Canadian who needs I-95 for work on cruise ship

[MatthewC 0]

Hello all,

I've been looking for the past few day, and have not seen this question/ situation presented before. Before I spend some money on an attorney I thought I'd ask here.

I am a Canadian and I have just become engaged to a USC.

I work on a cruise ship out of FL. My contracts are 4 months on ship, followed by 2 months vacation.

During my vacation my fiancee and myself generally split our time together between CAN and US

I enter the US either on a B-2 or C-1 visa. This generally depends on the Officer and POE.

I always show my LOE ( letter of employment) given to me by the cruise line for issuance of a C-1 visa.

Once I begin a new contract I am issued an I-95 which I am required to have for the duration of my contract.

Once my contract ends my I-95 is cancelled and I am required to leave the US. Free to return on vacation by my own means on a B-2.

My question is:

Can we start the process of a CR-1 visa (after a civil ceremony) while I continue working on the ship? Or will that give me issues regarding getting a C-1 and I-95?

The "ideal" situation would allow me to continue my work, while having the ball rolling, as we are already apart.

We have decided to begin our married life in the US before a move back to Canada.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's a good immigration attorney you've dealt with in the Orlando area.

Thanks,

Matthew

[Eveliina 0]

Hi!

I am not Canadian but from Finland but I thought I'll answer anyways since I have had C1/D visa.

We started the process for my CR-1 visa in December 2010. After that I entered USA several times with my C1/D visa to work on ships and had no problems.

I left the ships in April 2011 just before we got our NOA2, because my contract was up and I had to go home to collect all my papers and do my interview. So I don't know if things would have been harder after the papers hit NVC but during USCIS stage nobody at the customs was interested in our pending CR-1.

I also entered USA once with VWP for vac (8 weeks) and was not even asked for a return ticket though I told them straight up that I am going to see my hubby. But I guess I just had a really nice officer that time, since people's experiences on this seem to vary.

Hope this helps!

-Eveliina