Canadian Fiancee to US..need some help

[GUNIT28 0]

I am new to Visa Journey and just need a little help on this and hope I am posting this properly. My Fiancee lives in Toronto. We are doing the ceremony in Toronto but will not be signing the marriage documents in Toronto. She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage. Once I do the court marriage? Do you know which forms I will need to fill out ? what are the steps after Forms have been filled and submitted? What kind of time frame am I looking at as well????

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[payxibka 10,048]

I-130 for starters

Edited January 3, 2008 by fwaguy

[Lance27 30]

I am new to Visa Journey and just need a little help on this and hope I am posting this properly. My Fiancee lives in Toronto. We are doing the ceremony in Toronto but will not be signing the marriage documents in Toronto. She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage. Once I do the court marriage? Do you know which forms I will need to fill out ? what are the steps after Forms have been filled and submitted? What kind of time frame am I looking at as well????

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Your fiancee will have to apply for a K1 Visa if she "INTENDS" to get married in Houston. If she is only visiting and you plan on getting married then she will have to return back to Toronto and you will have to petition for her to come to the US. Either apply for a K3 or CR1 or both.

Good luck

[payxibka 10,048]

Your fiancee will have to apply for a K1 Visa if she "INTENDS" to get married in Houston.

Not true, only if she enters to get married and then INTENDS to stay here permanently....

[philj05 0]

She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage.

First off, planning to get married and coming in on a "visit" to do it is considered visa fraud. Also, do you have a marriage license? Does she have proof of her eligibility to get married? (i.e a K-1 visa).

I am NOT an expert on this but there are a few ways to go about this. One is by filing a petition for fiance visa I-129F to get a K-1. Which she would have to enter the country with. Two, is a K-3 visa whereby you both marry, she goes back home and file for her to enter the country as your spouse.

There are other options but someone with more experience will most likely chime in with information.

[pushbrk 13,361]

She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage.

First off, planning to get married and coming in on a "visit" to do it is considered visa fraud. Also, do you have a marriage license? Does she have proof of her eligibility to get married? (i.e a K-1 visa).

I am NOT an expert on this but there are a few ways to go about this. One is by filing a petition for fiance visa I-129F to get a K-1. Which she would have to enter the country with. Two, is a K-3 visa whereby you both marry, she goes back home and file for her to enter the country as your spouse.

There are other options but someone with more experience will most likely chime in with information.

No, it is not. Intending to marry isn't a problem. Intending to stay and adjust status based on the marriage would be in this case. If it is a visit and she returns to Canada, there is no problem. However, she is no longer a fiance, so you would file for a spouse visa, not a fiance visa.

K1 visas are fiances to marry and stay. "Marriage" doesn't require a special visa.

[Lance27 30]

Your fiancee will have to apply for a K1 Visa if she "INTENDS" to get married in Houston.

Not true, only if she enters to get married and then INTENDS to stay here permanently....

Sorry... left out the and stay permanently part.

[Krikit 1,166]

I am new to Visa Journey and just need a little help on this and hope I am posting this properly. My Fiancee lives in Toronto. We are doing the ceremony in Toronto but will not be signing the marriage documents in Toronto. She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage. Once I do the court marriage? Do you know which forms I will need to fill out ? what are the steps after Forms have been filled and submitted? What kind of time frame am I looking at as well????

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If you're planning on marrying in the US on a "visit" then why not just sign the marriage documents in Toronto?

Edited January 3, 2008 by Krikit

[GUNIT28 0]

Your fiancee will have to apply for a K1 Visa if she "INTENDS" to get married in Houston.

Not true, only if she enters to get married and then INTENDS to stay here permanently....

Sorry... left out the and stay permanently part.

So when should I start applying for the K1 Visa...the marriage ceremony will be in Toronto (july). She will be staying here in permanently. We are just not doing the marriage documents in toronto because we have heard the signing the marriage licenese there takes longer for her to come to the US or something along those lines. So we figured just do the marriage ceremony and reception there and then just do a court marriage here in Houston. Once court marriage is finished thats when I had planned on applying for her. Is that good or bad? When Should I start submitting these forms?

Sorry if I am confusing you guys..let me know if anyone needs more detail

[Dylan'sWife 2]

If you are going to be LEGALLY married in Houston, file the k1 (I-129F) application now.

Hopefully, by the tme it is approved she will ready to 'visit' the US.

If she enters the US with the intertion of staying it is best that she has a visa in hand.

If she enters pretending to visit but in reality is immigrating and they discover that was the intention

she will be banned from the US.

Take the time to do things right and not cheat the system

or you can both suffer greatly in the long run.

Your fiancee will have to apply for a K1 Visa if she "INTENDS" to get married in Houston.

