Archangelmiko

We sent in our I-130 beginning of May and got back the 1st NOA mid May and here it is almost Oct. and we haven`t heard anything back. I see the avg. wait is 90 days, but it is over 120 days now. Any insight into this.

You dont have to change the passport right away...just before the medical when they take it. Mhay changed her passport after we got NOA2.

But did she change her name before submitting her application? didn;t the copy of her passport that was submitted need to be the same as the name on the application?

Do we File an I 864 with our application or at the time of our interview? We were given an I 134 form at our Infopass appointment to go with our I 130, but in going over the forms, I understand that we should be completing the I 864 instead. From what I have found in other posts, it sounds like that comes into play only at our interview.

I have started saving every spare penny, as well as giving up my shopping hobby. We have decided to get marries first and do the CR1 route, due to it costing less, and not really saving us that much time. Plus I would rather go to Montreal for the interview than Van. (Closer to TO). I'm thanking my lucky stars there is a Dr here to do the medical.

Thanks again everyone, I just applied online for my birth cert!

What Site did you use to apply for your birth cert.? We're in the same boat... we're doing a civil marriage this week to start the CR1 so she can immigrate from Manitoba.

Thank you!

So, you intend for her to change her name at the religious ceremony? I assume you will have her green card already by then.... Please keep us up to date if you find anything else out!

My fiancee and I intend to have a civil marriage in order to file a CR1 ASAP. We will get married in our Church in August. I'm wondering if, for the sake of Loans and other legal documents that we will need to fill out together, she should change her name when we marry civilly. If we go that route, she will have to change the name on her passport, etc before we can submit our application, right? What would our other options be? can we change her name at the time of the religious ceremony (or even later?) and then when the actual green card is being prepared can it be changed over? Thanks for any insights!

You can marry here (or anywhere else). Entering the US as a visitor intending to marry, and staying violates the law. Marrying and returning to one's home country is not a violation.

This is what an immigration lawyer sent me that makes me hesitate about what you say:

"You don't file for a K-3 visa while she is inside the U.S. That visa is to enter the U.S. If she is already here, you do adjustment of status, but this is not really the correct way of doing it. The correct way to do this is apply for a K1 fiancee or K3 spouse visa if you are already married. The process takes 6 to 9 months or more in which she is supposed to wait outside of the U.S. Here is a link:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1315.html

I know that you may not want to wait, but the only other method is risky. People do it all the time, but it is basically violating the immigration law. This is because if she uses a tourist visa (or Visa Waiver) to enter the U.S. when she really has the intention of staying, she is lying to the U.S. government about her intention. If she discloses the truth when she is entering, they will turn her around and send her back. If she lies about her intent, well.....she's lying and can be deported because of it.

The regulations state this:

If a person does anything to make their status permanent in the U.S. (such as marrying a U.S. Citizen) within 30 days of entering on a non-immigrant visa such as a tourist visa, they are automatically charged with visa fraud.

If a person does anything to make their status permanent in the U.S. more than 30 days after entering on a non-immigrant visa but less than 60 days, they will be questioned extensively and if ICE or USCIS is not satisfied, then that person will be charged with visa fraud.

If a person does anything to make their status permanent in the U.S. more than 60 days after entering on a non-immigrant visa, no questions are asked because the policy determination is that it is too difficult to prove that the person did not just change their minds."

You can marry in the US or Cananda and then begin the CR1 spouse visa process. ( K3 is a dead process now ) It's entering the US as a visitor with immigrant intent that is a violation of the law.

Sorry, that makes no sense. Tell me how a Canadian can come to the US and get married without violating the law? And the whole IR1/CR1, K3, I130, I129F thing is all very confusing. Looking through the guides and posts it looks like all the forms get applied to regardless.

Will there be any problems in my fiancee and I getting legally married in Canada, so that we can start her immigration process (which could go faster for a spouse than a fiancee) and get her on my US health Ins. before we get Religiously married in Canada? Will I have problems with visiting Canada during this time? It seems that we can't get civilly married in the US with out going through the long K-1 visa process, so getting civilly married in Canada may be better, is it?

What are the positives and negatives to each path?

First she pays her last visit to the farm here in WI for a long time since there seems to be this stupid rule of her losing her freedom to visit.

Then is it best that she applies for a K1 / I-129f and go through the process form there. Which does she lose her freedom to visit as soon as she applies? Is there any thing during that time that she could get to be able to visit such as I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant, I-131 Application for Travel Document, or I-512L authorization for parole of an alien into the united states?

Or should I go to Canada and us be civilly married there and go through the K3 / I-130 process from there? Which does she lose her freedom to visit at the point we get married?

Does Canada have the same difficult laws that would prevent me from visiting her or getting civilly married to her in Canada?

Sorry, but this seems so stupid that we could spend all sorts of time with each other and going back and forth over the boarder for years when ever we wanted and then when we want to get married we have to go into exile.

Is there ways to prove to the boarder that she isn't going to stay in the US until her visa comes through, such as she having a job, lease on an apartment, perhaps a return bus ticket, important future dates in Canada such as our Religious Wedding, sister's wedding, Social (Manitobian wedding fund raiser), friend's wedding and so on?

So which path would be better? To start the process as fiancee or get civilly married in Canada and start the process as spouse?

I'm a dairy farmer who is a sole-proprietor. 2009 was very hard on the dairy industry and when depreciation is figured in the farm shows a loss. Granted this can happen and I can still live just fine. I have over 350K of assets, and gross about 300K a year, the net income is what can show a loss on the taxes. Will this be a problem with the I-134 Affidavit of Support?

My Canadian fiancee and I (US citizen) want to get married in Canada this Aug. 28th. We then want to come home to Wisconsin have a small reception here, then go back to Canada mid Sept for her sister's wedding. Then come back to the US, file for her K3 visa while she stays here in WI for the 5 to 6 months that it takes to get it.

Would there be problems with her getting into the US after our wedding or after her sister's wedding?

Is a I-131 Travel Document or I-512L, Authorization for Parole of an Alien Into the United States necessary or are they only for those that already have a Permanent Resident status?

In order to be admitted into the U.S. without a visa, a

Canadian must show that they are a nonimmigrant, coming to the U.S.

temporarily for business or pleasure. As soon as that is not the case,

they may not be admitted without a visa.

If one departs the U.S. while an application for adjustment of status is

pending, and there is no advance parole, the adjustment application will

be denied, and the foreign national may or may not be readmitted into

the U.S. as a nonimmigrant visitor for business or pleasure.