K3 Visa Questions and Clarification

[sdhiman 0]

Hello everyone

After several hours of searching on the internet, I have finally found a forum where I believe someone can answer my questions.

I am a Permanent Resident of Canada, getting married to a US citizen in Canada on March 12, 2009. I believe the quickest way for me to join my spouse in US is through K3 Visa. I have also read the guide for K3 Visa on the internet but I am not 100% clear on all the steps. We want to finish as much paperwork as possible before the wedding so we can cut the wait time, if possible. I know that the first petition to be filed is I-130 but when I was checking for supported documents to prove the marriage, I noticed they are looking for bank accounts, lease etc. If we just got married and I haven't even moved to US, isnt it a little hard to have joint bank accounts? We can put my name on the lease but I wasnt sure if this is enough.

Also lets say we get married in a third country (not US, Canada), will I have to stay in that country for the time it takes to get the K3 Visa?

I am sure I will have more questions as I start filling out forms, but will appreciate some responses and help from senior members so we can do this right from day 1.

Thanks a lot

[KeyserandMe 0]

Hello everyone

After several hours of searching on the internet, I have finally found a forum where I believe someone can answer my questions.

I am a Permanent Resident of Canada, getting married to a US citizen in Canada on March 12, 2009. I believe the quickest way for me to join my spouse in US is through K3 Visa. I have also read the guide for K3 Visa on the internet but I am not 100% clear on all the steps. We want to finish as much paperwork as possible before the wedding so we can cut the wait time, if possible. I know that the first petition to be filed is I-130 but when I was checking for supported documents to prove the marriage, I noticed they are looking for bank accounts, lease etc. If we just got married and I haven't even moved to US, isnt it a little hard to have joint bank accounts? We can put my name on the lease but I wasnt sure if this is enough.

Also lets say we get married in a third country (not US, Canada), will I have to stay in that country for the time it takes to get the K3 Visa?

I am sure I will have more questions as I start filling out forms, but will appreciate some responses and help from senior members so we can do this right from day 1.

Thanks a lot

No, the I-130 instructions say that if you have any of those things you can submit that as additional information with you application to show proof of bona fide marriage.

See below taken from the instructions:

NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may evidence that bona fides of your marriage:

E. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

F. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

G. Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or

H. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner, and your spouse together; or

I. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. (Each affidavit must contain the full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or

J. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

So it's if you have it if not then it's ok.

Edited January 15, 2009 by KeyserandMe

[Serendipity_ 0]

Also lets say we get married in a third country (not US, Canada), will I have to stay in that country for the time it takes to get the K3 Visa?

I am sure I will have more questions as I start filling out forms, but will appreciate some responses and help from senior members so we can do this right from day 1.

Thanks a lot

k3 Visa interview has to be completed in the country the marriage took place....and the CR1 interview in the country of residence. No you do not have to stay in the country your marriage took place but you would have to go there for your K3 interview.

In my Case I am a Canadian citizen and my husband an USC. We were married in Mumbai, India; As a result our K3 will be processed in Mumbai and the IR1 in Montreal.

Currently VSC/CSC are approving K3 & I130 at the same time...so if you plan on getting married outside canada, the cheaper and faster option will be to go ahead with the I130 (CR1).

We have decided to persue the IR1 route once we get approved.

welcome to VJ you will get a lot of helpful advise here. Good Luck!

Edited January 15, 2009 by Serendipity_

[sdhiman 0]

Serendipity

Thank you so much for replying. I am actually getting married in India as well but we thought that we should do court marriage in Canada so I dont have to wait in India for the process to complete. The whole K3/CR1 process seems overwhelming and considering I am just starting on the research, there is so much I dont know about :-(

Sorry for possibly asking a dumb question but can you please explain exactly what you mean by " Currently VSC/CSC are approving K3 & I130 at the same time...so if you plan on getting married outside canada, the cheaper and faster option will be to go ahead with the I130 (CR1). We have decided to persue the IR1 route once we get approved"

I thought K3 process works in 3 steps: 1) File I 130 2) File I 129 3) Apply for visa at embassy of the country where marriage took place. Is that not correct? Were you referring to #1 and #3 being approved together? Also the approval you mentioned in your post, is that for I-129F?

