Been Searching for Answers

[mtfshr 0]

Hello all,

I've done a lot of reading on the forums and haven't been able to come to the answer I'm looking for. I'm sure it is somewhere here on the forums but I am unable to find it.

Anyways here is my situation: My fiancé and I are engaged to be married next year August 31 2014. My fiancé is Canadian citizen and I am an American citizen. We are going to be getting married in Canada and then living in the United States. If need be to make things easier we would be willing to make the wedding more of a ceremonial thing and not an official wedding, meaning we would not be legally married after the ceremony. My question is what route do we need to take so that she could be down in the states legally as soon as possible either before or after the ceremony.

Does the K1 visa, when she has it in hand, allow us to have the ceremony in Canada and then immediately after she comes down to the States and then get legally married here in the US?

Thank you for taking the time to read through this.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

K-1 visa is only for marriage in the US. You could try for a non-legal ceremony but it is cutting it fine - might be okay for Canada but in some countries these things are considered married.

It's really hard to time these things, though, so it's best not to make any fixed date until the visa is in hand. Processing times are fast right now but could slow down soon, it's just hard to know.

[NikLR 13,227]

Anything that smells like a wedding can make a denial of the visa or entry when going the K1 route.

However as Harpa has stated, do not bank on any specific time frame for the visa. Sometimes K1 are done in a few months, and other times they take a year or more. Same with the CR1 after marriage.

[mtfshr 0]

Thank you for the quick and informative responses. It sounds like the K1 visa is not the right route, is there another route that can be suggested where we are still able to have a ceremony in Canada and then do the legal marriage here in the states?

[Darnell 8,478]

there is marriage

then there is immigration

then there is 'living in the usa'

If I were in your shoes, I'd seperate the 3 life-changing events, as seperate things,

then study the guides section here at VJ.

[NikLR 13,227]

Thank you for the quick and informative responses. It sounds like the K1 visa is not the right route, is there another route that can be suggested where we are still able to have a ceremony in Canada and then do the legal marriage here in the states?

Why not get married and do the CR1 route? You can try it your way if you want to, but I'd suggest being VERY careful about it because the CBP can, will, and has denied entry for a K1 visa holder if they've suspected you're already married. I'm unsure why you need two weddings, so it's hard to formulate a response. I'd have to assume there are people who just don't or can't come to the actual wedding in the USA and that you're not wanting to wait the time for the CR1 route?

[mtfshr 0]

Darnell - I've read through the guides. They do not have or suggest any option as to what I am looking to do.

NLR - There isn't really two weddings. The 'wedding' we are thinking of having in Canada would be a ceremonial thing and not a legal wedding, meaning no papers are signed. We are set on having a ceremony next Labor Day in Canada. We are open to doing the Ceremony in Canada and then doing a legal marriage in the courthouse here in the states. I've read through the CR-1 route and it seems to be the one that most fits the bill for what we are looking for. Would they raise any eyebrows if we decide to do a courthouse wedding here in the states before the 'wedding ceremony' we are planning on having next Labor Day? Meaning the timeline would follow something like this: we have a courthouse wedding 5-6 months before our ceremony on Labor Day, then after the courthouse wedding she goes back to Canada and we file for CR-1 route, then hopefully receive her visa by Labor Day and then after our 'wedding ceremony' Labor Day weekend she would be able to come down.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I really do appreciate it. I'm pretty overwhelmed by this whole process.

[Boiler 45,656]

It does not matter how grand or basic the marriage is. I would try and leave a lot more time for the process.

[NikLR 13,227]

CR1 visa process takes 8 months plus. You're fast if it takes 8 and it's normally a year or more. So you'll find the 5-6 months isn't enough time if you're wanting to live together after the "Canada" ceremony.

As for being married first, since its a requirement for the CR1 it never raises eyebrows for the wedding to be small (or minuscule) and many people have a celebration or ceremony afterwards.

[Darnell 8,478]

Darnell - I've read through the guides. They do not have or suggest any option as to what I am looking to do.

OK - read through the main GUIDES page, looking for the compare/comparison link. Find it,click it, read it...

Report back when yer done.

[Zedayn 485]

I would be cautious about having any type of "ceremony" when going the K-1 visa route. It doesn't matter if you sign papers or not to make it legal. What matters is, if they suspect you are married more than likely you could be denied the K-1 visa. If they suspect you are married, it is up to you to prove that you are not.

[NikLR 13,227]

I agree with Zedayn... It's not that the USCIS or consulate may deny you, (they can) but even the CBP will deny you if they feel you're already married which can include numerous things like pictures of wedding ceremony for example. They have the right to look through ALL of your things when you move to the USA including the hard drive on your computer, any flash drives, or disks. Everything. Be very careful if you have any kind of "ceremony" in Canada, even unregistered ones.