Do we have to live together right away?

[theschaef 0]

Hello,

I have a bit of a different situation. I am currently 19 and have 2 years of college education left to complete. I have been dating an American for about 2 years now. My girlfriend has 3 years of college left to finish.

We would like to be able to live in the same area for a year or so before actually getting married and moving in together. Also we would both like to be finished school before getting married.

My question is whether it would be possible for us to complete the K-1 visa before I finished school and then have me go to the states and get married but not live together right away. As in we would get legally married and then have a wedding ceremony once I was already in the states and she finished her school a year later and then move in together. I'm not sure if this is breaking some kind of terms of the visa. Also would we need to start working on the visa now or could we wait until next year?

I cannot think of any other way to legally get there before we get married. I don't think that I apply for the green card lottery being a Canadian citizen and would definetly prefer not to leave it to chance. The other option would be to get the TN work permit or whatever it is but I won't have the education for the specialized jobs that the visa requires. I will be coming out of school with a fairly generic business degree.

Any ideas on what my options would be?

Sorry if my post is confusing. If you need clarification on anything just ask.

[YuAndDan 153]

K-1 is required to marry within the 90 days of the I-94, if not married within the 90 days, then overstay begins to accrue, and an I-130 will be needed to be filed with I-485 when adjustment is filed.

When adjusting status after marriage, USCIS may interview, and they will be looking for a bona fide marital relationship, this usually involves living together.

[BlakeandOlha 0]

We would like to be able to live in the same area for a year or so before actually getting married and moving in together. Also we would both like to be finished school before getting married.

My question is whether it would be possible for us to complete the K-1 visa before I finished school and then have me go to the states and get married but not live together right away.

The answer is NO. You have 90 days to wed once you enter the country, if you fail to do so, and fail notify the gov't that you have married, you will run into problems that would probably lead to your deportation and, depending upon how long you overstayed your visa, prohibition of re entering the USA. If you decide to come and get married but not live together you might have some trouble later on getting you permenant green card since you will not have much evidence of a real relationship (shared bank accounts, address, etc.).

Probably better to wait until you can fulfill the requirements of the visa.

[john_and_marlene 162]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Edited August 4, 2008 by john_and_marlene

[theschaef 0]

Hmm Kind of what i was expecting to hear back.

So is there zero options for me to get there before we get married? I don't qualify for the diversity lottery green card. I have no family living in the states. And I dont have the job requirements for an employment visa.

[YuAndDan 153]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Exactly, once out of school, a person would have a job with enough income to be able to support an immigrant, and wont have problems with I-134, and I-864...

[theschaef 0]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Thats probably what will happen. We would just prefer to have some time living in the same town, but its not looking to be an option.

[Mr. Klocek 0]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Thats probably what will happen. We would just prefer to have some time living in the same town, but its not looking to be an option.

I wish there was such a thing as a boyfriend visa. But there are only spouse or fiancee visas.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Mr. Klocek

[theschaef 0]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Thats probably what will happen. We would just prefer to have some time living in the same town, but its not looking to be an option.

I wish there was such a thing as a boyfriend visa. But there are only spouse or fiancee visas.

Haha. Alright. Thanks for all your help. I thought it was a little far out there but I just wanted to explore all of the options.

[soon~tobe 0]

why not looking into switching schools and going to school here, then you could apply for a student visa.

[pushbrk 13,125]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Thats probably what will happen. We would just prefer to have some time living in the same town, but its not looking to be an option.

A possible option is a student visa. Come here as a student to study at a college or University near your boyfriend. Then when and if you decide to marry, simply adjust status.

If you could afford to, one option would simply be to come for a long visit, no work, no school and pay for a separate domicile.

Edited August 4, 2008 by pushbrk

[daboyz 36]

Why not just wait until you are both done with school to move and get married?

Thats probably what will happen. We would just prefer to have some time living in the same town, but its not looking to be an option.

I wish there was such a thing as a boyfriend visa. But there are only spouse or fiancee visas.