New here, with a few questions!

[lindsay_elaine 0]

Hi everyone! I just found this forum and am hoping to find some answers that I have eluded me through hours of web surfing. Rather than starting a different thread for each question and possibly putting them in the wrong places, I figured I'd just lump them together here!

Firstly, I'm a 23 year old airbrush artist (read "starving artist") and have been with my Canadian boyfriend for going on 8 years (in September) We want to get married and have him move to the States, but we're not sure which road to take or really where to start. Our biggest problem right now is I'm not making any money and currently living at home. I'm trying to start a career as a custom painter and have been working out of an auto body shop for a year learning things, but it's slow and like I said I'm not making much. I can always fall back on being a sign maker (did that for several years) but I'm reluctant to move away from where I'm at now. I know we could apply to have someone (my mother) sponsor him financially, has anyone had to go through this process? And this leads into my next question, which route would be the quickest to having him working legally in the States? K-1 or K-3? Does it make a difference? The sooner he could be working, the better as we obviously don't want to be newlyweds living at home. I feel like I'm being overloaded with information and can't remember what rules rules apply to what visa! And lastly (for now) I go up and visit every few months (my family has a summer home and relatives that live close to him) If we were to get married in Canada, and I returned home to the US, what kinds of issues could I run into at the border? I find driving back to the States much more nerve wracking than driving into Canada, I've even been lectured for traveling during a snow storm and I can't even imagine the complications that might befall me if I get to the window and state I got married while out of the country!

Any help is greatly appreciated and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of me (and Daniel!) around these boards. Thanks you!

[rae_and_scott 1]

Hello Lindsay, and welcome to VJ.

You should start off by reading the [u=http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=guides]Guides.[/u] This will help you determine which visa to pursue.

If you go for the K-1, you will have to get married in the States. If getting married in Canada is important to you, the K-3 would be your route.

Personally, I am not familiar with the K3, and don't know how quickly one can work on it. I'm sure someone else here can weigh in with the appropriate answer.

There is no exact science to when a person will receive the EAD (Employment Authorization Document), allowing one to work. Adjusting from a K1, you can see from our timeline that my husband got his about 3 months after we applied for AOS. His being able to work as soon as possible was also important to us, so we got married 4 days after he entered the States on his K-1 and we sent the paperwork for AOS (Adjustment of Status, which also includes the EAD and AP, or travel document) the following Monday.

If you get married in Canada, and you are the US Citizen, you shouldn't have any issues crossing the border back into the States. You are a USC and have the right to come home to your own country. Your husband, however, should bring with him ample ties to Canada if he comes with you (proof that he intends to return to Canada, such as a lease, job letter, etc.).

[canadian_wife 1,823]

If your looking for the quickest route to working legally in the US the CR-1 is for you. K-1 and K-3 are not work authorized. Cr-1 requires you to be married at the time of filing.

Good luck.

[minnew 4]

Hi everyone! I just found this forum and am hoping to find some answers that I have eluded me through hours of web surfing. Rather than starting a different thread for each question and possibly putting them in the wrong places, I figured I'd just lump them together here!

Firstly, I'm a 23 year old airbrush artist (read "starving artist") and have been with my Canadian boyfriend for going on 8 years (in September) We want to get married and have him move to the States, but we're not sure which road to take or really where to start. Our biggest problem right now is I'm not making any money and currently living at home. I'm trying to start a career as a custom painter and have been working out of an auto body shop for a year learning things, but it's slow and like I said I'm not making much. I can always fall back on being a sign maker (did that for several years) but I'm reluctant to move away from where I'm at now. I know we could apply to have someone (my mother) sponsor him financially, has anyone had to go through this process? And this leads into my next question, which route would be the quickest to having him working legally in the States? K-1 or K-3? Does it make a difference? The sooner he could be working, the better as we obviously don't want to be newlyweds living at home. I feel like I'm being overloaded with information and can't remember what rules rules apply to what visa! And lastly (for now) I go up and visit every few months (my family has a summer home and relatives that live close to him) If we were to get married in Canada, and I returned home to the US, what kinds of issues could I run into at the border? I find driving back to the States much more nerve wracking than driving into Canada, I've even been lectured for traveling during a snow storm and I can't even imagine the complications that might befall me if I get to the window and state I got married while out of the country!

