Which K-visa do I need????

[Officer's Fiance 0]

I am soooo confused..... I posted on K-1 forum too, not sure where to go from here. Here is the deal:

My fiance who is American and stationed in VA and I want to get married in December (7months from now) in the U.S.... he is then being deployed for 4-6 months overseas and I want to come back to Canada to continue working until he gets back to the US.

Does we apply for a K-3 / I30 after we are married and hope that everything gets approved within the 6 month time frame, so that I can move down there when he gets back from overseas

OR

Do I apply for a fiance visa -I29, get married within the 90-days and apply for an advanced parole so that I can travel back to Canada? Can I apply for advanced parole at the same time as my I-29 Visa? How does that work?

I live in Ottawa so plan on going through the Montreal Consulat.

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!!!

[raymaga 25]

The way the K-1 Visa works is that once you receive the Visa, you have 6 months to move to the U.S., then you have 90 days to get married after you move to the U.S. After your marriage, you will apply for AOS (Adjustment of Status) to become a Permanent Resident (Green Card holder). You can apply for AP (Advance Parole) at the same time as your AOS to travel outside the U.S. But, by applying for Permanent Resident Status, you must be a "resident" of the U.S. So, I am not sure how your moving back to Canada and working will affect your AOS application.

I am pretty sure that once you have applied for AOS, you are required to reside in the U.S.

Someone else here on VJ will probably provide some additional guidance.

Good luck.

[Cygnet 0]

Raymaga gave you some good info there.

Right now, I think your biggest problem is the time factor. If you go with the K-1, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to finish the visa application/processing in 7 months. It is possible, though.

If you go with a K-3, you may have to get married in Canada as opposed to the US. And you might want to get married sooner than December to get the ball rolling.

You can take a look at my signature below to see how fast my K-3 application is going. We mailed our I-129F at the beginning of February and sent in my checklist on May 5. I'm currently waiting for an interview date. I called the consulate last week and they said my interview might be in August or September.

[girl 37 7]

You should check to see whether your case qualifies for expedited processing because of your fiance's upcoming deployment. (I don't know anything about it myself but I've seen posts from VJ military couples whose cases went through the process faster than usual.)

Hopefully you'll receive more info from someone more knowledgeable about the process.

[Reba 2]

get married now and start the ball rolling for the K3 and CR1.

If you do the K1, you're pretty much stuck in the US for the duration after you're married. AP is given out very seldom (even for dying relatives back home, and even if/when it is granted, it takes months and months to process) and is supposed to be used only for short trips, not for extended stays. If you did stay back in Canada for the months of your fiance's/husband's deployment, upon trying to reenter, you could well be denied and have to start all over again.

edit to add : no you cannot apply for AP at the same time with the I-129F. The I-129F is a petition that when approved will allow you to Then apply for the appropriate visa. AP is only applied for at the time you apply for AOS after you're married.

Edited June 2, 2006 by Reba