Marrying a Canadian in Canada

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

[trailmix 77]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

You need to tell us what visa your wife has that enables her to work in the U.S.

I'm a bit confused by your question: And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding?

She has a work permit in the U.S. - so I see no reason why she wouldn't be able to enter the U.S. (hence my confusion)

This will not be a 'family sponsorship' visa per-se as, from the little info you have given, it does not appear that she is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident?

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

You need to tell us what visa your wife has that enables her to work in the U.S.

I'm a bit confused by your question: And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding?

She has a work permit in the U.S. - so I see no reason why she wouldn't be able to enter the U.S. (hence my confusion)

This will not be a 'family sponsorship' visa per-se as, from the little info you have given, it does not appear that she is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident?

I am not sure of the exact name of the visa, but I do know that it is only a temporary work visa, I can check later n try to get more info. Sorry, I know nothing about all this, so I am confused myself! Thats why I am here!, I have looked all over the USCIS website and I am kind of confused on what the correct way to do this is, which obviously varies according to sitiuation! And no she is not a U.S. permanent resident, and yes I will need to check into it some more but I believe her temp. visa will expire before the wedding, so thats why I was wondering if anyone would know if we could cross the border shortly after the wedding.

[trailmix 77]

I am not sure of the exact name of the visa, but I do know that it is only a temporary work visa, I can check later n try to get more info. Sorry, I know nothing about all this, so I am confused myself! Thats why I am here!, I have looked all over the USCIS website and I am kind of confused on what the correct way to do this is, which obviously varies according to sitiuation! And no she is not a U.S. permanent resident, and yes I will need to check into it some more but I believe her temp. visa will expire before the wedding, so thats why I was wondering if anyone would know if we could cross the border shortly after the wedding.

Ok so maybe I was misunderstanding you - since her visa is expiring before the wedding - the question is why would she be going back to the States after the wedding - for your honeymoon? Is she renewing the visa?

Edited March 10, 2009 by trailmix

[warlord 73]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

Fastest, easiest and least problematic way is to marry in the US first. Get it done at a local court or chapel or something. Get it official and then start on the AOS process. Get the AP in hand before attempting to cross the border. When you have the AP document, go ahead and plan a Canadian wedding.

The main thing is, if you go over to marry in Canada, good chance she'll null and void her temp work permit (TN status etc) as they are strictly temporary with no immigration Intent. If she's working on a work visa like H1B etc, you will need to verify if they allow dual intent at all.

If you do go over to Canada and get married and it invalidates her status, you could be looking at a denial to re-enter the US and you would be stuck trying to go through the process to immigrate your wife back into the US (time consuming and you two would be living in different countries until it is approved).

Easiest thing is to simple get married here in the US and then have a more formal type wedding in Canada after you recieve your AP document. And no you can't file it before you are married as you need to submit the official marriage certificate...

[SapphireDreams 71]

If she does not have a visa to enter back into the U.S. after the wedding, most likely she will be denied entry.

Sounds like you will need to file for a CR1 visa after the marriage. With this application, she will need to live in Canada until it is approved at the Montreal Consulate. Approvals are taking around 12 months it seems give or take. Youc an visit eachother during the wait, but she cannot live in the US.

If you were to marry here in the U.S. - that would be a whole different ball game. As long as her intent to first enter the U.S. was to just work and not get married, once you marry in the U.S. you can file to Adjust Status and get a Green Card for her. She would not be able to work or leave the country until that AOS is approved.

Once you leave to have your wedding in Canada, there is really no way around filing for the visa while she waits in Canada that I can think of.

For more information about the CR1 - there is a tab at the top of the page called "Guides" that has a lot of good informtion.

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

I am not sure of the exact name of the visa, but I do know that it is only a temporary work visa, I can check later n try to get more info. Sorry, I know nothing about all this, so I am confused myself! Thats why I am here!, I have looked all over the USCIS website and I am kind of confused on what the correct way to do this is, which obviously varies according to sitiuation! And no she is not a U.S. permanent resident, and yes I will need to check into it some more but I believe her temp. visa will expire before the wedding, so thats why I was wondering if anyone would know if we could cross the border shortly after the wedding.

Ok so maybe I was misunderstanding you - since her visa is expiring before the wedding - the question is why would she be going back to the States after the wedding - for your honeymoon? Is she renewing the visa?

The wedding and honeymoon will be in Canada, the reason for coming back to the states is that we plan to live in Missouri, if she wants to continue to work in the U.S., and she just renews the temp. visa, will that effect the filing of a

K-3 visa? from what I understand, it would, but maybe I am wrong?

[to_hope 0]

You can't have dual intent when entering the USA- so can't be married to you (an American) AND have a work visa at the same time- that's my understanding.

My husband and I had a similar situation. I was in the USA on a student visa but we wanted to get married in Canada. We met with a lawyer and our options were:

1. Get married in the USA right away and "adjust status" from a student visa to a resident. In this case, I would not be able to return to Canada until the process was complete- not sure how long this would take. Anyone know?

2. Get married in Canada and live apart until I received my immigrant visa (we chose this route). See my signature for a time line.

