Looking for a second opinion/clarification!

[Anixter 0]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the community and I have been unable to find an answer to a particular question sadly so I am turning to you all for some feedback!

I am a Canadian citizen. My girlfriend is an American citizen. We are trying to find the best way to go about being with each other. We already know that we want to marry each other. At first, the plan was for me to find a job in the USA and for us to live together and enjoy each other's company as a normal couple would before marriage. However, given that my career choice is sales, the profession doesn't fit within NAFTA's TN categories or H1 visa categories. So, after much discussion, we decided that we are ready for the next step: marriage.

About 2 weeks ago, while vacationing together in Vermont, I spoke with a US Immigration lawyer based in San Diego (found his info on the internet) about the different work visa options. I also asked him about the marriage option and here's what he said:

1- If I am legally allowed to enter the USA to visit, I can get married and then apply for an adjustment of status in order to obtain the green card and later work permit.

I asked him if I needed a K1 or K3 visa and he said that since I am legally allowed to enter the USA as a visitor I wouldn't need to go that route... You can imagine the joy my girlfriend and I had after hearing that... We started to make plans to have me move down there in 1 month and get married (civil for now) so that we could begin our lives together.

However, after giving this some thought and really thinking about it, I think it was a GROSS oversimplification of the process.

Can anybody confirm if this lawyer's advice is either accurate/sound or terribly misguided/bad?

Thank you very much,

[*JG* 2]

Be very careful here.....pre-planning on marrying while on a visitor's visa is a dangerous game. It is a visa violation and grounds for a lifetime ban.

[SapphireDreams 71]

The whole thing about immigration is proving your intent. If you intent is to go to the U.S. and get married and they by chance find that out, you have comitted immigration fraud and that is no cool, and I'm not so fun either.

When you leave Canada and you've moved out of your house and quit your job already - that's already a red flag you have intent to leave Canada for good. There are little things like that - they will look for in your AOS interview.

K1 visa's are pretty simple (well that's relative I guess) and they are well work the 8 month wait in my opinion.

If was as simple as just "visiting" and adjusting status, then all of our lives would be so much simpler - but I just don't think that lawyer is right and I wouldn't do what he is suggesting.

[bowflex 0]

What both of the other posters said to you is correct.

If you were visiting your siginficant other in the US and then all of a sudden you decided to get married, you could actually file for the AOS and be together throughout the entire process. The problem arises in that you're actually coming to the United States with the intent to get married. If this comes up or is found out by USCIS, they can issue a lifetime ban on the basis of immigration fraud. This ban would even keep you from just being able to visit the USA, let alone live here.

The other way to go is the K visa or the CR-1 visa. My wife and I actually took the CR-1 visa. The CR-1 visa is filed after you are married, and while it could take a little longer to get, you will cross the border and immediately be able to work. If you go the other route, you will have to wait for it to be processed and this has been known to take many months.

Good luck with everything, the process can take a lot out of you but in the end it's worth it a thousand times over

[Cassie 8]

Yeah, lawyers are great. The problem is, there have been enough people that have followed the path suggested by him that have gotten away with it that it seems like good advice. It really isn't.

There are pros and cons to going with either the fiance or spousal visa. You will have decide what the two of you are more comfortable with and go with it. We're here to help you along and support you -- we know what you are going through

[Anixter 0]

Boy am I glad I asked the question!

Thank you everyone for your input so far, it's VERY MUCH appreciated.

I'm thinking that the K1 visa would be the best potential course of action then. We're not yet married and I don't want to have to wait too too long after I get there to start working. From what I've read, after marrying on an K1, it's just a question of getting a social security number to start working right? Or does it have to wait until the AOS is done?

The flipside to having to wait a little longer before we marry is that we'll be able to save up for the roman catholic wedding we both want to have instead of doing the civil route because of financial reasons and having to save up for the big wedding later.

The CR-1 route also looks interesting just because of your ability to begin working immediately...

[aravis227 1]

Boy am I glad I asked the question!

Thank you everyone for your input so far, it's VERY MUCH appreciated.

I'm thinking that the K1 visa would be the best potential course of action then. We're not yet married and I don't want to have to wait too too long after I get there to start working. From what I've read, after marrying on an K1, it's just a question of getting a social security number to start working right? Or does it have to wait until the AOS is done?

The flipside to having to wait a little longer before we marry is that we'll be able to save up for the roman catholic wedding we both want to have instead of doing the civil route because of financial reasons and having to save up for the big wedding later.

The CR-1 route also looks interesting just because of your ability to begin working immediately...

I'm currently in the K-1 visa process. Once it is approved (about 8 months as a previous person said...give or take a little bit depending on where in the US she lives and where in Canada you live...if she lives on the east side of the US and you live on the West side of Canada, it will go really fast and you could have the visa in 5 months or so), you enter the country and have to be legally married within 90 days. Once you are married you apply for AOS, EAD (work permit), and AP (permission to leave the US before the AOS is granted). EAD and AP take 45-90 days to be granted, then you can work.

I don't know much about the CR-1, but I believe that you are only eligible if you are married and living together in the foreign country. I could be wrong about that, though.

Good luck whichever route you go!

