One of the ways that people seeking to immigrate to the United States of America will try is the love and marriage route!
This is where someone who is not a permanent resident or a citizen of the US enters into a love relationship with someone who is a citizen of the USA, becomes engaged or married to them and later relocates on that basis through the K1 and CR1 US visas.
This pathway often crumbles for many who pursue it not out of genuine love for their partners but as a bridge to the US. However, for those whose relationships and marriages are genuine, the outcome is oftentimes positive.
One of those who have dated, got engaged, and eventually entered into a marriage that culminated in a family move to the USA is a Kenyan known as Marion Jacobs. Marion who got married in 2020 moved to the US in early 2024.
She shared how immigration to America via the K1 and CR1 US visas works:
For those who are dating someone from America, there are two visa options available for you if you ever want to settle in America. I personally got so many people telling me how I should have filed for the K1 visa and not CR1 because the K1 is shorter.
But after going through the pros and cons, we decided to go the CR1 way. At the time we were applying in 2020 the wait time for K1 and CR1 US visas was more or less the same.
So here are the major differences, K1 is filed by unmarried couples, CR1 is strictly for married couples. K1 can only be filed by a US citizen, CR1 can be filed by US citizen and LPR. K1 is $1000 more expensive cost wise from start to finish as compared to CR1. K1 you must marry within 90 days after entering the US or find yourself in status troubles.
With CR1 you will get a two-year green card on arrival. (If you are married for 2 years or more by the time you go for your interview, then you will get a 10 year green card).
K1 doesn’t give you the right to work or even leave the country, while CR1 you get your green card 30 days after landing on the mail. K1 you still have another 8-12 months of processing left once you land in the US, while with CR1 you finish the entire process in your home country.
Denial rate for K1 is higher compared to CR1. I know people who got denied K1 and so they got married and started the CR1. This is what made our decision easier.
With K1, be ready to have your family who live outside the US see you in a wedding gown (white, I am not talking about African wedding or dowry payment celebration) only in pictures.
I couldn’t take this because I have seen people being denied visas to go attend a wedding (I know a mother was denied a visa to go bury her child) I couldn’t imagine my mother missing my wedding because of a mere paper.
I am so glad we gave her that gift coz she passed away a year later after our wedding. So choose what works for both of you knowing the pros and cons and all the best!
Also note that K1 visa is like a non-immigrant visa and only allows you to enter the US and marry your partner within 90 days. And have in mind that 90 days is a lot, and some people can change their minds about marriage. So if you are left before the wedding, you become an illegal immigrant if you don’t go back to your home country.
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CR1 in the other hand has some stability. Once you get to the US, you receive your green card on the mail so even if the marriage doesn’t work you at least have that green card to work and sought yourself out.
At the moment K1 is taking an average of 12-18 months and CR1 is taking an average of 18-30 months to process. And 7 months is what it takes or may take you to get the K1 visa to travel. The once you arrive, you have another 8-12 months before you can get the green card.
Most applicants are excited about the short months they are in their home country only to get to the US on K1 visa and they can’t leave the country even when there is an emergency and most importantly can’t work and the frustration begins