Any help is greatly appreciated and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of me (and Daniel!) around these boards. Thanks you!

Welcome to VJ!!!

The quickest way for him to begin working in the United States is the CR-1 visa in which you would need to be already married. The downside to this visa is that you are separated from your husband or wife during the process. You are able to visit each other, but not live together after getting married. Your boyfriend can stay in the U.S. with you for up to 6 months as a visitor, and then he would need to return to Canada to finish the process.

If you decided to go to Canada to get married, or if your boyfriend comes to the US to get married, I would bring with you proof of ties to the home country that you intend to return to the U.S. and begin a CR-1 process. You can get married in either country, I had a CBP officer tell me once that I needed a visa to get married in the U.S.A. Not quite true, you can get married in either country, but if you have intentions to stay and adjust status while on that visit, that's where the problem and the fraud comes into play.

The downside to a K-3 visa in which you are already married is that it costs more $$ and you have to adjust status to that of permanent resident once in the U.S. A Cr-1 does not need to adjust status as they will receive a GC in the mail shortly after entry.

All CR-1 visas are processed for interviews in Montreal which have a longer wait time then Vancouver, which does not process CR-1's, only K visas. I am not sure of all the processing that goes on with CR-1's at NVC. My other concern for you is that as the USC you must be able to support your fiance/husband upon his arrival into the U.S. You must be making over the poverty level, if you are not then you will need a cosponsor. This applies to K visas and the CR visas. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

A link to CR-1's interviewing in MTL: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...768&st=1095

A link to Visitation FAQ's: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1visit (also applies to CR-1 visas)

Anyways, best of luck to you and we look forward to hearing more from you and your boyfriend!

[lindsay_elaine 0]

Thank you everyone for the quick replies - it help! We've got some reading to do...

[Jauque 1]

Hi everyone! I just found this forum and am hoping to find some answers that I have eluded me through hours of web surfing. Rather than starting a different thread for each question and possibly putting them in the wrong places, I figured I'd just lump them together here!

Welcome to VJ =D

Firstly, I'm a 23 year old airbrush artist (read "starving artist") and have been with my Canadian boyfriend for going on 8 years (in September) We want to get married and have him move to the States, but we're not sure which road to take or really where to start. Our biggest problem right now is I'm not making any money and currently living at home. I'm trying to start a career as a custom painter and have been working out of an auto body shop for a year learning things, but it's slow and like I said I'm not making much. I can always fall back on being a sign maker (did that for several years) but I'm reluctant to move away from where I'm at now. I know we could apply to have someone (my mother) sponsor him financially, has anyone had to go through this process?

She would be considered a co-sponsor and this is very common. Most people do not having an issue doing this.

And this leads into my next question, which route would be the quickest to having him working legally in the States? K-1 or K-3? Does it make a difference? The sooner he could be working, the better as we obviously don't want to be newlyweds living at home. I feel like I'm being overloaded with information and can't remember what rules rules apply to what visa!

CR-1/IR-1 is the quickest route to have him working in the US as it does not require him to apply for work authorization after he receives his visa. I'm no expert on the CR1 so you're likely best off reading the guides about it.

And lastly (for now) I go up and visit every few months (my family has a summer home and relatives that live close to him) If we were to get married in Canada, and I returned home to the US, what kinds of issues could I run into at the border? I find driving back to the States much more nerve wracking than driving into Canada, I've even been lectured for traveling during a snow storm and I can't even imagine the complications that might befall me if I get to the window and state I got married while out of the country!

Any help is greatly appreciated and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of me (and Daniel!) around these boards. Thanks you!

If you are an american citizen carrying an american passport you will not under any cirumstances (that I know of and certainly not the ones you mentioned) be denied entry into the USA. You should worry more aobut getting into to Canada than about trying to get back into the country of your citizenship.

Best of luck to you in this process. Eight years is a long time to be dating long distance so I'm thinking this whole process is going to be cake for you!