Applying for a K-1 Visa from WITHIN the US (student status)?

[beeelythe 0]

Hi there everyone!

So glad that a forum like this exists so that people can come together and share their experiences with one another!

I'm a Canadian citizen living in Chicago and studying at a college in the downtown area. I'm here on a student visa that lasts four years. A year ago, I met Bryan. He's a fellow student at my school (different majors!) and we fell for one another. We have been living together happily for the last six months and we are moving into a bigger one bedroom apartment this coming July.

Because of my special circumstances, we've been discussing marriage for a while now. Although we have both decided this was the right choice for us, only recently did I come across this site and discover the procedures for applying for the various different visas.

I have another year and a half of study remaining before graduation (I finish in December of 2011) and at that point I will be applying for OPT status (optional practicum training), which would grant me a permit to work in the United States in a field related to my area of study for one year after graduation.

So, now that I've laid all of that out, is it possible for us to apply for the K-1 visa from WITHIN the US while I'm still here, rather than me having to move back to Vancouver for 6 months and be separated for that time? Or is there an alternate (better) route than the K-1 visa? Since I'm here legally already as a part of my student visa, I figured this would be the easiest way to go about applying.

Because of the timeline that is required for applying for the K-1 visa, I've come to the conclusion that we would (probably) have to be married in January of 2012 or sometime around then.

If anyone has any suggestions or could point me in the right direction in terms of research, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Cheers!

[slider100 8]

K-1 visa specifically pertains to get your foreign fiance to the US. Once you enter on a K-1, you have 90 days to get married and the file for adjustment of status.

However, in your case, you are already in the US on a student visa. So, it is better for you to just get married and then file for adjustment of status from your student to a resident.

Please direct your other posts to the Canadian forum the members out there will be able to help you a lot.

KnR aka slider100

[canadian_wife 1,831]

visas are used to enter the United States, since you are already in the United States, the K-1 is not for you. You should marry and adjust your status from student to permenant resident.

Good luck.

[Anh map 2,098]

As long as your student visa does not have a home residency requirement you can adjust status. If you marry and then adjust status you won't have to worry about obtaining OPT status (or any other) as you would have LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) status a/k/a/ a Green Card. This is done while you are both residing here in the US.

The Adjusting Status option would also be much less expensive than the K1 process.

You can find lots of good answers in all of the VJ forums. Do some reading in the Guides and other forums to learn the ins and outs of each visa type.

Best of luck.

[canadian_wife 1,831]

F-1 visas issued in Canada do not carry a home residency requirement, no worries there