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Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Interesting stats:

 

CSC December filers approval rate: 83% (10 out of 12)

VSC December filers approval rate:   5%  (1 out of 19)

VSC to CSC transfers approval rate: 33% (2 out of 6) 

 

on the face of it VSC to CSC transfers still look much better. Fingers crossed.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-28 21:51:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hmmm, so it seems it was a dry Monday for December filers  :clock:


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-28 19:48:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi guys is that discussion for file i751 or file another case ? I little bit confuse it, because some people posting here, some detail about their case as IR-1 CR-1, which is doesnt make any sense for who filed i751. I'm the i751 december filer, so i just want to make sure is that right discuss form for me or no ?

Thankyou

Hi Thunder_Bold, you are in the right forum, don't worry. This is for people who filed i751 for Removal of Condition in December 2013.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-26 18:30:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congratulations CaliforniaGuy!


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-26 09:09:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congrats Kristin!

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-22 23:29:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congratulations to issha2lynden, Kia779 and Evoria

 
Pat

Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-22 19:29:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hey Evoria, great news man. Many Congratulations  :joy:

Seems it's finally moving for VSC transfers. Can you please clarify your NOA1 date? Your filing date is 12/12 but NOA1 date is 12/31. Why such a gap? Just trying to figure out if it's going as per filing date or NOA1 date. 

 

Congrats again. One extra Beer on me  :devil:

 

Enjoy

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-22 11:11:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Great news EV11, Congratulations!  :joy:  :joy:  :joy:  :joy:

 

You are the first one to get approved among the people who got transferred to CSC. Hope you are the indications of the things to come. 

 

In fact both of us were transferred the same day (03/14) though I filed three days later than you and my NOA1 date is five days later than you. (12/24). Hope they follow the same timeline for me as well,

 

Congrats again.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-21 21:35:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Great news HossDelgado, hope the ordeal ends soon and you get the card in your hand.

 

All the Best

Pat


Edited by Pat2Bos, 20 April 2014 - 08:02 PM.

Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-20 20:01:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congratulations Peanuts!

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-16 21:08:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Thanks EV11, hope our petitions move soon too.

 

All the Best

 

Pat 


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-14 13:58:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Meanwhile found this old USCIS 2005 document (hope it's still valid) on transfers to CSC.

 

http://www.uscis.gov...s_121305_ST.pdf

 

A good news and a not so good news.

 

Good News: "This is occurring because, in the context of backlog elimination, some cases that are unlikely to require an interview have been transferred from district offices with longer backlogs to the California Service Center where there is greater existing adjudications capacity."

 

Not so good news: "For I-751s, customers will not receive a new receipt and may first learn of the transfer of their case through a Request for Evidence."

 

Well we haven't received an RFE, yet. So fingers crossed.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-13 12:41:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congrats gyselle! Now you are USCIS free for 10 years unless you decide to apply for US citizenship. You will be eligible for citizenship in another three years. 

 

http://www.uscis.gov...-naturalization

 

Congrats again and please tell CSC to push the case of VSC transfers too :ranting: . My NOA1 date is 12/24/14 so exactly a week earlier than yours but  no news yet. 

Sick of this wait already.

 

Enjoy

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-13 12:24:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congratulations MNyarai!  :joy:

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-09 20:43:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congratulations Pocho!

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-08 09:18:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Congrats to Pocho and 7teeners. CSC it seems is so much faster than VSC. 

 

Hoping that the wait ends soon happily for others too. 

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-04-04 22:14:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Sean86, click the link: https://egov.uscis.g...sDisplayInit.do and select VSC in the Service Center Processing Date. It will show you processing time for applications of all sorts. Scroll down and check for I-751. Right now it's showing six months, so Dec 2013 filers can expect it by end-June 2014.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-28 08:53:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi lola12,

 

It simply means your petition was transferred to CSC and nothing else. The language is weird and it gives the impression that the petition has been approved but it's just a language issue. USCIS is trying to fix it. 

