Canadians that have a fiance in the States, Their fiances filed petition for them K-! visa

[sleepy in Seattle 3]

My fiance and I got engaged on April 24th/09,

We didn't realize that we would have to go through so much paper and just how complicated and time consuming it would be. Is anybody out there from Toronto, that has a fiance in the States, My fiance and I have a lawyer and had the k-1 visa sent out at the end of Nov/09, I am not sure what to expect next, also haven't received a client # yet, does anybody have a clue as to what is going to happen next and how long to some extent this entire process is going to take. Also about visiting the States, I don't want to be turned away and lose my plane fare, just seems all to overwhelming for me and I have been depressed and crying for the most part, I feel like an idiot but I can't stop crying and worrying about everything.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Have you gotten your NOA1 yet?

You should have by now.

It seems you're waiting on your NOA2, the approval at the moment. You're within processing times, you might see it by the end of the month. Hoping you do.

Of course you can go visit, just make sure you bring ties to Canada. Things like a letter from your employer saying that they're expecting you back from your trip and at a specific date, copy of a lease is good too! If you have your NOA1, bring that too; it shows that you're not going to just go marry and stay in the US... who wants to just throw away all that money you spent on a K-1.

As for how long it will take... Montreal seems to be speeding up a bit. You'll be having your interview there. I don't really want to guess, but I'm thinking around... June-ish? It'll be easier to guesstimate once you get your NOA2.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I think that you'll have to start by reading the VisaJourney Immigration Guides. That should give you an overview of the process.

It's hard to tell exactly where you're at with the info you provided. There's also a danger in having a lawyer involved, since it means you're less in control of the process.

But do read through the guides I linked to above. They are fairly comprehensive.

[sleepy in Seattle 3]

Have you gotten your NOA1 yet?

You should have by now.

It seems you're waiting on your NOA2, the approval at the moment. You're within processing times, you might see it by the end of the month. Hoping you do.

Of course you can go visit, just make sure you bring ties to Canada. Things like a letter from your employer saying that they're expecting you back from your trip and at a specific date, copy of a lease is good too! If you have your NOA1, bring that too; it shows that you're not going to just go marry and stay in the US... who wants to just throw away all that money you spent on a K-1.

As for how long it will take... Montreal seems to be speeding up a bit. You'll be having your interview there. I don't really want to guess, but I'm thinking around... June-ish? It'll be easier to guesstimate once you get your NOA2.

Thank you very much, the interview is going to be in Montreal. So once I have the NOA2 and my letter from my employer and my lease then I will make arrangements to travel there, so maybe your saying that I maybe able to go to the states by Oct/2010 for getting married, sorry for being so out of it

[raymaga 25]

Hi, and welcome to VJ!!!

You are not alone in feeling the way you do.... we have all gone through the sadness and depression during the long immigration process and separation from our loved one.

I am not from the Toronto area (I was from the Vancouver area), but we did the K-1 process. We did not use a lawyer, we did everything ourselves and it worked out fine, like most VJ members.

After your I-129F was submitted, you should have received a "Notice of Action" (NOA 1) shortly afterwards. Then, within a few months, you will received your approval notice (NOA 2). You (the immigrant) will receive a checklist of documents you need to gather for the interview, and you will need to have your medical exam done in Canada. When you have all the documents and had your medical exam, you will fax in the checklist to request an interview date for the K-1 visa.

After you receive your K-1 visa, you have six months to use it. After entry into the U.S., you have 90 days to get married. Right after your marriage (and after receiving a copy of your marriage certificate), you will submit documents to apply for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) and you can also apply (at the same time) for Advance Parole (Form I-131) which allows you to leave the U.S. and re-enter before you have your Green Card, as well as for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) which allows you to work before you have your Green Card.

To visit the U.S. while awaiting your approval, you will need to take plenty of proof of ties to Canada, such as mortgage/lease documents, your most recent pay stub, a letter from either your employer or school stating an expected date of return to Canada, etc. There is never a 100% guarantee that you will be admitted into the U.S., but the more proof you have of ties to Canada, the better your chances.

Hope you have a smooth and successful process.

Also, just wanted to add that you do not have to have your approval (NOA 2) before you can visit the U.S.

Edited February 6, 2010 by raymaga

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Thank you very much, the interview is going to be in Montreal. So once I have the NOA2 and my letter from my employer and my lease then I will make arrangements to travel there, so maybe your saying that I maybe able to go to the states by Oct/2010 for getting married, sorry for being so out of it

It's hard to say when you'll get an interview. The consulates are kind of fickle... especially Montreal recently. We think they're speeding up, but we're not totally sure. You should get it before October though, if they have sped up.

You can visit your fiance now if you want, just bring ties to Canada like the others have said. Like I said, the letter and lease is usually the main thing people bring.

[Wishing 1]

Just wanted to offer you support, it is a long and arduous process...I often also am anxious about the whole process, but through it all just think that this is the last step to bring your and your sweetie together. After this wait its done and you will be together for good! So hang in there:) And thank goodness Montreal is moving faster then it has in the past.....

[antda 13]

My fiance and I got engaged on April 24th/09,

We didn't realize that we would have to go through so much paper and just how complicated and time consuming it would be. Is anybody out there from Toronto, that has a fiance in the States, My fiance and I have a lawyer and had the k-1 visa sent out at the end of Nov/09, I am not sure what to expect next, also haven't received a client # yet, does anybody have a clue as to what is going to happen next and how long to some extent this entire process is going to take. Also about visiting the States, I don't want to be turned away and lose my plane fare, just seems all to overwhelming for me and I have been depressed and crying for the most part, I feel like an idiot but I can't stop crying and worrying about everything.

