American Girlfriend is Pregnant

[TexasCanadian 0]

Hey Everyone! I think this forum is fantastic. I have a doozie of a situation and need y'alls advice.

I am a Canadian who lived in Texas for 17 years. I had a green card that whole time. I married an American citizen in 2000, then we divorced in 2005 and I moved back home to Canada. I returned my green card because I wanted to start again back in Canada. I visit Texas often, as I have family and friends there, and last year began dating an American citizen I went to high school with who lives in Texas. She is pregnant, due in November, and we have decided that we will raise the baby in Texas because that's where her family is and we have a strong support group there.

We decided to get married the end of this month in Texas. As I wont be leaving work here in Canada til October, I will be traveling to the US often this summer, then hopefully moving there full time in October for the baby's birth. My travel schedule is as follows: fly down May 23-June12, fly back here for work, fly down July16-27th, fly back to Canada and work all of August, and Sept, then hopefully fly down full time in October. Now the questions:

1. Do I require a K1 visa to enter to marry her in May even though I will be back and forth all summer?

2. Can we marry down there in May while I am just visiting, then file for a CR-1 visa once I am back in Canada?

3. Because timing is of the essence (cant tell the baby to wait), will the fact that she is pregnant have any action on processing time?

4. Can I live there for the 180 days a Canadian is allowed and wait for visa approval while I am taking care of the baby?

5. Does the fact that I once had a green card and lived and worked there for 17 years help me out at all?

Any advice would be great! Thanks

[trailmix 77]

Hi and welcome to VJ,

1. Do I require a K1 visa to enter to marry her in May even though I will be back and forth all summer?

No, no problem with you getting married in the U.S. - remember, whenever you are crossing the border, bring strong proof of ties to Canada with you - copy of your rental agreement or mortgage, letter from employer stating when you are expected back, proof of funds to support yourself for the length of your trip, a return ticket - etc.

2. Can we marry down there in May while I am just visiting, then file for a CR-1 visa once I am back in Canada?

Yes. You can file the CR1 as soon as you like, after you are married, you don't have to wait to return to Canada.

3. Because timing is of the essence (cant tell the baby to wait), will the fact that she is pregnant have any action on processing time?

No.

4. Can I live there for the 180 days a Canadian is allowed and wait for visa approval while I am taking care of the baby?

You can stay for 180 days - if they do not give you an I-94 with a particular date - the 180 day rule applies.

5. Does the fact that I once had a green card and lived and worked there for 17 years help me out at all?

Not much in terms of the immigration process. The only place it might help you is with the I-864 (affidavit of support) - if you have earned (or can be credited with) 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act - your wife may not need to file an I-864 for you, instead you would use the I-864W. Don't know if that is an issue at all - but that's the only thing I could think of.

Just as an FYI, the current processing time for those interviewing at the Montreal consulate is around 11 months, start to finish.

Edited May 5, 2010 by trailmix

[Sunny4567 0]

The one thing my lawyer told me is that if you enter the US on a Visitor Visa and marry a US citizen

it is considered fraud and it could complicate your case and/or even get you in trouble.

I see my advice or what I was advised is different from

Trailmixes (who by the way I think is great and has helped me!) You must declare that you are getting married when you enter,

and I do not know how much that may complicate things. That is why people go through all the paperwork that you read about this site to get permission to go to the US to marry and join their fiance's.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!

[Flames9_RN 358]

NO, you don't have to declare, you are going to get married! One simply must answer truthfully the questions the POE officer asks!! KISS = keep it simple silly (or stupid,etc etc ) lol Its not illegal to get married in the USA, many including myself went this route and then started the k3 or cr-1. I answered the POE officers questions truthfuly, he never asked!!

Its all comes down to ones INTENTIONS, when u enter the usa and then stay! If one had NO intentions of staying, then out of the blue decided too, thats ok! BUT if one had the intention all along, well thats illegal!

[Bern. 3]

Just be honest during POE. You'll be fine and congrats on your baby.

[warlord 73]

5. Does the fact that I once had a green card and lived and worked there for 17 years help me out at all?

Not much in terms of the immigration process. The only place it might help you is with the I-864 (affidavit of support) - if you have earned (or can be credited with) 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act - your wife may not need to file an I-864 for you, instead you would use the I-864W. Don't know if that is an issue at all - but that's the only thing I could think of.

It's too bad you didn't apply for citizenship during your Green Card phase as then you wouldn't have to worry about any of this. But yeah once you give up the Green Card it's not going to make any difference to your current process at all. You are treated as anyone else that never had a Green Card. Unless the above I-864 applies...

[Jadenjewel 9]

Congrats on the baby!!!

Start this process ASAP as Montreal is taking what seems like forever to process, and have all documents when you cross the border showing ties to Canada.