 

"USCIS Clarifies Language in Form I-751 Transfer Notices Sent to Petitioners"

- http://www.uscis.gov...service-centers

 

Pat


Edited by Pat2Bos, 23 March 2014 - 06:54 PM.

Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-23 18:53:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Status update last night: "Initial Review". So now back to the stage where I were two months ago as CSC is starting review again. Don't know good or bad.

 

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-21 10:37:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Thanks Yurika & Jim,

 

According to this list it took 2-4 months post transfer so the luckier amongst us can hope to get their approval by mid-May and others by mid-July. Still seven months is not bad when it comes to condition removal. 

 

But then the USCIS website processing time is all screwed up. Since as on Jan 31, 2014 they are showing processing of July 2, 2013 but as per the October list 

MARANDA...............10/09/13......10/11/13......11/07/13......01/16/14

so petition of October 9th 2013 got approved on Jan 16th 2014 in exactly 14 weeks.

 

Mind boggling USCIS


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-19 19:54:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

And as per the processing time - https://egov.uscis.g...TimesDisplay.do right now CSC is processing I-751 submitted on July 2, 2013. So we can expect our cased to get sorted out by end August 2014 at the earliest sad.png

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-19 14:50:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Guys,

 

So  hy2934's guess was right.  Got the letter from the USCIS today that says the petition has been transferred to California Service Center. So at least the suspense is over but the frustrating part is that if they can tell this before sending the petition at least the time wasted in transfer would have been saved and we would have sent it directly to CSC rather than VSC. 

 

Fingers crossed 

 

Pat

 


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-19 14:45:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Thanks Maria, but I am not so sure that my petition has been transferred to CSC as I just got another mail which says that "On March 14, 2014, we transferred your CRI89, PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED, to  your local USCIS Office for further processing" which in my case would be Boston ASC. Not sure though.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-14 12:41:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Meanwhile, I found this very useful thread on petition transfer- http://www.visajourn...service-center/

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-14 10:19:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Guys,

 

So finally got a message from USCIS this morning that my case status is now updated. With great hopes I checked the USCIS dashboard only to get this disappointing message which I don't even completely understand: 

 

"Application Type: CRI89 , PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED

Your Case Status: Initial Review

On March 14, 2014, we transferred this CRI89 PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED to another office for processing because they now have jurisdiction over the case. We sent you a notice of this transfer. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation. USCIS reviews the applicant's/petitioner's criminal history, determines if there are national security concerns that need to be addressed, and reviews the application/petition for fraud indicators."



 

Has anybody else received this? Shall I consider it progress or just one department passing the buck to another department? The case has been in initial review  for more than two months now and it will be two months from my bio-metric on 17th March. 

 

Any insight appreciated.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-03-14 09:30:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi TheFantastics09, sorry that you had to go through the trouble again for no fault of yours. 

 

Well I am just hanging in there (what else we can do anyways). It's been only 40 days since my biometric and VT applicants can't even hope for anything before 90 days so almost two more months to go before will check with them.

 

All the Best

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-02-26 00:48:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Gurl,

 

See the USCIS link where you can update your address online: https://egov.uscis.g...splayCOAForm.do choose the option 'Yes' as your petition is in process. Also make sure to put in a forward request with USPS at your old address at least for a month so if something comes at your old address it reaches you in time. As per USCIS rules you need to update your address within ten days of moving. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-02-19 21:51:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

 

Hi Guys, so just came back from a half-successful trip to the Boston ASC. Half successful because I couldn't get the biometric done but they gave me an appointment for Friday 17th (original biometric date was 01/28). So I will still be able to get it done 11 days earlier and will not have to miss classes. 

 

Seems my timing was not right. There were at least 15  people waiting when I got there at 2.00 pm.

 

The staff were nice. I told the security guy about my original date but then I will have to miss classes and that's why I want to get it done now as I am on break. He took my appointment letter and passport to the supervisor and the supervisor said sorry I can't do anything today as there is a long queue but if you can come back on Friday we can manage it. The security guy struck out the date on my letter and wrote 01/17 in red ink and gave the letter and passport back to me. 

 

So one more trip but at least I will get biometric done within this week.

 

Thanks for all your ideas and will keep you guys updated.

 

Pat

 

Hi Guys,

 

Got my earlier biometric done this morning at Boston ASC. Super smooth, in and out in about 30 minutes. 

 

I got there at 7.40 am and about five people were waiting outside. At 7.50 a supervisor (the short chubby guy) came out and asked us to form a line. At 7.55 they let us in and after checking our appointment letters and Passports gave us the form to fill in. The red head security guy (BTW his name is Andrew) was there but when my turn came I was sent to a female staff (petite middle aged African-American, very efficient, and kept referring to everybody as "Sweetie") she checked my appointment letter, Passport and the conditional Green Card. I told her that I am in school and want to get it done before school starts and was here on Wednesday and was asked to come on Friday. No further questions asked and she handed me the form. Everybody was asked to turn off their phones. 

 

I filled the form and waited as more people trickled in. The same lady came back at 8.00 and checked people's forms and sent three people to the counter who had filled the form. A couple of people were reprimanded for using their phones.

 

My turn came at about 8.05 and the short chubby supervisor checked the form, Passport and Green Card and asked me to go to the biometric collection section in the back. 

 

The guy at the biometric station was pretty nice too. Took my documents, filled some entries on his system and asked my date of birth and nationality. Then collected the fingerprints (quite an elaborate exercise) and asked me to sign on the touch pad and finally took the photo (also asked me to check the photo and would I like another one). Then gave me a yellow feedback slip to fill in and asked me to drop in a small locked box in the middle of the room. When I came back he handed me my Passport, Green Card and the appointment letter with a stamp with today's date on it. 

 

I walked out and checked my watch and it was 8.12.

 

Based on my experience,it seems that people who want to get their biometric done earlier at Boston ASC should try to go early in the morning as it seems that they don't give as many appointments to people early and also they wouldn't like send you back as you have already made the effort of getting there so early. The actual process takes around five minutes so having a couple of people extra is not that much of a big deal, especially with all the biometric stations working (I noticed at least three biometric stations were active so that's three people getting it done every 5-10 minutes).

 

All the best to people who are planning to get the biometric done earlier. And yes, it's definitely worth a shot. 

 

Now, the WAIT begins!

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-17 09:49:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Was it the skinny red headed security guard? He was pretty nice to me as well.

Yes, it was a lanky redheaded guy. Hope he is there on Friday as well.


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-15 20:36:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

 

You're welcome Pat. I would guess that missing classes would qualify as a legitimate reason. They seemed like pretty nice folks at the Boston office. You really don't have anything to lose by trying.

 

Good Luck.
 

 

Hi Guys, so just came back from a half-successful trip to the Boston ASC. Half successful because I couldn't get the biometric done but they gave me an appointment for Friday 17th (original biometric date was 01/28). So I will still be able to get it done 11 days earlier and will not have to miss classes. 

 

Seems my timing was not right. There were at least 15  people waiting when I got there at 2.00 pm.

 

The staff were nice. I told the security guy about my original date but then I will have to miss classes and that's why I want to get it done now as I am on break. He took my appointment letter and passport to the supervisor and the supervisor said sorry I can't do anything today as there is a long queue but if you can come back on Friday we can manage it. The security guy struck out the date on my letter and wrote 01/17 in red ink and gave the letter and passport back to me. 

 

So one more trip but at least I will get biometric done within this week.

 

Thanks for all your ideas and will keep you guys updated.

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-15 15:04:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Pat,

 

My wife's biometrics went smooth. I did ask the woman at the front desk if they allowed walk-ins and her reply was: "It depends on what the reason is. If you legitimately need to come at an earlier date they will allow it, but if you just walk in for no apparent reason, they may not."

 

So I would surmise that your having travel plans would be a legit reason. Might be a good idea to bring your flight itinerary with you.

