Please help me! Canadian Marrying US Citizen March 2012 in Caribbean

[s88 1]

Hello,

I am getting married to my fiancee in March 2012 in the Caribbean.

We want to get the visa process started but have absolutely no idea how we should handle it.

I am Canadian, he is American. We plan to live at his home in the US.

I plan to live and work here in Canada until right before the wedding so I need to make sure that no matter how we handle it we can just enter the US together after the wedding in the Caribbean.

1) Should I get the fiancee Visa, go to Caribbean and then enter the US with him on the fiancee Visa then file our paperwork?

Does the marriage have to TAKE PLACE in the US or can it occur anywhere as long as it happens within 90 days?

2) Should we get married prior to our Caribbean wedding to legitimize it and file for the K3? (Is that right, K3?)

I don't understand the steps that we need to take to ensure I can enter the country and stay legally a year from now.

Please help!

Thanks,

Samantha

Edited March 4, 2011 by s88

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

Hello,

I am getting married to my fiancee in March 2012 in the Caribbean.

We want to get the visa process started but have absolutely no idea how we should handle it.

I am Canadian, he is American. We plan to live at his home in the US.

I plan to live and work here in Canada until right before the wedding so I need to make sure that no matter how we handle it we can just enter the US together after the wedding in the Caribbean.

1) Should I get the fiancee Visa, go to Caribbean and then enter the US with him on the fiancee Visa then file our paperwork?

Does the marriage have to TAKE PLACE in the US or can it occur anywhere as long as it happens within 90 days?

2) Should we get married prior to our Caribbean wedding to legitimize it and file for the K3? (Is that right, K3?)

I don't understand the steps that we need to take to ensure I can enter the country and stay legally a year from now.

Please help!

Thanks,

Samantha

once you enter the US on the k-1 visa and then depart with out the necessary document you will not be allowed to enter. The process for the K visa lays it out to where the marriage takes place in the US. You can marry in the Caribbean but then you will be stuck...

K3 is no longer used. Visas /processing times for Spouses of US Citizens are current.

CR1/IR1 are used instead

[Andrea&Mal 1]

Unfortunately, from what you've said, I don't think there is any way for you to get married in the Caribbean and then move immediately to the United States. For a K1 visa, you must marry in the United States. You can't use a K1 visa to enter the US after marrying elsewhere, as you wouldn't be a 'fiance' anymore, you'd be a wife, which requires a CR1 visa. For a CR1 visa you can marry anywhere, but then you must return to Canada until the visa is processed that will allow you to enter, which can take up to a year or longer.

If you have your heart set on marrying in the carribean, one option is to just do a blessing or a renewal of vows there, after you get married legally in the United States. Just be sure that you wait to get permission to leave the country (takes approximately 90 days). If you go to the caribbean immediately following your marriage in the US, you will not be allowed to re-enter the country and will have to return to Canada and apply for a CR1 visa, as mentioned above.

I don't know about your exact circumstances, but it may be easier just to arrange your wedding in the US. Unless there's another option in there that I'm missing, though I know the other VJers will step in, they're pretty smart around here! Best of luck to you.

Andrea

Edited March 4, 2011 by Andrea&Mal

[kikip 12]

You could do a ceremony there but not the actual legal marriage and then do a city hall wedding after you enter the us i suppose...

[pushbrk 12,882]

Hello,

I am getting married to my fiancee in March 2012 in the Caribbean.

We want to get the visa process started but have absolutely no idea how we should handle it.

I am Canadian, he is American. We plan to live at his home in the US.

I plan to live and work here in Canada until right before the wedding so I need to make sure that no matter how we handle it we can just enter the US together after the wedding in the Caribbean.

1) Should I get the fiancee Visa, go to Caribbean and then enter the US with him on the fiancee Visa then file our paperwork?

Does the marriage have to TAKE PLACE in the US or can it occur anywhere as long as it happens within 90 days?

2) Should we get married prior to our Caribbean wedding to legitimize it and file for the K3? (Is that right, K3?)

I don't understand the steps that we need to take to ensure I can enter the country and stay legally a year from now.

Please help!

Thanks,

Samantha

There is no method of US immigration that allows for getting married ANYWHERE and then the foreigner immediately moving to the USA to live.

1. Let me get your attention. What you "want" ain't going to happen. K1 visa holders MUST marry IN th USA and will not be allowed back in if they leave before they have advance parole. Advance parole is applied for AFTER the marriage and takes three months to obtain.

2. What you SHOULD do, is both of you study your immigration options, then reconcile them with your live plans. Right now, your plans don't match any available options. Start by clicking on the word "Guides" at the top of any page here.

[pushbrk 12,882]

Unfortunately, from what you've said, I don't think there is any way for you to get married in the Caribbean and then move immediately to the United States. For a K1 visa, you must marry in the United States. You can't use a K1 visa to enter the US after marrying elsewhere, as you wouldn't be a 'fiance' anymore, you'd be a wife, which requires a CR1 visa. For a CR1 visa you can marry anywhere, but then you must return to Canada until the visa is processed that will allow you to enter, which can take up to a year or longer.

If you have your heart set on marrying in the carribean, one option is to just do a blessing or a renewal of vows there, after you get married legally in the United States. Just be sure that you wait to get permission to leave the country (takes approximately 90 days). If you go to the caribbean immediately following your marriage in the US, you will not be allowed to re-enter the country and will have to return to Canada and apply for a CR1 visa, as mentioned above.

I don't know about your exact circumstances, but it may be easier just to arrange your wedding in the US. Unless there's another option in there that I'm missing, though I know the other VJers will step in, they're pretty smart around here! Best of luck to you.

Andrea

Good answers except the bold above. No permission is needed to leave the USA. Advance parole is what you need to get back in. It's a distinction with a huge difference.