Canadian BF, Pregnant American GF - Visa Question?

[changeahead 0]

Hi, I am American and my BF is Canadian. I wasn't sure where to go to ask this question but I figured someone here might have some insight on what my options are. I have looked up visa information but I cannot find anything suitable for my situation.

I am currently 8 weeks pregnant with my Canadian BF's baby. He lives in Canada, I still live in America and have a child already so whatever visa we got would have a dependant. We are tight on money but obviously visa's cost money.

My boyfriend is on financial assistance in Canada, and works for his family at a shop downtown. I am currently unemployed in America. I am unsure if either of our families could sponsor the other if it came down to it, that is a possibility.

My question is, what would be the easiest route to be together? He wants to be around for the birth and upbringing of our child and we would like to be together.

I'm not sure if moving there would be easiest or him moving here and we aren't sure which visa would be suitable for our needs or how to go about it/length of time it takes, prices etc.

Any help would be great. Thank you ahead of time and I am sorry if I posted this in the wrong section. If so, maybe someone knows a website I could post it to?

Thank you again.

[Precious 2]

Hello changehead,

For what I get from your post, you'd like to be together with your BF, either in US or Canada.

As far as visas go, you have the K1 visa option, which you - the US citizen - would petition for him - the Beneficiary. K1 is a fiancée visa, valid for only one entry and it entails intention to marry.

You also have the option of marrying him and then apply for a spouse visa of US citizen (I'm not sure how this works, but there are people here that can pitch in on that).

Your BF could not come to US in a visa waiver 'to get married', as this is NOT OK with USCIS (visa fraud). As a Canadian citizen, he can only come to VISIT you.

Now, for BOTH options you will need to prove that your fiancée will not become a burden to the government, so you have to prove that you have enough income to support him financially. I know things are difficult, but my first suggestion is for you to get a steady job and, in case you are not making enough, get a co-sponsor to back up the financial requirements.

Your third option would be to move to Canada, but I can't comment on that, as I don't have a clue how the process goes for permanent visas in Canada.

I hope someone else can give you a more insightful input.

Meanwhile read the guides, VJ has lot of resources and guides that can help. You just need to spend sometime going through the valuable information posted here.

Good luck!

Best.

[Canerican 242]

Hey there,

If you both are not married there are 2 options stateside that you could do.

1)You could apply for a K-1 fiance visa to bring your Canadian boyfriend to the States in which case you would need to file an I-129F petition to bring him down. The petition that you need to send in costs $340 and you would need to provide proof of meeting and ongoing relationship within the last 2 years (see guide on VJ concerning I-129F petition docs you need). After approval, getting visa and entering the USA you both would need to get married within 90 days. After getting married you would need to apply for Adjustment of Status (AOS) for him to adjust from being the fiance of a US Citizen to being a spouse of a US Citizen as well as applying for Employment Authorization (EAD) and Advanced Parole (AP). AP in case he needs to go back to Canada for some reason while the AOS is being processed. The AOS, EAD, AP all would cost a total of $1070 USD. After 2 years you would have to apply to remove conditons on LPR card which would also cost a designated amount of money which right now is $590.

2)You both could get married either in the USA or in Canada and then apply for a CR-1/IR-1 visa and go through that process. If someone could please post about the fees concerning CR-1/IR-1 visa that would be great!

For both of these visas your boyfriend would also need to go get a medical exam and the cost would depend on where he gets the medical, I paid 300 for mine in Toronto at Dr. Seidens. As well for both of these options you would need to show proof that a US Citizen could sponsor you guys if you do not make enough money (explained on I-864 instructions:http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864instr.pdf)

Here is a good link to a post on this site that describes what you would need etc for the embassy phase: http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Canada&cty=Montreal

The CR-1/IR-1 and the Fiance visa take about the same time. Depending on where he is in Canada the fiance Visa interview would either be in Montreal or Vancouver and if you went the CR-1/IR-1 route the visa interview would definitely be in Montreal. The time frame for these visas is around 5 months they say on the USCIS website, but a general consensus I am getting from the VJ forums is more like 6 or 7 months before the approval and then there can be some time in between before the interview. For instance my wife and I who did the Fiance visa got approved by USCIS in 6 months then waited another 5 months for the interview as the Montreal consulate was busy. But sometimes earlier opening appear so it depends on the business of the consulate and how often you check to see if there is an earlier opening for an interview.

3)You could get married in Canada or the USA and he could bring you to Canada on a Spousal Visa. Here is some information you could look at on the Canadian Immigration page:http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

As well here is the website for the fees you would have to pay going North to Canada:http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp

The processing time on the Canadian website says 29 days to assess the sponsor and then it depends on the office concerning the amount of time, it looks like it is anywhere from 11 months to 19 months, here is the website:http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp#west

Good Luck in your journey and decision.

Blessings

[NikLR 13,220]

To be honest, I would have to say that you going to Canada is a better option than him going to the USA. A Canadian can sponsor their common-law partner and it is possible that you may be able to visit your boyfriend for up to 6 months, upon which time you would be his common-law partner. Just something to think about. Vs getting married.

I would research BOTH options thoroughly.

[hikergirl 277]

To be honest, I would have to say that you going to Canada is a better option than him going to the USA. A Canadian can sponsor their common-law partner and it is possible that you may be able to visit your boyfriend for up to 6 months, upon which time you would be his common-law partner. Just something to think about. Vs getting married.

I would research BOTH options thoroughly.

Common-law for the Federal Government in Canada is 1 year, not 6 months.

That being said I think you should thoroughly research which option is best for you guys and decide where you’d most like to live because it’s an expensive process no matter with method you take or which country you decide on.

[NikLR 13,220]

Common-law for the Federal Government in Canada is 1 year, not 6 months.

That being said I think you should thoroughly research which option is best for you guys and decide where you’d most like to live because it’s an expensive process no matter with method you take or which country you decide on.

Hrm... really?

OH I just found something! It varies by province! Interesting. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/19/common-law-myths-and-facts.html

I always base what I know for common-law off of Alberta so it's interesting to note that it's different for each province.

[hikergirl 277]

Hrm... really?

OH I just found something! It varies by province! Interesting. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/19/common-law-myths-and-facts.html

I always base what I know for common-law off of Alberta so it's interesting to note that it's different for each province.

I knew Alberta had changed a few years ago to make CL 3 years. I researched it for one of the guys going overseas. He thought his GF would be protected and I had to tell him he needed to do some extra paperwork if he wanted that to be the case. Interesting to see the changes in BC.

[NikLR 13,220]

I was instantly common-law with my ex when we lived together and had a child. LOL

[hikergirl 277]

Me too.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

One of the deciding factors for you may well be the 'sponsorship' aspect. You will need to make a specific income level to support a household of 3 (4 after the baby is born). If you moved to Canada, he would still have to sponsor you, however, for you he would not have to make a specific income level. He would, however, have to make the specific income level to sponsor your existing child. When your mutual child is born, he/she will be a dual citizen having citizenship by birth in both Canada and the US, so he would not have to sponsor him/her. You would have to apply for Proof of Canadian Citizenship, however, which does have a fee involved.

I think you will really need to examine the financial situations you would experience living as a family together in Canada and in the US, then include that, along with the sponsorship requirement information, to help you decide which country would be 'easiest' or 'better' in which to live. As a mother, I think the availability of Universal health care in Canada should also be a big consideration vs how you will obtain medical insurance coverage for the family in the US - and the cost.

Good luck.