Is it better for a US citizen to marry their fiance in the USA?

[Colbert Report 5]

My buddy was born in Los Angeles, is a US citizen and has a US passport.  He has lived for most of his life in Canada and will be getting married in Canada in the fall.  He's considering moving to the USA and bringing his fiancé with him.  Obviously he can come and work in the US if he wants with no hassle as he is a citizen, but what would the best plan be for his wife?  He'd like to sponsor her to be able to come and live and work with him when and if he does decide to move there.  Should they get married in a civil ceremony before the big wedding in front of their family and friends in Canada later this year?  Does it make any difference?

[Becci391 339]

2 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

If he is already planning to get married this falll, then a fiances visa K1 , which would have them enter the US before marrying, and marry in the US within 90 days, will not work as there is not enough time to get through  the process.

 

The only option is CR1... marry in Canada whenever, apply for spouse visa after that.. Time line is around 12 months before the spouse can immigrate. Cr1 allows the spouse to work as as soon as they arrive in the US. CR 1 requires financial support documentation and USC domicile in the US, so that would need to be considered. She can travel to visit in the US while it is beong processed, but cannot live here until the visa is franted. 

 

If postponing the wedding was a possibility, K 1 fiance visa would have her in the US in around 6 months, but it would be 4 to 6 months  after that.. depending on when they married and submitted the next step of documentation.. Adjustment of Status.... before she could work or travel ourside the US. The wedding must occur within 90 days of entry, and in the US

She is not allowed to work without the work permit which can take 3 to 4 months to process after submitting the documents to USCIS ( related to the K1 visa)

I  would suggest to apply for the CR1 visa too.

[Coco8 1,039]

 

If they marry in Canada she can apply for a CR-1 visa, it takes 12-14 months to process. Once she has that they can both move to the U.S. together. They will have to find a U.S. sponsor (financial) for their visa application. 

 

CR-1 is cheaper than a K-1 (fiance) visa. Also, if they want to marry in Canada then K-1 is not an option because it requires that you get married in the U.S. 

[nightingalejules 678]

CR1 is the best bet if your friend wants his wife to be able to work upon arrival, and if they actually already have wedding plans.

 

The biggest potential issues all derive from the fact that he has "lived in Canada most of his life."

 

Depending on how long he's actually been away, it is possible that he might not qualify to petition without moving to the US first. 

1. A US Citizen must be "domiciled" in the US to qualify to sponsor a spouse. Domicile is a slippery term, but the US Embassy in Canada is pretty picky about it. If he can't prove "significant ties" to the US, and that his residence in Canada was intended to be temporary, he will have to move back to the US and establish domicile there (job, place to live, registered to vote, bank accounts, etc) before he qualifies to petition his wife. (And she can't come with him when he does that)
2. Even if he can prove that his being in Canada was intended to be temporary and he has "significant ties," he still won't be able to sponsor her by himself (unless he happens to be employed by a US company and paid in US$) He will need a joint sponsor to come up to the financial requirement for sponsorship, as foreign earned income doesn't count.
3. He must be up to date on his US taxes

Edited June 14, 2017 by nightingalejules

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

***** Moving from K1 to What Visa Do I Need forum *****

 

Everyone has given you good advice.  One other thing to keep in mind is that there is no "in case I want to move" visa; he needs to be sure they will be moving, because visas expire in 6 months or less from issuance, and if they don't immigrate to the USA during that time, they need to start from the beginning, pay the fees again, wait again etc.