K1, CR-1, K3 and other random questions.

[Bulldog15 0]

Hi everyone,

I hate to do this, and I know that the general consensus is that if you have a question to simply read the guides and and FAQ's before posting a generic question, but I have spent the last few days going over this website (which btw has a TON of knowledge everywhere!) but every time I get to a point where I'm like:

"Yeah, that's the right move for me!"

Someone else says something to totally make me second guess and not make me very confident in that particular path. So I guess I'll just share my situation with the whole world and take in whatever advice I can. I'm thinking that my Fiancee and I aren't the only ones who are trying to make this happen and I've see a few of the successful stories (Congrats to each of you) and I'm hoping that I can get some good solid advice to accomplish the same thing.

Here we go:

Me: American Citizen who resides in Wisconsin.

Her: Canadian Citizen who resides in Toronto.

I have been separated for quite some time from a previous marriage (married waaaay young, deployed to Iraq with my Marine unit and decided to stay married during the deployment to better provide for her), so I know that obviously I need to have that wrapped up which will not be a problem and should be wrapped up by the end of December.

In the meantime I've met "Kitten" from Toronto and we have been in this long distance relationship for the past 8 months and I have flown up to Toronto and she has flown down here quite a few times.

Against all the sense in the world, we've decided to get married and have her move down here to live with me. Hopefully I don't get someone to reply to this in a snide way and judge me for what appears to be a irrational decision, because we have spent a lot of time discussing this and we aren't a bunch of teenagers. Helpful advice please!

What we need to accomplish:

1. Speed. (of course, right?)

2. She needs to have the ability to earn an income in the US.

3. She would like to be able to fly back and visit her family in Canada.

4. She does have a BA. (not sure if that helps anything at all?)

I work in law enforcement with the US Federal Justice department, so I cannot have anything go wrong that would affect my career as well. I am also with the US military, with the Marines, so if I can get any added benefits from that, please advise.

If you need any more information from me I will get it to you asap.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Justine+David 218]

K1 is the fastest, but you have to adjust status once you get here and is more expensive. $455 for the initial petition, $1010 for the adjustment. It'll be a couple of months before she can work get a work permit (EAD) and to be able to travel (AP). You can only be engaged and can only get married in the U.S.

CR1 is a marriage visa, so you can get married wherever you want (however, if you get married in the U.S., she has to go back to Canada and has to prove to the border guards that she is not intending to stay illegally, showing ties to work, rent, etc). Once you get it, she can work and travel immediately, but it takes longer to get than a K1.

Military, you can expedite if you are deploying, but otherwise nothing. Your security clearance might be affected (this happened to a friend of mine whose husband was high up on the ladder), but I have no idea how or if it would; ask JAG...it's good that she's Canadian and not from a third-world country.

Unfortunately also, the Montreal office seems to be taking a very long time to issue interviews (a couple of months), so the timeline will be longer than many other people.

Definitely read the guides, located at the top of this forum. Welcome to VJ

[CBR 0]

Did you already get married and she's in Wisconsin now?

Or did you just decide to do that and it's planned for the future?

What do you mean by wrapping up your previous marriage?

Are you divorced yet? When were you divorced?

I'm also from Wisconsin and know that we have a waiting period before you can remarry. It's 6 months (unless that's changed since 2007).

I really can't add my advice/opinion until knowing these answers.

[CdnMN 0]

Hi everyone,

I hate to do this, and I know that the general consensus is that if you have a question to simply read the guides and and FAQ's before posting a generic question, but I have spent the last few days going over this website (which btw has a TON of knowledge everywhere!) but every time I get to a point where I'm like:

"Yeah, that's the right move for me!"

Someone else says something to totally make me second guess and not make me very confident in that particular path. So I guess I'll just share my situation with the whole world and take in whatever advice I can. I'm thinking that my Fiancee and I aren't the only ones who are trying to make this happen and I've see a few of the successful stories (Congrats to each of you) and I'm hoping that I can get some good solid advice to accomplish the same thing.

Here we go:

Me: American Citizen who resides in Wisconsin.

Her: Canadian Citizen who resides in Toronto.

I have been separated for quite some time from a previous marriage (married waaaay young, deployed to Iraq with my Marine unit and decided to stay married during the deployment to better provide for her), so I know that obviously I need to have that wrapped up which will not be a problem and should be wrapped up by the end of December.

In the meantime I've met "Kitten" from Toronto and we have been in this long distance relationship for the past 8 months and I have flown up to Toronto and she has flown down here quite a few times.

Against all the sense in the world, we've decided to get married and have her move down here to live with me. Hopefully I don't get someone to reply to this in a snide way and judge me for what appears to be a irrational decision, because we have spent a lot of time discussing this and we aren't a bunch of teenagers. Helpful advice please!

What we need to accomplish:

1. Speed. (of course, right?)

2. She needs to have the ability to earn an income in the US.

3. She would like to be able to fly back and visit her family in Canada.

4. She does have a BA. (not sure if that helps anything at all?)

I work in law enforcement with the US Federal Justice department, so I cannot have anything go wrong that would affect my career as well. I am also with the US military, with the Marines, so if I can get any added benefits from that, please advise.

