I'm a Canadian Citizen and he's a U.S. Citizen currently in Prison

[NanHatch 0]

I was wondering if anyone can help me with as much information as possible. My fiancee and I met 7 years ago. We were friends for several years and lost touch for awhile, to make a long story short, we met back up, became friends again and needless to say much, much more than that.

During the time that we lost touch, he ended up getting indicted in which he now has 23 months left in his sentence. We've been together for 3 years and all this came about after we met with each other again. We were going to wait until he came home to get married, but have decided that it doesn't matter where and when we do, so we're planning on doing it now. I've already sent in the letter of intent to the counsellor of his unit and i'm just waiting for him to send me the package to where and when we can go ahead and get married.

We were planning on filing a K1 visa once we found out the date we could go ahead and get married. My questions are : Does my fiancee need a co-sponsor since he's incarcerated? Has anyone been through this situation before?? How do we go abouts getting the paper work filed since he's not able to go to an office?? Since I live in Canada (right on the border) will i be able to go back and forth to visit him?? How long does the process usually take for filing in Detroit, Michigan?? If anyone can help me with any information it would be greatly appreciated.

[Marina + Dave 0]

I was wondering if anyone can help me with as much information as possible. My fiancee and I met 7 years ago. We were friends for several years and lost touch for awhile, to make a long story short, we met back up, became friends again and needless to say much, much more than that.

During the time that we lost touch, he ended up getting indicted in which he now has 23 months left in his sentence. We've been together for 3 years and all this came about after we met with each other again. We were going to wait until he came home to get married, but have decided that it doesn't matter where and when we do, so we're planning on doing it now. I've already sent in the letter of intent to the counsellor of his unit and i'm just waiting for him to send me the package to where and when we can go ahead and get married.

We were planning on filing a K1 visa once we found out the date we could go ahead and get married. My questions are : Does my fiancee need a co-sponsor since he's incarcerated? Has anyone been through this situation before?? How do we go abouts getting the paper work filed since he's not able to go to an office?? Since I live in Canada (right on the border) will i be able to go back and forth to visit him?? How long does the process usually take for filing in Detroit, Michigan?? If anyone can help me with any information it would be greatly appreciated.

If I'm understanding correctly, your fiancee is the one in prison and also the US citizen. I think it might be a good idea if you explain a bit more about the procedures of marrying someone while in prison because I'm not quite sure what you were referring to at the beginning of your post. What letter did you have to send and why do you need to wait on a date? Just for reference, a K-1 fiancee visa takes about 8 months from start to finish so you might want to go ahead and begin that process if you plan on marrying him while he is still in prison. That being said, I'm not so sure that is okay with this process. That's why I suggest you elaborate on the rules of marrying someone while they are in prison.

Yes your fiancee would need a co-sponsor since he is incarcerated. Actually, you (the non USC) are the one that needs a sponsor. Your fiance, I assume, does NOT currently make over 125% over the poverty line and that means you need a co-sponsor. The US fiance never has to go to any office so I'm not really sure what you are referring to when you say that. You will out the paper work at home and then mail it in. The only time anyone needs to appear in person is when *you* have your medical and when *you* have your interview in Canada. Yes, you can go and visit him while the process is pending. A lot of people discourage against this because there can be issues if you can not prove that you will be returning to Canada, but as long as you can prove that you have ties to Canada and will be returnning, then you can visit. Like I stated before, the process usually takes roughly 6-9 months on average.

