Question regarding Submitting K1 Visa

[chronos1116 0]

Hi everyone,
My girlfriend and I are looking at submitting the K1 visa soon, roughly March. She is going to visit me(Sponsor, United States) at the end of February after I visit her(Beneficiary, Canada) for her birthday. We're going to drive over the border together and fly out of an American airport, so crossing there will have a lot of questions. We've been dating for roughly four months and decided that the K1 would be the best path for us due to the long processing times. However, after reading these forums, it looks like CR-1 would've been the best bet. We planned on a return flight in a month and a half, but have insurance on it so we can push it back possibly to the max of three (or six?) months, I believe. During her time here, she will be working towards finishing online classes at a Canadian institution and also getting certified towards certificates in her desired field.

My questions are:

• Are we allowed to submit the K1 visa while she is here under no visa? I know that once the K1 visa is submitted, there is a significant amount of scrutiny under the Beneficiary, but I don't know if that looks bad in the light of immigration officers.
  - And if she is, are we allowed to have her stay up to those 3 months like we originally planned?
• Moving forward, every time she enters, does she need to enter under an ESTA? I acknowledge the 1.5:1 day rule, so we will be mindful of that. And if we can extend our upcoming trip, do the immigration officers take note of that? How do we let them know that we will be extending our trip? Or do we just be honest with them and let them know when we plan on going back? I know honesty is the best policy with them.

 

I will be sure when crossing to have all my paperwork, paystubs, and bank account ready to be shown. She will also have the proper paperwork. Thank you if you took the time to read this, have a nice day!

 

Edited February 6 by chronos1116

[Crazy Cat 39,267]

5 minutes ago, chronos1116 said:

We've been dating for roughly four months and decided that the K1 would be the best path for us due to the long processing times. However, after reading these forums, it looks like CR-1 would've been the best bet.

If visiting is easy, why choose the K-1?  The processing times are not much different for a CR-1 vs a K-1. 

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1 
  More expensive than CR-1
  Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
  Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 6-8 months) 
  Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period 
  Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
  A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
  In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice 
  A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-1
  Less expensive than K-1 
  No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required. 
  Spouse can immediately travel outside the US 
  Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival. 
  Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US 
  Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
  Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

 

 

Edited February 6 by Crazy Cat

[SalishSea 16,775]

30 minutes ago, chronos1116 said:

Hi everyone,
My girlfriend and I are looking at submitting the K1 visa soon, roughly March. She is going to visit me(Sponsor, United States) at the end of February after I visit her(Beneficiary, Canada) for her birthday. We're going to drive over the border together and fly out of an American airport, so crossing there will have a lot of questions. We've been dating for roughly four months and decided that the K1 would be the best path for us due to the long processing times. However, after reading these forums, it looks like CR-1 would've been the best bet. We planned on a return flight in a month and a half, but have insurance on it so we can push it back possibly to the max of three (or six?) months, I believe. During her time here, she will be working towards finishing online classes at a Canadian institution and also getting certified towards certificates in her desired field.  You're treading on thin ice with this.  She cannot live in the US as a visitor.

My questions are:

• Are we allowed to submit the K1 visa while she is here under no visa? I know that once the K1 visa is submitted, there is a significant amount of scrutiny under the Beneficiary, but I don't know if that looks bad in the light of immigration officers.
  - And if she is, are we allowed to have her stay up to those 3 months like we originally planned?  She will be allowed to stay for as long as CBP gives her.  
• Moving forward, every time she enters, does she need to enter under an ESTA? I acknowledge the 1.5:1 day rule, so we will be mindful of that. And if we can extend our upcoming trip, do the immigration officers take note of that? How do we let them know that we will be extending our trip? Or do we just be honest with them and let them know when we plan on going back? I know honesty is the best policy with them.

 

I will be sure when crossing to have all my paperwork, paystubs, and bank account ready to be shown. Why?  What paperwork do you think you will need?  She will also have the proper paperwork. Again, what does this mean???  Thank you if you took the time to read this, have a nice day!

 

I strongly recommend you take the time to do some more research.  You've made several incorrect assumptions about the process.  Especially since it sounds like you may have never met in person ("dating" for 4 months?  Online?), and you sound very young.

 

When doing your research, you'll also want to look at your financial sponsorship obligations.

 

 

[chronos1116 0]

2 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

I strongly recommend you take the time to do some more research.  You've made several incorrect assumptions about the process.  Especially since it sounds like you may have never met in person ("dating" for 4 months?  Online?), and you sound very young.

 

When doing your research, you'll also want to look at your financial sponsorship obligations.

