US Visas: K-1, CR-1, and IR-1
The following article is intended to provide some insight into the differences between the United States K-1 visa and the immigrant visas known as the CR-1 visa and the IR-1 visa.
Many individuals have misimpressions about how the United States visa acquisition process works. Some are under the mistaken impression that the entire process occurs at United States Embassies and Consulates abroad. In reality, the process usually begins at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The Department of Homeland Security's United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is responsible for adjudicating immigration petitions brought by U.S. Citizens on behalf of their alien spouses or fiancees. That stated, USCIS is not the only agency that has a role to play in this process as the United States Department of State is responsible for adjudicating visa applications pursuant to immigration petition approval.
The CR-1 visa or IR-1 visa petition can sometimes be filed at a USCIS office abroad under certain circumstance. Sometimes, it might also be possible to effect what is known as a direct consular filing of a petition for an IR-1 or CR-1 visa, but such circumstances are a rarity. In many cases, the petitions for such visas must be adjudicated at a USCIS service center in the United States. Meanwhile, the K-1 visa petition can only be adjudicated at a USCIS service center in the USA. Although the K-1 visa is technically a non-immigrant visa it is treated in much the same way as an immigrant visa since such a travel document allows for a sort of dual intent on the part of the applicant.
Processing visa petitions and applications can be cumbersome in some cases as there are a great many bureaucratic hurdles which must be overcome before the visa can ultimately be issued. For some individuals, the Consular Processing aspect of the visa process may be the most cumbersome phase since there may be a great deal of geographic distance between the US Citizen petitioner and his or her spouse or fiancee in their home nation. Concurrently, the applicant may have a less-than-fluent grasp of the English language which can impede efficient processing in some cases.
In some immigration matters, individuals seeking visa benefits opt to retain the advice and counsel of an attorney as this can provide significant assistance to prospective petitioners and beneficiaries since such individuals can be apprised of their rights and prospective privileges with respect to U.S. Immigration law. Those wishing to obtain American immigration counsel, especially overseas, are well advised to check the credentials of those asserting to be an expert in such matters since only a licensed attorney from the USA is permitted to practice United States immigration law. An attorney's credentials can be ascertained through inspection of documents such as a license to practice law in one of the US State Supreme Courts, a Federal license to practice law, or possibly a State Bar Association membership card, depending upon the jurisdiction in question.
About the Author
Benjamin W. Hart is a licensed American attorney residing in Bangkok, Thailand. Contact: 1-877-231-7533, +66 (0)2-266-3698, or info@integrity-legal.com. See further:
US Family Visa
or
K-1 visa
.
Look Nok (35th Anniversary of Laos at Lao embassy in Bangkok 3/12/2010)
embassy of laos
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