no simple answer? k-3, cr-1 and UGHHHHARGGGHH!

[meridianpac 0]

Please forgive my ignorance, I am new to this and hope you all can bear with me.

My name is josh. My fiancee's name is Heather. I am a us citizen, she is Canadian citizen with a minor child (17 months old). She is sitting beside me right now, and we are going to be married on Monday. We didn't plan on it. Just something that we both feel is imperative to do. She is here on a visitors visa that will expire on august 30th. It is a b2 visa that we didn't even expect to get at the border when we entered the us. Her son lives in the Philippines and she will be traveling there in a couple weeks to retrieve him. She is leaving the us on the 9th to go back to nova Scotia to prepare for her trip to the Philippines, then she will travel back to nova Scotia for a couple weeks, and attempt to re-enter the us with her son to live with me.

So that is the situation. I have a very simple question, that no one seems able to answer, so here goes:

We know that we will have to apply for a visa of some sort. K3 or cr-1. I don't know which is better to apply for, but I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give me on it. My question is, Is there any way for her to stay with me while the visa is being processed? as soon as she Gets back from the Philippines we want to begin prep for her to come here with her son. ANY ADVICE ANYONE CAN GIVE WOULD BE AMAZINGLY appreciated. Thank you so much in advance for your time.

Josh & heather.

[philandjulie 0]

Hey Josh,

Congrats on the marriage! The way it works is that you will file an I-130 petition first. This is for the actual immigrant visa. Once you have received notice that the I-130 is receipted you can then file an I-129f for the K-3. Here's the deal, though. As of Feb 1,2010 the department of state changed the rules with the k-3 stating that if both petitions are approved at the same time then then the K-3 is administratively closed (ie it is canceled). Most cases done at the California Service Center end up having both petitions approved at the same time so the K-3 is almost not an option anymore.

The benefit of just going straight for the ir/cr-1 is that in the end it cuts out a lot of steps. Your wife will enter in with an immigrant visa and can start working right away. If you do the k-3 then you will have to adjust status to an immigrant visa after she arrives. Since she is from the Philippines she would have her interview for the ir-1 out there at the US consulate. From what it looks like the Philippines consulate moves fast so she would not have to wait forever for her interview. Us Canadians are waiting 3-4 months for our IR-1 interview right now.

Not sure how it works with her child. That is out of my area of knowledge. There will have to be a petition filed for her child as well I believe. Good luck as you sort this stuff all out. You're not alone man, this website is a great place to share the journey!

[philandjulie 0]

Hey Josh,

Sorry, misread your original post. I see now that your wife is actually from Canada. So you might want to try for the K-3 as it could potentially get your wife into the country quicker. Filing the I-129f is no extra charge when you file the I-130. Though you will have to pay extra fees to adjust her status to an immigrant after she enters in on the K-3

In the end the decision will probably be made for you. You can try the k-3 but if it is canceled then you'll have to wait out the IR-1 process.

Not sure how it works with her child from the Philippines. May want to consult an immigration lawyer on that.

[philandjulie 0]

Regarding your other question.

Unfortunately she will not be able to live with you while you wait out her visa. This means you'll be separated for a few months, though you can visit her in Canada and she could potentially visit you in the US (but its a bit risky for her to travel to the US - she can be denied entry if they think she is living with you). Sounds like the wedding is kind of an unplanned thing. If the wedding is not totally set up yet you could apply for a fiance visa - a K-1. You would wait a few months for this to come and then she would enter in on that and it would give you 90 days to get married. After that you'd apply for her green card but she could be with you. The K-1 might get her in quicker then the IR-1 but it means you'd have to postpone the wedding on Monday. Though K-1's are also taking a bit of time right now.

Edited August 7, 2010 by philandjulie

[Jadenjewel 9]

Hi Josh,

The K3 is obsolete now. So actually if you marry you will file the I130 for the CR1. This is the guide for doing that ... http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

She will be able to visit you but have to prove ties to Canada when she does. File asap as the process is not quick. Montreal is really slow. For some reason the fiance visa's seem to be faster at the moment. So check the guides to see which you think will work better for you. Yes the CR1 is cheaper but if you factor in the flying back and forth maybe the K1 is cheaper, if cost makes a difference.

All the best to you both!

[Darnell 8,478]

Some light reading -

Comparison on K-3 vs CR-1 - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/204324-wondering-if-i-made-a-mistake-marrying-in-us/page__view__findpost__p__3060767

K-3 administratively closed - http://www.visajourney.com/news/2010/02/07/department-of-state-to-close-k-3-visas-if-i-129f-and-i-130-petitions-approved-and-received-together/

----

But - you are contemplating something else, an 'adjustment of status' on the child and her, whilst she is inside the USA, yes?

[meridianpac 0]

Thank you all. Any additional information is greatly appreciated. I have a few more questions though. It looks like the process for applying for the k3 AND the CR-1 is exactly the same thing. they both require filling out the I-130. is there a special designation on the form as to which visa you are attempting to obtain? I thought that the I-129f was the form for the K1 visa. this process seems ridiculous, and without a concrete method on how to proceed. I'm frustrated and can't believe that the country I live in would make the process of having my wife able to come live with me so difficult. how can anyone be expected to spend so much time away from their wife? It is really discouraging. thanks for all that you are doing.

josh and heather.

