pay an attorney to do this for you.  Google "visa journey"  and read some of the real life stories there.  Most guys here would recommend doing the application yourself, but if you are NOT the meticulous type then this can be a bad idea.  The Agency expects every i to be dotted and every t to be crossed...

Once your wife arrives in the USA she will need LOTS of support (listen to 2TallBill !)  She will also not be free to travel internationally until her green card comes through. Of course she can get permission to travel home or go on a package holiday. It could be be 3 -4 years before she has an unconditional green card.  As for travelling with you and working in other countries - FORGET THAT.  Green cards are invalidated if you leave the USA from more than a year...
It will take about 4 more years to naturalise as a US citizen  and be free from all travel restrictions. That is about 7-8 years from where you are now. In the normal way of things you could have kids by then...

Contracting in the EU is not an option for US citizens.  (Listen to Ste he is a successful IT contractor)  You could come and work in Britain (or another EU country), probably for a US company which would sponsor your visa.  As Ste points out the visa is restricted to a particular employer in a single EU country.  Until your wife is a US citizen this will effect her immigration status so this is NOT a good idea...

Getting engaged and married is relatively easy.  Building a stable married relationship is VERY much harder.  A depressing number of bi cultural relationships crumble in the first couple of years.  It will take flexibility and compromise from you both to build a successful relationship.

As I said before - GOOD LUCK  tiphat

Offline Art

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #27 on: July 01, 2014, 10:51:28 AM »
MG if your wife has a child it complicates everything. If a child is less than 18 years old when you are married, it can immigrate along with its mother. However, the child's father can put a stop to this!

Are you near retirement age? If so, could you support your family with social security?

A CR-1 visa is taking about 5 months now at USCIS. Then the file goes to NVC and their processing takes 1 or more months, depending upon how soon you send them all the required documents.

Your wife would have to live in USA for at least three years to apply for US citizenship. Her green card comes in the mail a couple of weeks after entering USA. Social security number can be done right away. Travel and work can start right away, but finding a job for your wife could be difficult.


Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #28 on: July 01, 2014, 04:39:01 PM »
I met her two times prior to marriage. We have a age difference of 13 years.

On my third trip we got married.

Can I ask how many times you met this woman prior to marriage? And the age difference between you?

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #29 on: July 01, 2014, 04:41:25 PM »
I am 35 years old and no where near retirement.

I am applying for a CR-1 Visa.


MG if your wife has a child it complicates everything. If a child is less than 18 years old when you are married, it can immigrate along with its mother. However, the child's father can put a stop to this!

Are you near retirement age? If so, could you support your family with social security?

A CR-1 visa is taking about 5 months now at USCIS. Then the file goes to NVC and their processing takes 1 or more months, depending upon how soon you send them all the required documents.

Your wife would have to live in USA for at least three years to apply for US citizenship. Her green card comes in the mail a couple of weeks after entering USA. Social security number can be done right away. Travel and work can start right away, but finding a job for your wife could be difficult.

Offline Art

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #30 on: July 02, 2014, 10:33:18 AM »
You need to earn at least 125% of the poverty level for your family size and the state where you live.
You need to have evidence of the relationship between you and your wife. You should have a bank account together, add her name to your utilities, file joint income tax returns, have records of telephone calls to each other, photographs together, etc. Keep airplane boarding passes, receipts from hotels, etc.

So I take it that your wife has no children, but she wants them?

Online 2tallbill

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #31 on: July 02, 2014, 11:49:32 AM »
I am 35 years old and no where near retirement.

I am applying for a CR-1 Visa.


I think my previous advice is still good, however you might try to see if
you could wrangle a few extra vacation days by working weekends or taking
on additional work, so that you can fly over, see her and give her a little TLC

I completely understand what you are going through. The hardest thing in the
world was putting my fiancee' on a plane sending her back home.

Udachi!

