Questions about having 2 weddings

[shymira 0]

Hello,

I wish I could have found this site and forum sooner; there's a lot of info here I didn't know! Anyway, my fiance (American citizen) and I (Canadian citizen) are getting married in July. We are having the first wedding in British Columbia and the second one a week later in New York. We wanted to do this so all our relatives could attend, since some of them can't travel long distances. The lawyer my fiance spoke with said it was fine to have 2 ceremonies; however, I don't think my fiance mentioned the wedding dates. I've been trying to contact the lawyer again, but he's extremely busy and I don't think I'll be getting a call back from him for a few days.

I had a few questions regarding this:

1. Can we have 2 weddings that close together, or will we have to delay the 2nd wedding in order for me to get a visa (we were thinking K-3, but now I see people saying that's a bad idea)?

2. If we CAN do the weddings a week apart, would I be able to remain in the USA for a few months before we start the visa paperwork?

Thank you very much for your time, and any help you can give us.

[TheFantastics09 19]

Which one of these will be the legal wedding? If the one done in Canada is the actual paper-signing ceremony, then you have no choice but to file for the K3. K-1 is for two people who are free to marry, and it has to be on U.S soil.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong...

For your last question, I have no idea.

Hope you find a plan that works out for you two!

Edited June 10, 2011 by TheFantastics09

[Inky 1,110]

Which one of these will be the legal wedding? If the one done in Canada is the actual paper-signing ceremony, then you have no choice but to file for the K3.

They should be filing the CR-1 not K-3.

CR-1 grants green card on entry and is MUCH cheaper than K-3. K-3 you have to file AOS and wait around for the green card after, is more expensive and is basically obsolete at the NVC stage.

OP - only 1 wedding can be a legal wedding, you will have to figure which one will be the legal wedding. Generally marriage certs in Canada can take months to get. Where as in the US can take as little as a day or a couple of weeks. You will need the marriage certificate to file for the CR-1.

You will need a visa before you can permanently move to the USA.

You can however visit during the process and if you marry legally in the USA you can stay and visit while filing the CR-1 but do not over stay your time.

[TheFantastics09 19]

I thought CR1 was not available anymore or else I would have mentioned that also . Why is there CR1 and K-3 if they are both marriage based? (sorry if this is a silly question, just curious)

Edited June 10, 2011 by TheFantastics09

[JoannaV 174]

K3 is the one that is generally not used nowadays. You will need to apply for a CR1 visa. Which wedding will be the legal one? If what Inky says is true then you may want to make sure the US one is the legal one. Shouldn't be too hard to make that happen even if that wasn't your original plan. (And to explain a little more: CR-1 is the immigrant visa for spouses. K3 is a visa that allows the spouse to come to the US and wait out the immigration process there, before interviewing in the States. However the CR-1 and K3 approval times are about the same nowadays, so for most people the K3 is irrelevant.)

As soon as you receive your marriage certificate you can start the visa process. You will need to file form I-130: http://www.uscis.gov...00048f3d6a1RCRD Look at it NOW and start filling it out and getting your documents together. Ideally you should have it all ready to send by the day of the wedding, so that as soon as you get your marriage certificate you can put it in the mail.

You can certainly stay in the US for as long as you are legally able. You will need to interview in Canada to obtain your visa, but that won't be until after your first stay in the US anyway. You could probably wait out the I-130 approval process in the States, and then either stay in Canada until you get your visa or make another visit whilst waiting for an interview.

Edited June 10, 2011 by JoannaV

[shymira 0]

They should be filing the CR-1 not K-3.

CR-1 grants green card on entry and is MUCH cheaper than K-3. K-3 you have to file AOS and wait around for the green card after, is more expensive and is basically obsolete at the NVC stage.

OP - only 1 wedding can be a legal wedding, you will have to figure which one will be the legal wedding. Generally marriage certs in Canada can take months to get. Where as in the US can take as little as a day or a couple of weeks. You will need the marriage certificate to file for the CR-1.

You will need a visa before you can permanently move to the USA.

You can however visit during the process and if you marry legally in the USA you can stay and visit while filing the CR-1 but do not over stay your time.

The wedding in Canada will be the legal one. The lawyer I talked to said it would be cheaper in the long run if we had the legal wedding in Canada, so my fiance and I decided on that. I just want to know if it's okay to have a 2nd ceremony in the USA a week after the legal one. I wouldn't be moving to the USA right after the 2nd ceremony; it's just not possible at this point, and it'd be pretty sketchy without having the paperwork done! I was planning on going back to Canada and waiting for all the paperwork and whatnot to be completed. However, I want to spend a few weeks or months with my husband after 2nd wedding. If we can't have that wedding right away, then that solves that problem.

I was also looking at the information on the visa types, and the CR-1 looked really helpful. I've never heard of the CR-1 until today, and neither has my fiance. He said he asked the lawyer if there were any options for us other than K-1 and K-3; apparently, the lawyer said no, and that K-3 was the proper visa for our situation. Guess I'll be asking about that if/when I get a call back from him.

If I'm not being clear enough on some points, just let me know and I'll try my best to explain things better. Thanks again!

[canadian_wife 1,822]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Cr-1 is the one you want, dont' let your 'lawyer' tell you differently. Follow the guide above for assistance when filing

You can have a 'ceremony' in NY whenever you want, you do not want to have a marriage certificate or marriage registry or marriage licence or anything in NY so stay away from that.

You can stay in the US as long as the Border Agent lets you in. Carry strong ties to Canada, show how you HAVE to return, to help you enter. Although it probably won't even be asked for, if it is it can be invaluable to have

good luck