K-1 to K-3 Switch?

[selby226 0]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

[pushbrk 12,883]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

Since your legal marriage is required to be in the US anyway, why not do the non-legal ceremony before she leaves Canada?

You cannot "switch" visas. You start over again from scratch.

Edited April 2, 2008 by pushbrk

[selby226 0]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

Since your legal marriage is required to be in the US anyway, why not do the non-legal ceremony before she leaves Canada?

You cannot "switch" visas. You start over again from scratch.

Thanks for the reply. We thought about that too - but unfortunately, we found out that in Canada, a religious ceremony constitutes a legal ceremony, so if we did that first, we'd be entering the US on a K-1 visa but already legally married.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

Since your legal marriage is required to be in the US anyway, why not do the non-legal ceremony before she leaves Canada?

You cannot "switch" visas. You start over again from scratch.

Thanks for the reply. We thought about that too - but unfortunately, we found out that in Canada, a religious ceremony constitutes a legal ceremony, so if we did that first, we'd be entering the US on a K-1 visa but already legally married.

I'd double check that because if true, you would end up with two legal marriages. That's a definite bolox. In most cases, a religious ceremony can be a legal marriage but doesn't have to be. Ask the right question to make sure you get the right answer.

[selby226 0]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

Since your legal marriage is required to be in the US anyway, why not do the non-legal ceremony before she leaves Canada?

You cannot "switch" visas. You start over again from scratch.

Thanks for the reply. We thought about that too - but unfortunately, we found out that in Canada, a religious ceremony constitutes a legal ceremony, so if we did that first, we'd be entering the US on a K-1 visa but already legally married.

I'd double check that because if true, you would end up with two legal marriages. That's a definite bolox. In most cases, a religious ceremony can be a legal marriage but doesn't have to be. Ask the right question to make sure you get the right answer.

I guess I'll have to ask the consulate when I get there. I did confirm that a religious ceremony in Canada counts as a legal marriage, but if you already have a marriage certificate from the States, they just accept a copy of it and send it on to the appropriate people (thus not having two legal marriages). But they won't do it the other way; if you do religious first, they have to fill out the marriage certificate and send it in, making it the legal marriage. The problem is just getting back to Canada if you do the legal marriage in the States. And I think you're right about having to start over if you go from a K-1 to a K-3.

Any ideas out there for what's qualified people to get an expedited advanced parole, or at least something faster than 4 months?

[pushbrk 12,883]

Hi,

I posted this question to an old thread but then realized I should have just started a new thread! Not sure if anyone else is going through this...

I started down the path for a K-1 visa last summer, sending in the I-129F. Got it approved (finally!), and we've got our first consulate appointment in Vancouver scheduled. Culturally, we have to have a religious ceremony in my fiancee's place of residence before we're allowed to live together, but when we started we figured we could get the court marriage done in the US, apply for Advanced Parole, and then return to Canada in a reasonable amount of time to get religiously married. The problem is that AP is now taking about 4 months. We think we can show a financial hardship and try to get the AP expedited because she'd have to stay in an apartment and not with me, so I'd have 2 sets of utilities, a mortgage, plus rent for an apartment, but who really knows if that's enough of a reason to warrant an expedited AP.

We know if we get the K-1 visa, get court-married, apply for AP and then go to Canada without it, we've "abandoned" the K-1 visa and will have to re-apply under a K-3 visa. I've heard that "abandoning" a visa for another one is frowned upon by USCIS - does anyone know if that's true??

Also, does anyone know if you can switch to the K-3 visa path from K-1? And if you switched before you get your K-1 visa from the Consulate, is it technically "abandoning" it, since you never got it in the first place?

Any help is appreciated!

-Selby

Since your legal marriage is required to be in the US anyway, why not do the non-legal ceremony before she leaves Canada?

You cannot "switch" visas. You start over again from scratch.

Thanks for the reply. We thought about that too - but unfortunately, we found out that in Canada, a religious ceremony constitutes a legal ceremony, so if we did that first, we'd be entering the US on a K-1 visa but already legally married.

I'd double check that because if true, you would end up with two legal marriages. That's a definite bolox. In most cases, a religious ceremony can be a legal marriage but doesn't have to be. Ask the right question to make sure you get the right answer.

