Can a Canadian and American get married but not live together?

[jelky 14]

Sorry in advance if this is at all confusing!

I am Canadian and live in Canada, my boyfriend is American and lives in the US. We both have jobs, but I am definitely not attached to mine whereas he has a promising future at his. Right now we're both saving up money in anticipation of living together, which is our priority. We are completely committed to each other and want to get married, too.

Because he has a future that he wants to pursue at his job, to me it makes more sense for me to move there first. Eventually, depending on his job status, he would hopefully be able to transfer to Canada so we could live together here (I want to be close to my family), or at least closer to the border.

From what I can tell, for a Canadian and American to live together in either Canada or America, it is easier for us to do that by being married. However from what I've looked into, I can't tell if the K1 visa is the route we should go, since I/we would also eventually like to move back to Canada.

Also:

I don't have any post-secondary education so as far as I know, just applying for a work permit there isn't really possible.

Can we "just" get married and not live together? If yes, how?

Thanks!

[JohnR! 5,495]

Technically you may get married ant not live together. I was married for almost 5 years before we applied for my wife's gc because of a series of factors. However, she had easy access to the US with her career which allowed her to work in the US virtually permanently. Without a work permit you may end up having trouble crossing the border at some point if you come in often and stay for weeks on end. Without a way to stay in the country and without some sort of status other that a visitor, your plan may end up not working in the long run.

[jelky 14]

Technically you may get married ant not live together. I was married for almost 5 years before we applied for my wife's gc because of a series of factors. However, she had easy access to the US with her career which allowed her to work in the US virtually permanently. Without a work permit you may end up having trouble crossing the border at some point if you come in often and stay for weeks on end. Without a way to stay in the country and without some sort of status other that a visitor, your plan may end up not working in the long run.

Thank you for replying so quickly.

So does that mean you would suggest going the K1 route?

[JohnR! 5,495]

The K-1 route would be indicated if you were willing to relocate to the US permanently and giving up your job in Canada unless you could work from home and cross into Canada sporadically. There are waiting times - average 90-120 days - during which you would have to stay in the US without being able to leave the country. That's something you need to consider.

The other option involves doing just what you guys proposed - getting married and visiting each other for periods of time. No one can tell you for how long that plan might work but it's important to observe that you should spend more time in Canada than in the US, i.e. don't expect to come in for 5 months, leave and return a month later for another long stay - that will set off some red flags. If you're planning on short visits every so often you should be ok but again, there is not set formula. When you cross, be sure to have proof of your employment in Canada so you can explain that you have no plans to stay in the US upon entry. If you get to the point where you're denied entry your husband will have to start the application for a greencard for you and that will take about a year, give or take, at the en of which you'll be expected to come to the US and establish residence.

Good luck!

[jelky 14]

The K-1 route would be indicated if you were willing to relocate to the US permanently and giving up your job in Canada unless you could work from home and cross into Canada sporadically. There are waiting times - average 90-120 days - during which you would have to stay in the US without being able to leave the country. That's something you need to consider.

The other option involves doing just what you guys proposed - getting married and visiting each other for periods of time. No one can tell you for how long that plan might work but it's important to observe that you should spend more time in Canada than in the US, i.e. don't expect to come in for 5 months, leave and return a month later for another long stay - that will set off some red flags. If you're planning on short visits every so often you should be ok but again, there is not set formula. When you cross, be sure to have proof of your employment in Canada so you can explain that you have no plans to stay in the US upon entry. If you get to the point where you're denied entry your husband will have to start the application for a greencard for you and that will take about a year, give or take, at the en of which you'll be expected to come to the US and establish residence.

Good luck!

A few more questions: if we were planning on doing what I originally explained, could I go there/he come here and just get married at city hall? And then when we would plan on living together, would we be filing for the IR-1/CR-1 Visa or...?

Thank you again for being so helpful.

[JohnR! 5,495]

You're correct. In the US you could get married at city hall and your marriage would be valid in all 50 states. Once married you're no longer eligible for a k-1, obviously, so the route to go would be the CR/IR visa. The CR/IR process takes about a year and you could still come in and visit during the time your process runs through.

You're welcome!! :-)

A few more questions: if we were planning on doing what I originally explained, could I go there/he come here and just get married at city hall? And then when we would plan on living together, would we be filing for the IR-1/CR-1 Visa or...?

Thank you again for being so helpful.

[NikLR 13,220]

Also you can start the IR1/CR1 process and then finish it when you're actually ready to move. The process, if you go as fast as you can, is about a year. However you can drag it out to 3 or 4 years if you choose.