Applying for K1 while in US

[Del mar 0]

Hi, I'm a Canadian citizen currently in the US visiting my fiance (a US citizen) as a tourist. We were just boyfriend and girlfriend when I arrived, but about one month after my arrival we realized we want to spend our lives together and got engaged. After some research we have come to realize the need to file for k1, and are very thankful that we didn't just do the impulse wedding. I have about two more months left in my stay and we are wondering if it is alright to start the petition while I am still in the country. I do fully intend to return to Canada at the end of my permitted stay.

Will we find any issues with filing while I'm here? As I stated I do intend to comply with my requirement to leave at the end of my permitted stay.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[mmb 0]

If you didn't have immigrant intent when you entered the US you should be able to just marry and file for adjustment of status. The difficulty with doing it this way is that you would have to prove lack of immigrant intent, I'm not sure what the burden of proof is but you would have to show very strong ties to Canada and a lot more than just a return ticket.

[payxibka 10,048]

Hi, I'm a Canadian citizen currently in the US visiting my fiance (a US citizen) as a tourist. We were just boyfriend and girlfriend when I arrived, but about one month after my arrival we realized we want to spend our lives together and got engaged. After some research we have come to realize the need to file for k1, and are very thankful that we didn't just do the impulse wedding. I have about two more months left in my stay and we are wondering if it is alright to start the petition while I am still in the country. I do fully intend to return to Canada at the end of my permitted stay.

Will we find any issues with filing while I'm here? As I stated I do intend to comply with my requirement to leave at the end of my permitted stay.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

You should have no problems with the filing process. The only issue that I can think of will be subsequent post petition visits might become problematic .

[Waiting in Vancouver 6]

Hi, I'm a Canadian citizen currently in the US visiting my fiance (a US citizen) as a tourist. We were just boyfriend and girlfriend when I arrived, but about one month after my arrival we realized we want to spend our lives together and got engaged. After some research we have come to realize the need to file for k1, and are very thankful that we didn't just do the impulse wedding. I have about two more months left in my stay and we are wondering if it is alright to start the petition while I am still in the country. I do fully intend to return to Canada at the end of my permitted stay.

Will we find any issues with filing while I'm here? As I stated I do intend to comply with my requirement to leave at the end of my permitted stay.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I guess the first question you need to ask yourself if you want to return to Canada to see family and friends and deal with things before you make your permanent move to the US ... If this is the case then applying for the K-1 Visa would be your route and yes you could start the process now while you are in the US ... You may have to return to Canada for your interview if it happens to be before you planned on returning to Canada ...

Also note that K-1 timelines are very different and especially when your a Canadian as the two consulates that do K-1 Visa's are drastically different in how long it takes to get an interview ... Montreal takes months and months where Vancouver only takes about a month ...

The time it takes for you to receive your K-1 Visa really depends on your fiance's location in the US (does your fiance fall in Vermont Service Center's jurisdiction) and your location in Canada (do you fall in Vancouver Consulate jurisdiction) ... If both are true then your process to receive a K-1 would be rather quickened ... If you had to go through California Service Center then also have to go through Montreal Consulate then you could be looking at quite some time to receive your K-1 Visa ... It took me rougly 5 months from when we submitted the I-129f (to Nebraska Service Center) to when I had my interview at Vancouver Counsulate ... There are way more delays now a days (with IMBRA) and the fact that NSC is now forwarding all of their petitions to CSC which means CSC is over loaded ...

Also as others have posted, once you have applied for the I-129f (the first file towards K-1 Visa) be noted that future visits to the US to see your fiance could result in denial of entry as you have to prove to the US border officer that you have strong ties to Canada and that you plan on returning and not immigrating ... I am not saying that you can't come to the US to visit but be prepared that you could have problems ...

Your other option would be to get married now (or married while your still "legally" allowed to be in the US) and apply for adjustment of status (AOS) like someone else mentioned ... You would have to explain that you didn't plan on getting married and immigrating but it just happened ... The fact you didn't have an I-94 would be good evidence that you didn't plan on this happenning because Canadians do not usually have to fill this form out ... The first time I ever filled this form out was when I was activating my K-1 Visa and I have been to the US 100's of times in the past ...

Also take a visit over at the Canadian Forum they always have some great advice ...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=93

So you do have a few options to consider ...

Edited November 8, 2006 by Waiting in Vancouver

[desert_fox 32]

go ahead and file the petition...no reason why you cant.

[Del mar 0]

Thanks for the replies,

I would be concerned to just do the adjustment of status as I currently have no major ties to Canada. I have no lease, mortgage, job, etc. Just loans and bank accounts and of course a permanent address. I think it would be difficult for me to prove non immigrant intent based on these factors. Of course I'd love to be wrong on this.

I guess we'll have to go ahead and file and see what happens. It would be nice to get some of the waiting period out of the way before I return. That way I should only have two to four months of waiting in Canada. I just want to make sure that it won't cause problems with the government as I know that once you have immigration issues they can be very difficult and expensive to fix.

In this case it might be best to take the safe way than the easy way ie. file for k1 rather than get married and risk being deported due to lack of evidence.

Any extra input is greatly appreciated,

Thanks

[meauxna 15]

Any extra input is greatly appreciated,

Thanks

OK, why not spend one or two hundred dollars and have a consultation with an immigration attorney who can review this choice with you in private, and with all of your information?

Why take an ultraconservative approach when you may have the option of adjusting in the US? Simply out of the unknown? Solution: get the information!