tms

Hi everyone, my fiance is in the final steps of filing the i-129 petition for me. I was planning on selecting Montreal as my home consulate. I was wondering if that will be possible?

Background: I am citizen and passport holder of India. I came to Canada in 2011 as an international student at UofT. Since graduating, I applied for the Post-grad work permit (PGWP), and I've been working in Toronto for the last two years. I have previously applied for B1/B2 (tourist) and J1 visas from the US consulate in Toronto. Since my current address is Toronto, I was hoping that it would be possible for me to choose Montreal as my consulate for the K1 visa.

Anyone went through the same process as me?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. As I have been living in Toronto for the last 7 years, I would like to hope that I should be eligible to avail the consulate services in Ontario.

My girlfriend (who is a US citizen) wants to file a petition for me, and we were looking into the forms and processing times for the K1 visa. It seems like it will take almost a year for me to get the K1 visa (Montreal is notoriously slow at processing K1s), and another 3-4 months to receive the EAD before I can start working in the US.

Yesterday, I received a full-time offer from a US employer, and they want to sponsor me for a H1b for next year i.e. they will submit my application by April 2017 and my start date has to be after Oct 1, 2017.

Right now I am thinking my best option will be to let my employer apply for the H1b, and my fiance to start the petition for the K1. This way I can start working early if my H1b petition gets approved, and also have a back-up option if it gets rejected. Does that make sense?

Here are my concerns:

1) Will there be a problem if there are two petitions - K1 and H1b filed under my name at the same time?

2) If I get the H1b, can I just abandon my K1? Will that impact my AOS application later down the line?

3) After entering the US on H1b, can I get married and AOS?

I assume you crossed the border by land. I'm not sure if this is the case for Mexicans, but CBP officers often don't issue paper i94s for Canadians, and stamp their passports. Tbh, the only time I can recall a Canadian getting a stamp (and i94) was when my friend was pulled into secondary. If that's the case then I believe there is an option where you can just write 'No I-94. Canadian (or Mexican in your case) visitor' - search for 'canadian no i94' in the AOS forums. You can always go to a local CBP office to confirm that you were not issued an i94 (it helps if you go their office with specific dates of your visit).

Also know that once you marry, you can't leave the US or you'd need a spouse visa to move back. You may be able to visit on the B2 after you're married but it's not guaranteed. You won't be able to travel out of the US until you've applied to adjust status and gotten the temporary work and travel authorization. Which takes about 3 months.

So really, I assume that if you were planning to visit for 3 weeks, you probably still have a life up in Canada that you can't just walk out on. So marrying and AOSing will really complicate that unless you've got someone who can handle your affairs for you.

Actually, I'm quite close to doing just that. The lease on my current apartment ends in December so I can store my stuff there till then (I hope I'll get the green card or AP by that time). I spoke to my roommate, and he is okay forwarding any important letters that I get in the mail. I just cancelled my wireless plan with Rogers, and switched the region for my Netflix/Spotify subscriptions. I didn't own a car in Vancouver, so that helped. As I interned in the US multiple times previously, I kept my old US bank account and US credit cards so I can afford to keep all my Canadian funds untouched. It's still a huge shock to my close friends and family in Canada; but they are pretty chill. And, they all plan on visiting soon (to meet the mysterious girl who took me away ). Once the dust settles, I plan on going back and move back with all my stuff.

Use the duration of your permitted time to get to know this girl better, make sure this is what you want to do. If at the end of your approved stay you have any reservations, I suggest you return back to Canada and continue to develop the relationship.

I like this (even though my parents might not). I think the best thing for me would be to take my time, and postpone my decision until it's closer to my I-94 expiry date. I just need to have a persuasive conversation with my previous manager.

Thanks everyone for being considerate, and sharing some of your personal experiences. I'll try to address some of concerns raised by posters in this reply.

For people who were wondering about my home country - I have an Indian passport, but I recently received Permanent Residency (similar to green card) in Canada. My fiance(e) was born in the US; however, her parents used to live in India.