[Anixter 0]

I'm currently in the K-1 visa process. Once it is approved (about 8 months as a previous person said...give or take a little bit depending on where in the US she lives and where in Canada you live...if she lives on the east side of the US and you live on the West side of Canada, it will go really fast and you could have the visa in 5 months or so), you enter the country and have to be legally married within 90 days. Once you are married you apply for AOS, EAD (work permit), and AP (permission to leave the US before the AOS is granted). EAD and AP take 45-90 days to be granted, then you can work.

She's in Atlanta, GA and I'm in Montreal, QC. East/East. I'm not sure I understand why it would go after if it's cross East/West though?

Thanks,

[*JG* 2]

You don't have to be living together in the foreign country to apply for the CR1. Marry in Canada and file.

Not sure how long the wait is on the CR1 from Canada. Depends a lot on the service center. 2 Jamaican CR1's I am familiar with filed in October 2007 and are still waiting. They are Vermont.

Both the K-1 and CR1 have their pros and cons. Research them carefully and make the best decision for you.

[Flames9_RN 358]

One does NOT have to living in the same country to file for CR-1--thats the DCF route, which doesnt apply to this poster

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare pluses and minuses for each visa

[MrsCat 6]

Sounds like a lawyer who would enjoy the challenge and $$$ that might come his way, if you pursue the route he opted for. If Immigration figured out that you entered the US with the intent to marry and stay, this would mean more paperwork on his end to justify the route he proposed. More paperwork and billable hours = one happy attorney.

I know that waiting to be together seems like such a challenge. As you will see from most of us on this site, patience is a virtue that even the most impatient can develop.

You'll both decide which option works for your situation and best suits your needs. I guess its just seeing what the options are, and what makes the most sense for your situation. If you both want a bigger wedding with family and friends there and are willing to wait, then go for it. You'll be able to see each other while waiting - and what brings people together more than planning a wedding - even if its "discussing" your differences.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I'm currently in the K-1 visa process. Once it is approved (about 8 months as a previous person said...give or take a little bit depending on where in the US she lives and where in Canada you live...if she lives on the east side of the US and you live on the West side of Canada, it will go really fast and you could have the visa in 5 months or so), you enter the country and have to be legally married within 90 days. Once you are married you apply for AOS, EAD (work permit), and AP (permission to leave the US before the AOS is granted). EAD and AP take 45-90 days to be granted, then you can work.

She's in Atlanta, GA and I'm in Montreal, QC. East/East. I'm not sure I understand why it would go after if it's cross East/West though?

Thanks,

The Vermont Service Centre (which applies to the USC's place of residence) and the Vancouver Consulate (which applies to the Canadian's residence) are the quickest to process K1's. But if you are east/east - you'll be Vermont/Montreal, which is still typically pretty good. California/Montreal would be the slowest combination. Does that make sense?

[aravis227 1]

I'm currently in the K-1 visa process. Once it is approved (about 8 months as a previous person said...give or take a little bit depending on where in the US she lives and where in Canada you live...if she lives on the east side of the US and you live on the West side of Canada, it will go really fast and you could have the visa in 5 months or so), you enter the country and have to be legally married within 90 days. Once you are married you apply for AOS, EAD (work permit), and AP (permission to leave the US before the AOS is granted). EAD and AP take 45-90 days to be granted, then you can work.

She's in Atlanta, GA and I'm in Montreal, QC. East/East. I'm not sure I understand why it would go after if it's cross East/West though?

Thanks,

Where in the US she lives determines which center you file at, either California (really, really, really slow...averages 4-5 months for the first level of approval) or Vermont (really fast, averages 2-3 months for approvals). Once it is approved at that level, it goes to the foreign embassy. In Canada, that means either Vancouver or Montreal. Vancouver is a little bit faster (the difference between embassies is nowhere near as big as the difference between California and Vermont). I believe Georgia goes to Vermont. From what I can tell over on the K-1 forum, the people who filed in February are currently doing their interviews and getting their visas...so you have a timeline. However, like I said before...it's another month and a half-three months before they'll be able to work once they enter the US.

What I've heard described before is that a fiance/e visa gets them here the quickest, but the CR-1 is usually better financially.

[Anixter 0]

Definitely makes sense, thank you!

With regards to patience being a virtue, I definitely agree. We're both firm believers that if you can make a long distance relationship work and get through it, then anything else life throws at you will be cake in most cases. Having to wait another year is something we're both fully committed to doing. We just wanted to make sure that we were going about this the right way as surprises in the future would hurt a lot more than tackling any issues beforehand.

[NavarreMan 10]

Boy am I glad I asked the question!

Thank you everyone for your input so far, it's VERY MUCH appreciated.

I'm thinking that the K1 visa would be the best potential course of action then. We're not yet married and I don't want to have to wait too too long after I get there to start working. From what I've read, after marrying on an K1, it's just a question of getting a social security number to start working right? Or does it have to wait until the AOS is done?

The flipside to having to wait a little longer before we marry is that we'll be able to save up for the roman catholic wedding we both want to have instead of doing the civil route because of financial reasons and having to save up for the big wedding later.

The CR-1 route also looks interesting just because of your ability to begin working immediately...

Read all of this thread and related threads. Our beloved government has really screwed this up and there are many conflicting opinions about what you can and cannot do with regards to temporary work authorization: EAD

Good luck.