I have some questions. First, some relevant background info:

I'm eagerly awaiting my return home to American. I want to finish my master's degree and make a professional career out of English language teaching. That said, I've also been in a serious relationship with a Thai woman for very near a year now.

We've both done some homework... I think I am going to have a tough time proving my girlfriend/fiancée/wife "won't be a burden on the state" what with me intending to return to being a student. My income from 2007 until I left for Thailand in 2009 (when I completed my bachelor's and started my master's) is probably around the poverty threshold.

So first...

I can get my parents to "co-sign" and this will help (if not hopefully overcome) that hurdle, correct?

My parents own their own business and have done very well for our family - though recent "struggling" in my home country's economic crisis would be a understatement.

Second...

What's been the experience in petition turn around time for those who have tried the CR1 or the IR1 and those who have tried the K1? If get married here it looks like we can go straight to applying for a Green Card, but the petitions are the same.

I've read that part alone takes 6 to 18 months. I've also read that working with the embassy in BKK (if it is possible for me to start the petition here) might not be the best idea if time is a factor.

Third...

What's the difference between a CR1 and an IR1?

It sounds like the best option for us might be for me to marry her here, after I've started the process with the proper petitions a year in advance to cope with the timing.

I apologize if my answers are hiding from me somewhere in this forum. I'm still having difficulty with the forum search engine. I appreciate in advance any help... I foresee a government telling me where my wife can and can't live being one of those things that would piss me off immensely, and I'd hate to see this happen because I waffled on some dotted line.

What I found to be the easiest and quickest route was for me to apply for a fiance visa in the US and get married in the US. The visa took 90 days to get and once my fiance arrived in the US we had 60 days to marry. Once your marriage is registered in the US your wife will recieve a temporary resident card (green card) and can apply for a Social Security card and she will be allowed to work if she so chooses,

I did need to prove I had income to support my fiance and she was required to have a background check and medical exam here in Thailand and then send the docs to the US for me to forward to US immigration. I also had to provide photos and dates of my time spend in Thailand visiting my fiance. Once the fiance visa was issued my fiance went to the US embassy in Bangkok and the visa was placed in her Thai passport.

Everythng was handled through mail and the internet using the US immigraiton website.