Bill

FSUW are not for entry level daters. FSUW don't do vague FSUW like a man of action so be a man of action  If you find a promising girl, get your butt on a plane. There are a hundred ways to be successful and a thousand ways to f#ck it up
Kiss the girl, don't ask her first.
Get an apartment not a hotel. DON'T recycle girls

Offline AJ

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #32 on: July 02, 2014, 12:30:50 PM »
If your plan ,as stated, was to marry, file for a spousal visa and bring her to your country ,as well as continue to work at your current job-
 Then really what has changed? nothing other than the normal separation anxiety any long distance couple would endure prior to relocation .

  Whether you completely relocated to Ukraine , or she relocates here, there is still a matter of time involved.
It may be a little less time for you to rearrange your life to relocate, but its not likely much different than the visa processing times for her to come here.
 The relatively shorter time period for you to go there, would be completely overshadowed by your earning ability.(even within those few months)

Quote
I know family comes first then Job.

Family first certainly  includes making fundamentally good  decisions on where to live and your job opportunities to support the family?
Off hand right now from what you've shared so far,
sticking with your original plan seems best for the family.
 A few months of separation is nothing in the bigger picture.

I've lived  as an expat,I did not find it all that challenging and enjoyed it.
That said,  I would not do so in Ukraine now, just seems a poor choice considering the other options available.

 In your case I'd go to USCIS website and look up the processing times for family based visa's,.They have tables showing  the averages based on recent months filed back a bit, to be able to give you a good estimate.

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do;jsessionid=bacsoveB0s2FDcaOwu4Bu

Also I'd advise you go to the visa journey forum /website and you should find a lot of useful information and guidelines on the filing itself, as well as couples currently awaiting visa approval and their timelines for reference.I think it  would be a valuable resource for you.
http://www.visajourney.com/


In the meantime ,with limited vacation time, just reassure your wife all is normal, all is well, the process is in place and going according to your plan as a familytogether?
That a few months separation is indeed the normal part on marrying any foreigner, even if you were to relocate there
(you'd have to get your own affairs in order?) etc.
If you can manage get off work, even unpaid leave if that's not an issue,
then do so, go visit, or meet in a third country for a vacation together.

Heya Danchik-
 Yeap!!  I have filed both DCF for spouse, quite awhile ago though,
and a K1 fiance visa in my past and could give him a bit of insight into the process itself. However, regarding the newer laws and regulations,
 I'm sure someone here has more recent experience than mine, or I hope so :)
My filing for K1 was in April 2011, and it processed and she had her interview in Kiev ,and approval ,all in about 4 months!!
 She arrived here in mid July 2011..and we were married October 7th 2011.

I am unsure if it is currently that fast,as it seemed odd(and his filing would be a bit different since it's a spouse)
 but in our case it really was a very short processing time frame. Certainly not worthy any frustration on such life changing decisions.
In fact it processed faster than either of us were ready for.. which was fine!! but we were quite prepared for it to take  longer and had various visits planned.

Of course each individual case is different,
but it should be easy to  look up the current averages and timelines for his petition for a spouse /family visa so he can have a good idea of how long it would take for it to process.
At least then he would have some information of how long that wait is, before making some snap decision.

As you know, the one key thing they both are likely to need in this journey, is patience.
If he relocated there, that certainly would not change.
 :chuckle:

Offline bagalia

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #33 on: July 02, 2014, 10:27:12 PM »
You need to earn at least 125% of the poverty level for your family size and the state where you live.
You need to have evidence of the relationship between you and your wife. You should have a bank account together, add her name to your utilities, file joint income tax returns, have records of telephone calls to each other, photographs together, etc. Keep airplane boarding passes, receipts from hotels, etc.

So I take it that your wife has no children, but she wants them?

Do not forget the most important part. You must have 'the last three years' of qualifying taxes (the 125% is roughly $20,000 a year for two) which kind of puts a stop to long term vacation thoughts. That or you need a huge amount of assets. Not two years followed by vacation or three different jobs in three years.

I have nothing against people who fall into Luv and do not think ahead but once they understand that there is a lot more to this than just getting married they must buckle down and look at the entire process over the next few years to come because the government doesn't care about your personal problems and you can end up in an impossible and failed relationship.

I planned most every aspect of my relationship including the need to return to work for 3 years before getting married. Perhaps I am overly cautious but it worked for me. Many men get married and do not even realize that they do not qualify as a sponsor as they have no stable income or work history.

