Little confused about K1 vs K3 filing. Also confused about dates..

[K and T 0]

Hi all.. first post here. I've been reading the forums and doing research on my own.. but i'm a little confused.

Background information on me:

I am a US citizen (resident of India till 1999) and having been living in NJ, US for the past 11 years. I met the love of my life through internet and we have been together (virtually ) since 2/14/09.

Background information on her:

She lives in Toronto and is currently an Indian citizen as she came to Canada about 4 years ago. She took the Canadian citizenship test and should get her Canadian citizenship in a month or two hopefully.

We have met in person 3 times (June in Syracuse, NY; July in Philadelphia; August in Toronto) and will be together for 9 days in Toronto between 12/25 and 1/02

Currently we're engaged.. but I am confused as to what way would be better for us to take. I can just as easily get married in court when I go to Canada.

Now here are the bigger problems:

1) She is not a Canadian citizen yet. How would it affect the process if we apply for K1/K3 before she gets her Canadian citizenship?

2) She will be going to India for her brother's wedding in late April and wont be back till June. How will that affect some of the process requirements? (ex. physical test)

3) Our parents and we are planning the wedding to be in July '10.

She currently has a 10 year visa to travel US. Can we apply for her immigration and live together while the process is ongoing?

Thanks in advance for all your answers.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

1) It shouldn't. As long as she is a legal resident then she can interview in Montreal (this is where the interview will take place since she lives in Toronto). When your case gets to NVC you'll want to send in both passports so they are aware of the citizenship situation.

2) She will need to do her medical and interview in Canada but hopefully she'll be back in Canada by then. Plan on 8 - 10 months from start to finish. The Montreal embassy is terribly slow

3) No, you cannot live together in the US. She may visit but admittance and duration of stay is up to the border agent upon entry. She'll want to bring strong ties to Canada, such as a lease, mortgage, employment letter, to show that she intends to return to Canada.

Note - if you get married in Ontario, you'll have to wait 6 - 8 weeks before you can apply so you have the marriage certificate (yes, it takes that long to get).

I'd say your best bet is to file the K-1 since you can file that now (not wait for the marriage cert. etc) and it is generally faster, but more expensive, than the spousal visa.

However, if you want to apply for a spousal visa, apply for the CR-1, not the K-3. The K-3's usefullness has diminished substantially over the years. It's slow, expensive, and no benefit to you since you'll interview in Montreal

Good luck.

[K and T 0]

Thanks for the info!

I got couple more questions..

Assuming I go the K1 route, after I am done with my side and things transferred from NVC to Embassy and after Embassy mails forms to my fiancee, does she have to fill out the forms right away? The reason I'm asking is because if I file soon, she might be in India around the time she gets mailed the forms.

Second question is how long does it take from when she starts sending out initial forms to the interview date? From reading people's timelines on this side, I'm seeing everything from 2 months to 6 months. Is it really that random?

Thanks in advance again.

[Danu 19]

I did want to add that if you are planning on doing the wedding in July '10 that Montreal's timelines can fluxuate a lot. July is only 7 months away, my interview took 5 months to get, most times its around 3 months, so you could really be pushing it timeline wise if you are stuck to that date. The really can be anywhere from 6 weeks to 5 months away from when she submits the package back. Its advised (but not necessary) that she complete and send back the package right away. She will not even be placed into queue for an interview until they get it back, and if she is going to be away as you say until June, I really doubt you will get the visa in time for the wedding.

The alternative is as you said to do the wedding when you want it, and then apply for a CR1 (instead of K3, they take about the same time but the CR1 is better because she can work right away upon entry) as it will also save you money. If you, your bride and your family are all stuck to your date, do it this way instead. I'd hate for you to have a bunch of plans that go down in smoke due to delays.

I don't want to be a pessimist but just as a list of places that could add delays so you have an idea what you might end up looking at:

USCIS themselves - could end up stuck in FBI checks or they could just get slow (no real estimate of time you might get stuck at this phase, one girl who filed with us was waiting about 3 months on FBI checks)

NVC - could get stuck in backround checks (most people if they get stuck here take anywhere from 2 weeks to 50ish days to get their file sent on)

Montreal - the consulate recently caught up a bunch of people, there were people who only waited 43 days in at the same time as me, and I waited 136. They fluxuate a lot based on things they are working out, staffing issues etc. So this part can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 5 months to get her interview, and she will only be put in queue once she sends the packet back to them.

Personally, based on what you've said I think it might be better to go with the CR1. For any immigration thing she can come visit for up to 6 months (based on the discretion of the border patrol of course) but she cannot live with you for the whole duration, she would have to return to Canada for some portion of the wait. It sucks, I know Good luck on whatever path you choose though!

[K and T 0]

Thanks for the info!

I guess I should have been more clear. The wedding I am talking about will not be the legal wedding. It will just be a religious wedding with family and friends at a temple in Toronto.

The real wedding will just be a court wedding after she gets her visa and enters US.