Not true, only if she enters to get married and then INTENDS to stay here permanently....

Sorry... left out the and stay permanently part.

So when should I start applying for the K1 Visa...the marriage ceremony will be in Toronto (july). She will be staying here in permanently. We are just not doing the marriage documents in toronto because we have heard the signing the marriage licenese there takes longer for her to come to the US or something along those lines. So we figured just do the marriage ceremony and reception there and then just do a court marriage here in Houston. Once court marriage is finished thats when I had planned on applying for her. Is that good or bad? When Should I start submitting these forms?

Sorry if I am confusing you guys..let me know if anyone needs more detail

[Krikit 1,166]

So when should I start applying for the K1 Visa...the marriage ceremony will be in Toronto (july). She will be staying here in permanently. We are just not doing the marriage documents in toronto because we have heard the signing the marriage licenese there takes longer for her to come to the US or something along those lines. So we figured just do the marriage ceremony and reception there and then just do a court marriage here in Houston. Once court marriage is finished thats when I had planned on applying for her. Is that good or bad? When Should I start submitting these forms?

Sorry if I am confusing you guys..let me know if anyone needs more detail

Okay, I think I'm following you now. If you have a ceremony already scheduled in July and are not planning on signing the documents, then apply for the K-1 now and it should take about 9 months, then you have six months to use it. But be very careful about wearing wedding rings and mentioning marriage ceremonies and things like that, because you risk being denied a K-1 visa based on marital status. The other option is to get married in July and then apply for a K-3 visa (or a CR-1, I believe). That option means she won't be able to move to the States until after it's received. You can check the timelines in the links at the top of the page.

[GUNIT28 0]

So when should I start applying for the K1 Visa...the marriage ceremony will be in Toronto (july). She will be staying here in permanently. We are just not doing the marriage documents in toronto because we have heard the signing the marriage licenese there takes longer for her to come to the US or something along those lines. So we figured just do the marriage ceremony and reception there and then just do a court marriage here in Houston. Once court marriage is finished thats when I had planned on applying for her. Is that good or bad? When Should I start submitting these forms?

Sorry if I am confusing you guys..let me know if anyone needs more detail

Okay, I think I'm following you now. If you have a ceremony already scheduled in July and are not planning on signing the documents, then apply for the K-1 now and it should take about 9 months, then you have six months to use it. But be very careful about wearing wedding rings and mentioning marriage ceremonies and things like that, because you risk being denied a K-1 visa based on marital status. The other option is to get married in July and then apply for a K-3 visa (or a CR-1, I believe). That option means she won't be able to move to the States until after it's received. You can check the timelines in the links at the top of the page.

For some reason it is not displaying the time frame to process the K3 (CR-1) visa in that chart. If I apply now do you think I am in good shape for a wedding be held in July? Sorry for all the questions. But based on everyones response. It seems I should either apply for K1 or K3 Visa now and then do a court marriage here in Houston. Or do you suggest I sign the marriage documents in Toronto when we do the ceremony there? I am just trying to get an idea whats the best way to do things and in the order it should be completed.

[Moosker 7]

I am new to Visa Journey and just need a little help on this and hope I am posting this properly. My Fiancee lives in Toronto. We are doing the ceremony in Toronto but will not be signing the marriage documents in Toronto. She will be coming to Houston on a "visit" and then we plan on doing a court marriage. Once I do the court marriage? Do you know which forms I will need to fill out ? what are the steps after Forms have been filled and submitted? What kind of time frame am I looking at as well????

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi there, I'm also new to VisaJourney...I'm in the same position as you, but I'm the fiancee living in Canada! From what I've learned in my research and this website, your fiancee can come to Houston, get married, and then she needs to go back to Canada immediately and wait while you petition for her to come back and live in the U.S. If you plan on doing a courthouse marriage and then she stays afterwards, I'm pretty sure it's illegal and you'd hate to have that come back and bite you later on. The CR1, K3, or K1 (depending) are the visas you should look into. Click on the "GUIDES" tab on this site to get all the information you need. That's where someone directed me and it sort of helps you decide on which avenue you should take.

Good luck!

[MissStacey 1]

I'm confused- why go through a mock ceremony in Toronto? Will you be applying for a marriage license in Canada?

[GUNIT28 0]

I'm confused- why go through a mock ceremony in Toronto? Will you be applying for a marriage license in Canada?

She wants the ceremony there in Toronto bc all her family is there and then she will come to Houston. So the only reason we were not doing the marriage license there is because we had thought it takes longer to bring to her to the U.S. So now im hearing its best to go ahead and fill out the K1 or K3 (I have no idea which one is better) and the bring here and do a court marriage. My brain is already dead after the holidays and now reading all this kills it more hahahaha.