Again, I'm not sure if it's allowed for you to file while he is in prison. The reason I say this is because it is a huge deal that the fiance not become a public charge! I have read that if the US fiance is on welfare for instance, even if they have a co-sponsor, the embassy is likely to deny the visa because it is very likely the non US fiance will become a public change. You see what I mean? If the women is on welfare then it is likely that her husband will be too. Since your fiancee is currently a public charge of the US, I'm not so sure how you'd be able to get this visa. Assuming you wait until after he gets out of prison to file, you might have more luck. Maybe someone else will know more...but as of now, I'd say get a lawyer and hope for the best.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Marina + Dave

[NanHatch 0]

Thanks for the info. Yes he's the one that's American and incarcerated. The procedure while he's there, if we want to go ahead and get married, then I must write a letter of intent (to marry him) to his unit manager stating that I am aware of his charges, his time left etc. Now, i've done that already. What happens is that the councellor sends me back where and when we can get married. Meaning that they only allow marriages to take place on certain dates. Sometimes there's 2 or 3 weddings the same day. I have to go to West Virgina (that's where he's serving his sentance) and get a marriage certificate. I guess i'll have to wait for the paperwork from his councellor to find out the actual procedures, but this is the information to the process of us getting married while he's there.

Now i've been told that since he is incarcerated, he would have to write the judge that sentenced him a letter to ask for permission to sponsor me. 'Yes' you're right when you said that i needed the co-sponsor. My bad!! We've talked with his parents and they're willing to co-sponsor me. So since i don't know what dates we can choose from to get married, i don't know if i should start the paperwork now.

Are you suggesting that i should start it now?? Should he write the letter to the judge now?? We can get a letter from his parents to to vouche that they'll co-sponsor me, and the judge liked my finace. She told him that she didn't want to give him anything, but she had to give him some time. So i'm not sure how kind she would be to our situation, but i guess there's no harm in trying.

I would love to hire a lawyer, but at this time, we can't afford one. (All our money went to the criminal lawyer) I don't know if we're chasing our tail on this one, or if it's worth a shot?? I've been racking my head trying to figure out what the next and best step should be

[NanHatch 0]

Did I mention that I live in Windsor, which is right on the Detroit/Windsor border and cross almost everyday. I haven't had any problems so far. Actually most of the customs officers know me and don't give me a hard time, but i don't want them to start after i file for the K1 visa

[dionesiamn 0]

You will, most likely, face a couple of big issues.

1) Your U.S. citizen fiance will need to gather information such as his birth certificate and proff that you have met within the last two years. This is usually done through correspondence, plane tickets, photos, etc. Hopefully you will be able to assist him in gathering this together.

2) How will you support yourself until he is out of prison and returns to employment? There are no guarantees that you will be authorized to work right away. From what I read on this forum, an EAD (work authorizations) for the first 90 days is hard to come by and then once you file your Adjustment of Status (after the wedding), you may still be unable to work for a few months. The embassy might question this.

Someone else comment further on this, but I think that to file the adjustment of status both husband and wife need to appear for the interview.

And of course, the timing of all of this will be quite tricky if you have to rely on both Immigration (in getting a K1 visa) and the prison system (getting their approval) to wed.

Good luck to you.

[*JG* 2]

I would agree. Unless you are independently wealthy, you are automatically a risk for public charge right off the bat. I doubt that is going to fly.

I would wait to file until he is out of prison and back on his feet with a job.

[NanHatch 0]

I'm hoping with 2 things

1) I have lots of pictures and stubs of things we've done together. We've been together for 3 years and friends for 7. So i'm hoping that won't be difficult with what i have. Now they took his passport when he was charged, and i don't know if his father can get a copy of his birth certificate for him. I had a copy, but i'm not sure where it is.

2) His father owns a flower shop in Detroit that he said i'll be able to work at. His father plans on retiring and wants to leave the business to us when he returns home. So the issue woulnd't be 'if' i could get a job, because i have one lined up for me. The issue would be, would i be allowed to work right away???

So we have some good things in our favour. The thing is, does the government see it that way to grant me the visa??

[dionesiamn 0]

Oh, I see, you will rely on his parents to support you until you can be working so that might work.

Still, you will have to give the timing a great deal of thought since you'll see that there are no set timelines involved in the K1 process and heaven forbid, if your case is delayed anywhere for RFEs or just plain slowdowns at the government.

You might want to start now, the K1 visa will be good for 6 months once it is issued. And once you have used it at the border, you'll have 90 days to marry.