[Danu 19]

ah cool. In that case, there would be no issues, as long as she doesnt refer to you as her husband at the interview. The K1 would be fine for you then. The only downside with it is that it does cost a bit more and she wouldnt be able to work till she gets her EAD once you do the Adjustment of status, but they do seem to be a bit faster

[Arabella 4]

Thanks for the info!

I guess I should have been more clear. The wedding I am talking about will not be the legal wedding. It will just be a religious wedding with family and friends at a temple in Toronto.

The real wedding will just be a court wedding after she gets her visa and enters US.

My interview took 8 months from the date of filing and we had no issues, no RFEs.

Also, are you sure your religious wedding will not be offical? If you are married before your fiance Visa is used, then you will have to ditch the fiance Visa and file all over again for a spousal Visa.

[K and T 0]

Thanks for the info!

I guess I should have been more clear. The wedding I am talking about will not be the legal wedding. It will just be a religious wedding with family and friends at a temple in Toronto.

The real wedding will just be a court wedding after she gets her visa and enters US.

My interview took 8 months from the date of filing and we had no issues, no RFEs.

Also, are you sure your religious wedding will not be offical? If you are married before your fiance Visa is used, then you will have to ditch the fiance Visa and file all over again for a spousal Visa.

I also had a question about that..

The religious wedding will not be official. But assume for some reason someone tells immigration officials or tries to imply that the religious wedding was official (even though there was no marriage certificate issued), would that cause a problem before interview or in the two year period after she gets her greencard and becomes absolutely legal resident? Assume someone shows photos/videos of wedding and us taking our vows or something like that.

Question 2: I am going to Canada this winter anyways. Can I marry her in a Canadian court and then start the CR1/K3 filing? Or do we have to get married in US before we can do that?

Thanks you all so much. It's so frustrating and i'm pissed on myself for waiting so long to get this started.

Edited December 10, 2009 by KrazyKeyur

[TracyTN 237]

Yes, such information could indeed effect the outcome of the interview. Most consulates don't like to hear about ANY ceremony that remotely sounds like a 'wedding' when they are considering issuing a K1 visa.

And yes, you can marry anywhere in the world and then apply for a CR1/K3 (I'd do a CR1).

[payxibka 10,047]

Yes, such information could indeed effect the outcome of the interview. Most consulates don't like to hear about ANY ceremony that remotely sounds like a 'wedding' when they are considering issuing a K1 visa.

And yes, you can marry anywhere in the world and then apply for a CR1/K3 (I'd do a CR1).

only caveat would be that a K-3 interview would occur in the country of marriage (so for example, if you got married in Mexico you would have your visa interview there even if you were a resident of Canada)... unless of course it took place in the USA, then it would be in the applicant's country of residence

Edited December 10, 2009 by payxibka

[K and T 0]

Yes, such information could indeed effect the outcome of the interview. Most consulates don't like to hear about ANY ceremony that remotely sounds like a 'wedding' when they are considering issuing a K1 visa.

And yes, you can marry anywhere in the world and then apply for a CR1/K3 (I'd do a CR1).

only caveat would be that a K-3 interview would occur in the country of marriage (so for example, if you got married in Mexico you would have your visa interview there even if you were a resident of Canada)... unless of course it took place in the USA, then it would be in the applicant's country of residence

So if I go to Toronto on 25th.. and assume we get married on like 28th or 29th or something like that, come back to US and then file CR1.

She would have medical in Toronto and her interview in Montreal, correct?

I think CR1 would be the best route for us now.

Just a little side question, to reconfirm an answer. After we have started the process, she has to go to India for about 1.5 months. Will her not being able to fill out forms affect things negatively (other than the extra time it takes). While she has gone to India, if she gets mailed Medical test dates or interview dates and assuming she would not be in Canada at that time, how would the rescheduling of those events take place?

TIA

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Yes, she will interview and have her medical in Toronto.

You could have all the forms ready to go, filled out and signed, as well as the supporting documentation so incase she is in India when time comes to submit the forms, you could simply mail them in for her.

IF, and that is a big if, the interview is scheduled before she returns to Canada then you would need to contact the consulate in Montreal and request another interview date. The medical she schedules once the interview has been assigned so you won't need to reshedule that, just schedule it when she is in Toronto.

Read the guids, particularly LingChe's short cuts to complete all the necessary forms before she goes to India. She doesn't have to date them, you could do that at the time of submission

Good luck.

[K and T 0]

Yes, she will interview and have her medical in Toronto.

You could have all the forms ready to go, filled out and signed, as well as the supporting documentation so incase she is in India when time comes to submit the forms, you could simply mail them in for her.

IF, and that is a big if, the interview is scheduled before she returns to Canada then you would need to contact the consulate in Montreal and request another interview date. The medical she schedules once the interview has been assigned so you won't need to reshedule that, just schedule it when she is in Toronto.

Read the guids, particularly LingChe's short cuts to complete all the necessary forms before she goes to India. She doesn't have to date them, you could do that at the time of submission

Good luck.

Many thanks to you and all others who replied. I'm freaking out a little less now