DSplaysthejazz

That makes sense, so get engaged before entering on K1, and then marry very shortly after arriving. Very helpful to know this early on, thank you! She has a job right now, but its a lame low level retail job that she doesn't even care about, not great pay either, so she wouldn't be losing much. Oh so you can apply for that even before you marry?

That's very good to know, thank you! So you think it would best to probably get married around day 70 or so of the 90 days, and immediately afterwards file for the I-485? Does just the act of applying and filing grant the authorized stay, or does that I-485 need to arrive before the 90 days is up?

Excellent, that's great to hear!

This is true, and we did consider that. But the K1 does get us together much sooner. Yes she is, we discussed that in detail and I wanted to make absolutely sure. She was fine with it, and her folks said they would be okay with visiting us until the green card is received. Her top priority is to be with me as soon as possible. Just to make extra sure, I will discuss it with her again. We decided it was worth having to wait for the green card, if it meant we could live together as married 8-9 months sooner, versus with a CR-1. I don't have a remote job either, so visiting during the CR-1 process would be tricky, and the times would be short. Weekends aren't long enough for us anymore, we want so much than that.

Hi Crazy Cat, thanks for a quick response! Two big reasons for us going the K1 route: time and separation. We noticed the CR-1 is taking much longer to process than K1 and the most important thing for us right now is to be together. Being separated for months at a time is very difficult and we just want to be near to each other. I can understand why the CR-1 would be superior in many ways, we simply don't want to have to wait 20+ months to be together. We're willing to accept all the restrictions and headaches of the K1, and yes the added cost as well. The AOS does seem to be quite a headache, not gonna lie. We discussed this, she is fine with having to stay here in order to be with me. She doesn't plan to work after our marriage, at least not for a year or two. Are these problems common to experience, does origin country matter? 8-9 months I believe is the average right? No children involved, just me and her Canada isn't affected by any of the travel bans right? Not that I have seen anyway

Hello fellow VJ members! About to begin this process and adventure and wanted to get some clarifications on a few things. I'm in the US and will petition for a Canadian. She wants to come visit me for 3-4 months in the US. She already visited for a couple of weekends, and I've been up to Canada about five times too. What in general do you guys think is better? For her to enter on the visitor visa, THEN apply for the K1? Or apply for the K1 BEFORE she enters on the tourist visa? I see mixed things on this. It seems if you already have a K1 pending, and then enter on the six-month visitor visa, then the border officer will ask lots of questions. But if you apply for the K1 after entering on the visitor visa, would that possibly look suspicious to customs? I just need to know the best thing to do, I want to make it as smooth and easy for her as possible, while also making it possible to see her for 3-4 months. She is going to try and get a leave of absence for her job, and she currently lives with siblings and helps pay the rent. Two things that would show intent to return home. Okay and another question regarding length of stay. I hear differing things about how the calendar year works as far as the six months. So I'll give some details to help out. She visited for a weekend back in January, then a weekend in April, and another weekend in July, so I'd estimate about a week of her six months has been used for this year. Does the six months "reset" at the beginning of the year, or is it continued to be tracked? For instance, if she stays for 3-4 months on a trip coming up, would that mean she only has 2-3 months remaining for 2026? I know in other posts it's been said the US has a give and take system. You come here for 3 months, stay in your home country for 3 months. It's a bit confusing and I'm trying to wrap my mind around it. Any clarity would be greatly appreciated! One final thing, if she stays for 3-4 months on her visitor visa, does that take anything away from the K1 90 days, or is that completely separate? For instance, she stays for 4 months on the visitor visa, and then returns home to Canada for 4 months, and won't visit again until the year either "resets" or the give take system is satisfied. Let's just say the K1 is approved in 8-10 months and is ready for us to use next year. Would her 4 month visit subtract anytime from that K1? 4 months visited, leaving only two left for the K1, or is the K1 90 days completely and totally separate from the time given for the visitor visa? Thanks so much for any help and advice!