Hi to all of you! I am a Viet Nam vet US born citizen who now lives in Atlantic Canada as a legal Canadian immigrant since 1973. My girlfriend is a Canadian born Canadian citizen. We want to spend winters living and working in the US. Question: Do we get married in Canada and file through the US consulate in Halifax OR do we file a 129F to Vermont and a K-1 and go to the states and get married. I have property and assets in both countries. Comments appreciated

hi & welcome,
You're in a great position to marry and file in Canada which will shave about 6 months of processing time off of your case.
HOWEVER: this process is for immigrating to the US to be a Permanent Resident!

I feel your pain because we faced the same (short term) problem. We were living in Greece and wanted to split our time between there and the US.
There is no visa or immigration status designed for that.
Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) are Green Card holders, and are expected to live in the US. They may spend time outside the US, but the US is to be their primary residence, and there are steps they must take to make sure they maintain that residency (just like you do for Canada).

As your GF is a Canadian, she may visit the US for up to 6 months per year. The main drawback (if it is one at all) is that she may not work in the US.
I presume that this arrangement is no longer working out for you? Why does she want to immigrate to the US? Your question is not as simple as 'which visa path do we take'.
If she immigrates to the US via you/your relationship, you face jeopardy to *your* Canadian PR.
If you write back with more info on your desired outcome, other solutions may exist.


Ahhh, wondering why this is only a short term problem for us? When my UK citizen spouse completes his naturalization soon, he'll be a dual citizen and can leave the US for as long as he likes and still be able to return. The clock is ticking and I've got itchy feet.

Hi inquickthyme. There's another wrinkle you need to consider besides where to get married, and that's your tax situation. I'm an American who lived in Toronto many years, dutifully filing tax returns in Canada and the U.S. This is something every U.S. citizen must do, regardless of where in the world they live.

I decided to move back to the States and that means severing all financial ties with Canada: giving up credit cards, government health card, bank accounts, and eventually RRSPs. Otherwise, I might still be considered taxable by Revenue Canada. Not good.

I married in March in New Jersey and my Canadian husband has returned to Toronto, waiting for approval to come as a permanent resident. Getting married was simple. Extracating myself from the grasp of Rev Can is lengthy and complex.

There's a good book with which to start: The Border Guide by Robert Keats. You have been filing with Uncle Sam all these years, haven't you?