Process recommended to bring my Canadian fiancee to the US?

[hedgie 0]

Hi everyone, I've just discovered this site and have started going through it. I am a natural born US citizen and I recently got engaged to my long time girlfriend who lives in Canada and is a Canadian citizen.

Once we get married we would like for her to live and work in the US with me. I am trying to figure out what the best application process would be, whether going through the fiancee visa application or just waiting until we get married and doing the marriage one.

We are planning to get married in March 2015 but are completely open to doing a court marriage (either here in the US or in Canada) before that if that can help the process along. Ideally I would like for her to be able to move to the US right after our wedding in March, so if that means doing a legal court marriage much earlier that is fine. Or should we go through the fiance process? One of my concerns is we would like for her to be able to travel outside of the US after moving here and from what I gather that is not allowed for certain time periods while the application is pending unless she files for an exemption.

As a lifelong US citizen I am new to all of these immigration matters so I am just looking for a good place to start getting up to speed on the process.

Thanks!

[Darnell 8,478]

if you file the I-129F petition Now, in October 2014-ish, I doubt you will have her here on K-1 visa in the USA for a March 2015 wedding. A K-1 visa holder 'loses status' if they leave the USA before having a green card in hand, and green card issuance can occur 4 to 15 months after filing for the green card.

If you marry in Canada in March 2015 and file I-130, chasing a CR-1 visa, expect a wait of about 11 to 15 months before the visa is granted, plus other work inbetween first filing and interview scheduling. Can leave USA the same day the CR-1 visa is activated at a POE, travel around outside the USA, no worries there - the CR-1 visa gets a stamp at the POE that endorses the VISA to be utilized as a temporary, 1 year duration, I-551 document (a temporary green card).

So, with those 'hard calendar spans' you might want to rethink your plans, a bit. Regardless, Canadien folk are allowed to cross into the border and come to USA, but sometimes get denied (rare, but happens) if the USA CBP folk see any pending petitions or pending visa applications in their system...

Lots of stuff to think about - Good Luck, and God Speed !

Edited September 26, 2014 by Darnell

[Girl from Celebes 588]

Based on what I have read so far on VJ, there are some benefits if choose a K-1 visa or a spousal visa. So far, K-1 visa has a shorten length of process and you will be able to get her as soon as possible. But the downside is that K-1 visa is more expensive since after married the spouse of US citizen has to file adjust of status and can't work before at least an EAD in hand. A spousal visa is more cheaper and usually takes a while for whole process but the spouse of US citizen can work as soon as she/he enters the US. No waiting time like K-1 visa.

The US embassy is pretty easy toward Canadian applicants unless the petitioner or beneficiary have caught in trouble with immigration problem prior the petition. Choose the best path you think will give benefits for both of you. Good luck!

[Al422 221]

If you want to get married in Canada as soon as possible and the amount of time it takes before she can live here is secondary, go CR-1

With CR-1 you can marry any time you want, and you can file for the CR-1 as soon as the next business day.

While the CR-1 is pending she can enter and exit the United States the same as she does now. She just can't live or work here until the CR-1 is in her pocket.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You could do a court wedding now, file for the CR1 have a big wedding in March ( check with your venue if they will do a wedding if you are married already for months ) and then move when the visa is approved.

[PickleChips 56]

Just a heads up about the spousal visa: the interview will be in Montreal. Depends on where you live but if you are in western Canada, you will have to factor that into the cost of the process. The fiancé visa interviews in both Vancouver or Montreal.