If you need any more information from me I will get it to you asap.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hey Bulldog,

No snide comments here. I was in the same type of situation...except reversed. I'm from just outside of Toronto and my wife is a US citizen in MN. We went through the process about 7-8 years ago and lots has changed since then.

You probably can't do much until your divorce is final. Then you will likely want to apply for a K1. The bad news is that noting about immigration is particularily fast. Kitten won't have any problem going back to Canada for visits. I go back all the time. Her K1 will allow her multiple entries to the US.

She will need to go to Montreal for her immigration interview.

There is a Canada section on the VJ website where you can find lots of people who have gone through or are in the process of going through immigration. They'll have more recent info than I have.

Best of luck to you and kitten. It may take time but it'll pay off in the end.

Ka

[Nik+Heather 122]

What we need to accomplish:

1. Speed. (of course, right?)

2. She needs to have the ability to earn an income in the US.

3. She would like to be able to fly back and visit her family in Canada.

4. She does have a BA. (not sure if that helps anything at all?)

4. Is irrelevant.

Requirement 1 will lead you down a contrary path to 2 and 3.

The K1 accomplishes 1, and 2 and 3 will eventually follow (It's just a couple of months - barely time to settle in, really).

The CR-1 accomplishes 2 and 3 immediately, at the expense of 1.

Determine your needs vs. your wants, and make your decision from there. If she doesn't need to work right away, but you want to be together sooner, go K1. If you are in a financial situation that her being out of work for a few months is a problem, then you go CR-1 (it's cheaper too).

Also, if you want to marry in Canada, CR-1. K1's must marry in the States (but you could do a courthouse and then ceremony AFTER in Canada).

[Bulldog15 0]

My divorce will not be completed till the the end of December. It will be a non-contested divorce if that matters at all?

Did you already get married and she's in Wisconsin now?

Or did you just decide to do that and it's planned for the future?

What do you mean by wrapping up your previous marriage?

Are you divorced yet? When were you divorced?

I'm also from Wisconsin and know that we have a waiting period before you can remarry. It's 6 months (unless that's changed since 2007).

I really can't add my advice/opinion until knowing these answers.

[CBR 0]

Hi everyone,

I hate to do this, and I know that the general consensus is that if you have a question to simply read the guides and and FAQ's before posting a generic question, but I have spent the last few days going over this website (which btw has a TON of knowledge everywhere!) but every time I get to a point where I'm like:

"Yeah, that's the right move for me!"

Someone else says something to totally make me second guess and not make me very confident in that particular path. So I guess I'll just share my situation with the whole world and take in whatever advice I can. I'm thinking that my Fiancee and I aren't the only ones who are trying to make this happen and I've see a few of the successful stories (Congrats to each of you) and I'm hoping that I can get some good solid advice to accomplish the same thing.

Here we go:

Me: American Citizen who resides in Wisconsin.

Her: Canadian Citizen who resides in Toronto.

I have been separated for quite some time from a previous marriage (married waaaay young, deployed to Iraq with my Marine unit and decided to stay married during the deployment to better provide for her), so I know that obviously I need to have that wrapped up which will not be a problem and should be wrapped up by the end of December.

In the meantime I've met "Kitten" from Toronto and we have been in this long distance relationship for the past 8 months and I have flown up to Toronto and she has flown down here quite a few times.

Against all the sense in the world, we've decided to get married and have her move down here to live with me. Hopefully I don't get someone to reply to this in a snide way and judge me for what appears to be a irrational decision, because we have spent a lot of time discussing this and we aren't a bunch of teenagers. Helpful advice please!

What we need to accomplish:

1. Speed. (of course, right?)

2. She needs to have the ability to earn an income in the US.

3. She would like to be able to fly back and visit her family in Canada.

4. She does have a BA. (not sure if that helps anything at all?)

I work in law enforcement with the US Federal Justice department, so I cannot have anything go wrong that would affect my career as well. I am also with the US military, with the Marines, so if I can get any added benefits from that, please advise.

If you need any more information from me I will get it to you asap.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hey Bulldog,

No snide comments here. I was in the same type of situation...except reversed. I'm from just outside of Toronto and my wife is a US citizen in MN. We went through the process about 7-8 years ago and lots has changed since then.

You probably can't do much until your divorce is final. Then you will likely want to apply for a K1. The bad news is that noting about immigration is particularily fast. Kitten won't have any problem going back to Canada for visits. I go back all the time. Her K1 will allow her multiple entries to the US.

She will need to go to Montreal for her immigration interview.

There is a Canada section on the VJ website where you can find lots of people who have gone through or are in the process of going through immigration. They'll have more recent info than I have.

Best of luck to you and kitten. It may take time but it'll pay off in the end.

Ka

Just to clarify, a k-1 is a ONE TIME ENTRY visa. It will NOT allow her multiple entires into the US. Once you activate it at the border, she won't be able to visit Canada until she receives her AP (advance parole).

