Sending in K-1 while visiting?

[Duders 0]

I know most of you have probably read posts like this before, but I need to make sure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that Canadians are allowed to visit the USA for as long as six months without a tourist visa. My fiance (he's the US citizen, I'm the beneficiary) and I want to do this, and he wants to hand in our K-1 papers while I'm visiting there. Is that allowed? I would of course leave once my time is up, I would need to finish off the process in Canada, after all. Would doing this cause any problems? Has anyone actually done this? Any advice and experiences would be very much appreciated!! Thank you.

[yankepeach 2]

I know most of you have probably read posts like this before, but I need to make sure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that Canadians are allowed to visit the USA for as long as six months without a tourist visa. My fiance (he's the US citizen, I'm the beneficiary) and I want to do this, and he wants to hand in our K-1 papers while I'm visiting there. Is that allowed? I would of course leave once my time is up, I would need to finish off the process in Canada, after all. Would doing this cause any problems? Has anyone actually done this? Any advice and experiences would be very much appreciated!! Thank you.

Your only allowed 90 days in the US on the VWP.(VISA WAVIER PROGRAM) If you stay over the allotted 90 days you will get a ban from entering the US. for a period of time...(I think its ten years) My fiancee stays about 85 days in order to avoid that drama. We also filed our K1 petition while he was here. So that is allowed and lots seem to do so. And the answers vary for how long you have to stay out of the county before you can reenter for another 90 days....My fiancee generally stayed gone 6 weeks before returning. You have to make the POE agent believe that you have every intention of leaving the county before that 90 mark. Keep in mind though, it all depends on the agent at the POE. They can be having a bad day and decide that you are a easy target to pick on regardless of any proof you may have that you intend to leave the county. I have read about several people visiting every three months and staying gone three months for years, then all of the sudden refused entry for no real apparent reason. Then too I have read that others are refused straight off. Basically its on you, as to the burden of proof of your none intent to immigrate. Good luck with your K1!

[HeatDeath 430]

Your only allowed 90 days in the US on the VWP.(VISA WAVIER PROGRAM) If you stay over the allotted 90 days you will get a ban from entering the US. for a period of time...(I think its ten years) My fiancee stays about 85 days in order to avoid that drama. We also filed our K1 petition while he was here. So that is allowed and lots seem to do so. And the answers vary for how long you have to stay out of the county before you can reenter for another 90 days....My fiancee generally stayed gone 6 weeks before returning. You have to make the POE agent believe that you have every intention of leaving the county before that 90 mark. Keep in mind though, it all depends on the agent at the POE. They can be having a bad day and decide that you are a easy target to pick on regardless of any proof you may have that you intend to leave the county. I have read about several people visiting every three months and staying gone three months for years, then all of the sudden refused entry for no real apparent reason. Then too I have read that others are refused straight off. Basically its on you, as to the burden of proof of your none intent to immigrate. Good luck with your K1!

This is good advice for everyone except Canadians. Canadians tourists are on a different program than the Visa Waiver Program, and ARE allowed to stay as tourists for up to 6 months, as long as no additional limitation is imposed by the admitting CBP officer.

The Canadian tourist status is very similar, from the point of view of the tourist, to the VWP, but the paperwork and internal CBP operations are very different. VWP entrants, as i understand, receive an I-94W, and are recorded in a very different way. The Canadian tourist status is more akin to a very informal B1/B2 visa. No paperwork of any kind is issued to the Canadian tourist. Until a few years ago, Canadians didn't even need passports. Even now, the passports are only used as identification at land PoEs - they are not stamped upon entry, in most circumstances.

The expectation CBP seems to have for Canadian tourists re: intervals between trips is that Canadians will spend at least half their time in Canada. So if you stay for several months in the US, the best way to avoid trouble is to stay that long in Canada before attempting reentry to the US. This is the rule that Canadian snowbirds (elderly folks with RVs who spend their winters driving around the southern US, where it's nice and warm) generally follow, and tends to keep you out of trouble with both the CBP and the IRS.

