mignaci0

still seems like a really long time. My ex and I did the separation agreement and divorce papers within the same week, and divorce was final in 3 months.

Just to re-visit this. How were you able to do separation agreement and divorce papers in the same week? Don't you have to be separated for at least a year in order to divorce or is that only in certain provinces?

still seems like a really long time. My ex and I did the separation agreement and divorce papers within the same week, and divorce was final in 3 months.

Well that's reassuring! Hopefully it'll be the same case with her situation. She just served him with the papers today.

It took her over a year to decide to divorce her previous husband but she met and decided to marry you within 4 months? If you do decide to go down the marriage visa route, that may raise some eyebrows.

I don't believe it's uncommon for individuals to ultimately decide to legally end a marriage.She didn't meet me within 4 months and marry, to be clear. We've known each other for 6 years.

What that person is saying is that once she is here and authorized to work, she can apply away!

But, until then, if she DOES try to apply before being authorized to work, she needs to be certain that she lets the employer know she needs to be sponsored, because otherwise she could potentially be wasting the employer's time. Remember, it is a long and expensive process for an employer to sponsor someone, and the next opportunity for her isn't until October of 2017.

Understood. My confusion was with the concept of "here and authorized to work" because I thought the visa is what authorizes her to actually work. If she would be here visiting and looking for jobs she would certainly be divulging that she will need sponsorship.

I would be careful in applying for jobs until she's authorized to work. The companies she apply with will take time and resources into reviewing her application, potential interview etc only to find out that they can't hire her because she doesn't have work authorization. She could be burning a lot of bridges by applying for jobs when she's not allowed to work. If you want to go down this road, I would make her US status, or rather lack of status, very clear in the application/letter.

Wouldn't a work visa make her authorized to work? How will she get one without applying for jobs in order to get employed by an employer who will sponsor?

I read your other thread as well as this one. I'm wondering why her divorce will take so long, if they've been separated for some time, as you state. Back in Canada, I was separated from my Canadian ex for a few years before we filed for divorce, but once we filed, it was final in 3 months.

She and her ex technically did not have a separation agreement in place until this past May but they hadn't been cordial for about a year and a half. It took time for her to make the decision to finally go through the process of legally breaking it off.

It's totally fine. I did the same thing when I was starting out because I just could not accept the idea that I was going to be apart from my husband for so long! But everyone here is very helpful and gives lots of great information, so it's a great community to be a part of.

I've always heard it was difficult to get this done but never believed it could be THIS hard and time consuming.

You can marry in the US if she enters on the VWP, but then she MUST return home. If she comes on a visiting visa and tries to stay and adjust status, that is immigration fraud and can result in a lifetime ban. But, yes, you can marry and then immediately apply for the spousal visa. It takes about one year to complete.

I'm sorry, but there is literally no way for you to be together during the entire process. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it and we wouldn't all be suffering with the separation. Again, though, you are INCREDIBLY fortunate that it is so easy for the two of you to visit each other as most couples do not have that luxury!

Thanks! Like I've said, this whole situation is so new to me so I lack all basic knowledge.

That's correct.

In that case how does that process work? We marry (most likely at a town hall), then I have to apply for a spousal visa? Would she have to go back to Canada at some point with this route?

Just realize (that's assuming employer in that field is even willing to sponsor which is unlikely) next H-1B visas that she could apply for will be given out in October 2017 - and two last year - since there is a cap on H-1Bs - it ended up be (literally) a lottery (more applicants than visas).

Seeming more and more like the quickest/easiest option would be to get married/spousal visa once we're both able to legally marry.

To be clear about a few things...

You keep mentioning "visitor visa". If you're just meaning she comes as a visitor, that's fine, but Canadians (generally) do not need a visa to cross the border to visit.

To directly answer your question, CBP's potential feelings on the matter not withstanding, there's nothing stopping her from job hunting while here as a visitor. But as others have stated, she cannot legally start working while here as a visitor. If she were to find some employer willing to sponsor her, there is no way to magically change from a visitor to worker. She would have to return home to acquire the work visa and then re-enter. Unless she has a very specialized set of skills and education, most employers don't want to be bothered talking to people who aren't currently eligible to work for them. Going by your previous thread where you provide her current employment position, I think you're in for an uphill climb in proving no one in the US could do that job.

I don't mean to pile on, but the other posters have given you the best advice. We all want to have our cake and eat it too. Be patient. The legal immigration road isn't a quick journey. Visit in the meantime when you can and make sure she doesn't overstay or do anything else while in the US that could jeopardize things in the future.

I realized Canadians don't need an actual visa to cross the border to visit but I've previously seen people reference Canadians visiting as a "Visiting Visa" so I guess that's why I said it. I think what we wanted to do was at least have her visit for a few months (obviously avoiding overstaying) and try to look for an employer that will sponsor her, maybe get lucky to find one, go back to Canada to acquire the work visa, then come back. I can already tell it's an uphill battle but I guess it's a matter of just knowing what the options are.

Thank you all for the help and advice.

What I was trying to point out is if she can visit the US for 6 months? Then she can immigrate because it means there is almost nothing keeping her from leaving Canada. Who can leave their job for 6 months or home or anything else for 6 months? 2-3 weeks.. OK that's more reasonable. If customs and immigration thinks she is going to immigrate then they may deny her entry. I'm not sure about Canada specifically but almost every other country on a tourist visa must show strong ties to make them go back to their home country and not attempt immigration.

