Bringing my wife to the U.S

[Jsecrest01 0]

Hello,

My wife and I are trying to make sense of all the steps and wait times associated with her coming to live here in the U.S. She is a Canadian citizen and we were married on January 1st of this year. She had come to the states for us to get married and has since returned home for now. We have known each other for a period of over 4 years and have been in a relationship for most of that period. I was staying in Canada with her for quite a while but had to return to the states when my status ran out. Now that we are officially married we need to know what the fastest method is for us to be together again here and finally start our lives together without all of this separation. I know I will be filing the i-130 sponsorship form in the coming week or so but I have also heard that there is another form to file that will allow her to come here to live and work while that is processing. Does such a thing exist and if so is it worth filing (as it pertains to processing time in comparison to the i-130)? Bottom line is we are both emotional wrecks still and before we were married we had spent 8 months apart and that was complete hell. Please help with any information you may have

[Alaska2012 462]

There is no way for her to live and work here during the process. She can still come and visit but she can't move until she has the cr1 visa in hand. It takes about 10-12 months.

[Jsecrest01 0]

There is no way for her to live and work here during the process. She can still come and visit but she can't move until she has the cr1 visa in hand. It takes about 10-12 months.

So you are saying that we have to wait a year even though we're married? This whole process is ridiculous, I mean she's my wife and it feels like we have to jump through so many hoops just to be together. There are no other alternatives to this 10 - 12 month timeline? That seems like such a bleak outlook for anyone going through this sort of thing, an almost helplessness it imposes on you. I thought the K - 3 Visa was something you could file to help the process, I remember seeing something about receiving an i-17something form after you send in and they receive your i-130 and you send that in with the i-129. Or is that just something that applies to no married couples? I dont know, this all gives me a headache when I try to figure it out and all I want, all we want, is to be together.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello,

My wife and I are trying to make sense of all the steps and wait times associated with her coming to live here in the U.S. She is a Canadian citizen and we were married on January 1st of this year. She had come to the states for us to get married and has since returned home for now. We have known each other for a period of over 4 years and have been in a relationship for most of that period. I was staying in Canada with her for quite a while but had to return to the states when my status ran out. Now that we are officially married we need to know what the fastest method is for us to be together again here and finally start our lives together without all of this separation. There is no such choice. You will be separated during the process. I know I will be filing the i-130 sponsorship form in the coming week or so but I have also heard that there is another form to file that will allow her to come here to live and work while that is processing. No such thing. There is nothing that allows her to live and work while this is processing. Does such a thing exist no. and if so is it worth filing (as it pertains to processing time in comparison to the i-130)? Bottom line is we are both emotional wrecks still and before we were married we had spent 8 months apart and that was complete hell. Please help with any information you may have

Sorry. If she had not returned home, you could have filed for AOS. Since she is now in Canada, it would be immigration fraud for her to enter the US with the intent to immigrate without a CR-1 spousal immigration visa.

You will start with the I-130. It will take 6-12 months. She can not live or work here until she gets an immigration visa. Be thankful that as a Canadian, she will easily be allowed to visit you in the US, an option that is not available to many people on VJ.

Read up on the Guides. You are mixing up two different processes; applying from outside the US for an immigration visa and applying form inside the US to adjust status.

Best of luck

[aaron2020 11,651]

So you are saying that we have to wait a year even though we're married? Yes. This whole process is ridiculous, I mean she's my wife and it feels like we have to jump through so many hoops just to be together. There are no other alternatives to this 10 - 12 month timeline? There is no alternative. If there was, why would the rest of us be waiting? That seems like such a bleak outlook for anyone going through this sort of thing, an almost helplessness it imposes on you. I thought the K - 3 Visa was something you could file to help the process, I remember seeing something about receiving an i-17something form after you send in and they receive your i-130 and you send that in with the i-129. Or is that just something that applies to no married couples? The process depends on whether your spouse is inside the US or outside the US. Marital status is irrelevant. Since she is outside the US, there is only one process; CR-1 spousal immigration visa. You don't have another choice. This is your only choice. I dont know, this all gives me a headache when I try to figure it out and all I want, all we want, is to be together.

[Alaska2012 462]

K3 is obsolete, you can file it but it won't do you any good. You will get your CR1 visa. I agree that waiting sucks but you can still visit each other. My husband was on an airplane coming to see me in sweden as often as he could while we were waiting! A visit here and there is better than nothing! Plus...a year is nothing really when you have the rest of you lives together!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

I second the thought of be thankful she's Canadian and can visit easily enough. There are people on here who don't get to see their spouses at all for sometimes years.

