Getting married and waiting for GC in Canada

[lmd 0]

Hi!

It's my first time posting here so I'll give you a brief idea of what is going on.

My boyfriend was born and lives in the USA, whereas I was born and live in Brazil. He is going to apply for a PhD programme in Canada, so whatever happens we are trying to set up some plans to be together.

His first idea was for me to come visit him (as a tourist) in Canada, stay there for a while and then get married. So my question is: are we allowed to do this, a U.S. citizen get married in Canada to someone from a different country (me, being Brazilian)? Does Canada allow us to get married there?

Or, in case we go to the USA for a few days and get married there, could I leave the country before they send me my documents? I mean, could I go back to Canada a few days later and wait for the greencard or whatever document I’d need to carry with me while waiting for him to graduate?

I’m quite confused with this. From the little I know about the rules, I suppose I’d be obligated to remain in the USA until my situation is legalized. Can someone confirm this to me? I don’t know if any of you has been through the same, but any information you’d like to share with me will be welcome, since I don’t know anything about immigration.

Thanks a lot!

[Otto 83]

Hello, welcome to VJ.

Am pretty certain you guys could marry in Canada - not sure of the requirements or what might be required for you to wait out the PR/Green Card process in Canada.

** This topic may be better suited in the Canadian Regional Discussion forum (since involves mostly in-country marriage and perhaps residency requirement). (Moving from Gen. Immigration Discussion.)

[trailmix 77]

Your question is pretty multi layered.

Yes, you can visit him in Canada.

Yes you can get married in Canada.

Yes you can apply for your U.S. immigration while visiting him in Canada or from your home country.

You may or may not be able to stay in Canada the entire time your U.S. immigration process is going on, depends how long your tourist visa is for and you may also be able to extend it (you also may not be able to extend it). You will have to return to Brazil for your medical and interview.

Check the Guides link at the top of this page.

For a spouse married less than 2 years the visa is called a CR1.

Edited May 14, 2010 by trailmix

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hi!

It's my first time posting here so I'll give you a brief idea of what is going on.

My boyfriend was born and lives in the USA, whereas I was born and live in Brazil. He is going to apply for a PhD programme in Canada, so whatever happens we are trying to set up some plans to be together.

His first idea was for me to come visit him (as a tourist) in Canada, stay there for a while and then get married. So my question is: are we allowed to do this, a U.S. citizen get married in Canada to someone from a different country (me, being Brazilian)? Does Canada allow us to get married there?

Or, in case we go to the USA for a few days and get married there, could I leave the country before they send me my documents? I mean, could I go back to Canada a few days later and wait for the greencard or whatever document I'd need to carry with me while waiting for him to graduate?

First, as a Brazilian citizen you would require a visitor's visa to Canada - called a Temporary Resident Visa ( http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp ) in order to visit Canada. These are issued for specific purposes and specific lengths of times and you would need to prove your ties to Brazil in order to qualify for one. You would apply for this in the Canadian Consulate in Brazil. If you succeed in getting a multiple entry visa, then you would be able to leave Canada for a few days and return. I don't know if Brazilian citizens require a visa to visit the US but that is something you would need to determine because if you do, you would still require one if you were entering from Canada.

The process of getting a Green card isn't so simple as just waiting for it. The process is fairly involved and includes several 'stages'. Your husband needs to start the process by applying for permission for you to apply for a spousal visa. He does this by filing an I-130 petition in the US. Once that is approved, then the paperwork processing would eventually move to Brazil where you would need to have an immigration medical, police security checks and an interview. He would also have to provide documents that prove he can financially support you (called an Affidavit of Support). When you passed the interview you would be issued a CR-1 visa that would allow you to move to the US. Once you crossed the border you would then be issued a green card in the mail. This is about a year's process at least.

If you were able to obtain a different visa to Canada - a student or work visa instead of a visitor's (Temporary Resident) visa, then the immigration process could be started and finished in Canada but you would both have to provide proof of your long-term legal status in Canada, and then go through all of the immigration processing - police checks from Brazil, immigration medical, and an interview at the US Consulate in Montreal. He would still have to provide proof he can financially support you as well as proof that he still has 'domicile' in the US. This process is called DCF, but again, you would both need to have something other than visitor visas to Canada to go this route. The reality is that you are going to have to return to Brazil at some stage of the process in order to complete the paperwork before you will be allowed to move to the US to live.

I'm quite confused with this. From the little I know about the rules, I suppose I'd be obligated to remain in the USA until my situation is legalized. Can someone confirm this to me? I don't know if any of you has been through the same, but any information you'd like to share with me will be welcome, since I don't know anything about immigration.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to enter the US in order to get married and remain in the US, or to enter the US as a visitor with the intention of remaining in the US without first obtaining the proper spousal visa to enter. That is considered Visa Fraud and has very serious consequences that could include a permanent ban from ever being allowed to enter the US if they also think you misrepresented yourself or lied about your intentions. If you had no intentions of getting married (which you have already stated you do), visited the US and while you were there, spontaneously decided to get married, you would be allowed to apply for your green card from within the US and stay in the US until it was approved. If you planned to get married, however, you are not allowed to remain in the US while your green card is being processed but have to pursue a CR-1 spouse visa through the US Consulate in your own country or a country where you are legally resident.

Thanks a lot!

Here is a useful link that has information about how to get married in Canada. Different provinces have different requirements, but generally, you do not have to be a resident of Canada to get married in Canada. You do have to prove your identity as well as prove you are legally able to get married (ie copies of documents ending any previous marriages, etc.). http://marriage.about.com/cs/marriagelicenses/p/canadian.htm . So, you should be able to get married in Canada and start the immigration process while there, but will have to finish it in Brazil before moving to the US.

Hope this helps.

[lmd 0]

This was really helpful, girls. Thank you very much!

- Livia