Thanks again

[Serendipity_ 0]

Thank you so much for replying. I am actually getting married in India as well but we thought that we should do court marriage in Canada so I dont have to wait in India for the process to complete. The whole K3/CR1 process seems overwhelming and considering I am just starting on the research, there is so much I dont know about :-(

Getting Court married in Canada is a great idea, in this way you only have to deal with one embassy (Montreal)

Sorry for possibly asking a dumb question but can you please explain exactly what you mean by " Currently VSC/CSC are approving K3 & I130 at the same time...so if you plan on getting married outside canada, the cheaper and faster option will be to go ahead with the I130 (CR1). We have decided to persue the IR1 route once we get approved"

I thought K3 process works in 3 steps: 1) File I 130 2) File I 129 3) Apply for visa at embassy of the country where marriage took place. Is that not correct? Were you referring to #1 and #3 being approved together? Also the approval you mentioned in your post, is that for I-129F?

Thanks again

k3 = I129F

CR1 = I130

Yes, I130 & I129F are currently being approved at the same time... so you have an option of pursing either a K3 Visa or an CR1 visa ( condition Green Card) once approved.

In our case we have decided to forgo the K3 visa...

[pushbrk 13,066]

Hello everyone

After several hours of searching on the internet, I have finally found a forum where I believe someone can answer my questions.

I am a Permanent Resident of Canada, getting married to a US citizen in Canada on March 12, 2009. I believe the quickest way for me to join my spouse in US is through K3 Visa. I have also read the guide for K3 Visa on the internet but I am not 100% clear on all the steps. We want to finish as much paperwork as possible before the wedding so we can cut the wait time, if possible. I know that the first petition to be filed is I-130 but when I was checking for supported documents to prove the marriage, I noticed they are looking for bank accounts, lease etc. If we just got married and I haven't even moved to US, isnt it a little hard to have joint bank accounts? We can put my name on the lease but I wasnt sure if this is enough.

Also lets say we get married in a third country (not US, Canada), will I have to stay in that country for the time it takes to get the K3 Visa?

I am sure I will have more questions as I start filling out forms, but will appreciate some responses and help from senior members so we can do this right from day 1.

Thanks a lot

No, the I-130 instructions say that if you have any of those things you can submit that as additional information with you application to show proof of bona fide marriage.

See below taken from the instructions:

NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may evidence that bona fides of your marriage:

E. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

F. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

G. Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or

H. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner, and your spouse together; or

I. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. (Each affidavit must contain the full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or

J. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

So it's if you have it if not then it's ok.

Note the bold above. Nothing in E. to J. above is required but pictures, communication samples and evidence of time together like passport stamps, bording passes etc. fit in category J. No need to go beyond that and certainly don't bother with (I.).

[Married2aTico 0]

Hi,

Yes, all this is overwhelming! Have you looked at all at the K1 (fiance) visa? Currently these are being processed more quickly than the K3's. (So if getting to your husband is the #1 priority this should be the quickest way.) The terms of the K1 state that you enter the country and marry within 90 days. During that time period, you cannot come and go from the U.S (from what I understand). You could still plan your spiritual/ religious marriage ceremony wherever, so long as it is not legally binding. I'm not sure what the approval rate is like for Canadians, but in general, I have heard positive on the K1.

I only mention this option b/c my husband and I are now in semi-regret that we did not pursue that route. If we had, we would surely be in each other's arms today (provided we were approved!). Instead, we married legally in his country in May and had over a 4 month wait for our marriage certificate to be released (gotta love Latin America). So therefore, we are now over 8 months into our marriage and only 3 months along in the I-130/K3 process. Just thought I'd put in my two cents... Good luck with whatever you decide! No matter what, you will have plenty of VJ support along the way!

[sdhiman 0]

Thank you very much everyone. I want to take some time to think through all this before I decide what we should do....K1, K3 or CR1. However, having read these posts quickly once again, I think I will either go for K1 or CR1. K3 doesnt seem to be the best option as I initially thought.

I will start collecting documents etc soon. Having gone through Student Visa, Work Visa and PR for Canada...I think I have a pretty good idea that document collection is so time consuming