Russian in Canada question(s)

[Robert Bateman 0]

My wife and I were talking about one of her girlfriends (from Russia) who lives in Toronto Canada the other night. The friend in Canada has a sister who came to Canada to visit a bit back and is in the process of filing for Refugee Status (in Canada). This lady has met an American Gentleman and the two have fallen in love.

As I have gone thru the K1 visa process with my wife, my wife and I were talking about what the sister can do going forward (I think my wife thinks I'm an immigration expert - lol)

From what I can tell from the friend, the sister really doesn't want to go back to Russia and had been working towards her "refugee" status in Canada for some time. If I understand the status of the sister, she has a refugee hearing in November. The Status of her petition will be determined then and she will either be granted Refugee Status, or deportation proceeding wil be begun (I assume it's possible to get an appeal, but I don't know Canadian Immigration...)

Sometime in the past few weeks, the American Gentleman "proposed" to the sister and the whole issue of wedding dates started. The Gentleman would like to be engaged for at least 6 months before they get married. From what I hear, if the Refugee Hearing goes bad, the sister may be told she needs her bags packed as she could be deported immediately.

So, after all of that, here's the question my wife posed:

If the American Gentleman and the Russian Lady were to marry in Canada, would that stay the deportation? Again, not knowing Canadian Immigration law, I can't answer my wife.

A second question my wife asked was - what kind of Visa would the American Gentleman need in order for the sister to come to America? A K-3 post wedding?

My gut tells me that should the Sisters Refugee Hearing go against her, getting married to the American man will not stop her deportation and the American Man would need to process a K-1 Visa to her back in Russia.

I've no experience with any of this and thought I's ask the community's thoughts and opinions.

Bob

[TBoneTX 43,058]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Canada regional forum, where answers might be forthcoming both about Canadian immigration laws and (depending on the variables) the "what visa is needed" query. ***

[baron555 934]

From what I can tell from the friend, the sister really doesn't want to go back to Russia and had been working towards her "refugee" status in Canada for some time.

Good luck with that.

If I understand the status of the sister, she has a refugee hearing in November. The Status of her petition will be determined then and she will either be granted Refugee Status, or deportation proceeding wil be begun (I assume it's possible to get an appeal, but I don't know Canadian Immigration...)

OK, then they will know.

Sometime in the past few weeks, the American Gentleman "proposed" to the sister and the whole issue of wedding dates started. The Gentleman would like to be engaged for at least 6 months before they get married.

Whatever

From what I hear, if the Refugee Hearing goes bad, the sister may be told she needs her bags packed as she could be deported immediately.

Yep

So, after all of that, here's the question my wife posed:

If the American Gentleman and the Russian Lady were to marry in Canada, would that stay the deportation? Again, not knowing Canadian Immigration law, I can't answer my wife.

Most likely not. Marital status usually has no bearing on immigration status.

A second question my wife asked was - what kind of Visa would the American Gentleman need in order for the sister to come to America? A K-3 post wedding?

If they were to become married, then a CR-1. She would need to be legally residing in Canada to have the interview at the appropriate US Embassy in Canada....if not then her interview would be at the Moscow US Embassy.

My gut tells me that should the Sisters Refugee Hearing go against her, getting married to the American man will not stop her deportation and the American Man would need to process a K-1 Visa to her back in Russia.

No, if they become married, then the K-1 is off the table.

I've no experience with any of this and thought I's ask the community's thoughts and opinions.

Bob

[Transborderwife 4,666]

My parents used to work in immigrant and refugee services in Canada. Russia is not a country that has an easy time getting status anymore. Even LGBT Russians are having a hard time getting status and they have genuine threats against them in their country.

As well just to add, she cannot try and claim refugee status in the USA should her Canadian petition fail. Canada and the USA have a sort of reciprocity agreement that you are to apply for refugee status in the first safe country you arrive in

As well refugee hearings are normally within 45 days of a claim. I'm not sure how or why she would've been working towards this for quite some time.