Need advice; relocating him from Canada

[Aaralyn 0]

I’m not sure if this belongs here or not, but I’m at a loss as to where else to post.

I met my love online in April of 2005. We’ve been in a relationship since October 2005. He’s in Vancouver, and I live here in the States. We have met in person - he spent this past Thanksgiving with us here at my place. He’s flying back here on the 20th for my graduation then we are going to Vancouver for about a week so I can meet his friends and family. After that we are driving back to the US together.

I cannot legally file for a fiancé visa because I am currently waiting for a judge to sign divorce papers, and we are not “officially†engaged, though we probably will be eventually in the future. I don’t know how likely it would be for him to be sponsored by an employer… he’s been working as a dealer in a casino in Canada for the past year. There is a casino nearby my home that he would love to work for, but would a casino sponsor someone? Can he get sponsorship while here visiting if he could find a willing employer?

I don't think we can’t officially move him here without a visa, but is it at all possible for him to stay here with me as a visitor if he can’t get a sponsor while he goes through the process to get legal residence?

I’m completely confused and frustrated after trying to get answers from phoning Immigration and the websites just confuse me even more. If anyone can help me I would be forever grateful!

Edited May 6, 2007 by Aaralyn

[raymaga 25]

Firstly, welcome to VJ!!!

If you are trying to find a way for your fiance to be able to move and live in the U.S., you will need some kind of visa. At the time that I met my fiance (I was from Canada too), I was not divorced yet, although I had been separated from my ex-husband for 6 years. After I met my American fiance, I applied for my divorce, and as soon as I had my divorce papers, we applied for the K-1 (Fiance) Visa.

You may encounter problems crossing the border together from Canada into the U.S. unless you have lots of proof of "ties" to Canada, such as lease/mortgage documents, your most recent pay stubs, a letter from your current employer stating an expected return date, etc. You will most likely be asked for these documents to prove that you plan to return to Canada after your "visit" to the U.S. Without these documents, they will probably think you are trying to stay in the U.S. illegally.

You are only allowed to "visit" the U.S. for 6 months out of a year without a visa.

I don't know a lot about work visas, but I doubt whether a casino worker would qualify for a work visa due to the fact that there are probably a lot of Americans who could do the job.

My advice would be to wait for your divorce to be final and then apply for the K-1 Visa. In the meantime, you can visit your fiance in the U.S. or he can visit you in Canada.

Good luck and best wishes.

Edit:

I got the "you" and "he" parts mixed up after re-reading your original post. I realize now that you are the American and he is the Canadian. So, change what I said in my post to reflect that, even though I had it wrong in the first post.

Edited May 6, 2007 by raymaga

[Aaralyn 0]

Thanks! I honestly hadn't even thought about having trouble coming back to the US together. We certainly don't want to do anything illegal, we just want to be together.

[raymaga 25]

My fiance and I felt the same way, and we spent every weekend together until I moved to the U.S. We only lived 3 hours from each other, and the times we travelled together in the same vehicle, we sometimes had problems at the U.S. border crossing. They asked me for proof of ties to Canada and said that if I couldn't provide them, they could deny me entry into the U.S.

I had no problems crossing the border into the U.S. from Canada when I travelled by myself. I simply told them I was going to visit my boyfriend and only answered the questions they asked me. I did not volunteer any information that I was not asked for and never told them any lies.

Just be prepared to provide proof of ties if you travel together to the U.S. (or any time for that matter). It's better to be safe than sorry.

Good luck.

Edited May 6, 2007 by raymaga

[Philomena 0]

Hi there, welcome to VJ! I am also new here, and this is my first time doing a K1 as well. I was just wondering, since the K1 is used to get the fiance here to the U.S. for marriage and then Adjustment of Status (to Permament Resident), in the case of a fiance who can already legally visit the U.S., I think the process would be quicker and more direct for you to just marry him here while he is on a visit, and then go straight to the AOS phase. Can anyone confirm or deny this as a viable option? Good luck to you!

Iysha

[raymaga 25]

This is not a viable option as this would be considered visa fraud and could result in a 10-year ban from entering the U.S.

To enter the U.S. as a tourist, with the intention of marrying a U.S. citizen AND staying in the U.S. and adjusting status, is illegal. It is not illegal to enter the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen, but the foreign spouse must return to their home country to finish the processing of a spousal visa.

Some VJ members have entered the U.S. and gotten married and then applied for AOS with no problems, but they entered the U.S. with NO intention of marrying. It was a spur of the moment decision to marry after they entered the U.S. to visit.

It is up to the immigrant to prove that they did not intentionally enter the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen and stay in the U.S. and adjust status at the time of their AOS interview. If the officer conducting the interview is suspicious or believes the immigrant is lying, the officer could deny AOS and put a ban on entering the U.S. for up to 10 years.

The best way to come to the U.S. to marry and live permanently in the U.S. is to do so with either a K-1 (Fiance) Visa or a K-3 (Spousal) Visa, or CR-1/IR-1 Visa.

[Yodrak 7]

Aaralyn,

He can visit, he can't reside. The difference can get quite subtle, but if CBP gets the feeling that he's residing rather than visiting he will have made his last visit until he does get the appropriate visa.

Yodrak

I'm not sure if this belongs here or not, but I'm at a loss as to where else to post.

I met my love online in April of 2005. We've been in a relationship since October 2005. He's in Vancouver, and I live here in the States. .....

I don't think we can't officially move him here without a visa, but is it at all possible for him to stay here with me as a visitor if he can't get a sponsor while he goes through the process to get legal residence?

.....

[pushbrk 13,632]

Hi there, welcome to VJ! I am also new here, and this is my first time doing a K1 as well. I was just wondering, since the K1 is used to get the fiance here to the U.S. for marriage and then Adjustment of Status (to Permament Resident), in the case of a fiance who can already legally visit the U.S., I think the process would be quicker and more direct for you to just marry him here while he is on a visit, and then go straight to the AOS phase. Can anyone confirm or deny this as a viable option? Good luck to you!

Iysha

This is visa fraud if it is the intention to marry is present when the alien enters for a visit. It is perfectly legal if the decision to marry occurs DURING the visit. The difference CAN be difficult to document. One major complication is that the alien has no work permit until the adjustment of status is completed.

Coming to the US with the intention of marrying and adjusting status is a very bad idea. It is a crime and the consequences are grave.

[Philomena 0]

Thanks raymaga and pushbrk for the clarification! Now I understand that AOS issue more precisely. I see that the initial intention of the visitor before he/she actually arrives makes a difference in which visa to apply for/and or how it will be processed. Wow, learn something new everyday. Thanks again for the information and hope everyone has a great weekend.