Thanks Teddy for checking. Much appreciated.

 

Well I am not travelling but as I am in school, I will have to miss classes to go for biometric on 28th. Right now I am on break so can try and get in done. I am gonna tell them the truth lets see how far that goes.

 

Thanks again

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-15 13:12:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Teddy,

 

Hope your Biometric went fine. How was your experience? Are they allowing walk-ins at Boston ASC.

 

I am planning to go there tomorrow afternoon. Let's see. 

 

Pat

 

 

Most offices do allow walk-ins, but some don't. There is a thread with a list of offices here: http://www.visajourn...ometrics/page-7 unfortunately Boston is not on it yet. I'm going to find out tomorrow and will post it here.
 

 


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-14 22:05:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

 

Most offices do allow walk-ins, but some don't. There is a thread with a list of offices here: http://www.visajourn...ometrics/page-7 unfortunately Boston is not on it yet. I'm going to find out tomorrow and will post it here.
 

Thanks Teddy, hope you manage to get it done.

 

All the Best

 

Pat


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-13 21:08:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

guys, my case status still have NOA date as the last updated date. Is it normal ? My bio metrics was 01/06/2014 and I did it early in 12/16/2013. 

Hi Roki,

 

Just wanted to check how was your early biometric experience. Was that a walk-in or you got it rescheduled? My biometric date is 01/28 but I am trying to get it done earlier too.

 

Thanks


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-12 09:19:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Thanks "Yurika & Jim" for adding my timeline to the list. 

 

Has anybody got experience with walk-in biometric at Boston or any other ASC? 

 

I am going to call them anyways. Fingers crossed.

 

 


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-11 16:18:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hi Guys,

 

So just got my biometric notice today and it's scheduled for 28th Jan. The only issue is that I have some travel plans during the last week of January but I also don't want  later date as it might delay the process. So I want to get it done before the scheduled date.

 

What are people's experience with advancing the date for biometric? and can it be done online as the letter says you have to send the letter back by mail for rescheduling and that will take time.

 

Thanks


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-11 11:38:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 December 2013 Filers

Hey guys,

 

So it's been two weeks since I received my NOA1 but no bio-metric appointment letter yet, whereas I have seen for most people they get bio-metric appointment letter within two weeks of getting NOA1. Shall I call them to check or just wait? I am bit more nervous as I haven't heard many good things about the VSC.

 

Thanks for your ideas in advance.


Pat2BosMaleIndia2014-01-10 14:03:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCR1/IR1 to bring her from India
Dear AKSinghSingh79,

I don't know why I am responding to this, probably because I have been through this situation and can empathize with MyDream2012 and don't want him to be in limbo.

So MyDream2012, my advice is that go ahead, come to India on a month's holiday (or if your job allows remote working, work remotely) register an application to marry at the local marriage office (usually the Sub Divisional Magistrates are nominated as marriage officers by the District Magistrate/Collector), screw the priest and marry under Special Marriages Act after 30 days, You will get the marriage certificate the same day. After that it's your choice if you want to file for CR-1 for your wife in India or come back to US and file here. For most of the Indian states, this information is available on the state government's websites but if your fiancée is from a state where the administration is digitally challenged you will have to request someone to go to the local SDM's office to get the forms etc. And by the way, this whole process will cost you only about INR 500 and it's fairly simple, so no need to go to a tout, agent or a lawyer.

Now, I will come to point by point rebuttal to issues raised by Mr. AKSinghSingh79

I still don't understand where you are getting this "conversion to the CR-1" information from. If a petitioner files for a beneficiary to come to the U.S. as their fiance(e) then they apply for the K-1. According to the K-1 terms, the beneficiary must marry the petitioner within 90 days. After they are married they may apply for AOS. There is no CR-1 after this. There would be no need for it. The beneficiary would be a legal permanent resident. As I said before, if they wanted to return to India to get married in a Hindu religious ceremony with family and friends present then they would need to apply for Advanced Parole (AP) or wait until her permanent resident card arrived.

