Need advices for Canadian girl wanting to marry and live with my American boyfriend in USA!

[croissantburger 0]

Hi everyone!

I am totally new to this forum, and I speak French so, sorry in advance for my poor English >_< lol! Anyway, I've got a bunch of questions and I really

hope with all my heart that I will find some answers here, so I'm giving it a try!

Ok, there ya go, I am a 25 years old Canadian girl from Québec, and one year ago I met this wonderful 34 years old "stranger" from North Carolina USA out of nowhere during a trip in France ( long and sugar-coated romantic story lol ) ANYWAY, we fell in love in a matter of a week. He lives in NC, I live in Quebec, I came visit him in North Carolina 4 times, and he came to Quebec once. Now after one year of relationship, we want to live together and get married! He is about to purchase a house in NC so we can have our own little place there together. I want to move to USA and live with him in NC, and become his wife and all that!

I'm a self-employed artist who works from home. I have a 8 years old daughter from my past relationship but she currently lives with her father here in Canada.

SO, really, I am absolutely clueless on what we need to do T__T ! We haven't started any kind of paper things and all that yet. ( so basically we are just a boyfriend and girlfriend who wants to live together in USA and get married ) Now that my American boyfriend is about to purchase the house, I want to come there and spend lots of time with him there and all that. So, what should we do in order to live together as soon as possible?

What should be the first step? I don't want to make any mistakes and want to be 100% safe of course. I just want to live in NC with him, become his wife, but I also want to be able to go back to my home country ( Canada ) to visit my daughter and eventually also have her coming visiting us in NC and all that.

Any help would be soooooooooo appreciated! I have heard so many weird and scary things about this kind of situation. He will own the house probably next month and I will then fly there once again to spend a bunch of weeks there, stuff the house with furniture and all that, etc! So when and where should we start working on immigration/wedding stuff? Also, on my next visit to NC, if I go there for like 2 or 3 months in our new house, can I be suspected of that thing called "immigrant intent" and risk a ban or whatever? ( I just learn about that tonight only, LOL forgive me if I really have no ideas of what I'm talking about T__T ) Ahhhhhhhhhh, I'm so lost!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I just find it so hard to find information and this forum seems to be so helpful!!!!! ^__^

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! =) =) =) !

[Wis-Can 0]

I live in Nova Scotia, and my honey lives in Wisconsin. We went with the K-1 Visa with no regrets. We applied last September and had my visa in hand in April. I am still in Canada, moving in August. We have three months once I arrive that we need to be married in. The only downside being I can't work till after we are married. Actually he's ok with that, I am the one that's not. He thinks I will need the time to get settled in, decorate the house, meet people and all that stuff! There is alot of info on this website, I had to make a cup of tea and sat and read for hours. Most people are really helpful! Good luck which ever route you both decide to go.

[jundp 191]

To the OP, first of all - congratulations!

You probably do want to take Wis-Can's advice and have a look through all the guides and FAQs on here to give you an idea of how long you are looking at waiting and which visa might be the best for you. You could apply for the K1 (fiancee visa) which means you'd wait typically 4-7 months before being allowed to enter and move to the US, then you have 90 days to get married and then you file to adjust your status to get a conditional green card. Or you can get married first, return home to Canada and apply for a CR1 visa (spousal visa).

Good luck!

[Mike B. 231]

Definately check out the guides at the top of the page and go through them with your boyfriend to decide which visa is the right way to go.

Also, it's probably something that is just lost in translation, but to get started on the K-1, you must have a fiance, not just a boyfriend. It won't be good enough to want to live together and get married, you'll actually have to swear under penalty of perjury that you intend on getting married within 90 days of your entrance into the country on the K-1.

[Krikit 1,164]

Like the others say, start reading the guides: Link to the Guides. That will get you a little background on which visa is right for you.

My area of concern for you is your daughter. If you apply for a K-1 Fiancée visa then you will not be able to leave the US for a while.... you have to apply and wait for a document called Advance Parole (AP) which allows you to come back to the US while your Adjustment of Status (AOS) is pending. This typically takes about 3 months. If being able to leave the US is a concern to you, then the K-1 visa is not a good visa for your situation.

Anyway, have a look at the guides. And also come visit us in the Canada Forum. Lots of good and helpful people in there..... as well as some francophones.

Welcome to VJ, CroissantBurger.

[croissantburger 0]

Thank you everyone !!! =) We will simply see with an attorney what is the best way for us to go by, and I could wait years if I have to during the process if it results of being together one day and be forever happy, just telling myself that a few months will be nothing compared to all the great years we will get to live together =) Thankfully Montreal ( Quebec ) isn't that far away from Charlotte ( NC ) and the flight tickets can be real cheap sometimes so he can come visit =) Thanks again for your help !!!

[cjblack 0]

Welcome! Your story is so similar to ours.. I am 34 (in NJ), my fiancee is 26 (from Ottawa), and we met while we were both traveling in Egypt. We applied for the K-1 in April and we're hoping to get the NOA2 in August. We're expecting the full process to take at LEAST 7 months, probably longer. If you read every guide on this website, and read other people's stories in the forums, it will prove invaluable to your journey. I highly recommend it.

Also, I considered hiring an attorney at the beginning of this process as well, but seriously - don't waste your money. You and your fiancee can do this yourself. It's just a matter of filling out a few forms and paying attention to a few details. Save the money for plane tickets to NC

Edited July 9, 2009 by cjblack

[Sam and Ben 2]

Thank you everyone !!! =) We will simply see with an attorney what is the best way for us to go by, and I could wait years if I have to during the process if it results of being together one day and be forever happy, just telling myself that a few months will be nothing compared to all the great years we will get to live together =) Thankfully Montreal ( Quebec ) isn't that far away from Charlotte ( NC ) and the flight tickets can be real cheap sometimes so he can come visit =) Thanks again for your help !!!

As someone else pointed out, an attorney is really not necessary unless you truly can't dedicate yourself to some time reading and compiling forms. In fact, in reading over the experiences of others, sometimes an attorney just adds more confusion to an already trying experience. This is already a fairly expensive process when considering all of the costs involved in filing, processing, medical exams and travel, and this website can be an invaluable wealth of knowledge when it comes to approaching the process yourself. Just my two cents.

Good luck to you both, from another Canadian looking to hop across the border.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Bienvenue!!!

Usually attorneys are needed when the process is complicated (i.e. previous deportations, criminal records, waivers needed, etc). Your case seems pretty straightforward cherie, so you should be fine. But of course the decision to hire a lwayer is yours. Just make sure it is an experienced immigration attorney!

There are a couple of VJ members who live in Charlotte. Bootylicious and pedroh are 2 of them

Welcome again to VJ!!!

[BermyCat 1]

My husband and I went the K-1 visa route as it was the shortest legal way for me to be with him. I just wanted to let you know that it's totally possible for you to visit him while the K-1 is being processed. As a Canadian, you can visit for six months if you like.

As Krikit says, if you go with the K-1, you'll be required to stay in the US from when you activate the visa until you get an Advanced Parole document or your green card.

Also, come has out in the Canadian forum below to get some specific advice on moving from Canada to the US.

~ Catherine