I guess I'll have to ask the consulate when I get there. I did confirm that a religious ceremony in Canada counts as a legal marriage, but if you already have a marriage certificate from the States, they just accept a copy of it and send it on to the appropriate people (thus not having two legal marriages). But they won't do it the other way; if you do religious first, they have to fill out the marriage certificate and send it in, making it the legal marriage. The problem is just getting back to Canada if you do the legal marriage in the States. And I think you're right about having to start over if you go from a K-1 to a K-3.

Any ideas out there for what's qualified people to get an expedited advanced parole, or at least something faster than 4 months?

Ok, you not only asked the wrong question but you asked the wrong people. A marriage is either legal or is isn't and that is determined by the laws of the jurisdiction controling marriage in the (usually County) where the marriage took place.

You want to ask the person officiating at the religious ceremony whether it can be performed without a marriage license and officiant signature and registration with the Province etc. A "wedding ceremony" not legally and lawfully recorded and registered with the local authority and Province is not a legal marriage. It's in the paperwork. No government paperwork, no legal marriage. No legal marriage means "Not Married" to the Consulate.

Of course, if you do a not legal wedding ceremony, you don't go to any interview or present yourselves as husband and wife. You can even do the ceremony after the visa is issued and before US entry.

Again, this is a question for the ceremony officiant, not the Consulate. I don't know what the answer will be but you must ask the right question of the right person. My religion wouldn't sanction a couple living as man and wife unless they were legally married but that's one circumstance, not universal.

[Reba 2]

The marriage laws in Canada are funky, in that if a religious officiate is licensed to perform marriages, then whether or not the "legal" paperwork is processed, the couple is legally married.

The only way to have a "not legal" religious wedding ceremony in Canada is to have an officiate who is not licensed and registered to perform marriages. Which would probably mean they are also not a bonafide clergy of your preferred religion.

[selby226 0]

The marriage laws in Canada are funky, in that if a religious officiate is licensed to perform marriages, then whether or not the "legal" paperwork is processed, the couple is legally married.

The only way to have a "not legal" religious wedding ceremony in Canada is to have an officiate who is not licensed and registered to perform marriages. Which would probably mean they are also not a bonafide clergy of your preferred religion.

Yup, that's what I saw. I did ask the right question of the right people - The church is required by law to legally record the marriage if performed by a priest or clergyman (which is also required for the church to "bless" the marriage), but if the marriage was already done legally, then they just take a copy of the legal certificate and pass it along to where-ever they need to send it. Trust me, I pleaded a few times for them to bend the rules; no luck.

I guess it also boils down to whether abandoning a K-1 visa and starting a K-3 visa hurts your chances. A couple of lawyers I spoke to said it's allowed, but they wouldn't comment on whether they make it more difficult. Or what qualifies to get expedited AP; it sounds like it's completely dependent on the mood of the person you happen to be speaking to at Immigration Services that day...

[pushbrk 12,883]

The marriage laws in Canada are funky, in that if a religious officiate is licensed to perform marriages, then whether or not the "legal" paperwork is processed, the couple is legally married.

The only way to have a "not legal" religious wedding ceremony in Canada is to have an officiate who is not licensed and registered to perform marriages. Which would probably mean they are also not a bonafide clergy of your preferred religion.

Yup, that's what I saw. I did ask the right question of the right people - The church is required by law to legally record the marriage if performed by a priest or clergyman (which is also required for the church to "bless" the marriage), but if the marriage was already done legally, then they just take a copy of the legal certificate and pass it along to where-ever they need to send it. Trust me, I pleaded a few times for them to bend the rules; no luck.

I guess it also boils down to whether abandoning a K-1 visa and starting a K-3 visa hurts your chances. A couple of lawyers I spoke to said it's allowed, but they wouldn't comment on whether they make it more difficult. Or what qualifies to get expedited AP; it sounds like it's completely dependent on the mood of the person you happen to be speaking to at Immigration Services that day...

Yeah, I think you have it boiled down well. On a more careful reading of your previous post, I see you did ask the right question in the right place. From what I've seen here, I think you have a good chance of emergency advanced parole. I've seen people get it just to take a business trip with their spouse. Starting over is not a handicap from the USCIS and DOS side except for the additional time apart. People decide to get married during the K1 process for various reasons. Life happens.