ETA: You can only adjust her status if she didn't enter the USA with the intention of getting married.

Edited March 10, 2009 by to_hope

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

You need to tell us what visa your wife has that enables her to work in the U.S.

I'm a bit confused by your question: And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding?

She has a work permit in the U.S. - so I see no reason why she wouldn't be able to enter the U.S. (hence my confusion)

This will not be a 'family sponsorship' visa per-se as, from the little info you have given, it does not appear that she is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident?

I am not sure of the exact name of the visa, but I do know that it is only a temporary work visa, I can check later n try to get more info. Sorry, I know nothing about all this, so I am confused myself! Thats why I am here!, I have looked all over the USCIS website and I am kind of confused on what the correct way to do this is, which obviously varies according to sitiuation! And no she is not a U.S. permanent resident, and yes I will need to check into it some more but I believe her temp. visa will expire before the wedding, so thats why I was wondering if anyone would know if we could cross the border shortly after the wedding.

It depends on which work visa:

• if H1-b, the visa can be renewed in US prior to wedding, and you can then have wedding in Canada
• if R-1 (she's teaching in Religious-oriented school), as with H1-b
• if TN-1, you'd be playing with fire as the TN-1 is (supposed to be) non-dual-intent; the marriage should then be done in the US

Notes about TN-1; the holder (if not in a state of having I-485 filed, or in "hurry-up-and-wait" mode for priority-date to enable I-485 filing) can renew the visa at POE/PFI[*]with approved I-140 (labour GC) prior to filing I-485 or Consular packets (whether able to file I-485 or in "hurry-up-and wait" mode) TN-1 can be renewed in the US by mailing I-129 to NSC (I actually did that between 1997 and 1999 when I was in "hurry-up-wait")

[Reeena 0]

Antdirt are you Canadian also?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

You can't have dual intent when entering the USA- so can't be married to you (an American) AND have a work visa at the same time- that's my understanding.

actually false: depends on the specific visa type. H1-b, O-1 and R-1 allow dual-intent. The TN-1 doesn't.

My husband and I had a similar situation. I was in the USA on a student visa but we wanted to get married in Canada. We met with a lawyer and our options were:

1. [*]Get married in the USA right away and "adjust status" from a student visa to a resident. In this case, I would not be able to return to Canada until the process was complete- not sure how long this would take. Anyone know?[*]Get married in Canada and live apart until I received my immigrant visa (we chose this route). See my signature for a time line.Lawyer in this case does not appear to have informed you very well; for

AOS, there are (additional) documents of EAD (work permit) and AP (travel/reentry). Cannot give definite timeline to conditional GC, but EAD and AP are usually processed lots sooner.

Check the threads on TN-1/USC marriages in this forum.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

If her work visa will expire before the wedding, I am not sure if she is able to enter the US after the wedding and I really don't think she is able to work until she has the proper authorization. Did she go to school there? Perhaps she's on an OPT extention of the F-1

[trailmix 77]

nm

Edited March 10, 2009 by trailmix

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

I am trying to find information for my case, I am looking to marry a Canadian that is currently in the U.S. She has a SS number and teaches school here. The wedding will be in Canada, what is the best process to use that will be the most time savy? Is there a way to start on paperwork before the wedding? And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding? I know this is several questions, but its kinda all the same topic, thanks alot for your help!

You need to tell us what visa your wife has that enables her to work in the U.S.

I'm a bit confused by your question: And is it possible that she would be able to cross within two weeks after the wedding?

She has a work permit in the U.S. - so I see no reason why she wouldn't be able to enter the U.S. (hence my confusion)

This will not be a 'family sponsorship' visa per-se as, from the little info you have given, it does not appear that she is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident?

I am not sure of the exact name of the visa, but I do know that it is only a temporary work visa, I can check later n try to get more info. Sorry, I know nothing about all this, so I am confused myself! Thats why I am here!, I have looked all over the USCIS website and I am kind of confused on what the correct way to do this is, which obviously varies according to sitiuation! And no she is not a U.S. permanent resident, and yes I will need to check into it some more but I believe her temp. visa will expire before the wedding, so thats why I was wondering if anyone would know if we could cross the border shortly after the wedding.

It depends on which work visa:

• if H1-b, the visa can be renewed in US prior to wedding, and you can then have wedding in Canada
• if R-1 (she's teaching in Religious-oriented school), as with H1-b
• if TN-1, you'd be playing with fire as the TN-1 is (supposed to be) non-dual-intent; the marriage should then be done in the US

Notes about TN-1; the holder (if not in a state of having I-485 filed, or in "hurry-up-and-wait" mode for priority-date to enable I-485 filing) can renew the visa at POE/PFI[*]with approved I-140 (labour GC) prior to filing I-485 or Consular packets (whether able to file I-485 or in "hurry-up-and wait" mode) TN-1 can be renewed in the US by mailing I-129 to NSC (I actually did that between 1997 and 1999 when I was in "hurry-up-wait")

I believe it is R1 that she is currently here on right now, Religious tradition is that the wedding will be in Canada(her hometown),

[trailmix 77]

Antdirt are you Canadian also?

Good question Reeena. I now see that he said 'here' - therefore he is probably American.