Well on this forum I don't expect people to require a English grammar refresher, therefore I use words which are not legalese but convey the meaning in shortest possible space. Therefore when I said conversion, it meant changing the application by the petitioner. As for coming back to India is concerned, I have already said in my original post that if you get K-1 it's better that you get married in US as coming back to marry would just complicate issues.
"On no CR-1 after this", well Mr. AKSinghSingh79, I don't know where you get your information from, would just advice you to check if it's not a fake website or the person is not on a high. As the US State Department website (http://travel.state....types_2991.html) is very clear that if your marriage is less than two years old, your spouse can only get CR-1, and only after completing two years of residence in USA (please note- not two years of marriage) you can apply for AOS which will remove the condition. Both the CR-1 and IR-1 give you permanent residence rights only that in CR-1 it's conditional for two years in the sense that it depends upon your relationship.

WRONG. U.S. senators endorsing a case means absolutely nothing. The consulate officers are above influence. A congressman's advice to grant a visa is worthless to a CO. A CR-1 being approved in 6 weeks in India is not likely. The only way I can see this being a possibility is if DCF was involved. If you are willing to site an article to this particular case, then I will gladly reverse my statements. Regardless if this were true, the normal processing time for a CR-1 is 8-12 months. Telling the OP that you heard of a possible case where it only took the couple 6 weeks to be granted a visa is not at all helpful. It may only get his hopes falsely high that his case may be approved in that short of a time frame.

Well Mr. AKSinghSingh79, I am happy to know that there are still some people who believe in the absolute power of a CO and thus in fairness and transparency of the US visa processes. Good for you. Also 8-12 months is not the normal processing time. Normal processing time is 10 weeks to 24 weeks, cases usually go beyond 12 weeks only if they have been put in Administrative Processing (AP). As in the case of six weeks explains itself that it requires uncommon access and leverage with US law-makers which not many people in India can boast of. Anybody who has solid paperwork and adequate finances for the affidavit of support, can realistically hope for a decision in about 12 weeks.


Well in your original post, you didn't clearly explain this at all. You said "the K-1 will lapse immediately into a CR-1". I (and most others) would interpret this as, marrying in the middle of a pending I-129f will automatically upgrade your case to an I-130 for a spouse. If you choose to marry in the midst of a pending I-129f, you must immediately notify USCIS so that your petition can be withdrawn. After this, you must start your case over from the beginning but will file the I-130 instead.

Well I have already adequately explained this.


I have read the Special Marriage Act. Many, many times. I myself am getting married via the Special Marriage Act but our case is different as we are an inter-religious couple. The law is very ambiguous regarding the marriage of two Hindus. From reading it, I would interpret it as 2 Hindus are free to marry under the Special Marriage Act but since I am not an expert on this law, I recommended the OP seek advice from a qualified legal source (i.e. Marriage Registrar)

Well I have not only read the act but have also have been married under the act for more than a year now. In the process, I have had detailed discussions with two different Sub Divisional Magistrates, their office staffs and a High Court Judge who in his law practicing days used to be a marriage law specialist. All of them have been very clear, along with the documents, that as long as one of the partners is an Indian citizen and fulfills the local residence requirements, he or she can marry anybody of the opposite sex (except prohibited relationships) without any consideration for age, nationality, religion, caste or creed. I don't know if this is not clear, what is? I think Mr. AKSinghSingh79 is one of those people, who feed and abet the humongous good for nothing Indian bureaucracy and the multi-million strong army of useless lawyers.


I didn't say it was the best solution. I was simply offering it as a viable alternative because nobody has mentioned it already.

That's very kind of you Mr. AKSinghSingh79. Since nobody has mentioned this option so far you just mentioned it off the cuff, without even thinking that, far from viable, this could put their married lives in jeopardy as a marriage thus solemnized will have no recognition either in India or in US. That shows huge consideration on your part. Kudos.

So please spare us the condescension and check the facts first.