@GreatDane thanks for bringing a good point about work (you have to always be aware of your financial situation). Fortunately, I had some excellent opportunities to intern at some of the top tech companies in the US (google crazy silicon valley intern salaries). As a result I have managed to accumulate substantial savings that should last us for almost a year without work. That being said, I was hoping to receive the EAD within 90 days of the initial filing, and start working immediately after that.

Even though I had never seen my fiance(e) (not even a picture) prior to my cousin's wedding, my uncle and aunt knew her since she was a kid. That helped expedite the family approvals. I understand that it's been a short period (34 days to be exact), but I don't think we are rushing into the decision. We have had excellent discussions regarding our plans for the future (short-term and long-term), shared morals and values, gender roles within the marriage, family expectations, and religious convictions among others.

Initially, we were planning a small ceremony with just close family members. If we now decide to wait for 3-4 months before getting married, we are thinking of planning a bigger celebration (the whole nine yards ). Will that raise undue suspicion?

I'd time the AOS filing more towards the end of your 6-months stay

Thank you for sharing your experience. Yes, my I-94 has a 6 month validity. I understand that I have to provide sufficient bona fide evidences of our relationship. I have already started accumulating evidence (some of our photos, receipt for the engagement ring, airbnb receipts of our trip to California). I believe that will all be used for the AOS petition and the interview.

Where do I have to prove that I entered the US w/o any intention of getting married? I have a letter from my employer stating that I took a 4 weeks holiday. Will that be sufficient?

Furthermore, if I wait 4 months before getting married, and applying for the AOS, there is a high possibility that my application will not be processed before my I-94 expires. So am I not going to be guilty of overstaying my visit?

hmmmmmmmmmm, what do you mean by " brown weddings run for a while"

Typically, you have 4-5 celebrations compared to the 1 in most cultures. Some of the parties have elaborate dance/musical performances, so it's common to invite friends and family (who are part of the crew) a couple of weeks in advance so they can practice before the big day.

It's a gamble, but it will probably raise a lot of eyebrows and you might have trouble adjusting status. Had you decided to get married MONTHS after entering the country, that might be one thing. But you got married about a month after you got to the US, and while that might be common in your culture, it's going to raise suspicion amongst the people at the USCIS. So technically you can do it, but the onus is on you to prove that you really truly did enter the country in good faith.

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I haven't gotten married yet. We are thinking about it. We can wait longer (a couple of months) to get married, but there I foresee another problem. The longer I wait to get married, the more difficult it will become to convince USCIS that I had no intention of getting married when I entered the US.

HI,

I know this has probably been asked before. But, I wanted to present my specific case so that I could receive feedback/advice from some of the seasoned members of the community.

So, here's my story. I came to the US on June 10th, 2016 to attend my cousin's wedding (June 23rd). Initially, I planned a 3 week trip, and that's what I told the CBP at the POE. During the celebrations (brown weddings run for a while), my uncle and aunt introduced me to a girl. They 'thought' we were a perfect match and was setting me up for marriage, but I wasn't aware of that fact. Anyways, we started talking, met up a few times, and took a trip out West together. Long story short - we fell in love. As our meeting was mostly arranged, our parents want us to get married as soon as possible. I know this is extremely quick, but it's not rare in my culture for people to get married just after a few meetings (my parents got married after two meetings).

I thought the best course of action would be for me to go back, and my fiance(e) to make a petition for the K1 visa. However, I had an interesting conversation with my soon-to-be brother-in-law who considers himself as quite an expert in this area (I have my doubts). He told me that since I had no intention of getting married when I entered the US, and since our marriage will be entered in good faith - I should be able to apply for an AOS.

So what do you guys think? Any tips or past experiences? A bit more background info - I live and work in Vancouver, BC (Canada); however, I am not a Canadian citizen. I entered on a B1/B2 so I can stay in the US for 6 months before becoming out of status. I'm officially still employed at my current company so I have to make a decision very soon.

Thanks in advance for all your help.