[caliliving 606]

Being married isn't a visa/residency. It only allows you to file for a greencard for your wife. It seems as though you are smart enough to know that with any government documents/filing it takes time!!! If you did your research before, after you were married she could have stayed here and adjusted her status from visitor-->greencard. since she left, you must file the CR1 visa which takes about a year. If you read the top of any greencard through marriage applicaiton it clearly states 'being married allows you to file for the AOS and it not means for a visa. At least she is in canada and you can visit her, and she can visit during the paperwork. that way, once she gets her visa she will be able to work right away.

also, if you were to relocate to canada i hear the process is so backlogged it takes about 2-3years, so a year isnt too bad haha

[lost_at_sea 995]

Take a read of this guide to understand the paperwork process you're going to need to follow: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Amadia 711]

So you are saying that we have to wait a year even though we're married? This whole process is ridiculous, I mean she's my wife and it feels like we have to jump through so many hoops just to be together. There are no other alternatives to this 10 - 12 month timeline? That seems like such a bleak outlook for anyone going through this sort of thing, an almost helplessness it imposes on you. I thought the K - 3 Visa was something you could file to help the process, I remember seeing something about receiving an i-17something form after you send in and they receive your i-130 and you send that in with the i-129. Or is that just something that applies to no married couples? I dont know, this all gives me a headache when I try to figure it out and all I want, all we want, is to be together.

This "ridiculous process" is what many ppl globally have to endure (me included) to be with their spouses permanently. I got married in April of last year, my husband filed for me and my kids at the end of May and through all the waiting, we have finally reached the stage where our docs were submitted to the NVC for review before sending to my consulate.

I have only been able to visit my husband 4 times and these were only 2 or 3 weeks at most. It IS tough having to spend time away from the person you love but this is the sacrifice of waiting so that you both can enjoy a wonderful life together.

Word of advice: START FILING FOR CR-1 VISA FOR YOUR WIFE NOW!

[Avery Cates 1,141]

This whole process is ridiculous, I mean she's my wife and it feels like we have to jump through so many hoops just to be together

Haha welcome to US immigration.

There is no alternative to the CR-1, you will need to file that, ideally as soon as possible.

That however does not mean that you can't see each other for a year. You can visit her and she, CPB willing, can still come visit you.

[Boiler 43,458]

Have you looked at moving to Canada instead?

Has she looked at moving to the US using a work visa, they can be much quicker.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

Sorry it seems ridiculous, but really you are one of the lucky ones considering your wife is Canadian. Very little chance of getting stuck waiting in AP for extra background checks and also just a really high acceptance rate coming from such a low-fraud country with good relations to the US.

She is still allowed to visit as some mentioned, and while I am not exactly familiar with rules for visiting from Canada, I believe she can visit without any sort of visa for up to 6 months. Things may be more scrutinized with an active visa application, but still you are in a very good position compared to spouses from most other countries... And as you mentioned you were able to stay in Canada with her for quite some time.

I'm not saying you're situation is a good one to be in, just probably a lot better than most of the people who you are talking with right now. Just keep that and mind and be thankful.

[Jsecrest01 0]

What irritates me about this most is that I called the US Immigration call center and they told me that if she were to come here on a visitor visa that she was not allowed to simply file a change of status because it would be considered immigration fraud since she was visiting and her intent would be to stay after we were married. Thats why she left because we wanted to do what they said we had to do. So now because of that we have to do this 10 - 12 month process. I asked them several times this same question (I called 3 times and spoke to 3 representatives) just to be damn sure and well apparently they gave me incorrect information. I was made to believe that I could file this i-130 form and then file a k3 visa form which would allow her to come here while the other form was processing. Their words, not mine. So yeah, thanks USCIS

[Avery Cates 1,141]

What irritates me about this most is that I called the US Immigration call center and they told me that if she were to come here on a visitor visa that she was not allowed to simply file a change of status because it would be considered immigration fraud since she was visiting and her intent would be to stay after we were married. Thats why she left because we wanted to do what they said we had to do. So now because of that we have to do this 10 - 12 month process. I asked them several times this same question (I called 3 times and spoke to 3 representatives) just to be damn sure and well apparently they gave me incorrect information. I was made to believe that I could file this i-130 form and then file a k3 visa form which would allow her to come here while the other form was processing. Their words, not mine. So yeah, thanks USCIS

She could have stayed, so long as her original intent wasn't using her visitor permissions to get into the country and then adjust status.

Forget about the K-3, they've been obsolete for years.