Help me out please

[Moly 0]

I'm a canadian girl who's been dating an american for 8 months now. Our plan is to get engaged within 4-5 months and marry by the end of the year. I'm wanting to move to the US and work before we get married. Is this possible to do? What do i have to do to work and live in the US before marrrying. Please help this is so frustrating...

[Rito 28]

I'm a canadian girl who's been dating an american for 8 months now. Our plan is to get engaged within 4-5 months and marry by the end of the year. I'm wanting to move to the US and work before we get married. Is this possible to do? What do i have to do to work and live in the US before marrrying. Please help this is so frustrating...

I recommend not trying to get a work visa before getting a fiance visa.

Getting a US visa through marriage is much easier than trying to get one for employment. The visa you'd need to work is called an H-1B, but they are hard to come by. The recruiter at my company said they cost a company $15,000 in total - it requires the company, among other things, to argue that you have skills so specific that an American could not fulfill the job requirements. Especially in this economy, they're very difficult to get.

If you're sure you want to be married, I recommend working in Canada and visiting your boyfriend while you apply for the K1 Fiance visa. With the visa waiver programme, you can visit him for six months at a time. It takes about six months to go through the process of obtaining the K1 visa prior to marriage, and at the end you'll be able to apply for work authorization easily.

[Rob and Jill 82]

I'm a canadian girl who's been dating an american for 8 months now. Our plan is to get engaged within 4-5 months and marry by the end of the year. I'm wanting to move to the US and work before we get married. Is this possible to do? What do i have to do to work and live in the US before marrrying. Please help this is so frustrating...

From the research I have done on Work Visas they are VERY hard to get unless you have a job or skills that are rare and cannot be done by someone on a local basis or unless there is a company willing to sponsor you. Meaning: You won't get a work visa to come here and work at Wal-Mart, but if you are a Doctor, you would have a better chance. Just an example.

[Moly 0]

I recommend not trying to get a work visa before getting a fiance visa.

Getting a US visa through marriage is much easier than trying to get one for employment. The visa you'd need to work is called an H-1B, but they are hard to come by. The recruiter at my company said they cost a company $15,000 in total - it requires the company, among other things, to argue that you have skills so specific that an American could not fulfill the job requirements. Especially in this economy, they're very difficult to get.

If you're sure you want to be married, I recommend working in Canada and visiting your boyfriend while you apply for the K1 Fiance visa. With the visa waiver programme, you can visit him for six months at a time. It takes about six months to go through the process of obtaining the K1 visa prior to marriage, and at the end you'll be able to apply for work authorization easily.

Thanks for the advise... I was kinda thinking this is the way it would have to go..

[raymaga 25]

Welcome to VJ!!!

To research all your options, check out the "Visa FAQ" and "Guides" sections here on VJ. There is step-by-step advice and information to give you an idea of what's involved in all the visa types available when you want to marry a US citizen and move to the US to live and work.

Good luck.

[Moly 0]

We're not engaged yet but planning on being in the next couple months.... I'm wanting to move there asap is this possible to do before we get engaged? Or what's the best way to go about it?

[Rito 28]

We're not engaged yet but planning on being in the next couple months.... I'm wanting to move there asap is this possible to do before we get engaged? Or what's the best way to go about it?

You can't move to the US until you have a visa, and there's a long process to get one. You can visit your boyfriend in the US under the Visa Waiver Programme, but you must return to Canada within 6 months and you must not have an intention to get married in the US or to move there on that trip.

What you should do now is file a I-129F to get your process started. You can read more about this in the K1 Process Flowchart.

[Moonandstar 6]

Yea go ahead. There's no requirement to be engaged before you file- but for the interview's sake, i would plan on engaging before that time comes, which shouldn't be for a while.

Remember that this visa, and indirectly the process as well, is a commitment to marry, too.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Moonandstar

[christeen 966]

Sorry, there is no boyfriend/girlfriend visa... You need to file the I-129 to get the fiance process started... It is a long road so be prepared... Once the visa is granted, you then have 90 days after you enter with that visa to get married...

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Ummm from EVERYTHING I've read you MUST be engaged prior to applying. It's FIANCEE visa, NOT a bf/gf visa. Not a "if you let us proceed then I'll propose" visa...

There's the "letter of intent" saying you'll marry, documents you'll sign all on the premise of being engaged. Applying without actually being engaged is fraud. Plain and simple.

[Moonandstar 6]

Ummm from EVERYTHING I've read you MUST be engaged prior to applying. It's FIANCEE visa, NOT a bf/gf visa. Not a "if you let us proceed then I'll propose" visa...