To the OP, review the paperwork and supporting evidence carefully but especially, understand the affidavit of support and be able to fill in every line perfectly as they want it. Keep your day job for the next couple of years. There will be further tests. Your future plans depend more on the future paperwork rather than what you may wish to happen.
Misery is the river of the world; everybody row, everybody row.

Offline Art

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #34 on: July 03, 2014, 02:13:19 PM »
The CR-1 is processed differently than a K-1.

When the CR-1 petition is sent to NVC, they have a step-by-step process that you must follow.

Your wife can chose you to help her through the process, or an attorney or to do it all by herself. She needs to mail in the signed and dated form.

You will send in a payment to a certain address. Note, each step has a different address for NVC.
Next step after they receive the payment, you fill out the I-864 support form with all the additional documents and mail it in.
When NVC approves that, they start on your wife's documents.

The steps are not the same for everyone, depending upon your circumstances.

When NVC has approved all your papers, they send the file to the embassy and schedule the interview.

The police reports and certain other documents must be orginals.

For some countries, if your spouse decides to do all the paper work itself, NVC will accept scanned and emailed copies of documents. This would save you time and money. If your wife has excellent English ability, this might be a good option for you. Again, the FIRST step is the decision about this!

Once you send in the I-864 form, you are no longer considered the petitioner.

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #35 on: July 04, 2014, 06:57:35 PM »
My average income for the 3 years is more than enough for me to qualify as a sponsor. Even though i did not work much last year.

Why should i keep the job for the next couple of years, when a CR1 takes less than a year to process.


Offline lonedrake

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #36 on: July 04, 2014, 08:53:12 PM »
 
Quote
Why should i keep the job for the next couple of years, when a CR1 takes less than a year to process.

Just make sure you make enough to qualify in 2015. The CR-1 process may average less than a year....but no guarantees. Many have taken 15 months or more.

Our cr-1 was at 9 months last week. It could still be 2-6 months more. We just don't know. There was a huge backlog at USCIS last year and now the backlog is at NVC.

Offline bagalia

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #37 on: July 04, 2014, 09:14:25 PM »
My average income for the 3 years is more than enough for me to qualify as a sponsor. Even though i did not work much last year.

Why should i keep the job for the next couple of years, when a CR1 takes less than a year to process.

CR-1 is not my specialty but it is not so much different from the K-1 AOS as I see it. Both require the I-864 and an interview. Both end with conditional permanent resident status.

The 864 shows how stable you are financially. It is a good thing that you have 3 years of tax receipts that qualify. If you were to quit your job and go live in her country now, how would you answer the question of where you are currently employed?

I am also not a wiz on CR-1 approval times but believe it is between 6 months and a year. There are always miracles and there are tragedies so you might even say 3 to 18 months.

Once she is approved you will have, I believe, 6 months for her to enter the country or you begin all over again. She will most likely wish to enter as soon as possible.

So IF you quit your job soon and IF you were to get past not having a current job at the interview, you would need travel and living expenses for the next year (lowball $10,000) plus travel, setup and living expenses for you both to your new home after she gets her approval. Unless you have a tidy sum saved up or plan to live with your parents you will need a new job. Maybe the job market will be better by then or maybe it will be worse.

Once she gets to your country (next year 2015) she will be given a 2 year conditional residency and you will apply to have conditions removed at the end of that time. During those two years she will not be leaving your country for any long period of time if I am correct.

And so my comment on not leaving your day job anytime soon. If I am wrong then I am sure that somebody will correct me.

I hope all goes well whatever the case. Go sign up at visa journey and you will get all the information you need and many more answers to any questions related to all visas. I would imagine you have already done so?
Misery is the river of the world; everybody row, everybody row.

Offline tfcrew

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #38 on: July 05, 2014, 09:52:24 AM »
I married my wife in Russia.  It only took 8 months to process all of the paper work and get her visa.  I doubt if it can happen much faster.