Follow the guides, and if you have questions, "ask" don't just send it in hoping its right. People on here are extremely helpful.

[kaya541 1]

NO, you don't have to declare, you are going to get married! One simply must answer truthfully the questions the POE officer asks!! KISS = keep it simple silly (or stupid,etc etc ) lol Its not illegal to get married in the USA, many including myself went this route and then started the k3 or cr-1. I answered the POE officers questions truthfuly, he never asked!!

Its all comes down to ones INTENTIONS, when u enter the usa and then stay! If one had NO intentions of staying, then out of the blue decided too, thats ok! BUT if one had the intention all along, well thats illegal!

I agree, you don't have to declare you are getting married. In fact, I wouldn't do so because it will only complicate things and you may not get in. Just be honest about where you are going, when you are leaving, and that the purpose of your trip is to visit friends/family.

Oh, and I would highly recommend getting all your paperwork ready for filing the I-130 so you can mail it as soon as you have the marriage certificate!

Edited May 5, 2010 by kaya541

[TexasCanadian 0]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your advice and responses. We really havnt placed a date on the marriage, just want to do it before the baby is born in November.

Here is another question: Should we wait to get married until a later date to not complicate things, or the sooner the better??? Soooo confused.

[trailmix 77]

Either or - does not matter.

You have two choices. You can apply for a K1 (fiancee) visa now and wait out that processing time before getting married (zero guarantee that you will have completed this process before November). You can visit the U.S. while this is being processed.

Once you use your visa and enter the U.S. you cannot leave or work until you get your employment authorization document and advance parole - or your green card, whichever comes first. You apply for all of these after you have entered the U.S. - it is called an adjustment of status and off the top of my head that portion costs around $1040 (on top of all the filing fees you will already have paid).

You can get married - whenever you feel like it - and apply for a CR1. You can visit the U.S. while this is being processed. A CR1 is an immigrant visa. The stamp in your passport when you arrive will serve as a temporary green card until your actual green card arrives. You can both work and travel out of the U.S. immediately.

CR1 stands for conditional resident - after 2 years you must apply to remove conditions and you will then receive a 10 year green card. Basically 'removing conditions' means you have to prove to them that you have a verifiable, real, marriage.

Edited May 5, 2010 by trailmix

[Colleens 40]

If you want to be with your GF and Baby ASAP I would do the wedding and apply for the visa ASAP. I think it is taking 8-12 months to process the Visa (that is assuming you file all the paperwork in a timely and complete fashion). You may even consider having just a legal (courthouse) wedding on your next trip to start the process, then plan a more formal wedding at a later date. Many people here have done that.

Good Luck with whatever you choose!!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The one thing my lawyer told me is that if you enter the US on a Visitor Visa and marry a US citizen

it is considered fraud and it could complicate your case and/or even get you in trouble.

I see my advice or what I was advised is different from

Trailmixes (who by the way I think is great and has helped me!) You must declare that you are getting married when you enter,

and I do not know how much that may complicate things. That is why people go through all the paperwork that you read about this site to get permission to go to the US to marry and join their fiance's.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!

No no no. This is not true. You are allowed to enter the US on a Visitor's Visa and marry a US citizen. That is NOT considered fraud. You are not allowed to enter the US on a Visitor's Visa with the intent of getting married to a US citizen AND STAYING in the US to apply for permanent residency . That is a big difference.

The 'fraud' relates to how you use the 'visa'. Entering as a visitor and leaving at the end of the visit - even if you get married during the visit- is perfectly fine because that is all you are doing - visiting. Entering as a visitor with the intent to remain in the US is Visa Fraud because you are deliberately using a visa meant for one specific purpose - visiting - as a shortcut to avoid going through the proper immigration process for the correct visa. That is why it is fraudulent - not because you are getting married, but because you are not a visitor and are intending on staying.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Congrats on the baby!

Just to give my two cents, the K-1 is generally the quickest way to go. It does have some negatives (AOS process later, not being able to work and travel right away, etc.) but if you start ASAP there is a remote possibility you could have the visa in November. It is absolutely no guarantee, but it is a remote possibility. I went through Montreal over a year ago now, and start to finish my K-1 process was around 7 months. With the CR-1, you don't really have that possibility. The process takes longer, and you still have the little matter of getting married to worry about before you can even start!

It's all about picking what is most important to you and prioritizing. Is getting to the US using the fastest route the most important? Or, is being able to get a job immediately after moving to the US more of a priority? Then there is also the issue of money- The K-1 will cost you more in the long run.

[TexasCanadian 0]

Thanks to everyone who responded. If we marry, Im coming back to Canada after a week because I have a really good job here, and we will just wait out the visa process. I will visit when I can and return to Canada to continue working until my CR-1 is approved. I dont want to break any law, and this is the best for all of us to be together soon.