Take your own advice Posted Image
Pat2BosMaleIndia2012-03-31 16:21:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCR1/IR1 to bring her from India
Dear AKSinghSingh79,

I admit my mistake on 180 days instead of 90 days for K-1. You are right there.

But on everything else I am bang on. When I said K-1, I meant getting a K-1 and not just filing for K-1 as MyDream2012 wants to get her fiancée to US ASAP. If he can prove the credentials of his relationship, she will get the K-1, get to US, get married and apply for conversion to CR-1 which would be easier since the credentials have already been established. You can check with other members of VJ and they will vouch for it. The fundamental point being "if she can get the K-1".

On the six weeks CR-1, just because you haven't heard anything doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I am aware of a case in Bombay where the girl married to a US citizen (the bride coming from an influential Gujarati business family) got a CR-1 in less than six weeks. Tortoises can turn into rabbits overnight if you can have six US senators endorse your petition, so please hold your horses. I gave six weeks as the absolute lower limit whereas it has also taken almost two years for people of specific nationalities to get CR-1 (my colleague's Pakistani husband just arrived after waiting that long).

What I meant by lapsing is that once you get married while being on a K-1 visa, you are obligated to inform USCIS that you have gotten married and in that case your K-1 will be invalidated in the anticipation that you will now apply for CR-1. If you don't inform the USCIS immediately that you have gotten married then a charge of perjury can be brought against you which might result in fine or/and punishment for the US citizen concerned and a life ban on travel to US for the non-US citizen in the equation. I don't know how many people would be willing to run that risk by hiding their marriage while being on K-1 visa.

On the Special Marriages Act, 1954, I wish that you would have read the act first before commenting. Having gotten married under the act I can safely say that spirit of the act is that anybody as long as the two people concerned are of opposite sexes and don't come under the purview of prohibited relationship, can marry irrespective of caste, creed or religion. In terms of the basic difference between getting married under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and Special Marriages Act (SMA) is that under HMA you have to declare in writing that you are a Hindu whereas in SMA there is no such compulsion. You can very well say that you are a Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Sikh/Parsi/Baudh/Jain/Rastafarian/Jew or an agnostic or atheist and can still get married under the SMA.

On getting married in a third country without any of them living there for long term, this is a problematic route on many counts. First, in the visa interview the first question would be why did you get married in a third country? Second, when the US citizen wants to apply for PIO in India on the basis of his India spouse, the marriage certificate has to be apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, which does is for the marriages solemnized in India as verified by local officials. If they apply in US, they can do without MEA apostilled only if the marriage has taken place in US as verified by the local Indian consulate. So, in case of a third country marriage that will never happen because neither MEA nor Indian consulate would recognize a marriage certificate from a third country.

So please spare us the condescension and check the facts first.

Pat2Bos



I'm not sure where you're getting your information about the K-1 but it is incorrect and it's not going to help the OP. I'm not sure where you're getting six months from. When a person is granted a K-1 visa, they must marry the USC who petitioned them within 90 days. That's 3 months, NOT 6 months. You cannot come to the U.S. immediately after filing for the K-1. You have to petition in a similar way to the CR-1. It takes an average of 9 months to be granted a K-1 visa.
Why would someone go the K-1 route, get married in the U.S. and then file for the CR-1? The process would be complete at that point (the K-1). If the OP wanted to go back to India and do a religious marriage, then his wife would need to get AP/EAD or wait until she filed for AOS. Filing for a CR-1 after the K-1 would be pointless not to mention a waste of time and money.
Also the K-1 does not "lapse immediately" if the petitioner were to marry the beneficiary. If the couples chooses to marry while there is a pending I-129F, then it is up to the petitioner to withdraw the petition and file the I-130 for a spouse. Failing to do so could mean a denial of a visa attached with a material misrepresentation charge (since the couple is married therefore directly violating the terms and conditions of the fiance visa).
I've never heard of a CR-1 case completing in 6 weeks. Not even with an expedite. Giving the OP false and misleading information will not help him or anyone else seeking advice from these forums. I suggest you get your facts straight next time before you decide to post.