Yeah, too late for the K-1 (which is the fastest method..albeit very slow for half the country ATM).  He will have to do the K-3/I-130 (I think they are renaming it) which will take a good year at best.

 

An I-130 is also a visa application....

Quote
If you are a U.S. citizen wishing to sponsor your foreign-born husband or wife for a U.S. green card (lawful permanent residence), you will need to start the application process by filing a visa petition on Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative).

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/fiance-marriage-visa-book/chapter7-8.html

Offline tfcrew

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #39 on: July 05, 2014, 10:05:07 AM »
OK a spousal visa.

Quote
Spousal visas take 12 to 16 months.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120424094056AAGUtEu

My wife's son immigrated to the USA to work. He is an analyst for Cisco Systems.
I would advise to keep job...visit ASAP and..be patient....both of you.
All of us marrieds here have gone through 'the wait' :snivel:

Online 2tallbill

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #40 on: July 05, 2014, 11:16:03 AM »
My average income for the 3 years is more than enough for me to qualify as a sponsor. Even though i did not work much last year.

Why should i keep the job for the next couple of years, when a CR1 takes less than a year to process.

Grasshopper, you are at the beginning of a long relationship with a cumbersome,
inefficient, government agency who employ only the bureaucratic simpletons named  the USCIS. They have a plethora of rules, regulations and hurdles that you must
navigate over the next decade. The half wits at USCIS can greatly complicate your
life and your relationship with your new blushing bride.

The USCIS website is here http://www.uscis.gov/ and I strongly advise you to spend
a few hundred hours here http://www.visajourney.com/
NOTE: there is a Russian specific are of the site http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/98-russia-ukraine-and-belarus/


Encourage your wife to read it. She will start figuring things out. Lucky for you
she has a lifetime of experience dealing with a myriad of bureaucratic institutions 
with ridiculous rules etc. Once she digs into the visa journey site you will notice
that you are married to an i dotter and t crosser that can easily navigate the
seemingly capricious and arbitrary institution called USCIS.

FSUW are not for entry level daters. FSUW don't do vague FSUW like a man of action so be a man of action  If you find a promising girl, get your butt on a plane. There are a hundred ways to be successful and a thousand ways to f#ck it up
Kiss the girl, don't ask her first.
Get an apartment not a hotel. DON'T recycle girls

Offline yankee

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #41 on: July 05, 2014, 12:47:56 PM »
I strongly recommend getting an immigration lawyer.  The cost was worth it for my wife and me.  Without the lawyer it would have taken several more months.
What is worse than not being able to get what you don't even want?

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #42 on: July 06, 2014, 06:22:06 AM »
how much does a immigration lawyer cost ?

I strongly recommend getting an immigration lawyer.  The cost was worth it for my wife and me.  Without the lawyer it would have taken several more months.

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #43 on: July 06, 2014, 06:25:35 AM »
I will be visiting her soon, it's only 3 weeks since we got married, already it is getting hard being away  :snivel:


OK a spousal visa.

Quote
Spousal visas take 12 to 16 months.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120424094056AAGUtEu

My wife's son immigrated to the USA to work. He is an analyst for Cisco Systems.
I would advise to keep job...visit ASAP and..be patient....both of you.
All of us marrieds here have gone through 'the wait' :snivel:

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #44 on: July 06, 2014, 06:27:27 AM »
How can I prove ongoing relationship.

I wanted to open a joint bank account in Ukraine but could not find a bank which has it.

How did you guys prove a ongoing relationship.

How can i show intermingling of finances ? When there is no joint bank account concept in Ukraine.

Offline yankee

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #45 on: July 06, 2014, 06:40:59 AM »
How can I prove ongoing relationship.

I wanted to open a joint bank account in Ukraine but could not find a bank which has it.

How did you guys prove a ongoing relationship.

How can i show intermingling of finances ? When there is no joint bank account concept in Ukraine.

nice to have a lawyer.  I believe it cost me somewhere around 1500 USD
What is worse than not being able to get what you don't even want?

Offline tfcrew

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #46 on: July 06, 2014, 06:48:51 AM »
Quote
How can I prove ongoing relationship.

Emails..downloaded photos....should do it.

