Well, we are going through the K1 Visa process so I thought I would put this here didn't see anywhere else to put it. My fiancee is in Canada and intends to move to Texas from ONtario. She wants us to rent a rental Truck in Michigan and drive it all the way to Texas. She refuses to fly because she cares for her cats to much. She has 2. Driving a rental truck across the country is a bit pricey for me around 2500. From my estimates. I don't have the resources to cover such a price. And its all for the sake of cats. Could someone help me out who went through this? Whats the easiest/cheapest way? I belive its flying. But she thinks it would come out to the same price due to her flying with all of her belongings. (I dunno if you can do that or not). But I really think sending the stuff and then flying down is the cheapest but she doesn't. Any tips?? Any input is appreciated on your moving experiences. Thank you.

Well to correct myself around 3000 dollars. Its just for a bookshelf and a couch and some other things. Any help? NOthing is really that important

well if its that little and you dont really need the items much i would say sell them cus you could probably use the cash more and then just fly with the cats...

the rental truck will be around 3000 dollars yeah

you could try ABF , PODS, CUBES, and get quotes from them. Basically she would rent space and have the stuff shipped after she flys because she would have to be in the states BEFORE her stuff arrives to be able to clear customs properly.

Okay now apparently its only a box of clothes and some wedding stuff. How did everyone else do the marriage thing? 90 days to plan a wedding at a church is almost impossible (At least in my town)

My hunny and I are doing a small civil wedding at a justice of the peace. Not in a church but that has a reason that his pastor cannot marry a Christian (my hunny) and a non Christian (me) I don't believe in God and so he cannot marry me.

Try to look for some justices of the peace in your state/city. They are most of the times also a notary public. Contact your city hall and they will give you a list. After that pick one and it works just like a regular wedding ceremony.

Hope you'll have a wonderfull wedding, and good luck in the rest of your life ^^

My pastor will marry us but he wants us to go through marriage counseling first. Because he wants us to have a "Foundation". She wants to have a real wedding in a church but doesn't want to go through the counseling and 90 days doesn't permit it. She doesn't want to do a small civil wedding but I've conned her into it and given the economy its a much better answer. And I believe that we can have a real wedding later on? Or does that not look good to the consulate if we have a civil wedding and then the ceremony (just for her) later on?

We're doing the exactly the same thing. And I don't think the consulate really cares on HOW you get married, as long AS you get married within those 90 days. But ofcourse for certain countries have their religion and the consulate might see it as visa fraud. But I don't think Canada falls under that.

Just don't tell them anything unless they ask about it. Wether it's small or huge, shouldn't matter. People that marry eachother from the same country also have small wedding up to just them 2.

You can always have a ceremony in a year or longer, that's all up to you. You can hire someone to "marry" you guys "again".

I'd convince her to sell the items and fly. Cats are cute though............

HAHAHAHAHHA, that bottom cat looks like mine - Matilda - who has recently taken away a good amount of skin on my right arm (24 hours before a job interview) yeah...cat's are so cute

OP - small and civil is the way a lot of us go. Your right, 90 days isn't enough and I couldn't face organizing a large wedding. We went to our favourite beach with a couple of friends and a JP and did it. We planned on having a big wedding next year in the UK...but it's been 3 months, and I dont think we need it anymore

Cat people are very stubborn and protective of their cats. Dont mess with the cats dude.

You should head over to the Canada Forum here Trepko! Here's the link:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=93

Here as well are helpful links in regards to moving:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71875 - Shipping your belongings from Canada

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=185250 - importing your car from Canada

https://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/ph...;p_new_search=1 - moving to the U.S. FAQ's

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3288403 - prior to your departure from Canada, things you need to do, or know

I am with your fiancee on this. Flying can be very dangerous and life threatening as well as incredibly stressful for cats. If you don't have to fly them, don't. I moved from Ontario to Georgia with 6 cats. My belongings followed in a moving van but we rented a 6 seater van, put in the cats, some houseplants, all of the items I technically would have to declare at the border (less than a year old), clothes to last until the moving van arrived, and personal valuables like jewelry. It took us two days stopping regularly to give the cats a rest and stopping overnight. The move was stressful on them, yes, but flying would have been even more stressful. I would not want my cats ever to go into the baggage hold of a plane and that is where they would be. I think this is one thing you will have to think about seriously. The cats are very important to your fiancee - they are her family. She knows them best and it has to be her decision about allowing them to fly or taking the time to drive. These cats will be entering your household and I can guarantee that there will be conflicts between you about how the cats are treated - you can't just dismiss them as 'objects' or 'just animals' when they are that important to your fiancee - they are family. If anything happened to one of the cats due to flying, she would never forgive you for insisting on it. If she doesn't have a lot of personal belongings you may well be able to get something like we did - a 6 seater van with plenty of room for belongings and cats. Gas and hotel rooms would be the main expenses.

Also - moving from the K-1 forum to the "Moving here and your New Life in the US" forum

Not sure if you've both driven and flown with pets.....
but
Cats and dogs actually cope better with a short flight than with a long drive.
I've flown from Europe to California and also driven from California to New York with both a cat and a Dog.
The drive was much more stressful for them than the flight because the driving is for a longer period of time. Both are stressful but a flight is stress for a shorter period of time.

However if your cats are older I would not place them on a flight just because the cooler temp in the cargo area may be too much for him to handle if he is used to a warm home.

My cat did not like being in a moving car at all. In fact, he didn't like any change in his environment. Couldn't even move the litter box. So for us, it was best to get him moved fast as possible into our new home environment. So he flew. Unfortunately we couldn't do that with our trip to New York....the result....a cat that became evil if we ever had to put him in the car to go to the vet or anywhere else.

But each cat has its own personality and adaptability....just like people.

Good luck

My monster is actually one of the few cats who likes driving.....she stretches out in her box and goes for a nap. You can hear her purring in there.

Obviously, coming from Canada...you guys have the luxury of a choice. A lot of people dont.

Go with what your fiance wants. As much as Matilda drives me crazy, she is as important to me as any member of my family....as your fiancee's cats are to her. You love the woman, you love the kitties.

My friend planned her entire wedding before she got the visa, during all the time she waited they organized wedding plans and details and had a really beautiful full church wedding when she arrived on her k-1 visa. You can have a full wedding you just have to plan and work on it before you get there.

get a U-Haul load it yourself and drive it to Texas charges from detroit, MI to Houston, TX is 1630.00 plus gas for a 10 footer or sell everything but what you can carry in the car along with the cats and drive. Just a thought.

There is no room in a U-haul for the cats - the cab is very small and two cats will require 2 cat carriers. We looked into this as well and when we saw the size of the cab realized it was impossible for us. For one cat maybe - if you hold the carrier on your lap. You'd be better off with a passenger van and take the seats out.

Are you only renting a moving truck or are you bringing a car as well? I moved from NY to Texas last year. Rented a 16 foot truck from Penske for under $2000. I brought 2 cats also, they rode in the car. (a friend drove my car while I drove the truck) If there are as few items as you say you wouldn't need a big truck like that anyway. You could put the cats in the car if you're bringing one. If it really is only a few items, rent an SUV. Plenty of room.

Cats did fine. Strangely, much better than they normally do on short drives.

a 10foot UHAUL runs about 100$ per fill up. Its going to be alot more then 1.630.