There's the "letter of intent" saying you'll marry, documents you'll sign all on the premise of being engaged. Applying without actually being engaged is fraud. Plain and simple.

True, but i was under the impression that the OP is in a developing stage of his/her relationship.

Of course, you DO have to be a fiancee to get this visa, but there is no problem, if you are relatively sure that you will marry, with filing a bit early to save on time.

I know that my fiancee and i never really considered marriage before we started- we were happy enough without it (thats a rare gift for Chinese), but when my granddad got sick, and we began to tackle US immigration, we began to really give some thought to our future plans, and decided that we wanted to be together for the long term. I'm not suggesting you lie on your applications, Moly, just that if you believe that you do want to marry your fiance, then there is no problem with starting this process now, because the time of waiting in this process is intense.

But don't forget, you need to prepare yourself seriously for marriage before starting, because if you decide not to marry later, your only making it slower for the rest of us.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Moonandstar

[VanessaTony 3,567]

True, but i was under the impression that the OP is in a developing stage of his/her relationship.

Of course, you DO have to be a fiancee to get this visa, but there is no problem, if you are relatively sure that you will marry, with filing a bit early to save on time.

I know that my fiancee and i never really considered marriage before we started- we were happy enough without it (thats a rare gift for Chinese), but when my granddad got sick, and we began to tackle US immigration, we began to really give some thought to our future plans, and decided that we wanted to be together for the long term. I'm not suggesting you lie on your applications, Moly, just that if you believe that you do want to marry your fiance, then there is no problem with starting this process now, because the time of waiting in this process is intense.

But don't forget, you need to prepare yourself seriously for marriage before starting, because if you decide not to marry later, your only making it slower for the rest of us.

I understand your sentiment but it is still considered fraud as you MUST be engaged PRIOR to apply for a FIANCEE visa. As you stated, "you DO have to be a fiancee to get this visa", this mean APPLYING too!

It's one thing to investigate options and decide which way you want to go and decide K1 and so PROPOSE and THEN apply for K1. In fact it makes sense. My husband and I wanted to be together, we thought about options and decided that we would be getting married one day and to be together it simply meant earlier than planned. Unfortunately options are limited when you love someone countries away. He proposed and we applied.

It's just like deciding marriage is the best way, getting married and THEN applying for a marriage visa. It's exactly the same. If you applied for a marriage visa and the marriage licence says AFTER you applied then of course you're denied. The fact that K1 doesn't really need engagement "proof" so to speak is irrelevant. Just like entering the US on the VWP with INTENT to marry is fraud, so is applying for a fiance visa when you are not, in fact, engaged.

The K1 process won't suck any less or any more if you start it now or later. If you want to be together sooner rather than later then decided soon which way you want to go is best. For instance, your options are fiance or wife/husband process. The CR1 process is faster, the beneficiary can work in their home country till it's time to leave, and then work as soon as they get to the US. This means that you will need to get married first.

Good luck with your decision!

Edited January 6, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Moonandstar 6]

Yeaa, but a marriage visa and a fiancee visa are not the same. The ONLY part of the I-129f that could be considered fraud is the intent to marry portion.

But being a fiance does not mean you WILL end up marrying, just as being boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have plans to marry.

It all comes down to the way you interpret these things- and they are subject to all of our own interpretations. Take a step back- life is for the livin'- there's no reason to be taking it this seriously.

Use common sense: if you and your fiance-to-be both have intent to marry in the future, then thats all you need. There's no requirement to have had an engagement party, or to even have gotten down on one knee. That's how my fiancee and I planned to marry, by mutual consent- i never really proposed to her. Never formally 'engaged' either. We just both decided we would marry.

Consider this: I would say that if the OP plans to be engaged, then the OP essentially plans to marry, no?

Edited January 6, 2010 by Moonandstar

[TBoneTX 45,447]

Si, man... BUT, anyone who refers to the SO as a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" in any paperwork or interview is going to end up in a lot of needless hot water. Words mean things.

[Moonandstar 6]

Si, man... BUT, anyone who refers to the SO as a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" in any paperwork or interview is going to end up in a lot of needless hot water. Words mean things.

Yea- i did leave that out...... if you plan to engage, Moly, make sure you either refer to your SO as your fiance, or just use his name instead.

Of course, i dont really know much about how much scrutiny the consulate in canada will give you..... I just know it would be a godsend if the guangzhou consulate were as lax as canada's. [not to say that in canada its easy- mind you, i just know GUZ is one of (aside from mid-eastern consulates) the hardest to get through.]