Leafsfan

When we did the process years ago, we went with the cr1. It was about a 9 month process at the time from filing to getting my passport back. The waiting sucked, but it gave me enough time to sunset my life in my old country of residence 

7 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

Op, I'm assuming you've already submitted the I-130. if not, submit it ASAP so you can freeze his age before he turns 21.

That's the plan! He posed the question just a few weeks ago. Just turned 20 last week. 

Once again the VJ forums to the rescue! Thanks for everyone's input. He's in Alberta, so nowhere near any services in this journey. Mine was 8 days in Montreal that I was hoping he could avoid. Ah well! Maybe I'll make a vacation of it too. Cheers!

3 minutes ago, Timona said:

You can only do I-130. K-1 is for fiancé

The K visa referenced on the USCIS website is a K-4. Form I-129F

Apologies if this is a topic that's overdone. I went through about a dozen pages of posts, but finding a direct comparable is never easy.

I went through my green card journey about 6 years ago and have since naturalized. I have a now 20 year old son from a previous marriage that wants to go through the process and immigrate, possibly naturalize in the future.

First step; I complete the I-130. No problem.

What I'm hoping to figure out is the next and best step for moving him here. He's coming from Canada, and as many of my fellow former Canadians could attest to, the medical and interview process in Montreal is a burden to anyone living in western Canada. I'm not sure if it's avoidable for him, but naturally I'm hoping.

My options, as I understand them, are as follows:

1 - wait for consular processing to contact him for the next steps while he remains living in Canada.

2 - form I-129F for a K visa while the I-130 processes. I-751 to change status later. It's my understanding he would get student and work clearance with a K visa? We've communicated our expectations that he attend college and acquire part time employment if he's doing this, so that's something I'd like to confirm. Had anyone gone this route? I'd love to hear what your experience is.

One last thing, with him being 20, I don't imagine that the old custody agreement with my ex is relevant to this at all? Most of these documents are gone. No longer relevant after he graduated high school.

Thank you for any advice or experiences!

It's been over 6 years since I went through the process, so some of the finer details are a little hazy at this point.

That said, I remember making the appointment for the medical myself. There's an approved office in Montreal not far from the consulate. They will have the most current information on how long it'll take to get your paperwork back.

Long story short, I spent 8 days in Montreal. Had my medical the following morning after getting in, got the packet 5 days later, and flew out the day after my interview. It's a pain when you live nowhere near Montreal, but it's what it is!

I brought a 2008 Ford Ranger and a 1996 Suzuki motorcycle with me when I immigrated in 2017. You'll need a manufacturer's letter stating compliance. I didn't have to do anything with either vehicle. The letter from Suzuki was free, and requested from them directly. The letter for the Ford came through a dealership and cost me $100!

17 minutes ago, SoCalMan said:

What does one do if they don't approve the visit even with all proof of ties to the country? There's no plan B?

Each CBP agent is King of their particular hill so to speak. You're only guaranteed admission as a citizen.

14 minutes ago, SoCalMan said:

What does one do if they don't approve the visit even with all proof of ties to the country? There's no plan B?

Plan B would be getting married in Germany.

It's no different then her coming to the USA at any point previously. There's always a chance someone could be found inadmissible for really any reason at any time.. if you're an upstanding citizen and have everything in order it's not likely, but it's never 100%.

On 2017-05-11 at 5:22 AM, broppy said:

I'm continually surprised that so many Canadians go for the K-1 route. Given the choice, CR-1 is a considerably better option. It's a trivial matter for either partner to visit the other and get married - there are no visa requirements, and often no residence requirement either (depends on province/state, of course). With CR-1, you're able to continue working in Canada until the day you move to the US - and you're able to start working in the US from the moment you enter the country.

There are other downsides with K-1 too. I've seen plenty of posts here from people having difficulties getting a driver's licence on K-1 - many DMVs will only issue one with limited validity or refuse to issue one until you've got EAD in hand. There are also many complications with name changes - at least with CR-1, you can change your name before starting the whole process and not worry about updating your information with SSA and DMV after the fact.

If you're worried about the cost, an even better option would be to marry now and wait a year before filing - entering the US with two years of marriage would get you IR-1 status and save an additional $680 for the removal conditions associated with CR-1.

Fully agree with broppy. From file to approval on my CR1 it was 6 months. I sat at the doctors office awaiting my immigration medical and spoke with a K1 applicant with the exact same timeline.

You will have to make your case for not staying in the USA while awaiting your interview, but if you have a steady job, a mortgage or are on a lease, and other ties these all make the case for you returning to Canada. If you can make land crossings I would say even better, I always found them to be quicker and easier.

Truthfully it's a bit of a shot in the dark to guess when your interview appointment will be made for you. There's always a possibility they will request additional documents before it gets to that point. In my case, my original birth certificate from 1982 was not acceptable, and I had to order and submit a copy of a new one. Like most government agencies a deadline is more of an educated guess, and less of a hard date like it is in the private sector (I say this being a former public servant myself).