 

 

We’ve had three visits already together. I make roughly 150k USD annually at 25 doing military contracting work. i work ten hours a day during the week, so it is hard for me to find time to do research. We’ve decided to go forward with this process, as if anything happens we can always pull out and just lose time and money. rather than be together for two years, then take two additional years for this.
 

please inform me on any incorrect assumptions I’ve made. I feel like I’ve done a little bit of research, however,  I feel like this part is kinda fuzzy to me. I’ve decided to post here, which has been the most helpful
 

what a warm welcome to these forums! Thanks for your response, hopefully there’s not as many sour people as you. 

[SalishSea 16,775]

1 minute ago, chronos1116 said:

We’ve had three visits already together. I make roughly 150k USD annually at 25 doing military contracting work. i work ten hours a day during the week, so it is hard for me to find time to do research. We’ve decided to go forward with this process, as if anything happens we can always pull out and just lose time and money. rather than be together for two years, then take two additional years for this.
 

please inform me on any incorrect assumptions I’ve made. I feel like I’ve done a little bit of research, however,  I feel like this part is kinda fuzzy to me. I’ve decided to post here, which has been the most helpful
 

what a warm welcome to these forums! Thanks for your response, hopefully there’s not as many sour people as you. 

Sour??  LOL.

 

You have a lot to learn.  Good luck with your journey.

[SalishSea 16,775]

2 minutes ago, chronos1116 said:

please inform me on any incorrect assumptions I’ve made.

I did try, in the bolded comments on your original post.

 

I'm out, hopefully you will get some good advice here.

[chronos1116 0]

1 minute ago, SalishSea said:

I did try, in the bolded comments on your original post.

 

I'm out, hopefully you will get some good advice here.

Oh man, I’m sorry, I thought you were just bashing me with no real input. I didn’t even see the edits, I didn’t know you could edit a quote. My bad man. If you are gone, I get it, I’m sorry about that! Thought I was just getting bashed for no reason. 
 

paperwork as in certificate of employment, plane tickets. This kind of stuff. 
 

And regarding the long visit, you’re right. I’ve heard of people doing long visits before without an issue, but just want advice on how to make the case to the CBP, I guess. 

[W199 264]

2 hours ago, chronos1116 said:

We’ve had three visits already together. I make roughly 150k USD annually at 25 doing military contracting work. i work ten hours a day during the week, so it is hard for me to find time to do research. We’ve decided to go forward with this process, as if anything happens we can always pull out and just lose time and money. rather than be together for two years, then take two additional years for this.
 

please inform me on any incorrect assumptions I’ve made. I feel like I’ve done a little bit of research, however,  I feel like this part is kinda fuzzy to me. I’ve decided to post here, which has been the most helpful
 

what a warm welcome to these forums! Thanks for your response, hopefully there’s not as many sour people as you. 

 

Does your fiancee have any income too? If not, then if you do a CR1, you would save a lot of money by filing joint taxes a year earlier.

 

For K-1 vs CR-1, you should also factor in what really matters, The wedding itself and family is very important. Hence, deciding where do you want to get married, USA or Canada, could also be a deciding factor that will be more important in the long run. Not to mention since you haven't know each other long, a longer engagement may be very beneficial to the relationship.

 

[widude 16]

 I don’t have specific advice, except to say, you have options, Canada seems kinda easy. Good luck.

[Redro 4,600]

@chronos1116 please clarify. 

1. Is your partner planning to come to the US in February and stay (for 1.5 to 6 months) while studying online?

2. As a military contractor, is there a chance you might have to go overseas for an assignment or is your life and work here in the US? 

3. Are you planning to go the K1 route because you want to get to know each other better but because of long processing times you want a K1 on file now.

4. When you talk about canceling the application, do you mean you would cancel it if you broke up OR you will cancel it and go the spousal route?

 

Edited February 6 by Redro

[carmel34 3,531]

14 hours ago, chronos1116 said:

Moving forward, every time she enters, does she need to enter under an ESTA? I acknowledge the 1.5:1 day rule, so we will be mindful of that. And if we can extend our upcoming trip, do the immigration officers take note of that? How do we let them know that we will be extending our trip? Or do we just be honest with them and let them know when we plan on going back? I know honesty is the best policy with them.

Just be aware that any entry to the US is at the discretion of the CBP officer, whether land crossing or airport.  They tend to be very wary of Canadians who enter too frequently and stay too long.  There is no written "rule."  Plus, they will be able to see on their computer system all of her previous entries.  Short visits of a few weeks each, with plenty of time between visits, will be less likely to be cause for concern.  The default is to assume that she is trying to live in the USA without the proper visa.  You should also seriously consider visiting her in Canada more often to avoid problems during the K-1 or CR-1 process.