She would be able to visit you during the time you're waiting for 129-f approval and the interview as long as she's able to prove strong ties to Canada (as already stated). She will have 6 months after the k-1 is issued to use it. Once she uses it to cross into the US, it's done. It cannot be used again. You must marry her within 90 days of her entry or she becomes "out of status". Then you apply for Adjustment of Status to get her green card, once you're married. Along with AoS you will file Advance Parole (which allows her to visit Canada while waiting for the green card)

and EAD (employment authorization document) which allows her to work.

So basically, there will be a timeframe that she will be "stuck" in the US. From when she enters, until she receives AP.

[canadian_wife 1,831]

Nope your contested/non contested divorce, it does not matter. But you will have to be able to legally marry (obviously) no matter what visa you apply for. So you'll have to wait until you're divorced before you can file

I'd go for the Cr-1. It is cheaper and it allows for immediate work and travle (unlike the K-1 and the K-3 is useless in your situtation). But yes, sadly Montreal, where she will interview, is dreadfully backed up so speed in this situation is moot since the consulate is at a snail speed.

Good luck.

Edited October 26, 2009 by canadian_wife

[Justine+David 218]

You probably can't do much until your divorce is final. Then you will likely want to apply for a K1. The bad news is that noting about immigration is particularily fast. Kitten won't have any problem going back to Canada for visits. I go back all the time. Her K1 will allow her multiple entries to the US.

The K1 doesn't allow for you to go back and forth to Canada. It's a one-way visa. Only after you begin the process of adjusting status can you get the Advance Parole (AP) which can take a couple of months to get once you get married and start the adjustment process.

[CBR 0]

Non-contested divorce makes no difference. It's the date that your divorce takes place in court. My ex husband and I wrote out the divorce papers ourselves, didn't use a lawyer, just signed the papers on our court date. That court date is the date our divorce became final. People from other states have talked about divorce decrees and that they take a while to get. I did not receive anything called a divorce decree. The papers we all signed in court that date are stamped, notarized and served as my "divorce decree" and I had no problems during the process whatsoever in that regard. There are definitely varying laws and process between the different states.

[CdnMN 0]

- Just to clarify, a k-1 is a ONE TIME ENTRY visa.

See what talking to someone at USCIS does to a person - They had me all confused, and I wasn't even trying to get info about K1's

My apologies for getting that wrong.

[Abby62 23]

I have a question.

How long would it take from the date filing the 1-129F to the time you can cross into the US to marry? I mean..on average. I've been trying to look at peoples time lines, but they are all over the place.

Thanks

[canadian_wife 1,831]

tri_gear - estimate on 6-10 months. Montreal is horribly backed up so if you are interviewing there then it will be a while from NOA-2 to interview. Vancouver is quicker however. Where is the beneficiary from?

Good luck.

[Abby62 23]

tri_gear - estimate on 6-10 months. Montreal is horribly backed up so if you are interviewing there then it will be a while from NOA-2 to interview. Vancouver is quicker however. Where is the beneficiary from?

Good luck.

I am from Canada (beneficiary) he is from the USA..:-) So you can't cross the border until after your interview in Montreal to marry? That's when they issue the K-1 and where thereafter you have 90 days to marry once you cross into the USA?

Is that correct?

So then, how long would it take if I went over to the USA, got married..on a whim of course..:-) I guess I would have to stay in the USA? File the CR-1?? Then how long until I could work?

Or can a Canadian get married in the USA, travel back to Canada..continue with my job here..etc. Until I get my working visa and approval to live in the USA. How long would that process work? Just approx...thanks again!

[Nik+Heather 122]

tri_gear - estimate on 6-10 months. Montreal is horribly backed up so if you are interviewing there then it will be a while from NOA-2 to interview. Vancouver is quicker however. Where is the beneficiary from?

Good luck.

I am from Canada (beneficiary) he is from the USA..:-) So you can't cross the border until after your interview in Montreal to marry? That's when they issue the K-1 and where thereafter you have 90 days to marry once you cross into the USA?

Is that correct?

So then, how long would it take if I went over to the USA, got married..on a whim of course..:-) I guess I would have to stay in the USA? File the CR-1?? Then how long until I could work?

Or can a Canadian get married in the USA, travel back to Canada..continue with my job here..etc. Until I get my working visa and approval to live in the USA. How long would that process work? Just approx...thanks again!

Tri:

Your third option sounds like the most viable. The second sounds like visa fraud - I'm sorry, you can't plan on "whims"

If your top priority is to have the smallest possible gap in your work, then you really need to get married and apply for the CR-1. This visa results in a green card upon entry - you could even look for a job and have it lined up before you left your job in Canada. The CR-1 does take longer, but it is cheaper and, as just mentioned, no gap in work eligibility.

Yes, you could enter, get married and then file for the CR-1 and spend the rest of your 6 month I94 validity waiting out most of the processing...but since you intend to marry and move here, I wouldn't recommend that you take any other than a VISA path.

Edited October 27, 2009 by Nik+Heather