What I can tell you is:

- I had 5 weeks of lead time from notification of appointment, to the appointment date.

- Medisys in Montreal told me (at the time) they could not guarantee results of the medical for my interview in fewer then 5 full business days. What this meant for me was having the exam done the Thursday a week before my interview on Friday, or 9 days in Montreal counting travel days. I had my exam in hand the Wednesday before my interview as it turns out, but did not want to chance it. It sucks being thousands of kilometers away from any of the approved panel physicians, but you will need to get it done at one of them. My request to have it done at a USCIS approved physicians office an hour away in Montana was denied.

- You can contact them to reschedule your interview once your date is assigned, but I was basically told it's a ####### shoot and you lose any priority I would have as a CR1 and it could push me back months.

- I found flights to Montreal from Calgary stayed steady until about a month before the date, and went up pretty drastically from 3 weeks out.

- You might be able to get a better deal on accommodations through AirBNB. I got an apartment two blocks away from Desjardins centre with a full kitchen for a third less then any nearby hotels. There's a grocery store in Desjardins. If you're on a shoestring budget, you could save a little more in a hostel.

Best of luck! This is by far the most expensive and difficult part of the journey for anyone who doesn't live in southern Ontario or Quebec, but it's also the end of it

I'm not sure which province you're referring to, being from Alberta myself there is no "title" for a vehicle in the American sense. It was a difficult thing to explain to the DMV when I made it to Arizona. I only needed proof of ownership, proof of insurance, and an out of province inspection (if applicable) to register vehicles in Alberta. The insurance company was the one that cared if there was a lien on the vehicle, the registry office did not.. there wasn't even any mention of it on the registration paperwork.

You're good to go, I'm not sure what the company will need to do internally for you to remain employed once you're residency visa is approved, though? There's also a good chance you will need to return to France at some point to complete your visa interview. I was unable to have my medical exam or interview conducted at a office in the USA. Good luck!

There's no clear cut winner on which visa to go with, it all depends on your situation and values.

K1: is a little bit faster to go through processing, so you won't be apart quite as long (it's still 6+ months). You still have lots to do afterwards though: get married within 90 days, adjustment of status, and your fiance still cannot work until after the AOS is done. This route costs about twice as much as a CR1

CR1: Longer wait (usually, mine was still 6 months from Canada), but everything is done when your spouse is approved to come. They get their social and green card mailed out as soon as they make legal entry and activate the visa, and can seek work immediately. Costs about half in filing fees what a K1 does.

As far as her coming, I declared I was entering with the intent to marry my fiance and return to Canada afterward. They might approve the visit, they might not. Your fiance would have to prove intent to move home; in my case, I had work obligations, a mortgage, and made a land crossing in my vehicle which I could not import to the USA at the time.

I don't have any direct answers for you, so I apologize. I would think that the address of domicile and where you plan on living together should be the same, and should be the apartment. This is where all your documents will get mailed, and it's your duty to inform the USCIS of any changes in address your whole time as a permanent resident. Any inconsistencies in address probably will not be a good thing.

As far as your military records go, you will need them, so go about acquiring them immediately. These are required for everyone; if you only attended basic, you were a reservist who never deployed, or if you are a combat vet.

 

yes , for some countries it hard to pass k1 interview. 

I would imagine that's probably the case for either route then. Simply being the spouse of a citizen is not a solid guarantee of residency

Guessing how long it will be is exactly that, a guess. It seems that processing times have a lot to do with the interviewing embassy. Adding delays for requesting a new birth certificate, and the police check once it was requested I had my passport back in hand and ready to go from Canada 6 months after file date. After you file and receive a receipt number from the NVC, contact them immediately to obtain your case number. From there you and your spouse will be able to login, fill out the required questionnaires and pay the required fees. Doing all this upon helps avoid delays.

As stated, your spouses entry visa will be good for 6 months after issue. The green card gets mailed to your US domicile address, along with her social, after they makes legal entry on the visa.

 

Hi, I had my K1 visa interview in Montreal, back in February. I've been approved.. yay! I am moving to the US on June 3rd. I know that I need a list of everything I am bringing with me. My question is do I need to fill out a CBP Form 6059B (customs declaration) or can I make up a spreadsheet in Excel and print it off? Also, my fiance, along with with his parents and my own parents will be helping me with the move. There will be 3 cars following behind me, all filled with my personal belongings. I was going to give them all a list of what is in their cars, along with a copy of everything for myself, and explain the situation to the officer at the border. Do I need to provide them with a CPB Form 3299 (Declaration for free entry of unaccompanied articles), or will a typed list be fine?

 

Thanks for any help!

I did an inventory for my possessions on an excel sheet. All boxes were numbered and contents declared, it can be general (for example, clothing, kitchen goods, etc) but I included serial numbers for expensive electronic devices as well. If you're importing your car, you're going to need a compliance letter from the manufacturer and have it clear of liens.