Understood, that makes sense now. Thanks for the clarification.

She cannot work on a visitors visa (how come she applied for a visa) Canadians

have VWP status unless there are underlying reasons to get a visa to the US.

She ends out her 1st marriage before planning another is the best way to go

continue visiting

I realize she cannot work on a visitor's visa but my question was rather if she is allowed to be on a visitor's Visa but actively look for work as in literally search for a job that will be able to sponsor her.

No, unfortunately it doesn't. The answers have pretty much been given. Unfortunately, you need to take a deep breath and relax. She needs a final divorce decree no matter what. Once that is done you have other options. I would forget the whole 6 months visiting thing. It says she has no ties to Canada and probably will get a B2 denial. Go visit her, she can try and visit you. Move to Canada is a possibility. If being away from your gf is the biggest problem then the truth is, you are just going to have to learn patience. I have not seen my fiancee in person in over 8 months and yet we're doing fine.

Hi, could you please elaborate on the bolded? What says she has no ties to Canada?

http://www.visajourney.com/content/visitor-visa-guide

It's a bit concerning because taking your other posts in consideration, it seems as if you may be trying to find other ways for her to stay instead of filing the more appropriate K1 visa. If you are not ready to marry, perhaps you should continue just visiting until the relationship progresses.

Otherwise to read the requirements of other visa options.

In reference to my other post you may have seen, we are "ready" to marry but she is in the process of a divorce that will likely be finalized by middle of next year. To add the that, she had been long not involved with ex-spouse but only recently filed for the divorce. Ideally, we want her to be staying with me already until we can marry/get spousal visa, or file for the K1. That is the main reason I am weighing our options for her coming on a working visa, especially since she would want to be working as it is anyway.

She can't use an interview as an excuse for staying more than her original entry allowed. Getting even interviews without being work authorized may much more difficult than you are thinking unless she is highly skilled in a high demand field ( aka STEM like job )

What I meant was that during her B2 stay (let's say 4 months even if she is allowed 6 months within a 12 month duration I believe) she will be able to interview?

What kind of qualifications does she have to be sponsored for work visa?

You mentioned in your other thread she does not meet the TN visa requirement.

Well according to this site: http://www.h1base.com/content/h1boccupations

She would fall under "OTHER Specialty Occupations" for "Other Occupations In Entertainment And Recreation" pertaining to H1B.

She could look at jobs but she would have no ability to start work and most employers have screening questions on their online app " Are you authorized to work in the US" if you can't answer that positively you can't submit the application and if you lie you have commited fraud

Understood, but she is authorized to look for work, apply for jobs (while saying she needs to be sponsored for a Visa), and be staying in the US on a B2 while waiting for interviews and such, correct?

She could look at jobs but she would have no ability to start work and most employers have screening questions on their online app " Are you authorized to work in the US" if you can't answer that positively you can't submit the application and if you lie you have commited fraud

Understood, but she is authorized to look for work, apply for jobs (while saying she needs to be sponsored for a Visa), and be staying in the US on a B2 while waiting for interviews and such, correct?

OP what does your fiancé do for a living? The TN visa that keeps being suggested is for specialized workers generally in shortage in the U.S. if you give us more information about her current work situation, a TN might be achievable.

Good luck

To reiterate, she is not my fiance just yet. However, she works as a recreation coordinator for her current municipality in Alberta. I do not believe this falls into a TN unfortunately.

Hi all,

I am dating somebody from Canada and we wanted her to come live in the US permanently. We eventually plan to get married however our first preference would be for her to just be here on a working Visa and then get married some time down the road. That brings me to my question: if she is visiting on a B2 Visa, is she eligible to also look for work while she is here? I feel like it would be difficult to be applying for work from out of the country/with an out of country address.

Much appreciated!

1. No, if she comes to VISIT she is not allowed to WORK. If she wants to work, then she needs to find a job that will sponsor her for a work visa.

2. Yes, BOTH parties have to be legally able to marry to apply for the fiance visa. The only time that people have filed while they couldn't TECHNICALLY get married, were those who had two month wait times, as by the time the application would be adjudicated, they would be free to marry.

3. Are you asking to extend from the six months that she's already in, or asking if she was approved would it be an issue that she had been in the country for six months already? The first, no it won't extend her already being in the US. She will need to go back to Canada at some point for the interview, as for the second, yeah if she stayed in the US for six months, then tried to come in with an approved K-1 there shouldn't be an issue as it's a separate visa from the tourist visa.

Your case isn't that much different than anyone elses.

You don't have to answer, but how long have you been dating? You say you don't want to have to do the long distance thing which is something all of us go through, and you're from a country that is sooo much easier to have a long distance relationship with than most. The fiance visa isn't meant to be a visa that allows you to "see how it works", while a lot use it that way, be careful on using it like that.

Thanks for the quick responses!

1. Understood.

2. Understood.

3. So if I understand correctly she would have to go back to Canada after the 6 months, get the K-1 and then come back to the US? If this is correct, would she have to wait another 6 months to come back with the K-1?

I realize the implications for the fiance visa in that it's not to test the waters on a relationship. I would certainly not go through this trouble for somebody I wasn't sure I was going to marry in time. Given the complicated circumstances of safety with her divorce and just generally wanting to be with each other permanently, we wanted to go through with her moving to the states. Her being able to work also obviously being a consideration to take into account.

I appreciate the help!