It is only because Canadian tourists are allowed to spend up to 6 months at a time that it is even vaguely feasible to attempt a schedule of 3 months in, 3 months out, etc for any length of time. 6 months of allowed time per trip being 50% of a year is a plausible reason for why Canadians seem to be expected to spend 50% of their time in Canada. Conversely, the 90 days allowed to a VWP entrant is only roughly 25% of a year, so Europeans, under this logic, may plausibly be expected to maintain a 3-1 ratio of time in Europe to time in the US. CBP probably get suspicious once a VWP entrant spends more than 90 days per year in the US.

[HeatDeath 430]

I know most of you have probably read posts like this before, but I need to make sure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that Canadians are allowed to visit the USA for as long as six months without a tourist visa. My fiance (he's the US citizen, I'm the beneficiary) and I want to do this, and he wants to hand in our K-1 papers while I'm visiting there. Is that allowed? I would of course leave once my time is up, I would need to finish off the process in Canada, after all. Would doing this cause any problems? Has anyone actually done this? Any advice and experiences would be very much appreciated!! Thank you.

This should be absolutely fine. There is no problem at all with you being in the US at the time the I-129F is filed, and this shouldn't cause any problems at all.

You will want to be back in Canada a couple of weeks after your USC fiance receives the NOA2 notice of approval, so that you can receive the Packet 3 from the US consulate and begin working on that paperwork. Make sure you've got someone reliable checking your mail to make sure you get that Packet 3 letter when it arrives, 3-4 weeks after your USC fiance receives the NOA2, if you can't be there yourself to get it. Obviously you will need to be back in Canada for the consulate interview as well, though you won't get a date for that until after you complete and send in the Packet 3 paperwork to the consulate.

As you said, as long as you leave before your time is up, and as long as you get and respond to the Packet (which will be mailed to the Canadian address you enter on the I-129F), and as long as you get to your consulate interview in Vancouver or Montreal (depends on which end of the country your Canadian address is in, for a K-1) this will work just fine.

[Duders 0]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I feel much better.

Do I need a certain amount of money saved up or does my fiance need to have some sort of written statement that he'll support me while I'm visiting?

[HeatDeath 430]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I feel much better.

Do I need a certain amount of money saved up or does my fiance need to have some sort of written statement that he'll support me while I'm visiting?

Being admitted to the US before you have a fiance visa petition underway is just like being admitted under any normal circumstances Tell them you're on vacation and visiting friends. It shouldn't be a problem.

After you have a visa petition underway, it is generally a good idea to bring with you proof of ties to Canada: return ticket, rental agreements, utility bills, a letter form your employer stating when you intend to return, that sort of thing. 19 times out of 20 you won't need them, but it's good to have them just in case. A statement of support from your fiance would probably be counterproductive, actually, as they'll be looking for evidence that you still reside in Canada and intend to return in a timely manner. Having an ongoing and indefinite source of support in the States would tend to contraindicate that.

Having a copy of the I-129 NOA1 is also a really good idea - it shows that you're doing the immigration thing properly and that you have invested hundreds of dollars towards something that will obligate you to return to Canada at some point - the visa interview at the consulate.

[yankepeach 2]

This is good advice for everyone except Canadians. Canadians tourists are on a different program than the Visa Waiver Program, and ARE allowed to stay as tourists for up to 6 months, as long as no additional limitation is imposed by the admitting CBP officer.

The Canadian tourist status is very similar, from the point of view of the tourist, to the VWP, but the paperwork and internal CBP operations are very different. VWP entrants, as i understand, receive an I-94W, and are recorded in a very different way. The Canadian tourist status is more akin to a very informal B1/B2 visa. No paperwork of any kind is issued to the Canadian tourist. Until a few years ago, Canadians didn't even need passports. Even now, the passports are only used as identification at land PoEs - they are not stamped upon entry, in most circumstances.

Jeesh and here I thought I actually knew one. I am almost afraid to answer a persons questions unless their question and there position are exactly the same as mine. Learn something new every day. Thanks for fixing this one.