K1 Visa - Wedding Location?

[Giruck 0]

No doubt this question has been asked and answered a gazillion times, but I just can't find the answer.

Once a Canadian citizen receives the K1 visa, I understand the couple has 90 days to wed. Must they do so in the US, or can they marry in Canada and cross the border to honeymoon and subsequently reside?

Thanks,

Giruck

[SweetOpossum 55]

Hello!! Please don't get married in Canada if you are waiting on your K1.

K1 is a fiancé visa to enter the US as a fiancé (To get married within 90 days in the US) If you get married anywhere else you will be a spouse, not a fiancé and that will automatically make your K1 visa invalid.

Hope this helps

No doubt this question has been asked and answered a gazillion times, but I just can't find the answer.

Once a Canadian citizen receives the K1 visa, I understand the couple has 90 days to wed. Must they do so in the US, or can they marry in Canada and cross the border to honeymoon and subsequently reside?

Thanks,

Giruck

[belinda63 2,981]

You can marry anywhere in the US or US territories. Please read the requirements of the K-1, it is for getting married in the US.

[mymarley 14]

the 90days will start if the beneficiary already in US...there is also an expiration of visa..check the passport...the beneficiary should be in the us before it expires..

Edited August 22, 2014 by mymarley

[gwenstar 66]

Yes, you have to get married in the US - within 90 days of the beneficiary crossing the border with the K-1-

The K-1 visa is a one way/one time entrance to the US for a fiance. Once the beneficiary crosses the border into the US, they can not leave until they have adjusted status - which is after the wedding.(*Technically they can leave, but they can not come back into the US on that same visa and you would have to start the whole process again as a new visa).

Since K-1 is a fiance visa and not a spousal visa, marrying in Canada and then using the K-1 to enter the US would be fraudulent.

My story - my Canadian husband and I got married in Vegas just us for the marriage. Then after he got his spousal visa we had a wedding party with all his family in Canada. This was celebrating our marriage, getting the visa and being able to start our new life.

Edited August 22, 2014 by gwenstar

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

A K-1 is for marriage in the US ONLY.

[CowBoE 429]

No doubt this question has been asked and answered a gazillion times, but I just can't find the answer.

Once a Canadian citizen receives the K1 visa, I understand the couple has 90 days to wed. Must they do so in the US, or can they marry in Canada and cross the border to honeymoon and subsequently reside?

Thanks,

Giruck

K1 visa is for you to get married in US. So separate the marriage and wedding ceremony.

Do the (quick and cheap) civil marriage at the local county court ASAP to satisfy your 90 days marriage requirement,

and then file for AP (while you are fling for EAD and AOS) so that you can travel to and back from Canada,

then you can do the wedding ceremony and honeymoon in Canada.

Keep in mind that AP may take 2~3 months.

[Giruck 0]

Thanks for the responses.

[Giruck 0]

Seems to be a lot more complicated for our daughter to marry an American and move to the US than it was for our son to marry an American and have her move here to Canada. We knew the process coming this way, it's a bit of a learning curve to figure it all out in the opposite direction.

Thanks so much for all of your responses, I'm sure we'll be asking many more questions. :-)

Giruck

[jmango4 11]

our process in the US is without a doubt frustrating and "special" .. I filed for a similar "De Facto" visa in Ireland a couple of years ago before my fiance and I were engaged (this visa just makes you prove you've been dating for 2 or more years and gives permission to remain in the country and work, travel, etc.... renewed annually) .. and it was so much more streamlined. Granted I am aware there is significantly less applicants moving to Ireland vs. here, but it seems as though for such a large, powerful country our immigration system is defective.

[baron555 934]

No doubt this question has been asked and answered a gazillion times, but I just can't find the answer.

Once a Canadian citizen receives the K1 visa, I understand the couple has 90 days to wed.

No, they must marry within 90 days after entry into the US. The visa is valid for 6 months after the medical date and must be used to enter the US before expiration.

Must they do so in the US,

Yes

or can they marry in Canada and cross the border to honeymoon and subsequently reside?

No, they they'd be married and the K-1 is for un-married couples. The beneficiary would be turned back, of this would be caught at AOS time and then they would have committed visa fraud.

Thanks,

Giruck

[NikLR 13,220]

You must get married in the USA. Also unless you plan on chasing the CR1 visa do not leave the USA until you have filed your AOS paperwork and have recieved your AP. The K1 is a one time use visa. It expires when you enter the USA. The CBP can deny you entry if they think you're already married.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

and it is also important to remember that once the K-1 marries in the US, he/she cannot leave the US and then return until one of two things happens: they receive their green card, for which they need to apply after they are married (called "Adjustment of Status") and takes a number of months up to a year to process, or they receive special travel permission called 'Advance Parole', which is also applied for at the same time as the green card.

If the married K-1 beneficiary does leave the US without one of these two items, then they will be denied access back into the US, and have to start the whole immigration process all over again from the beginning with a spousal visa (CR-1). If the married K-1 beneficiary applies for their green card and their AP but leave before either are granted, they will be considered to have abandoned their petition, and again, will be denied re-entry to the US and have to start the whole immigration process all over again from the beginning. Fortunately, the AP is processed more quickly than the green card and an emergency AP can also be received quite quickly (as long as one has filed for it) if there is an emergent need to return home (family illness, death, etc.).

Yes, while there are similarities between the US to Canada route with the Canada to US route, there are significant differences as well that makes the Canada to US route less forgiving of inadvertent errors and does not make allowance for the feelings or family connections of those involved in the process.

It is also good to remember that even though Canada and the US are neighbours, Canadians are treated exactly the same as any other immigrant from any other country through the immigration process. There is no real recognition of this friendly border relationship by US immigration, which comes as a shock to most Canadians.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Kathryn41