Offline Slumba

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #47 on: July 06, 2014, 09:12:49 AM »
Take a picture at an easily recognizable landmark - if in Kiev, at the Maidan square area.  Take a picture outside a restaurant with the Cyrillic script plainly visible.  That sort of thing. Showing multiple trips to her country before and after marriage might help also.
Anchors Rewoven

Offline Turboguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #48 on: July 06, 2014, 09:14:53 AM »
I agree with everyone else, quitting your job would be a mistake.  Good jobs these days are hard to find.  Try to come up with some free time to at least make a quick visit which will help.    Even something like a long weekend with an extra day off would be better than nothing.  For instance the current holiday.  You could have flown out Thursay and came back Sunday night and had a couple of days together.

The CR-1 and K-1 visa processes are quite different but both are easy to do.  I have done several K-1's and am currently helping my son do a CR-1 for the lady he married in December.  The time frame is pretty similar.  Do not even think about using a lawyer.  It will slow you up 6 to 8 weeks and increase the chance of an RFE.  It is impossible to be faster because you are adding one more leg to the chain of communication.

When I did my first K-1 I found it interesting to compare notes with another forum member whose lawyer filed the same day.  Actually it was his second lawyer.  He had to fire the first when after 2 months nothing was done.  I gained 6 weeks on him partially because he got an RFE and I didn't but also because I could send stuff in where they would contact the lawyer, who would contact him then he would send what he needed to the lawyer then the lawyer would send it in when he got around to it where had I received an RFE I could have just sent in whatever they needed.  Also it is so routine for lawyers that their staff who have been there for a week or two get sloppy where we tend to read, read more and reread and do it right the first time. 

The timeline varies depending on the Embassy.   If she were in China it would typically be a 2 year wait.  You should expect 6-7 months but 5 is possible.  My son's CR-1 is at 4 months and they are close to being able to schedule an interview (they have been approved at NVC and getting ready to send the final paperwork that gets them packet 4.)

Don't worry a lot about the commingling finances.  A notarized letter from some people who will vouch you are married and a couple will work.  They do this every day and know what is possible and what is not.

Offline marriedguy

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Re: Go to wife or work dilema ?
« Reply #49 on: July 06, 2014, 02:03:37 PM »
I can get a notarized letter , but i got married in Ukraine, so the letter has to be translated to English ?.

You are right about visiting on a long weekend :'( . I could have done that this thursday.


I agree with everyone else, quitting your job would be a mistake.  Good jobs these days are hard to find.  Try to come up with some free time to at least make a quick visit which will help.    Even something like a long weekend with an extra day off would be better than nothing.  For instance the current holiday.  You could have flown out Thursay and came back Sunday night and had a couple of days together.

The CR-1 and K-1 visa processes are quite different but both are easy to do.  I have done several K-1's and am currently helping my son do a CR-1 for the lady he married in December.  The time frame is pretty similar.  Do not even think about using a lawyer.  It will slow you up 6 to 8 weeks and increase the chance of an RFE.  It is impossible to be faster because you are adding one more leg to the chain of communication.

When I did my first K-1 I found it interesting to compare notes with another forum member whose lawyer filed the same day.  Actually it was his second lawyer.  He had to fire the first when after 2 months nothing was done.  I gained 6 weeks on him partially because he got an RFE and I didn't but also because I could send stuff in where they would contact the lawyer, who would contact him then he would send what he needed to the lawyer then the lawyer would send it in when he got around to it where had I received an RFE I could have just sent in whatever they needed.  Also it is so routine for lawyers that their staff who have been there for a week or two get sloppy where we tend to read, read more and reread and do it right the first time. 

The timeline varies depending on the Embassy.   If she were in China it would typically be a 2 year wait.  You should expect 6-7 months but 5 is possible.  My son's CR-1 is at 4 months and they are close to being able to schedule an interview (they have been approved at NVC and getting ready to send the final paperwork that gets them packet 4.)

Don't worry a lot about the commingling finances.  A notarized letter from some people who will vouch you are married and a couple will work.  They do this every day and know what is possible and what is not.


 

 

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