OP, have you consulted the marriage registrar regarding the Special Marriage Act? I'm not sure if it is applicable when both parties are Hindu.
If you cannot marry in India in a non-religious ceremony and you do not want to wait another year, maybe you could look into marrying in a third country. For example, Thailand grants Indian nationals a visa on arrival for 15 days (if arriving by air). I just wanted to offer this suggestion since it has not been mentioned yet.
Best of luck.


Pat2BosMaleIndia2012-03-29 21:37:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCR1/IR1 to bring her from India
Hi there, K-1 is essentially a fiancée visa through which you can get her to USA with the condition that you will marry her within the next six months (Hindu/Muslim/Christian doesn't matter) and then apply for CR-1 in USA. If you can get K-1 then it would be the best option since she can come with you to the US immediately. The flip side would be that not a lot of her family or friends would be able to attend the wedding since it would happen in US. If she gets a K-1 visa but you choose to marry her in India, the K-1 visa lapses immediately and you will have to apply for CR-1 from India. Now that can take anywhere between six weeks to a year (in my case it took 8 months).

On the marriage, the fastest (and cheapest) marriage is a court marriage. There are two ways, either you can get married in a traditional Hindu ceremony and register your marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act (but both of you have to be Hindus for this- you will have to sign a declaration). The other way (without a traditional ceremony) is that you get married under the Special Marriages Act, 1954 (http://en.wikipedia....riage_Act,_1954). There are no restrictions but of sex (no same sex marriages) and some prohibited relationships (incestuous in other words). The process is fair and simple, the only issue is that you have to give the notice to marry at least a month in advance in the local marriage registrar's office and both of you have to be present for that. I got married in Delhi and the link to the office is - http://dcsouth.delhi...marriage.htm#SM you can look for the local office wherever your fiancée lives as at least one of the partners need to be a resident (with proof- Driver's License/Bank Pass Book/Voter I-card/Pan Card/MTNL Bill) of that area. You will also need three witnesses from the same area (with at least two of the earlier mentioned documents). The best thing is that once you give the notice you can get married anytime after 30 days. The actual marriage takes less than 5 minutes and you get the certificate (two copies) on the spot within half an hour (of course with some humoring of the staff with sweets and a couple of 100 Rs notes).

The best thing would be to send somebody down to the office and ask for the booklet on Special Marriages Act (only 10 Rs. but hugely helpful) and then just follow it. One thing which threw us off was no-objection certificate from the US embassy (they would happily do it for $50 but would also clearly say on the certificate that they don't take any responsibility).

Once you get the certificates the real battle begins with the filing of I-30 forms.

Feel free to ask for any clarification/additions

Pat2Bos



I need your expert help with my visa questions. been reading the forum for a few days but still really confused.


I keep going back and forth between the two visa options: K1 and CR1/IR1.
I am a US citizen and she is in India.the priest told our families that religious wedding can be done in november and if we go that route and then file papers,it may take two years from now till she comes here and this is killing us both.

i am trying to find if there is a faster way of getting her to usa or if you can provide any other suggestions.



here are some questions that i need help with.

K1:
Can we get married(religious hindu wedding) at any point with this visa?
her family was told that after we get the visa, we can do the religious wedding ceremony before she comes to USA. is this true? is there such an option?
If we get married either before or after she gets a K1, what will happen to the K1 application, does it gets converted to CR1 saving us time or does the process starts all over again?


CR1/IR1:
Can i go over for a week and we do a court marriage in india and file for CR1 based on that? i cant find any info on court marriage in india, from all the info her family gathered, there is no such thing as a court marriage and only a registration of marriage after the religious wedding ceremony.
will doing a court marriage now, and then a religious marriage in november work out well with the whole process? i don't want our case to be denied because of this.


which visa has a better option of getting approved or in other words, which one is more risky of the two visas?

can you please help me?


Pat2BosMaleIndia2012-03-29 19:57:00