Bringing my wife to the U.S

[Jsecrest01 0]

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.

So intending to come to America on a visitor visa to get married and after that file for a change of status isn't immigration fraud?

[Jsecrest01 0]

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.

I certainly am thankful but the problem is we both do not really have the money or ability to take time off of work to visit with our current situations.

[Boiler 43,452]

So intending to come to America on a visitor visa to get married and after that file for a change of status isn't immigration fraud?

Nobody said that.

[Ms Hogan 295]

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.

It can seem overwhelming and unbelievably painful to go through... but take a big breath, learn what you need to do, be proactive and well-prepared and before you know it you'll be years down the road with a distant memory of this entire process. There are a lot of people here who are going through what you are about to go through and those of us who have already survived it. You chose to marry a Canadian (good choice ) and now you will do the work necessary so you can be together. So I politely encourage you to suck it up and get to work. Read here, search here, get your paperwork submitted so you can start the process!

[Ryan H 3,791]

So intending to come to America on a visitor visa to get married and after that file for a change of status isn't immigration fraud?

That is fraud.

[lost_at_sea 995]

So intending to come to America on a visitor visa to get married and after that file for a change of status isn't immigration fraud?

INTENDING to is fraud, yes.

[JFH 12,189]

If nothing else, this processs debunks a few urban myths about immigration.

We initially wanted to apply for my husband to move to the UK, until we found out he was permanently ineligible. That would have been a year-long process with about as many hoops to jump through as getting me into the United States. In the UK there is a common belief that people just "stroll into the country" all the time and that it is very easy to get into the UK. It's just not true. And only those who have been thorough the process (my brother brought his wife and children into the UK from outside the EU) know how hard it really is.

The US is no different. I flew home three days after we got married. Three days! I was crying on the plane and the kind couple next to me asked what was wrong and I told them I missed my husband. They listened to the story and said "oh you just need to go to a government office and get your passport stamped. You're his wife. You've got a green card now". I wasn't in the mood to argue. My husband also had this idea that the United States is easy to get into and that people are "walking in" every day with no need for all this paperwork.

It is what it is. There's nothing you can do to make it go any faster. There is plenty you can do to make sure it doesn't go any slower. Prepare, prepare and prepare some more. Read the forums here. Read the guides. Get all your evidence together. Read through the forms several times before filling them in. One mistake on a form or one missing piece of evidence can cause weeks of delay. Use your time productively.

[Lee&Ana 88]

I wish my wife was next door with a few hour plane ride away in a low fraud country.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

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

You can be angry all that you want at a call centre, does it suck? Yes. But a simple Internet search (like this forum) would have given you ample advice. Call centres are nearly always erroneous with information

[epmarshall 0]

I don't know if you are considering the Canada PR route, but I just wanted to say that Outland Canadian PR apps aren't taking 2 or 3 years. The processing time on the site is off due to the fact that even worst case scenarios are included. I don't know the exact explanation, but I have seen this info over and over on the Canada visa forum.

If the two of you have no red flags that would slow the app down (such as age differences, criminal record, etc) then the entire PR process for Canada will take around 6-8 months since you're a US/Canada couple. You could visit her during the processing as well, provided you bring proof of ties to the US. But I know CBSA is more lenient on people when they bring the receipt of the PR fees paid, so crossing with that would be fine.

This is what my boyfriend and I were planning on doing. But now we aren't sure whether to stick with Canada or do the Green Card route. Anyway, sorry to clog your topic up with non-US immigration info, but I just wanted to let you know of other options. And others in the topic were asking if you'd looked into it, so I thought I'd chime in with what I have learned.

Edited January 22, 2016 by epmarshall

[DJ6372 111]

Welcome to VJ!

Yes the system sucks, I am one of the successful ones, but it took 15 months!!

I am lucky some people are still waiting

The US really doesn't care what you think, what it cares about are the millions of fraudulant applications that clutter up the system

Nobody has a divine right to enter the USA

Yeah it takes forever, be proactive, push the application, get it done

Complaining about it will not allow you in the country any quicker

Be thankful you are close enough to visit, even for me it was an 11 hour flight, think about the people in the Africa's or Asia

[zuzie 3]

Oh how I feel your pain. My husband is in Canada, we have been playing the wait game as well. But what frustrates me even more is this paperwork that is more confusing than swimming the English Channel blindfolded! You wait all this time to be with your loved one just to be thrown a bone saying this form is finished, now you get to move on to the next ... BUT should you make an error on this paperwork (and no its not simple) then your prize is to be pushed back by 60 days or more. Even when you think you know something .. you don't. We wanted to get married in the states but were told we could not. When my husband would come see me before we got married they would stamp his Pass Port with NO STATUS CHANGE! So I planned my wedding over the phone, and get married in Canada. I have found the NVC (National Visa Center) to be helpful once you get to that point. When its all said and done We will feel like we won the lottery.

I will tell you there are some wonderfully knowledgeable people here that have helped to keep me from going crazy. I'm normally pretty good with paperwork but being this is the only time I have or will be filling all this out I am clueless.

Good luck and ask away if you need help.

[jam2016 10]

So intending to come to America on a visitor visa to get married and after that file for a change of status isn't immigration fraud?

When pre planning is involved to get married in the U.S by using the Visitor visa to come into the U.S is an immigration and a Visa Fraud.

But the Genuine marriage without pre planning while on the visitor visa seems OK to use AoS!