DCF

We chose to NOT go the fiancé route because there is a great deal of uncertainty with it. The timeline that the USCIS gives is usually inaccurate. Ten phone calls to the USCIS can give you ten different answers  to any given question. They are not responsible for their answer: You are responsible for any action you take. Further, once the alien arrives in the US on a K-1 visa and the couple is married, the alien must file to Adjust their Status [Adjustment of Status - AOS]; they also need to file for Employment Authorization and for Advance Parole -- all of these processes cost more money, and can take anywhere from "one day instant" to 18 months of  processing until the alien is finally able to AOS and become a Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR).  As you will see below, with the I-130 DCF process none of this extra filing has to happen, and the alien enters the US as a CPR and therefore immediately authorized to work and travel freely. (In 2001 they changed the rule of  the EAD for a K-1 they are now able to work for 90 days on a K-1 BUT then must stop until the 2 year EAD is received.)