My fiancee lives in Seattle and I live in Abbotsford (about 1 hour from Vancouver), we are just about to file the K1 Visa. I usually drive down to Seattle on the weekends and spend about 3 days there a week. After we send in our application is it possible for me to continue making these trips? Further I have heard that some people petition directly to Montreal for permanent residency, is this a better route for us?

You can still keep visiting each other no problem. Just make sure that your fiance in Canada can prove that she has ties to Canada (lease, letter from employer etc.)

As for filing for permanent residency with Montreal, do you mean a CR1? That's entirely up to you, a K1 is faster, and with a CR1 you would have to already be married. The guides at the top of the page will help you decide which route is the best for you.

Good Luck.

Yes, one can stil visit ( I did it monthly while going through the cr-1 process) Just be aware one can be denied entry! my advice:

1) Always tell the TRUTH. never lie to the POE officer
2) Be confident in ur replies
3)keep ur response short and to the point, dont tell ur life story!!
4) look the POE officer in the eye when speaking to them. They are looking for people lieing and have been trained to find them!
5)pack light! No job resumes with you
6) Bring ties to Canada (letter from employer when ur expected back at work, lease, etc etc)
7) Always be polite, being rude isnt going to get ya anywhere, and could make things worse!!
8) have a plan in case u do get denied (be polite) It wont harm ur visa application if ur denied,that is if ur polite and didnt lie! Refer to #1

Best of luck

I feel like I am always such a downer with posts like these, but I also feel like people need to be aware that it is POSSIBLE to be denied entry. Does it happen to the majority of people, probably not. But it can, so don't be too disappointed if it does happen. Flames gave good advice, as did Sapphire .... definitely make sure you have proof of ties to Canada.

It is definitely a possibility, so be prepared. However, odds are good you won't have any trouble. My fiance flew down at the beginning of April (we have a K-1 application processing...and processing...and processing). He had a copy of his mortgage agreement, bank statements, credit card statements, recent check stubs, etc...he didn't even get asked for them. I think at least partially it was because he packed REALLY light...he didn't even check any bags, just a carry-on ( men...how do they survive with so little stuff?) Prepare for the worst, hope for the best...it's all you can do. Good luck

This option - filing at Montreal- is called Direct Consular Filing; and it is only available for married couples who live abroad. In our case we lived in Edmonton and filed directly; but you need to be married AND live in Canada with your spouse; so at this time this is not an option available to you guys.

As well consider urself lucky! As your k1 interview will be in vancouver,and they are usually much faster than Montreal!

Bring a copy of your K-1 application along with your proof of Canadian ties whenever you cross the border to show that you are also pursuing a legal immigration process. I was called into secondary twice when crossing while waiting for my K-1 and once they saw the application that seemed to help them make up their minds and they let me through without a problem. Good luck.

I think that we got the one guard who did NOT respond positively when he learned we had a K-1 application in. When hubby was denied entry, it was for 2 reasons: not enough proof of ties to Canada (we had not yet found this website and were woefully unprepared) ... AND the guard told us that hubby was not allowed to visit during the K-1 process (hubby was fiance then). We had thought that it would show that we were doing everything legitimately, but that was not his interpretation. However, a few weeks later, hubby did get a chance to visit. At that time (after discussing this with a supervisor at the border beforehand), the guard found that you are allowed to visit during the application process. It really depends on each guard's interpetation ... although, as I read more and more posts, I think the first time, we just got the guard who found his wife cheating on him that morning WITH A CANADIAN