Hi Sleepy in Seattle (cute name and photos btw...),

Congrats on your engagment last year.

I don't know too much specificatlly about the k1 process....(other vjers who have gone through such can elaborate further)

Though I do know the next steps for you are are....K1 (? months...$???)-->Adjustment of Status/2 yr Conditional Green Card (3-6 months...$1000+)--> Removal of Conditions/10 yr Unconditional Green Card (3-6 months...$545)---->US Citizenship (optional) (3-6 months....$675)....

Total length of process...3-5 years.......or more......

And I do know that the immigration process can be very stressful, time consuming, frustrating, expensive, etc.....

But don't worry...things will be better.....and you have a lot of VJers along you out too..so you should be ok there...

And yes, having a lawyer does help too (I used a lawyer in my case...and they helped there..)....

Lol..If it helps, I used to be from Toronto, ON (and still visit there from time to time).....So that's why I responded to your post.....

If you don't mind me asking, which part of Toronto are you from (north, south, east, west...???).....

Btw...we're thinking about planning a vj meet-up...somewhere in the ON/NYS area....you interested too?

Read here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=240371

And yes, when you cross over the border, make sure you bring lots of "ties to Canada" too...(as others have suggested)....

Hope this helps too. Good luck on the rest of your journey...Don't worry, it will all work out well in the end!

Ant

Edited February 7, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[Canadiandggal 49]

Hello,

I am going through the spousal visa cr-1 and never went through the k-1 however I am from north york.. thought i should say hello hehe

grats on engagement, it will go fast

[joevegas 67]

I live in Toronto,and my fiance is in the states,our process took a year,i have my embassy interview in march,don't stress,just take it one process at a time...it really is not that difficult..

[Jay & Beverly 0]

Hello, Sleepy and welcome to VisaJourney.com.

I am a US citizen living in Portland, OR and my fiance is Canadian in Nova Scotia. We're going through the K-1 process without the help of a lawyer and have found it rather easy, with the exception of the waiting. I think everyone has already given you sound advice and I hope it helps to ease some of your concerns.

The thing that I found most helpful is editing and updating the timeline found on our profile page and I would encourage you to do the same. This will allow others to better help you at each stage along your journey and will also allow you to find people with similar timelines to compare the progress of your case. As I already touched on, the waiting time can be frustrating, but you have to trust the process and know that things are moving along at a pace that may not be as optimal as you would hope.

The one thing that I did notice when I clicked on your profile to look at your timeline is that it states that Armenia is your consulate. I'm not sure if this is a glitch for new users on VJ or if you placed that there on purpose. If you are you or your fiance was born in Armenia that this would be another layer to work through with your K-1.

[chrisNmanda 0]

Hey there. My fiance and I are currently going through the K-1 process. I (Amanda) am from Windsor Ont. We used a lawyer too. She wasnt very helpful and we waited for a long time to get our case number but it never showed up in our mail box. We had to call, email and go for a visit to the lawyer to find out that she had the paper for a few weeks and didnt bother informing us of it. So if you havent gotten your NOA1 with your case number on it to keep track of your process i suggest you call your lawyer and see if she/he has gotten it. We just recently got our NOA2 last week and we filed in Oct. so i think yours should be soon. I am planning a trip to go visit Chris (in Georgia) on Feb. 26th and plan on coming back to Canada on March 26th..... hopefully if the boarder guard lets me through *fingers crossed*. Hang in there. its hard and fustrating and you just want it to be over with but in the long run this is a very short time we have to wait in order to be with the one we love forever. Good luck and the people here are very nice, so if you have any more questions they will help you out. this is a wonderful site and i am very happy and thankful that Chris found it. Keep us posted on how your doing. I hope your lawyer is better then ours lol good luck to you guys

[HeatDeath 430]

Welcome! The best thing for this process is to remember that it may seem long, but it's very straightforward. The K-1 flowchart in the guides section is a good high-level map of what will happen over the next year or so. Just always stay focused on the just next step, and it won't seem so overwhelming.

A piece of advice for visiting the US while the process is underway: bring a copy of the I-797 NOA1, AND the entire I-129F packet that got sent to USICS by your USC to start the process. Have your American make you a copy of the whole thing and the receipt notice. We've just heard from someone who visited the US who was weak on the other evidence of ties to Canada (rental/lease/mortgage, employer letter, etc) and their customs officer specifically said that the I-129 packet and NOA1 receipt were the most helpful things for showing intent do this properly.

[HeatDeath 430]

Remember, there are literally hundreds of Canadians here who have successfully gone through the exact same thing you're going through. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, or just vent. The process may seem overwhelming, but serious problems are VERY VERY uncommon. We're extremely fortunate that Canada and the US have very close ties. We have to be patient and jump through a bunch of hoops like everyone else, but we're spared a lot of the obstacles and occasionally even outright hostility that people from some countries have to contend with.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I think it was suggested above, but if not - you can do the rest of this yourself. drop the lawyer and save yourself money. Immigration isn't as complicated as it sounds, lawyers just try and scare you into thinking it is.

Most of us on here have been perfectly capable on our own with each others help and the guides here. Read as much as you can and read up on the next process ahead of time.

I can also tell you, many, if not all of us have been down at one time or another during the wait, in particular during the K1 because you're apart so much, the rest of the process at least you're married and living to gether by then. It's really hard and it's heartbreaking to say goodbye every night and not be able to be together, but it makes it that much sweeter when you get the approval!