engaged to a canadian!!!!

[carolinasfinest 0]

Hi ya'll. I was told I should jump into the Canadian forum and get some answers. I live in Texas and my wonderful fiance lives in Edmonton, AB. We want to get married and live here but we're not sure the quickest way that will allow him to work here almost immediately. Does it matter which country we wed in? Is it quicker for me to fly up there and marry him in Edmonton then file the paperwork when i get back home to Texas? Or, is it quicker to get the fiance visa, marry him here, then wait for the greencard? Is there a visa that will allow him to live here immediately after marriage? How long til he could work? Wow....so overwhelmed right now...i'm sure you guys have felt this way too right?

Thanks,

Nicole

[trailmix 77]

Hi ya'll. I was told I should jump into the Canadian forum and get some answers. I live in Texas and my wonderful fiance lives in Edmonton, AB. We want to get married and live here but we're not sure the quickest way that will allow him to work here almost immediately. Does it matter which country we wed in? Is it quicker for me to fly up there and marry him in Edmonton then file the paperwork when i get back home to Texas? Or, is it quicker to get the fiance visa, marry him here, then wait for the greencard? Is there a visa that will allow him to live here immediately after marriage? How long til he could work? Wow....so overwhelmed right now...i'm sure you guys have felt this way too right?

Thanks,

Nicole

Hi Nicole and welcome! I'll try to answer some of your questions.

We want to get married and live here but we're not sure the quickest way that will allow him to work here almost immediately.

If him working asap is important, then you will probably want to look at the CR1 visa, it takes approximately a year to process (he can't live in the U.S. while it is processing) and he will be able to work as soon as the visa is approved (interview will take place in Montreal).

Is it quicker for me to fly up there and marry him in Edmonton then file the paperwork when i get back home to Texas? Or, is it quicker to get the fiance visa, marry him here, then wait for the greencard?

Where you get married isn't really an issue. If you did go with getting the fiance visa and marrying in Texas, you are looking at a while for them to process his adjustment of status (to a green card holder).

Is there a visa that will allow him to live here immediately after marriage?

No, they don't have this option

You will want to have a look at the Guides here on VJ - you can access them by clicking on the guides tab at the top of this page, you will probably want to look at K1 (fiance visa), K3 (already married but will adjust status upon entry to the U.S.) and CR1 visa (already married but for less than 2 years, allows him to work upon arrival).

Anyway, good luck for a speedy USCIS process!

[melusine 5]

K1 visa (fiance... to marry in US after visa is granted) approx 8-9 months of waiting... faster

+ (after US wedding) 3 month in US waiting for adjustment of status + worh authorization but at least you are together

Edited April 23, 2008 by melusine

[Krikit 1,164]

Of course, if you'd married him out of the blue the last time he was in town he could have just stayed and adjusted status.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Of course, if you'd married him out of the blue the last time he was in town he could have just stayed and adjusted status.

Krikit......

[L_n_O 3]

YEP, JUST LIKE THAT..

only sucks though that he couldn't bring his stuff for a while

[MrsCat 6]

Sweet, someone from Edmonton I can commiserate about the snow with. I have nothing of value to add, other than this Edm winter stinks . . . . .

Good luck with the visa though!

[Krikit 1,164]

Sweet, someone from Edmonton I can commiserate about the snow with. I have nothing of value to add, other than this Edm winter stinks . . . . .

[DeadPoolX 9]

Sweet, someone from Edmonton I can commiserate about the snow with. I have nothing of value to add, other than this Edm winter stinks . . . . .

It's going to be a high of 29C and a low of 21C today.

[David_n_Amber 3]

Sweet, someone from Edmonton I can commiserate about the snow with. I have nothing of value to add, other than this Edm winter stinks . . . . .

Good luck with the visa though!

Im an Edmontonian tooooooo... well was until i moved down here to marry my fiance

[DavidsPrincess 1]

We want to get married and live here but we're not sure the quickest way that will allow him to work here almost immediately.

The only way to have him work as soon as he enters is to get married and file for a CR-1 visa. Takes around a year to process, can be more or less. (That's a long time to be away from your husband, at least for me)

Is it quicker for me to fly up there and marry him in Edmonton then file the paperwork when i get back home to Texas? Or, is it quicker to get the fiance visa, marry him here, then wait for the greencard?

The K-1 visa takes approx. 6 months to get, sometimes less. After he gets his visa, he will come down to the US and you can get married. He will be able to stay after you get married (has to be within 90 days after he enters the country). Then you will file the I-485 for adjustment of status. Along with this you can file for the I-765 for work authorization (abbreviated as EAD) and the I-131 for Advanced Parole (abbrev. AP). Both of those applications (I-765 and I-131) are free to file as long as they are filed along with the I-485. The cost for the I-485 is currently $1010.00. The EAD takes around 3 months to process, so that means he'd be stuck here unable to work for 2-3 months, but at least you'd be together during the wait. Also, with a K-1 visa he cannot leave the country until his Advanced Parole gets approved, which also takes about 3 months.

With a CR-1 visa you would be married before applying for the visa. He would have to remain in Canada while the visa processes which can take a year or longer. The pros to this visa are that when he enters the country he will already have his greencard and be eligible to work.

Is there a visa that will allow him to live here immediately after marriage?

The K-1 will allow him to live with you immediately after marrying, he just won't be able to work or go back to Canada for a couple of months.

This link could be helpful in making a decision which visa is right for you.

[Flames9_RN 358]

One can still visit the USA if ur going through the CR-1 process. i did so monthly. Yes one can be denied entry, blah blah blah,lol

[trailmix 77]

One can still visit the USA if ur going through the CR-1 process. i did so monthly. Yes one can be denied entry, blah blah blah,lol

Incorrect message board protocol!! I'm going to write you up a ticket Flames!! You must write out the whole thing about proof of ties to Canada WITH examples.

[Flames9_RN 358]

wait 44 minutes, some one else will ask if one can visit,lol

[aravis227 1]

wait 44 minutes, some one else will ask if one can visit,lol

I am so guilty of this! but I've also answered it a few times, too!