K1, CR-1, K3 and other random questions.

[Bulldog15 0]

**I am re-posting this in the Canadian section per request**

Hi everyone,

I hate to do this, and I know that the general consensus is that if you have a question to simply read the guides and and FAQ's before posting a generic question, but I have spent the last few days going over this website (which btw has a TON of knowledge everywhere!) but every time I get to a point where I'm like:

"Yeah, that's the right move for me!"

Someone else says something to totally make me second guess and not make me very confident in that particular path. So I guess I'll just share my situation with the whole world and take in whatever advice I can. I'm thinking that my Fiancee and I aren't the only ones who are trying to make this happen and I've see a few of the successful stories (Congrats to each of you) and I'm hoping that I can get some good solid advice to accomplish the same thing.

Here we go:

Me: American Citizen who resides in Wisconsin.

Her: Canadian Citizen who resides in Toronto.

I have been separated for quite some time from a previous marriage (married waaaay young, deployed to Iraq with my Marine unit and decided to stay married during the deployment to better provide for her), so I know that obviously I need to have that wrapped up which will not be a problem and should be wrapped up by the end of December.

In the meantime I've met "Kitten" from Toronto and we have been in this long distance relationship for the past 8 months and I have flown up to Toronto and she has flown down here quite a few times.

Against all the sense in the world, we've decided to get married and have her move down here to live with me. Hopefully I don't get someone to reply to this in a snide way and judge me for what appears to be a irrational decision, because we have spent a lot of time discussing this and we aren't a bunch of teenagers. Helpful advice please!

What we need to accomplish:

1. Speed. (of course, right?)

2. She needs to have the ability to earn an income in the US.

3. She would like to be able to fly back and visit her family in Canada.

4. She does have a BA. (not sure if that helps anything at all?)

I work in law enforcement with the US Federal Justice department, so I cannot have anything go wrong that would affect my career as well. I am also with the US military, with the Marines, so if I can get any added benefits from that, please advise.

If you need any more information from me I will get it to you asap.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

1.) Speed? If you were in the Army or Air Force the term would be celerity but as a Marine you're OK. I believe that the K-1 is the fastest method but I'm more familiar with IR5. Some nice person with the answer will help you out a bit more.

2.) Apply for the I-765 which will allow your fiancee to work in the US.

3.) I believe that your fiancee can cross the border once the visa is issued but I'm not to sure about how many times, etc. I must plead ignorance on this issue.

4.) Her education doesn't really enter into it but it is always nice.

[ashenflowers 5]

In terms of 'speed' are you willing to wait 3 months, 6 months, one year? It will take a long time to complete the visa process regardless. If you want her to be able to work and travel as soon as she arrives in the US, I would probably recommend the CR-1 route. That is not the visa I personally am getting, so I can't offer further info than what's in the guides, but someone else with experience gladly will.

Are you going to be deployed to Iraq again? If so, you might be able to apply for expedited processing, though I'm not sure how that works.

By 'wrapped up' with your previous marriage, do you mean divorce papers in hand? That is what you will need to proceed regardless of what visa you apply for. So I guess if you went with the CR-1 you'd have to wait until that's complete before you can get married and file. Keeping in mind you'll have to both remain living in your respective countries whilst the processing is happening (though I believe visits are allowed for this one).

As for the K-1, it seems to be taking about 7-10 months on average from application to visa. However, after you enter on that visa and get married, you then have to file AOS (Adjustment of Status), EAD (which allows her to work while waiting for AOS processing), and AP (which allows her to travel outside the US while waiting for AOS processing). You can file all 3 at the same time, and the EAD and AP seem to take about 2-3 months after you file, during which she can not work or travel outside the US. So, that's an added wait, and added expense, thus making CR-1 look a little better for you (I think...lol)

As mentioned, while the BA is pretty, it doesn't really have an effect, since she's not applying for a work visa.

Edited October 26, 2009 by ashenflowers

[ashenflowers 5]

also... check here to compare visas (this was recently posted in response to another similar question, and reminded me that it was there..lol)

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare