K-1 Visa, What is a marriage?

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Met with the lawyer today and we all reached an agreement that the CR-1 would be the way to go. HOWEVER, I'm going to fly up there in about 3 weeks and marry her so we can start the paperwork now, and then in September, we'll still have a ceremony, maybe calling it something where we're recommitting our vows, and then hopefully all the paperwork will be processed by December or so and then she can come down.

*sigh* That's still a long time without her visiting here and visiting up there is lame. no offense to Canadians. She just still lives with her parents and it's a really small town. I sure do love her though, so it's a blessing.

Anyway, that will give the CR-1 9 months for it all to go down. Hopefully it won't take much longer than that if it has to.

I think you have made a very wise choice. At least you will still be able to go up and visit as often as you can, and yeh she still lives with parents but I am sure you will think of interesting ways to "be together" if you know what I mean!!

[lucyrich 20]

A point to remember is that not all officers at various POEs know all the relevant laws. Since the POE officer isn't a lawyer, and has to deal with people immigrating from all sorts of countries all over the world with various differing marriage laws, it's not reasonable to expect the POE officer to know what does or doesn't constitute a valid marriage in your jurisdiction. Another point to remember is that you always have the burden of proof in immigration matters. So if an officer finds out that you had something that looks like it might have been a marriage, it's not up to the officer to prove it was a marriage; it's up to you to prove it wasn't. Even if you had something that technically wasn't quite a marriage, the officer will have to assume the worst.

The safest thing to do is to is to have one legally binding wedding first, and get that legally binding marriage certificate as proof of the date of your legal wedding, and then have as many parties and celebration afterwards as you want.

I think you made a wise choice.

[bootslacky 1]

Met with the lawyer today and we all reached an agreement that the CR-1 would be the way to go. HOWEVER, I'm going to fly up there in about 3 weeks and marry her so we can start the paperwork now, and then in September, we'll still have a ceremony, maybe calling it something where we're recommitting our vows, and then hopefully all the paperwork will be processed by December or so and then she can come down.

*sigh* That's still a long time without her visiting here and visiting up there is lame. no offense to Canadians. She just still lives with her parents and it's a really small town. I sure do love her though, so it's a blessing.

Anyway, that will give the CR-1 9 months for it all to go down. Hopefully it won't take much longer than that if it has to.

I think you have made a very wise choice. At least you will still be able to go up and visit as often as you can, and yeh she still lives with parents but I am sure you will think of interesting ways to "be together" if you know what I mean!!

Just thought of this, how about filing for a K-3 visa as soon as I mail in my CR-1 (I-30 or 130 or something)? That way, we can try to get her down here even sooner after the "celebration" in September, and just hope that the CR-1 finishes up prior to May 2010 when her sister will be having a wedding.

I think this plan just got even better.

[bootslacky 1]

Actually, I probably can't use a K-3 Visa like that. Dang it!

[pushbrk 12,892]

Actually, I probably can't use a K-3 Visa like that. Dang it!

It used to be the general idea of the K3 visa but it really doesn't save much time anymore for most people. A notable exception is still Western Canada but CR1 is your best route.

She still may be able to visit you during the visa process. It's the most FAQ here. Do some reading.

Edited February 18, 2009 by pushbrk

[Melrose Plant 1]

Sorry to offset the topic a little here, and I am glad that a satisfactory plan has been put into place, but I have suddenly had a clearer understanding of my lawyer's actions, after all this time.

Mai and I had a "wedding" that wasn't a real wedding in 2007. The lawyer was freaked out about this, and made me promise to keep it all a secret. We even had to re-write our Letters of Intent, causing us to miss the filing fee increase deadline. Boy, that hurt.

When we got to the Vietnamese portion of the Journey, no one seemed to care about our "wedding." In fact, it was very strong evidence, as my parents and other family were in attendance there. Maybe it's the fact that you've got to go through a hell of a process as a Foreign National to marry a Vietnamese National. It's fairly obvious whether there's a legal marriage there or not.

Like I said, there is not really relevance here, but now, a year and a half later, I finally understand what the guy was worried about. Good luck to y'all.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Actually, I probably can't use a K-3 Visa like that. Dang it!

It used to be the general idea of the K3 visa but it really doesn't save much time anymore for most people. A notable exception is still Western Canada but CR1 is your best route.

She still may be able to visit you during the visa process. It's the most FAQ here. Do some reading.

Agreed. There is not much point in doing the k-3 anymore. Best of luck!

[pushbrk 12,892]

Actually, I probably can't use a K-3 Visa like that. Dang it!

It used to be the general idea of the K3 visa but it really doesn't save much time anymore for most people. A notable exception is still Western Canada but CR1 is your best route.

She still may be able to visit you during the visa process. It's the most FAQ here. Do some reading.

Agreed. There is not much point in doing the k-3 anymore. Best of luck!

Captain Ewok has committed to swap option 1 and option 2 in the guide section for spouses. However, I just made my third request for him to follow through on this commitment. Any assistance from others making the same request would be appreciated. See thread in site issues forum or send him a PM.

[bootslacky 1]

Isn't it easier to get a work permit and a Green Card and SSN while filing a CR-1 instead of a K-3? As in, don't you receive all of these items sooner, after the Visa is approved?

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Isn't it easier to get a work permit and a Green Card and SSN while filing a CR-1 instead of a K-3? As in, don't you receive all of these items sooner, after the Visa is approved?

Yes if you apply for a CR1 you would recieve your Greencard and SSN within a few weeks after entry. If you were to file for a K3 you would need to apply for AOS and EAD once you were is the US and then once the EAD was approved (90 days+) you would have to apply for a SSN, you would then have to wait for your AOS interview and if approved you would then get your Greencard, that could take anything from 4 months to 2 years.

CR1 is the best option for most people.

[bootslacky 1]

Thanks again everyone. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of the advice and information that everyone has given me.

[bootslacky 1]

Is it true that after I mail out the applications and forms for the CR-1/IR-1 that my fiancee can no longer enter the United States or go back and forth between Canada and the US?

Trying to decide if we need to plan one more "Rush Trip" down here before we start the process.

As always, I'm grateful for any advice provided.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

No, your fiance is allowed to visit you in the US. She just needs to provide proof of her ties to Canada to reassure the border guards that she is not an immigration risk - that is, planning on staying in the US, on each and every visit. A lot of Canadians have gone the CR-1 route and have successfully visited back and forth during the process. You might want to stop over on the Canada Forum and ask there about what is involved. There is a lot of experience available for the asking.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Kathryn41