CR-1 visa is a marriage visa that is available for the spouse of a US citizen or legal permanent resident. The marriage of the couple in this case need not be two years or more.

This is in contrast to the IR-1 Visa where the age of the marriage should be more or equal to two years. Though both the CR-1 visa and IR-1 Visa may be classified as a marriage visa, the privileges granted to the respective holders have a few important distinctions. The CR-1 visa will only be given a conditional legal residence for two years.

Within 90 days from the second year anniversary of entry to the United States, the CR-1 Visa holder is required to remove the condition and the consequently adjusting the immigration status. This is done through the joint filing of the spouses to the Department of Homelands Security’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Center designated for their place of residence.

On the other hand, the IR-1 entitles the holder legal permanent residence without being subjected to any condition. This is actually the main reason why many couples opt to wait until the marriage reaches two years before filing petition for his/her alien spouse to migrate in the United States.

Determination of Conditional Residence

One of the questions commonly asked by applicants for the CR-1 Visa is “When is the reckoning point for the determination of the length of marriage?” The answer to that is the date of entry in the United States. The Customs and Border Protection Officer who authorized admission will be the one who will rule on the matter.

Being so, even if at the time of the filing of the petition the marriage is only a year, the alien spouse may still be granted unconditional residence if at the time of entry the marriage is already more or equal to 2 years.

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