DCR question

[JaJo08 0]

Hello All-

New here and just exploring options at the moment. Met this amazing gal online last summer. We met in person, fell in love, and doing the back and forth thing at the moment. Unlike many of the stories I've read here, the distance to travel is not that far at all so I feel we are very fortunate in that department. My gf lives in Canda and I here in the states. We are both looking for ways to get her here and that is how I ended up at this webpage. We have already talked about the possibility of being engaged/married, but am curious how that may/may not affect other avenues we are exploring.

One avenue being the DCF process, my understanding is that either I would need to live up there for 6 months or she and I both would need to live in another country together for 6 months minimum correct? The reason I ask about this is we have both talked about leaving our respective countries and going to live abroad in Thailand for a year or so. If we do that, you just have to show proof of having lived in the country for six months? Then we could get married there, go to the US consulate in Thailand with all the appropriate docs and move back to the states? Or as option 2, I could move up there to Canada and live for six months and then we would go to the US consulate there? Am I understanding this all correctly?

Any input or guidance is greatly appreciated!

Jason

[YuAndDan 153]

In both cases you will need to provide proof of foreign residency as in residency visas or residency cards for Canada or Thailand.

Also do not give up US domicile, residency out of USA needs to be temporary.

[JaJo08 0]

In both cases you will need to provide proof of foreign residency as in residency visas or residency cards for Canada or Thailand.

Also do not give up US domicile, residency out of USA needs to be temporary.

Thanks for the quick response. When you say residency visas or residency cards, are these what you get when you move there on a work visa? How are these (residency cards/visas) obtained? If I were to say get a job teaching english in Thailand, could I get one of these residency cards?

In another scenario, if I attended graduate school in Canada, would I be able to obtain one of these cards?

thanks,

Jason

[YuAndDan 153]

In both cases you will need to provide proof of foreign residency as in residency visas or residency cards for Canada or Thailand.

Also do not give up US domicile, residency out of USA needs to be temporary.

Thanks for the quick response. When you say residency visas or residency cards, are these what you get when you move there on a work visa? How are these (residency cards/visas) obtained? If I were to say get a job teaching english in Thailand, could I get one of these residency cards?

In another scenario, if I attended graduate school in Canada, would I be able to obtain one of these cards?

thanks,

Jason

Typically by going through the same type of process as a person goes through to come to the USA.

Depends on country.

[elsoar 3]

Thanks for the quick response. When you say residency visas or residency cards, are these what you get when you move there on a work visa? How are these (residency cards/visas) obtained? If I were to say get a job teaching english in Thailand, could I get one of these residency cards?

In another scenario, if I attended graduate school in Canada, would I be able to obtain one of these cards?

thanks,

Jason

I don't know what proof of residency Thailand would accept - it differs by country - but for filing DCF in Canada, you would get a student visa for grad school and that would be proof enough. Thailand may very well just accept your work visas (I would think they shoudl but you would need to check with that consulate to be sure) as well - both options seem feasible to me.

[msdelila 1]

You would have to research the residency requirements online. I don't know about Canada, someone said that a student visa is enough, but I don't think being a graduate student would qualify you as being a resident, you would be considered a foreign student. You have to live in that country, as if you intend to be a resident.....work, pay taxes, etc. But who knows, I could be wrong. When I applied for DCF (Israel), I worked as well as studied, and the US Embassy told me that if I was only studying I wouldn't have made the residency requirements, I would be considered a foreign student which is not a resident. They were really strict about it, and I really needed to prove to them I was a legal resident of that country. I had an Israeli ID, drivers license, worked, got married there, etc. Maybe they are easier in Canada.

I honestly don't think that it is going to work out if you both take that option. It doesn't guarantee that neither of you will meet the requirements for residency, and it would take a long time. Only after 6 months could you start the process, and then your fiancee would have to live in that country(Thailand) until she received her interview and visa, which could take up to an additional 6 months. In my opinion you are looking at more trouble than it's worth.

I would offer that you do the CR-1 route or the K1 visa.