[dionesiamn 0]

2) His father owns a flower shop in Detroit that he said i'll be able to work at. His father plans on retiring and wants to leave the business to us when he returns home. So the issue woulnd't be 'if' i could get a job, because i have one lined up for me. The issue would be, would i be allowed to work right away???

So we have some good things in our favour. The thing is, does the government see it that way to grant me the visa??

You can not work legally without a work permit, even if it is for your father-in-law. Immigration officals will not take kindly to that. It might make for a case for them to give you a work permit at the border when you present your K1 visa, but then again, if they aren't giving them out, it might send up a red-flag. Hmmmmm, I don't know... Maybe someone else will.

[TimsDaisy 0]

If he has 23 months left on his sentence, and you'd be working in Detroit anyway, can I make a suggestion that, while it's fine for you to come down and marry him now, so long as you aren't wanting to STAY in the US after, you marry him, but don't emigrate to the US until he is done with this sentence? I think you'll face a lot fewer headaches and problems along the way. If you are able to travel back and forth to see him, you don't need to be a US permanent resident yet and the deck may be stacked against you because of his situation - especially, as mentioned by others, when it comes to the financial side of things.

So you can come in, marry him, leave to go back to Canada and then research more about what the best options are for establishing residency here for yourself - like a K3 or CR-1 process, etc.

Dealing with ONE government agency telling you when you get to marry is bad enough - adding in a second agency (a federal one is it? since he's in WV but from Detroit? federal penn there?) with its own strict (probably stricter) requirements isn't going to be pretty.

[NanHatch 0]

So you think i should marry him and apply for a work visa, and try to gain permanent residency myself??

He's lucky if I could say that, he's in a camp which is pretty easy going, but yes, we still are dealing with the feds and they're not here to make any kind of time or place a pleasant one when you're one of their visitors.

[dionesiamn 0]

That might make for a better plan. You can get married, leave and go back and live in Canada until he is released and you can be together.

Not to be nosey, but will he be free and clear in 23 months, or does he face halfway house time as well? You don't have to say, but just might be something you need to think about too, in adding to the time that you will be separated.

[NanHatch 0]

Yeah, he'll have halfway house time when he's out in Jan09' but he's from Detroit, and I live in Windsor, so it wouldn't be a problem for me seeing him. I don't know. I'm so confused. I feel like this is just a helpless situation right now. It's hard when the person you love is so far away from you and the obstacles in front seem so high.

[KarenCee 3]

So you think i should marry him and apply for a work visa, and try to gain permanent residency myself??

He's lucky if I could say that, he's in a camp which is pretty easy going, but yes, we still are dealing with the feds and they're not here to make any kind of time or place a pleasant one when you're one of their visitors.

If you come here and marry him first, as others have stated you will need to go the K3 or CR1 route. However, I don't think you can apply for a work visa if you do that. Once you marry, your permanent residency will be marriage based.

When you are able to immigrate to the US, you cannot work without employment authorisation. You cannot obtain that without filing AOS (Adjustment of Status). These forms cannot be filed until you are here in the States. Also, I am not certain about this, but the petition just *might* fall under the IMBRA section. Might want to have a looksee at that.

Whatever path you two choose, I do wish you the very best.

[TimsDaisy 0]

So you think i should marry him and apply for a work visa, and try to gain permanent residency myself??

No, that isn't what I said.

What I said - or what I meant, at any rate - is that you can come here and marry him, but not worry about being a permanent US citizen until he's in a better situation. If you are able to freely travel back and forth, and you live in Windsor and he lives (or will be back to live in) Detroit (been through both, know they are but a bridge apart), then maintain your Canadian citizenship and ties in Canada and don't move here yet.

Keep your Canadian job, residence, life, etc, and keep doing what you're doing. Since the two are side-by-side, and since your fiance can't really support you now anyway, doesn't sound like you have much to gain by taking care of the US immigration paperwork with so much stacked against you.

This may be a situation that calls for consultation with a qualified immigration attorney, as well - it may go beyond our VJ knowledge base here.

Do you NEED to be living in Detroit while he's in prison?