[pushbrk 12,111]

Thank you all. Any additional information is greatly appreciated. I have a few more questions though. It looks like the process for applying for the k3 AND the CR-1 is exactly the same thing. they both require filling out the I-130. is there a special designation on the form as to which visa you are attempting to obtain? I thought that the I-129f was the form for the K1 visa. this process seems ridiculous, and without a concrete method on how to proceed. I'm frustrated and can't believe that the country I live in would make the process of having my wife able to come live with me so difficult. how can anyone be expected to spend so much time away from their wife? It is really discouraging. thanks for all that you are doing.

josh and heather.

No, it is not exactly the same thing but both start with the I-130. K3 is effectively no longer available, so you're better off to just follow the CR1 and CR2 visa processes. The likelihood that she and her son can come to the US and start living with you, then adjust their status to permanent resident is pretty low, particularly if either of them travels on a Philippine passport.

Start by reading the CR1 guide.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Here is the guide that pushbrk was talking about. And yes, there is a concrete way to do this. It's just a lot of work and a lot of waiting

I strongly suggest you DO NOT have your soon-to-be wife simply move to the US to live with you without the proper visa. This can have disasterous effects including a lifetime ban from the US for misuse of a tourist visa (because if she enters as your wife as a tourist with the intentions of immigrating, that's misrepresentation which is bad)

Get married and file the I-130, the G-325A and the supporting documents. Your then wife will eventually interview in Montreal (yes, even if she is from Nova Scotia) because Montreal is the ONLY consulate that does cr-1 visas. She'll also have her medical done in Montreal, unless she wants to travel to Toronto or Vancouver to have it done.

You will file an I-130 for your wife and her son. Both require a medical.

Start reading, you have lots to do if you want her to come to the US on a Cr-1 visa (legally and worry-free)

Good luck

[philandjulie 0]

Hey Josh,

Another option you might want to look into is if you moved up to Canada. This may not fit your circumstances and work situation at all, but it would solve the separation problem. My wife immigrated to Canada when we were married and it was so much easier then what we are dealing with now that I'm coming her way. When you get married you can simply go to the Canadian border and get a year long visitor visa at the port of entry. We got hers in about 2 minutes when we showed them our marriage certificate. You can live with her in Canada while you wait for your permanent resident card which took us about 8 months. The things to consider about this plan is that she would need to be able to sponsor you financially - ie have a job in Canada making more then poverty level, or you would need a co-sponsor up in Canada like one of her parents. You would also not be able to work in Canada for the entire process. My wife and I live 10 minutes from the US border so she found a job just across the line during the wait.

This would also solve the issue with her child. It sounds like her child is already able to live in Canada so you wouldn't have to deal with 2 immigration visa applications.

I can't believe the US government expects couples to be separated. The Canadian process is so much more humane and practical. Plus the process is so much more streamlined - you just send one application to one address and wait for it to be done. The US path requires so many more complicated steps.

All the best!

[NVC FAN :( 18]

your playing with fire, if it does not work out. she will be banned for life from the us. for fraud,

gl

[Darnell 8,478]

Josh - I have one other comment -

if she is legal Canadien Resident with a Phillipines passport, then she MIGHT have some issue coming into the USA with her child, on that next trip. I'm not certain as to 'whats what' - but I think she'll have some issues.

If she's 'full Canadien Citizen' with Canadien passport, that makes things a bit easier, but if she was a Canadien citizen, she wouldn't need that B2 visa that she has currently.

[ValerieA 350]

[quote name=NVC FAN ' timestamp='1281236248' post='4116063]

your playing with fire, if it does not work out. she will be banned for life from the us. for fraud,

gl

Um, why:?

Frankly, if she doesn't have to do all this travelling, if it can be put off, I would advise an AOS. Done in 3 months, if there are no complications.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Valerie - in post 9 you can read why it is fraud. You can also tell by the OP that they cannot do AOS because she has a pending trip to PI to retreive her child

Good luck

[pushbrk 12,111]

Josh - I have one other comment -

if she is legal Canadien Resident with a Phillipines passport, then she MIGHT have some issue coming into the USA with her child, on that next trip. I'm not certain as to 'whats what' - but I think she'll have some issues.

If she's 'full Canadien Citizen' with Canadien passport, that makes things a bit easier, but if she was a Canadien citizen, she wouldn't need that B2 visa that she has currently.

I'm not at all certain there's any B2 visa. A Canadian LPR gets the same visitor privileges to the USA (virtually identical to thos of B2 visa holders with six month allowed stays) as a US LPR gets to visit Canada. (My wife and daughter have no problems visiting Canada using Chinese Passports and US Green cards and are even eligible for the Nexus pass. (also works both ways)

However, if the son is not a Canadian LPR, he's not going to be allowed to enter the USA with his mother at all.

Using a B2 visa or the Canadian visitor privilege with the intent to immigrate is not in and of itself, "misrepresentation" but sometimes the person ends up "misrepresenting" the purpose of their visit when questioned at entry. There's no way to know what questions will be asked and/or whether they can be answered in a manner that will get them in, without a misrepresentation. Often, the visitor is faced with a clear choice of telling the truth and being denied entry or lying and risking a subsequent finding of misrepresentation.