The customs declaration form is something they will provide to you to fill out upon arrival. In my case, the CBP officer didn't bother and was really only concerned with filling out paperwork for the vehicles I was importing. Make sure to tell the officer you pull up to that the other cars following you are carrying some of your personal possessions, and of course make sure they're admissible before leaving. The whole process took me about 45 minutes from the time I handed my passport over. Good luck!

 

I heard that k1 visa interview is more difficult than cr1 ? is it right ? 

I can't attest to that. I had a CR1 interview in Canada which lasted about 5 minutes.

It's the case officer's job to ensure the relationship, no matter it's official status, is legitimate. In my case they simply asked how we met and some basic personal information questions about my spouse. I had photos, cards, letters, etc to substantiate but it was not required.

Which way is better will ultimately depend on you, your fiance/spouse, and what works the best for the two of you.

K1's are typically a faster process, but require a marriage within 90 days, an adjustment of status, a longer wait for your SO to find employment, and cost roughly twice as much.

CR1's take a little longer, but all the heavy lifting (except for a removal of conditions after 18 months) is done before your spouse arrives. They can seek employment immediately and the process costs roughly half as much.

As mentioned, you won't be able to obtain the title in the state you're moving without owning the car outright. Since you only have about a year left on it, you should try to get an unsecured personal loan and pay it out in that manner. It'll likely cost you a little more on interest, but you'll own the car free of liens.

Option two which I've seen done on these forums would be contacting your lienholder and asking permission to export the car and continuing to make payments. It's unlikely they will unless they're a US based institution, but it could be worth a shot.

I'm afraid there isn't a cheap or easy way of doing this if you're not driving distance to one of the panel physicians. The medical office in Montreal told me on the phone they could not guarantee results in less than 5 full business days (not counting the exam day). In the end, I had it in hand in 3 business days but it wasn't a gamble I was willing to take. A flight is going to cost about the same regardless of you leaving the next day, or a week from then. I managed to get a small apartment on AirBNB for a cost of about $50 per night, my wife joined me, and we made a vacation out of it. The place had a full kitchen and there was a grocery store only a few blocks away. They don't make it easy for us at this point of the process, but you're almost there. Good luck!

I had a relatively painless experience when I made my POE at Sewwtgrass, Montana. Did the itemized list like everyone else has mentioned, and got a comment from the CBP officer that I was organized. In the end they really only cared about the vehicles I was importing, and even that went smoothly. No searches, nothing crazy. I never had issues at a POE the hundreds of times I've entered the USA either, though.

10 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

Thanks for your reply! I did not even know that I can send everything electronically. Can you please give me more details on this? How can I do that and how can I then make sure they got everything they need?

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Submit_documents.html

Has which prefixes can file electronically and where to send it. Instructions for consulates and embassies which are non electronic too.

25 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

Hi everyone, we're at the documents preparing stage with the NVC. I've just paid an AOS Fee. NVC sent me an email with the list of documents for the petitioner (that's me) and applicant (my wife). I would like to know what exactly I should mail to them.

 

List for my wife:

• Valid, unexpired passport - do I need to copy the whole passport or just main page where the photo is? Do I need to translate it and do a notary thing? Can I send a copy I had 6 months ago?
• Marriage Certificate with translation - same question, I've done it 6 months ago, can I mail it?
• Court Records with translation - what exactly is this and how can we get it?
• Military Records with translation - as far as I understand, it's "Not Applicable" for women as she has never been in the army?
• Police Certificate(s) with translation - it is a police records? What is the difference between this and "Court Records"?

 

List for myself:

• Proof of Domicile - what exactly should I send for it? I am a USC, living in the country all the time.
• Petitioner's Civil Documents - what exactly should I send for it?
• Evidence of Income - is it a letter from my employer or something else?
• IRS Tax Transcript and Federal Income Tax Returns - do I need to send only a transcript or the whole 1040 thing?
• Social Security Earnings Statement - do I need to send this one and how can I get it?

 

Thank you for your replies!

 

I'll start from the top and work my way down. Your wife's list first:

Passport: scanned copy of the biographic page. I'm unsure about translation, but it would be the part of the passport a CBP officer would scan and scrutinize if she were entering the country.

Marriage certificate: Scanned copy of the original, and translation if necessary. They will only want the original for the interview.

Court records: Would be divorce agreements, and any crimes she may or may have been convicted of.

Military records: Not applicable unless she served.

Police certificate: This is similar to a background check for a job you could order from a local PD, except she should tell them it's for immigration. If she lived in any other countries for more then 6 months she will need them from there too.

For you, I'll try to help, my wife did a lot of these things so I'm not as clear on what's needed. Proof of domicile could be a mortgage statement, lease agreement, that sort of thing. Civil documents would be divorce agreements (if any). Evidence of income is your 1040s, w2's, that sort of thing.. all the things you would need if you were applying for a mortgage for example. I'm not 100% on the SS earnings statement, maybe that's if you're just collecting social security?

Edit: Try to send everything electronically at this point if you can, it will be much quicker correspondence wise then snail mail.