Marry US Citizen but not Apply for Permanent Residency

[Canadiano 0]

Hi there, I am pretty sure my situation is unique enough to warrant a new topic.

Here is the scenario:

1. I am Canadian.

2. I am in love with an American woman, and we want to get married.

3. We are both involved in the same Christian work on college campuses in our respective countries.

4. We want to live and work on her campus together in the US for about 1 year after getting married, and thereafter return to Canada.

I have considered a few options, including AOS from visitor visa, R1 visa, and K1 visa.

Here are some of my current considerations:

A. AOS from visitor visa sounds plausible, but until I could change my status to work with her on campus, I would have to be supported by the Canadian entity of the campus work. This may not be possible, though worth considering.

B. It seems like the K1 visa is the most "by the book" strategy, but we are not even engaged yet, and I don't intend to become a US citizen. Therefore, I am not sure that the K1 visa is the best option.

C. Getting the R1 from the beginning sounds like it could be the best strategy, but how long would this take?

My fundamental question is, is there any way to get married, live, and work in the US with her for a while without having to apply for an immigrant visa? If so, is it a faster process than the K1 route?

Of course, I believe we are both open to other scenarios. We really just want to be together as fast as possible. If we have to go to the moon to do this, we just might consider it .

Thank you for your responses in advance!

[canadian_wife 1,818]

A. Not worth considering. Entering as a tourist with intent to adjust status is illegal. It is called 'immigration fraud' and can carry a lifetime ban

B. you don't need to become a US citizen with a K-1, it allows you to enter the US, marry and adjust status to a permenant resident

C. R1 sounds good, if you qualify

Nothing about immigration is fast. You'll have to put in the paperwork and wait. If you really don't want an immigrant visa then the R-1 visa might be best

Good luck

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Unfortunately, there isn't a way for you to do what you wish and there isn't a way to do anything 'quickly'. Both Canada and the US require proper visas for those who wish to live either permanently or temporarily in each country.

If you ultimately wish to live in Canada in about a year, then the best bet would be for the two of you to marry as soon as possible so you can sponsor her to Canada. She can enter Canada and obtain a Temporary Resident's permit (valid for 6 months at a time and renewable) but she would not be allowed to work or go to school while she waits for your sponsorship and her application to be approved. The process would be filing for a Permanent Resident status from within Canada and you can expect it to take about a year. You could be together during that time, however, and this is really the only option you have if being together during the process is a priority. Or, you could marry and start the process of sponsorship and filing for Permanent Residence from the US. You wouldn't be able to live together but she would probably receive her PR approval about the time you want her to come to Canada so that would work best.

If you wish to live in the US, then she would have to apply to sponsor you for the K-1 visa if you are unmarried - or a CR-1 visa if you are married. Both processes are taking about a year or a bit more at this time if you live in Eastern Canada and a little less than a year if you live in Western Canada. You will not be able to live or work or go to school in the US unless you also obtain a work or a student visa. Both of those have their own criteria for application. A K-1 visa does not give you US citizenship. It gives you the right to enter the US in order to get married and apply to become a Permanent Resident. You have permission to be in the US for 90 days and you need to file the AOS for permission to live in the US. If you only wish to live in the US temporarily it is a very expensive process to buy yourself a few months of legal residency in the US. Both the K-1 and the IR-1 (spousal visa) are for people who intend to live in the US permanently.

You cannot apply to become a US citizen until you have been a US permanent resident for 3 years if married to a US citizen or 5 years if not married to a U citizen.

If you enter the US as a visitor (which is the only way you can enter without a visa) with the intent of getting married and applying for AOS that is illegal and is considered visa fraud by the US authorities. It is using one visa as a means to bypass the more difficult to obtain proper visa. The repercussions are serious and can include a lifetime ban on ever entering the US again. Regardless, AOS is requesting permission to live in the US as a permanent resident and you do not wish to live in the States and can take anywhere from 4 months to 2 years to be approved. There is no way to predict at which end of the range your application would fall. It is also a very expensive route to go if you do not intend to live in the US permanently or at least for a number of years.

You may wish to apply for a student visa, but again you would have first to be accepted by the College and then provide proof that you have more than enough financial resources already in hand to pay the tuition and to pay your own living expenses. US College tuition is significantly higher than Canadian.

For the R-1 visa you would first have to find a quallifying religious organization of which you have been a member for 2 years willing to sponsor you by filing an I-129 R1 for a foreign worker. Once that was approved you would need to schedule an interview to get the visa. Online searches show that the I-129 R1 is taking about 4 months for petition approval in the US and then a further 6 weeks if there are no problems in Canada where you would also have to attend an interview, so you are probably looking at a 6 month process. Whether the organization would be willing to pay the fees required to obtain your services for 6 months is something you would have to discuss with them.

http://www.uscis.gov...000b92ca60aRCRD

When we are in love all of us want to be with our loved ones all of the time and right away. If you were both living in the same country there would be no problems what what you would like to do. Unfortunately, you are both living in different countries and as foreigners you each have to jump through the necessary hoops in order to be able to live together in each other's country. You don't have the same options you would have with the girl next door, such as getting to live together on the same campus, working to support yourselves, and being able to move freely wherever you wish.

If you know that this is the person you wish to marry, then decide what country you wish to live in after marriage with the awareness that whatever direction you go - to the US or to Canada - it is going to take about a year to accomplish legally. Plan for the process that makes the most sense for your long term plans and recognize that the most you will be able to do until then is visit each other.

Good luck.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Kathryn41

[Canadiano 0]

Thank you so much for your thorough reply, Kathryn. It is becoming more and more apparent that the R1 is something we should seriously consider. I am pretty sure that I qualify for it, and I think it has been done before in the organization that we are both part of. What do you think about this: I apply for the R1 to work in the US for a few years (you mentioned 6 months - are you referring to the application process, or the duration of the visa?). We get married during this time, and I petition for her to get PR in Canada from within the US, and once she gets it, we move back to Canada.

We do want to do this legally, and we are aware that it is not going to be the easiest, quickest thing in our life. That said, 6 months sounds a lot better than 1 year.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Canadiano

[Canadiano 0]

Ok, so here is a question from another angle. What if we reverse the countries? If she were to to come work on campus with me in Canada, it seems she does not need a visa nor a work permit. See the following quote from the Canadian website:

"Clergy

People coming to Canada to work as ordained ministers, lay persons or members of a religious order do not need a work permit to perform their religious duties or assist a religious group. These religious duties may include preaching doctrine, presiding at liturgical functions or providing spiritual counselling."

Sounds a lot like an R1 to me, except it has zero processing and wait time. Am I missing something?